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The Best Asperger's Fact Sheet I've Come Across Thus Far

I came across an Asperger's fact sheet the other day while on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) website. The fact sheet is excellent, and is one of the best I've come across thus far.

The following is extracted from this page on the CBC website:

* Asperger Syndrome is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and was first included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (American Psychiatric Association) under the general category of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs) in 1994. In Vienna, pediatrician Hans Asperger wrote about this cluster of characteristics as early as 1944.
* Although research on the prevalence rate for Asperger Syndrome is ongoing, it is thought that as many as 60 individuals per 10,000 have some form of an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Based on current population statistics for Ontario, this prevalence rate translates to 74,356 individuals in Ontario living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
* Asperger Syndrome traits may make it difficult for children to function well in school and for adults to find and keep employment.
* Many individuals with Asperger Syndrome exhibit extensive knowledge of a specific interest and therefore are capable of major accomplishments.
* Although Asperger Syndrome can be first detected in childhood, many individuals are not diagnosed until well into adolescence or adulthood.
* The cause of Asperger Syndrome is not yet established, but a leading theory at this time points to genetic causes. Many individuals diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome identify similar traits in their family members.
* Treatments for people with Asperger Syndrome may include counselling, psycho-education, social skills training, medication, family intervention, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, special diets, and others.
* Without diagnosis, support and intervention, children, adults and their families struggle to understand their puzzling profile of strengths and deficits.

Common Traits of Individuals with Asperger Syndrome

Social/Communication Traits:

* Despite a desire for friends, difficulty in initiating or maintaining close relationships
* Problems reading non-verbal or social cues or understanding/using social rules
* Very socially naïve and as a result are often taken advantage of, rejected, or bullied
* Social contact may be directed by them (e.g. play is “on their terms” or not at all)
* Poor (or intense) eye contact, atypical use of gestures and flat or inappropriate facial expressions
* One-sided conversations, and little ability for “small talk”
* May appear overly shy or overly extroverted, but inappropriately so
* Unaware of others’ thoughts, feelings or perceptions resulting in inadvertently appearing rude or inconsiderate
* Literal interpretation of communication from others
* Avoidant of social contact or events, and may experience heightened anxiety in social situations
* Language is learned and used in "chunks" (e.g., phrases, dialogue from TV shows, etc.)
* Communication is used for delivering information or requesting, not as a way of interacting socially

Behavioural Traits:

* May respond poorly to changes, sensory stimuli, transitions, lack of structure, and restrictions
* Repetitive movements (e.g., jumping, rocking, pacing) and speech (i.e., talking about favourite topics, interest)
* Rigid, inflexible and rule-bound behaviour
* Inappropriate behaviour given the social situation (e.g., speaking too loud in place of worship)
* Exaggerated emotional response to situations (e.g., tantrums when asked to something that they don’t want to do)
* Superior ability to focus on favourite activity or area of interest (e.g., spends hours mastering video game to the exclusion of other pastimes)

Cognitive Traits:

* Average to superior intelligence
* Detail oriented approach to tasks which may result in missing the “bigger picture”
* May have associated learning disabilities (e.g., non-verbal learning disability)
* Often have high verbal scores in a cognitive assessment, and low performance scores
* Difficulty seeing “parts-to-whole” and “whole-to-parts” relationships
* Prefer technical/factual information over abstract

Associated Challenges:

* Anxiety and depression
* Attentional difficulties (e.g., shifting attention; attending to unimportant stimuli)
* Tics or Tourette Syndrome
* Gross and fine motor deficits
* Poor organizational skills (e.g., time management and planning, partializing tasks)

 

From now on, whenever people ask about Asperger's, I will show them this fact-sheet.

20 Things Worth Knowing About Beer

Man I love The Oatmeal... great little fact sheet about beer with as always beautiful illustrations.

Thanks

The Amazing World of Coca Cola

One of the largest corporations on the planet, not to mention the world's largest beverage company, Coca-Cola is a brand unto itself. Selling one of the most popular drinks ever, Coca-Cola could easily rest of its laurels, but the company is constantly evolving and transforming itself. MORE here

World's Oldest ANIMALS...

Jonathan the tortoise and Mischief the cat may have hit the headlines for their longevity, but there are plenty of other creatures giving them a run for their money in the age stakes.

This photo of a tortoise was taken on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. The tortoise, named Jonathan, still lives there today. He may be the world’s oldest living animal.

A spokesman for the island’s tourist board said Jonathan is owned by the St Helena government and lives in the specially built plantation on the governor’s land.

He said: “Jonathan is the sole survivor of three tortoises that arrived on St Helena Island in 1882.

“He was already mature when he arrived and was at least 50-years-old.

“Therefore his minimum age is 176-years-old. He is the oldest inhabitant on St Helena and is claimed to be the oldest living tortoise in the world.

Icelandic scientists have found a 400-year-old clam, nearly twice as old as any other animal in history.
The clam — a qahog or, technically, Arctica islandica — spent those centuries in the frigid Atlantic waters off Iceland’s north coast.

As the press release notes, “When this animal was a juvenile, King James I replaced Queen Elizabeth I as English monarch, Shakespeare was writing his greatest plays Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth and Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for espousing the view that the Sun rather than the Earth was the centre of the universe.”

Rabbit: Fourteen-year-old George, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts in the US, was recognised as the oldest rabbit in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records earlier this year.

The average life expectancy of a rabbit is six to eight years, making George an estimated 160 years old in human terms. His owners met at college and fed their pet Doritos.

Cat: Spike, a ginger and white tom, died two months after his 31st birthday in July 2001 – making him the world’s oldest cat.

He was bought for two shillings and sixpence in London’s Brick Lane market in 1970 and nearly died at the age of 19 when he was attacked by a dog.

Spike’s owners, from Bridport in Devon, used to put aloe vera gel into his cat food.

Spider: The world’s oldest spider is thought to have been a female from the Theraphosidae family, which lived up to the age of 28. The bird-eating arachnid was captured in Mexico in 1935.

Dog: At 29, black Labrador Bella was thought to be the oldest dog in the UK until her death in September.
She was bought from an RSPCA sanctuary 26 years ago and lived out her long life in Derbyshire.

Guinea Pig: The average age for a guinea pig may be between five and eight years, but the official record is 14 years and 10 and a half months.

Monkey: Bueno, a black spider monkey, died in 2005 at the age of 53 and was thought to be the world’s eldest monkey.

She lived a “stress-free” life at the Japan Monkey Centre in Aichi, 150 miles west of Tokyo. The average black spider monkey lives for between 30 and 33 years.

Goldfish: Tish beat all the records by living to a ripe old age of 43 after being won a funfair in Doncaster in 1956.

As he aged, his scales faded from orange to silver but his owner Hilda Hand said the key to his longevity was not feeding him too much and placing him in the sun every now and then.

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Update: Murtaza Khawar Murder Case

Slow progress on the case. About a month or so back the police was trying to arrest Saira Shafeeq (Murtaza's wife) for conspiracy to murder and to gather more evidence for the case. She filed for pre-arrest bail and just last week after several failed hearings, her bail was canceled by the judge on the grounds that she was involved in his murder and the police must arrest her and continue investigating.

Yes, a tiny step forward. But we are still waiting for the police to actually arrest her. So far no progress. Lets see how long we have to wait for this.

Meanwhile, the case file still hasn't been filed in court because the police is still waiting for the final lab report to come. Imagine that, its been two months and a lab report explaining cause of death hasn't been finalized. Again we wait.

Lupe Fiasco on Wikipedia Facts