tailieunhanh - Treating clients with Asperger’s syndrome and autism

Asperger’s syndrome (AS) is a form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affecting many individuals today. Although neurobiological correlates for AS have been identified, like many ASDs, AS is not completely understood. AS as a distinct disorder is also not universally accepted and in the DSM-5 AS is not considered a separate nosological entity. | Woods et al. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2013 7 32 http content 7 1 32 CHILD ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY MENTAL HEALTH REVIEW Open Access Treating clients with Asperger s syndrome and autism Alisa G Woods1 2 Esmaeil Mahdavi3 and Jeanne P Ryan 2 Abstract Asperger s syndrome AS is a form of autism spectrum disorder ASD affecting many individuals today. Although neurobiological correlates for AS have been identified like many ASDs AS is not completely understood. AS as a distinct disorder is also not universally accepted and in the DSM-5 AS is not considered a separate nosological entity. In contrast to some other ASDs individuals with AS are commonly characterized by having standard or higher than average intelligence yet difficulties in social skills and communication can present challenges for these individuals in everyday functioning. Counseling a person with AS or autism presents a unique challenge for the mental health care provider. We have compiled this review consisting of some recent ideas regarding counseling the client with AS with the goal of providing some clinical insights and practical clues. Although the focus of the present paper is largely on AS many of these strategies could also apply to individuals with high-functioning autism HFA . Keywords Asperger Autism Counseling ASD Autistic High-functioning-autism Introduction Autism spectrum disorders ASDs including Asperger s syndrome AS have been by the presence of a triad of impairments 1 social deficits 2 repetitive stereotypical behaviors and interests and 3 communication difficulties 1 . Additional ASDs have in the past included Autism and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified PDD-NOS 2 . AS was originally described by Asperger in 1944 3 but was not included in the DSM-IV until 1994 4 . In May 2013 the DSM-5 was introduced subsuming both AS and PDD-NOS under the umbrella term ASD. This will now be used to classify all of the discrete autistic .