An invitation into the mind of Christopher John Francis Boone

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An invitation into the mind of Christopher John
Francis Boone

• Aspergers Syndrome
• An Overview

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Aspergers Syndrome

• Aspergers Syndrome is one of the conditions in a
  group of disabilities labeled Autism Spectrum
  Disorders.
• It is the mildest form of Autism.
• People with Aspergers have many strengths
  parents and teachers are often blinded by these
  strengths, not realizing that the person has a
  disability despite excellent skills in one or
  more areas.

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Areas of Strength

• Average to superior intellectual ability
• Impressive vocabulary and good command of
  language
• Highly advanced visual/spatial skills, such as
  map reading, completing puzzles, etc.
• Excellent rote memorization skills and
  mathematical skills early ability to read
• Interest in computers and mechanical devices

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Areas of Difficulty

• Social Communication The technical word for this
  is pragmatics. People with Aspergers can speak
  fluently, but they often do not use language for
  social reasons. They may talk in depth about a
  topic in which they are interested. Often these
  topics are something they seem fixated on or
  perseverate on.

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Areas of Difficulty

• People with Aspergers have trouble understanding
  non-literal language.
• They also have great difficulty with humor.
• Almost all persons with Aspergers fail to read
  non-verbal communication.

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Areas of Difficulty

• Uncommon and Restrictive Interests Children with
  Aspergers often do not play with toys and games
  the way other children do. Their interests are
  often considered peculiar and limited.
• Often they become fixated on topics like weather,
  specific historical events, computers or
  machines, Pokeman or, say, Thomas The Tank
  Engine.

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Areas of Difficulty

• As they get older, people with Aspergers will
  talk constantly about their topics of interest
  without wanting, needing or listening to feedback
  from the person to whom they are speaking.
• They experience extreme anxiety if they cannot
  engage in such conversations, if routines are
  broken or if objects are misplaced.
• They have a strong need for sameness.

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Areas of Difficulty

• Theory of Mind This is the ability to understand
  another persons point of view or take his
  perspective. In other words, the ability to step
  into someone elses shoes. Without this ability,
  it is almost impossible to experience empathy, to
  see the link between a persons actions and his
  feelings or thought.
• People with Aspergers do not have this ability,
  which often gets them into trouble with teachers,
  parents, peers or co-workers.

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Areas of Difficulty

• Executive Functioning This is the ability to
  keep ones mind on the task at hand in order to
  accomplish it. To do this, one must stay focused
  and not become distracted. Instrument in this is
  the ability to problem solve or switch gears in
  the middle of a situation.
• People with Aspergers Syndrome have great
  difficulty with this, which severely affects
  their lives both in school and at home and work.
• Often this inability causes great stress, or what
  some would call a meltdown.

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Areas of Difficulty

• Every person learns about his or her world
  through the use of the senses people with
  Aspergers Syndrome often have trouble making
  sense of stimuli they receive through the senses
  of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste.
• There are also two extra senses that affect us
  all the proprioceptive and vestibular senses.

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Areas of Difficulty

• Some people with Aspergers are bombarded with
  stimuli and cannot filter out what is not
  important. Other people do not receive enough
  input, and show strange behaviours as they try to
  get the information that their senses are picking
  up.
• Behaviours that look strange to outsiders, like
  the flapping of hands and arms, rocking,
  excessive movement, the covering of the ears with
  the hands and making noises, are an attempt on
  the part of the person with Aspergers to help
  figure out what is happening around him.