Adult Aspeger's Syndrome | Adult Aspeger's Disorder

For almost 20 years I have been specializing in work with individuals with Asperger's Syndrome or Aspegers Disorder here in British Columbia and in California. Much of my work has been with parts of the population not seen by other mental health providers, children and adolescents with extreme behavioural problems, and young adults and adults who are experiencing difficulties at home, work or socially because of Aspeger's symptoms.  

Asperger syndrome is one of the autism spectrum disorders, or was until the new DSM-5 put all of these disorders together on one single spectrum. It was classified as a developmental disorder that affects how the brain processes information. In this case, social information. Getting the point of interactions, understanding what's in other people's heads. It's funny, because normally we talk about "being in someone else's head" as a bad thing, but the truth is it is hard to communicate without having a real understand of what the others in your conversation are thinking. We sometimes call this "social thinking" or "perspective taking" or even "pragmatic language." Someone with Asperger's may have this problem to a slight degree, or to a great degree. It really is different from person to person, however the main concepts of treatment - teaching these skills - remains the same. All in all people with Asperger syndrome have a wide range of strengths, weaknesses, skills and difficulties. 

Common problems adults come to see me for include difficulty in forming friendships, communication difficulties (such as a tendency to take things literally), an inability to understand social rules and body language and often the associated anxiety one would expect to have if you aren't sure what others around you are thinking! 

Although Asperger syndrome cannot be cured, appropriate intervention and experience can help individuals to develop these communications skills. I avoid saying "social skills" because far too often children and teens with Aspergers are sent to "social skills" groups which are inappropriate, as they are aimed at simply teaching social skills (you can learn those from a book) instead of focusing on the communications or language deficit that is really going on. Learning compensatory strategies and help build up coping skills. And talking with someone who understands the problem and it's relationship to anxiety, depression and obsessive thoughts can be very helpful. 

Counselling or psychological therapy (including modified Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) can help people with Asperger syndrome understand and manage their behavioural responses and learn to live a calmer, less anxious and better understanding life.

Many adults with Asperger syndrome can successfully maintain relationships and parent children. However, like most relationships, there are challenges. Much of my time is spent working with couples and families, teaching them how to navigate this neurological disorder and create an environment and way of communicating that helps ease them all through the day.

An adult’s diagnosis of Asperger syndrome often follows their child’s diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. This can be a very difficult time for both partners, as now the "neurotypical" spouse may feel very alone, and worried about what the future holds. We deal with these issues in couples counselling, and psychoeducation - learning the science based techniques to deal with the symptoms and the situations you find yourself in. 

Most of my patients with Aspeger's syndrome /Asperger's Disorder are fairly successful in life, especially at work. Some are HIGHLY successful, but the influence off the symptoms becomes stronger after the birth of a child, or a change in living arrangements.  Some person with Asperger syndrome may find their job opportunities limited by their disability. It may help to choose a vocation that takes into account their symptoms, and capitalises on their strengths rather than highlights their weaknesses.  At any rate, Asperger's Disorder is not something that goes away after childhood, it is a neurological disorder, language/communications based, which can be treated, but not cured.

Two excellent books I often recommend to my teens and adults with Asperger's are:  "The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Aspeger's Syndrome and One Man's Quest to be A Better Husband," by David Finch, and for teens and young adults, "Socially Curious and Curiously Social,: by Michelle Garcia Winner.

If you are interested in contacting me about my practice in the field of Aspeger's Disorder or Autism Spectrum Disorder I have offices in both Burnaby, BC and Vancouver, BC. More information can be found at my website: http://www.relatedminds.com or http://www.relatedminds.com/autism/

http://psychologists.bc.ca/users/jimroche