Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism: Psychiatric Implications
This paper examines the psychiatric and psychosocial implications of Asperger Syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism, beginning with the diagnostic shift introduced by the DSM-5, which merged these conditions under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder. The paper explores how idiosyncratic interests and impaired social interaction complicate both individual and group treatment, reviews evidence-based interventions including the Positive Peer Culture model, and considers comorbid conditions such as depression and ADHD that disproportionately affect high-functioning patients. Assessment tools, medication considerations, and the long-term costs of inadequate diagnosis are also addressed. The paper concludes that timely, comprehensive, and professionally executed assessments and treatments are essential to improving quality of life for individuals across the autism spectrum.
- Defining Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism: DSM-5 merger, diagnostic distinctions, idiosyncratic interests
- Psychiatric and Psychosocial Challenges in Treatment: Individual and group treatment approaches, Positive Peer Culture model
- Social Interaction Deficits and Anxiety: Impaired dyadic interaction, anxiety, social isolation
- Comorbid Conditions: Depression, ADHD, and Related Disorders: Depression, ADHD prevalence, stimulant medication concerns
- Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Costs: PAM model, cost consequences, medication considerations
- Conclusion: Call for timely, comprehensive diagnosis and treatment
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What makes this paper effective
- Integrates multiple peer-reviewed sources to support each claim, giving the argument an evidence-based foundation across diagnostic, psychosocial, and treatment dimensions.
- Moves logically from definitional questions (how AS differs from autism) to practical concerns (assessment tools, medication costs, quality of life), creating a coherent analytical arc.
- Uses direct quotations strategically to anchor key assertions, such as the impact of depression and the daily experience of students with AS.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper models effective synthesis of secondary sources: rather than simply summarizing each study in turn, it uses findings from multiple authors to build a cumulative argument about the complexity of diagnosing and treating AS and high-functioning autism. Transitional framing between sources keeps the argument continuous rather than list-like.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a definitional and diagnostic overview, then narrows to treatment challenges posed by idiosyncratic patient interests. It broadens outward to consider psychosocial impairments, comorbid psychiatric conditions, assessment models, and cost consequences, before closing with a call for comprehensive, timely intervention. Each section builds on the previous, moving from "what is it?" to "how does it affect patients?" to "how should it be addressed?"
Defining Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism
Asperger Syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism are oftentimes considered the same condition — or at least indistinguishable from each other — and the differences between the two are relatively minor. According to WebMD (Autism, 2015), the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published in 2013, now lists Asperger's and autistic disorder as a single condition for diagnostic purposes, whereas previously they were listed separately. The new unified condition is known as autism spectrum disorder. Some experts believe the two should still be classified separately; Moran (2014) describes Asperger's disorder as a close relative of autism that can be distinguished by limited social interaction that does not coincide with a significant delay in acquiring language skills, as is normally found with autism. Moran further describes Asperger's as distinctive from autism in its restrictive and highly idiosyncratic patient interests.
One patient in the Moran study illustrates just how consuming the psychiatric and psychosocial influences on patients with AS can be. The patient was described as being so focused on a Japanese card game that it became totally absorbing, even to the "exclusion of all other age-appropriate attachments or interests" (p. 3). Such behavior can make Asperger's very difficult to treat. For example, the question arises of how to effectively and efficiently treat a group of patients if each happens to have different idiosyncratic or obsessive interests. The implication is that patients with AS may not be effectively treated in a group setting — though that does not necessarily hold true in every case.
References
Autism (2015). WebMD. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/autism/page8_em.html
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Longhurst, J., Richards, D., Copenhaver, J., & Morrow, D. (2010). "Outside In" group treatment of youth with Asperger's. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 19(3), 40–44.
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Moran, M. (2014). Asperger's may be answer to diagnostic mysteries. Clinical and Research News, American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://pschnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/pn.41.19.0021
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Stanners, M. N., Barton, C. A., Shakib, S., & Winefield, H. R. (2014). Depression diagnosis and treatment amongst multimorbid patients: A thematic analysis. BMC Family Practice, 15(1), 2–12.
Tebartz van Elst, L., Pick, M., Biscaldi, M., Fangmeier, T., & Riedel, A. (2013). High-functioning autism spectrum disorder as a basic disorder in adult psychiatry and psychotherapy: Psychopathological presentation, clinical relevance and therapeutic concepts. European Archives of Psychiatry & Clinical Neuroscience, 263, 189–196.
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