It’s so easy now to read the article below and recognize the my daughter when she was young. But because she was on the high functioning end, for each point she only she slight symptoms. Add them all together though and you get the full picture of what was happening. Age, hormones and anorexia have added the intensity.What if I really understand, could I have been far more help and been able to side-step the anorexia. The 3 key diagnosis points at the bottom are so hauntingly true.
Symptoms of asperger’s in girls
1. Intense emotions: in particular separation anxiety, stress, anxiety or distress. This is coupled with an inability to be comforted by affection, distracted by a toy or change in situation or by discussion or conversation with an adult.
2. Sensory Sensitivities: there are most often sensory sensitivities involving vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch, balance and/or movement. This is known as sensory processing disorder (SPD).
3. Coping with Change: an inability to cope with change or a resistance to change.
4. Language skills: atypical or unusual traits in terms of the development of language skills.
5. Speech: may not typically be delayed, however there may be a loudness or softness in the voice, a monotone, and/or a foreign accent.
6. The social use of language: may be apparent in that the linguistic profile can often include semantic-pragmatic difficulties, so that the pedantic speech may be apparent and theït are noticable eccentricities with the “art of conversation”
7. Hyperlexia: may have taught herself to read before formal education. ASpiengirls often have an intense interest in reading and develop an advanced vocabulary.
8. Play: adults may notice the aspiengirl may not want to play with others or she may direct others play, rather than play in a reciprocal and co-operative manner. She may tell adults that she finds her peers play confusing, boring or stupid. She may prefer to play on her own, with her animals/toys or with boys.
9. Interests: an aspiengirls interests is usually different to other girls, in its intensity and quality, rather than the actual interest itself. Often, play can be observed as more of complex set-up’s, organizing, sorting, collect or grouping items rather than actually playing with them. She may be observed re-enacting a social scene form her own experiences at daycare.
10. Conventionality: Aspiengirls are born “öut of the box” and may be observed playing unconventionally. Some prefer Lego, the sandpit, trucks or cars. Many think in different or unconventional ways, asking continual and exhausting amount of questions pertaining to how things work, why things are the way they are, or why people do or say certain things.
11. Appearance and clothing: Young Aspiens may look more toyboyish in appearance or ultra princess-like, usually preferring clothing that is comfortable. She may want the tags cut out of her clothes and complain about the seams in her socks. She may prefer to wear the same outfit day in and day out. Some Aspiens experience gender confusion very early, expressing a desire to be the opposite gender.
12. Imagination: Aspiengirls often escaping into fiction, books, fantasy worlds, fairies, unicorns, ponies, pegasus, talking to imaginary friends or imaginary animals
13. Writing: Aspiengirls are often interested in writing and write their own stories on sticky notes, journals, fiction at an early age.
14. Nature and animals: Aspiengirls have an intense love for nature and animals, often preferring them over people. They have an empathic and intuitive realtionship and understanding of animals rather than people.
15. Gifts and Talents: Most, if not all Aspiengirls have gifts and talents ranging from singing (perfect pitch), art, (drawing, painting and other mediums), languages, acting and performing, dancing, writing, to name a few.
16. Determination: A strong will, determination, stubbornness and/or competitiveness
17. Facial expressions and emotions: A discrepancy between facial expression and feelings. For example, a “fake” smile, intense facial expressions or lack of, or innapropriate facial expression to the situation.
The key social diagnostic characteristics include:
A. PLAY: not motivated to play with female peers
B. IMITATION: using copying and mimicking to imitate and attempt to fit into the social world. This helps them cope with their social confusion.
C. INTEREST: a lack of interest in what their female peers are interested in or their typical play.