Unforgiving - Asperger's

Margaret Jean Adam and her daughter Beverley were our speakers on Jan 28

 

In Unforgiving, Margaret Adam's autobiography she weaves the memoir of an Asperger teen growing up in an era when the socially challenged condition is unheard of, sexual abuse is never mentioned, and a woman's best career choice is marriage. A revealing exploration of the isolation of a girl on the brink of womanhood, Unforgiving exposes Margaret Jean's fears, relives her blunders and celebrates her surprising achievements. How she responds to these events will change her life forever.

 

Asperger’s came to be known as such this way:  In 1944, in Austria, a paediatrician detected some odd behaviour in four of his young patients.  They did not socialize well with the other children.  Their non-verbal communication skills were virtually non-existent.  When they talked?  Their language was stilted or formal.  And they seemed to each have a favorite topic which was of intense interest to them, and therefore dominant in their conversations.  And finally, they seemed to have little or no empathy with the other children.

 

These findings were published, but only in Germany.  The doctor’s name was Dr. Hans Asperger.

 

It wasn’t until 1981 when a British physician and psychiatrist, a Dr. Lorna Wing, published several case studies of her own, that Asperger’s was introduced to the world.  Dr. Wing’s case studies exhibited similar symptoms as the children the Austrian doctor had observed, and she referred to them as having “Asperger’s Syndrome”.

 

Her studies were widely read and published, and her 1996 study is considered by some to be the definitive work on Asperger’s.

In 1992 the World Health Organization added Asperger’s to its list of diseases and disorders.  In 1994, The American Psychiatric Association added it to their manual of Mental Disorders.

 

But today, researchers such as Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University and Dr. Jim Tanaka of UVic emphasize that Asperger’s is not so much a disorder, disability or disease; It is more a difference in how the brain processes information.

 

The exact cause is unknown. Although research suggests the likelihood of a genetic basis, there is no known genetic cause. There is no single treatment, intervention is aimed at improving symptoms and function. The mainstay of management is behavioral therapy, focusing on specific deficits to address poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines, and physical clumsiness. Most children improve as they mature to adulthood, but social and communication difficulties may persist.