Sympathize For Those Who Can't

Asperger's syndrome: The highest functioning end of autism- it is a neurological developmental disorder which impairs the patient from understanding emotions of others.

Imagine being unable to understand how the people around you are feeling.
Imagine not being able to relate to a person on any emotional level.

Reading people's non-verbal signals is a social trait many of us take for granted. Our body language reflects how we are feeling and we assume that individuals around us can pick up on these unspoken vibes.

A person with Asperger's has difficulty understanding these signals. A person might wave their arms in distress and they would not understand what the gesture means. Smiles, tears and hand gestures are all things that are incomprehensible to a person with AS.

This does not mean that persons diagnosed with Aspergers don't feel. They feel the same amount of emotion as any other human being. The only difference is that they cannot feel sympathy or empathy for someone because they do not understand other people's emotional states.

People who have been diagnosed with AS have described it to be somewhat of a social dyslexia.

Eye contact, multitasking and having conversations are some of the few things that would be extremely difficult for a person with AS. This social impairment makes it exceptionally hard to form relationships.

As a child, the person would prefer to play by themselves instead of interacting with other children. In adolescence the person might attempt to socialize but usually finds it exceedingly difficult to understand the reactions and facial expressions of the person being spoken to. The person either resorts to isolation once more or having a one-sided conversation without interpreting the other person's views.

Some people who have been diagnosed are aided with pocket-sized drawings of emotions with notes on how to respond. This helps them deduce the way a person is feeling and eases the challenge of reacting appropriately.

There is a little girl in my school, aged 12, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. She comes across as a little odd to many people who don't understand that she has a developmental disorder.
On most occasions it almost sounds like her speech has been scripted; as if she has spent hours planning out how a conversation should go, and if you catch her off guard with a different response; she walks away.

Bless her little heart though she continues to try to make friends.


To every person who knows a friend, a family member or an acquaintance with AS
And to all those people who don't

Sympathise for those who can't.


Signed,