Asperger's in adults typically causes issues with communication, emotion regulation and interpretation, social interactions, and behavior. People who have Asperger's may also experience other conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or OCD.
What are the Symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome? Children with Asperger's Syndrome exhibit poor social interactions, obsessions, odd speech patterns, limited facial expressions and other peculiar mannerisms. They might engage in obsessive routines and show an unusual sensitivity to sensory stimuli.
Adults with Asperger's syndrome often have difficulties with initiating, maintaining and ending a conversation, and show a lack of reciprocity or conversational balance and a tendency to be pedantic with excessive and tedious detail (Attwood 2006).
The majority of children and adults with Asperger syndrome live well and are able to enjoy life and do many things that neurotypical people can do. Many people will have some level of difficulty with some daily tasks or interactions.
Individuals with ASDs commonly have a low frustration tolerance and significant irritability. They may report that they alternate from calm to extreme anger very quickly. There have been several studies that suggest individuals with ASDs have difficulty understanding and interpreting their own emotions.
The Asperger's mind enjoys and focuses on details, while the normal mind is more skilled at assembling whole concepts from details. Some people with Asperger's are visual thinkers and others are math, music, or number thinkers, but all think in specifics.
Reciprocal communication between couples is central to sustaining strong intimate relationships. Given that Asperger's Syndrome (AS) affects communication and social reciprocity, adults with this disorder are vulnerable to experiencing difficulties in relating to their “neurotypical” (NT) partner.
Meltdowns tend to be triggered by sensory overload, communication issues, and/or social situations. People who experience meltdowns tend to describe them as a complete loss of control which, once they're able to reflect, was found to be triggered by a relatively minor stimulus.
The partner with Aspergers can behave intrusively. The partner with Aspergers may “shut-down” if they don't know what to say or how to behave. They may disengage with partner or family indefinitely. The partner with Aspergers may have great difficulty cooperating with others or working as part of a team or unit.
Despite the problems in relationship skills experienced by many people with Asperger's syndrome, some adults can progress along the relationship continuum and are able to experience romantic and subsequently intimate personal relationships, even becoming a lifelong partner.
Some of the effects of unaddressed or untreated Asperger's syndrome may include: Social isolation. Difficulty making and keeping friends. Challenges in finding and maintaining steady employment.
When you're dating someone with Asperger's, there might be times when you feel a lack of emotional support or understanding from them. For example, your partner might not notice when you're feeling sad or not know how to respond when you tell them you are. This doesn't mean they don't care.
It doesn't actually worsen, but when a child with Aspergers (high functioning autism) reaches puberty, he/she can come under tremendous pressure and stress. So even though there is no actual cure for Aspergers, it can be made less noticeable if the Aspie is taught the correct ways to behave.
In many cases, people find it much harder to deal with stress if they have autism or Asperger's syndrome. Sensory problems can create many difficulties in coping with too much sensory stimulation.
Sometimes an autistic person may behave in a way that you wouldn't immediately link to sensory differences. A person who finds it difficult to process everyday sensory information can experience sensory overload, or information overload. Too much information can cause stress, anxiety, and possibly physical pain.
Dating can be hard for adults with High-Functioning Autism or Asperger's. Many autistic adults struggle with discerning if their romantic interest is being honest. When their partner is not open and vulnerable from the beginning, they assume that means they are being dishonest.
People with Asperger profiles absolutely do have feelings, although they may have difficulty identifying and discussing them. In fact, many feelings – such as fear, anger and joy – seem to be experienced more intensely by those with Asperger profiles than by average people.
Nevertheless, one clinical study with slightly more precise information on IQ in ASD reported that 23% of the participants had an IQ < 85, while 45% had an average IQ, and 32% had an IQ above average (10).
Meltdowns can look like any of these actions: withdrawal (where the person zones out, stares into space, and/or has body parts do repetitive movements) or outward distress (crying uncontrollably, screaming, stomping, curling up into a ball, growling, etc.).