Quote:
Originally Posted by nomadking
My understanding of autism is that sufferers can become agitated if their routine or some other thing is disrupted, but they don't tend to seek out the attention of other people, as the offender did in this case. That is what makes me suspicious of a diagnosis of Asperger's.
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I've come across many autism sufferers and, as stated in my last post, the range of expression of the condition is huge and the behaviour swings can be sudden and pronounced. I know a little autistic lad who for years was so badly affected by his obssession with routine that he wouldn't get on the school bus without a certain routine first and would become extremely agitated if any part of the routine was out of place. With a lot of help, he's now overcome that impediment. On the other hand I've met far more autistic children who don't suffer in that manner and who appreciate routine but are not fixated by it. There are children with autism related diagnoses who live almost in a world of their own yet I've come across others for whom the physical contact/social etiquette aspects of the condition are minimal by comparison.
I should add that, in my experience, diagnoses of Aspergers and autism are not easily obtainable and whilst the terms may be casually bandied around in newspapers and discussions, that's not the same as having a diagnosis. The whole subject is extremely complex and if this lad has a diagnosis it will be documented and will have come about after a whole series of tests and observations by teams of experts in various fields over a good period of time.