Aspergers affects how many people

The ratio males to females is often cited by professionals as four males to every one female; citations can range from to Nobody actually knows what the actual number is. After twenty years of clinical observation, AANE staff estimate that the ratio of males to females with Asperger profiles is closer to We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our site.

By continuing to use the site, you consent to our use of cookies. Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with ASD than girls, and about one in six children were diagnosed with some form of developmental disability such as:.

Over the last three decades, the diagnostic criteria for autism has changed several times. This is problematic because as the criteria widens to include more symptoms and situations, the rates of diagnosis have gone up. This leads people to believe the disorder is growing instead of simply getting the proper recognition. In , autism diagnosis rates were approximately four in 10, In the 90s, that number jumped to one in 2,, while later in the decade one in 1, children were diagnosed.

Both are now potentially being included and collapsed under the term autism spectrum disorder in the Global Diagnostic Manual. At Therapeutic Pathways, our goal is to help children and young adults with autism develop the skills for a well-rounded and satisfying life.

To discuss available treatment options, call us at or contact us for more information. Unlike other disorders, ASD can be difficult to diagnose because there are no genetic or other standalone medical tests for diagnosis. This is because ASD affects the way children develop and interact with the world.

They do not develop at the same pace as their peers, which may cause frustration. Some of the early signs of autism include:. Therefore, treatments have a greater chance of being effective and long-lasting. As a data-driven and science-backed organization, Therapeutic Pathways offers effective early intervention, evidence-based autism treatment for individuals.

We care about children and their families at Therapeutic Pathways; for more information on our programs and treatment, call us at Your answers indicate that your child may be best treated in the Readiness program. This individualized, evidence-based program teaches young children skills they need to accelerate their learning and gain independence. Using imitation and naturalistic learning techniques, your child will develop useful skills in the areas of speech and language, cognition, and self-awareness.

A program for children ages Please contact Therapeutic Pathways at to discuss which program would best suit your child. Your answers indicate that your child may be best treated in the Foundations program. Your answers indicate that your child may be best treated in the Breakthroughs program. Specifically designed for children who have limited hours due to school schedules, this program removes life barriers by developing communication, social, and self-help skills.

We teach your child to engage in appropriate behaviors, helping them interact with peers and develop relationships. Your answers indicate that your child may be best treated in the Interactions program. Through guided social skills groups twice a week, this program helps improve social functioning in children ages 5 to Gould was much weirder than Jefferson, and, as he grew older, his obsessions worsened. He was an intense hypochondriac, for example, and collected hotel keys.

In many ways a child who never grew up, Gould had an odd, stiff gait. In my own case, a brain scan indicated that my cerebellum was 20 percent smaller than normal; this would explain my own problems with balance. People with great abilities in one area often are poor in another.

Einstein had a brain abnormality that some researchers think made his genius possible. According to Sandra Witelson, a researcher at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, the parts of his brain that processed visual and mathematical thought were fused together. He was in the right environment to express his genius, however; today, he might be shunted through the special education system.

One computer programmer at a university was obsessed with clocks and time; he had drifted from odd job to odd job until he found an employer who understood his eccentricities and recognized his talents.

One man was so sensitive to sound that he experienced the ringing of a cell phone as excruciating. These extreme sensitivities make functioning in a normal workplace uncomfortable or even painful. I might mention that my own problems with sound and touch sensitivity were mild compared to some of those described by Osborne. Fortunately, some problems with sensory oversensitivity can be reduced through special diets, medication, auditory training, or special glasses. Osborne correctly asserts that far too many young children are given medication, but he sometimes ignores the biological problems that medication can help.

For example, obsessions and anxieties often worsen with age; many high-functioning people in their late 20s or early 30s experience crippling anxiety that can sabotage their jobs. In my late 20s, my anxiety steadily worsened. I had panic attacks for no reason and woke up at night with my heart pounding.

I resisted the idea of taking medication until , when I read an article in the Archives of General Psychiatry by David Sheehan and his colleagues about endogenous anxiety. They discussed the use of tricyclic antidepressants for treating anxiety, and their list of symptoms described me. Antidepressants saved me; I would not have functioned well after age 30 without them. All my stress-related illnesses were cured; my debilitating headaches and colitis stopped. I became a reluctant believer in biochemistry.

Being a child of the s may have helped me, because the structured lifestyle taught me social rules. Since I do not have much innate social instinct to guide me, I had to rely on logic to learn how to behave. Fortunately, I was brought up in an environment where I was taught very clear standards of right and wrong. If he is brought up in an environment with no such opportunity, he may end up a disillusioned loner, mad at the world.

Exploring further, beyond our individual environments, in the last chapter of American Normal Osborne discusses what are called culture-bound syndromes. For example, why do American women get anorexia nervosa but women in indigenous cultures do not?

I am drawn to this concept. Extremes in biological variation can manifest themselves in different ways in different environments. Genetically, people can be either high or low anxiety; I feel that my own nervous system was designed to be vigilant for danger.

Depending upon the environment, an urban person with high anxiety might become a hypochondriac, but in a native society he might become a great lookout who could spot dangerous animals.

Perhaps the low-anxiety low-fear person might be a criminal in one environment and a courageous war hero in another. When they are startled by sudden noises or other surprises, they go into a trance, utter obscenities, and imitate any silly behavior they see or are asked to do—for example, hopping up and down like a grasshopper. They do not mind being latahs, and no attempt is made to cure them. The Dayaks live in a decorous culture, and playing games with latahs provides an outlet for their intense emotions.

The biology may be similar, but culture may determine how it is expressed. Recently, we have learned a lot about this kind of complex interaction between biology and environment. Abused children with a gene that directs a high level of expression for a particular brain enzyme known as monamine oxidase A MAOA were less likely to become antisocial and violent.

This suggests that both groups of children, if raised in a nurturing environment, would be likely to become good citizens, but if abused as children, those with one genotype were more likely to become good citizens than those with a different genotype. Both genes and the environment affect what we become.

It is equality that is [viewed as] normal, not genius. Osborne is a journalist who has written frequently for the New York Times and Slate. Many hidden Asperger people are functioning well in their careers; I have interacted with them professionally. I will always be a technical person who is more interested in science than in being social, and I have had to learn that I am from a land where people learn by logic and have few social instincts.

It is also likely that the most social people did not create the great culture of our civilization, such as literature, art, engineering, music, science, and mathematics. Genetics and biology provide the world with different kinds of minds.