Developmental Milestones for Kids With Asperger's Syndrome

How Asperger's Affects Development

• Asperger̵7;s syndrome, like other disorders on the autism spectrum, affects how the brain processes information. Children with the disorder can sometimes exhibit more profound autistic symptoms, but the most common characteristics of Asperger̵7;s syndrome are impaired social skills, obsessive interests and repetitive behavior. Sometimes a child with Asperger̵7;s syndrome will achieve normalcy in some areas -- like physical coordination -- although their social development will always be different from peers without Asperger̵7;s.

Communication Milestones

• Most children who have Asperger̵7;s syndrome don̵7;t have difficulty learning to speak, but their first words may be unusual. Rather than ̶0;mama̶1; or ̶0;dada,̶1; they may start with more complex words. As the child grows, he may actually outpace other children of his age in terms of vocabulary. He may also take longer to reach milestones in terms of non-verbal communication, if he reaches them at all. Many people with Asperger's struggle to correctly interpret and use cues like eye contact and facial expressions. This struggle often continues into adulthood.

Emotional Milestones

• Autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger̵7;s syndrome affect how the brain processes information. As a result, many children with this disorder may have difficulty empathizing with others̵7; feelings or expressing their own. Such milestones can be achieved, but often the child is still only aware of other̵7;s emotions on a purely intellectual level and may never truly learn to naturally empathize with others. His sensitivity to outside stimuli can also hinder emotional development. Certain sensations, such as the feeling of a fabric, or sudden loud noises or bright flashes can trigger anxiety or emotional outbursts.

Social Milestones

• Of all the symptoms of Asperger̵7;s syndrome, impaired social development is the most common. Children with Asperger̵7;s often have difficulty forming and maintaining friendships. For example, other children may have difficulty coping with his inflexible need for repetition or insistence on rigid routines or rules. His obsession with a given topic may also interfere with his ability to make friends. However, children with Asperger's can learn appropriate social behaviors. It often takes longer for them to master social skills because learning them is more a matter of rote mastery than intuitive or natural development for a child with Asperger's.