Det övergripande syftet med denna studie är att ta en närmare titt på hur personer diagnostiserade med Aspergers syndrom upplever att ens sociala relationer fungerar i vardagen utifrån deras eget perspektiv. Studien utgår ifrån material som hämtats in ifrån diverse bloggar respektive forum ute på internet. Som teoretisk bakgrund till forskningen används stämplingsteori samt Erving Goffmans stigma-teori. Analysmetoden som används är Grounded Theory, där det insamlade internet-materialet kodas för att sedan delas upp i olika kategorier. Utmärkande kategorier i studien är bland annat:Känslan av att vara missförstådd, frustration över att missuppfattas samt även depression. Studien diskuterar även olika strategier som skapats för att, ifrån samhällets sida, förebygga eventuella sociala problem innan dessa uppstår. Jag kommer även ta en titt på de positiva aspekterna av diagnosen.

Autism spectrum conditions are generally perceived to affect males, with the majority of studies quoting the ratio of four males being diagnosed with autism for each female. The potential implications of this for women on the spectrum or seeking a diagnosis are wide-ranging, including healthcare professionals’ disbelief in autism in women leading to difficulties obtaining a diagnosis and misdiagnosis of other mental health conditions. In this study, a grounded theory methodology was applied to data from fifteen online blogs to explore the experiences of adult women on the autism spectrum of diagnosis of autism, and of mental health issues. The study yielded two grounded theory models: of diagnosis of autism and of mental health, which are linked through misdiagnosis of and comorbid mental health conditions. The findings suggest that there is a need for clinicians to be aware of the unique presentation of autism in women, and of the additional mental health issues which women with autism commonly experience. Additionally, targeted autism-specific interventions may be required, focussing on the core difficulties of autism as opposed to the resultant emotional and mental health difficulties.

The diploma thesis deals with the relationship to reading in selected people with Asperger's syndrome. The aim of the work is to examine the individual reading experience of selected people with Asperger's syndrome. The first chapter of the theoretical part of the thesis characterizes autism, the triad of autism, psychological theories of autism and Asperger's syndrome. The second chapter describes reading, the function of literature, the reading interest and the characteristics of reading in people on the spectrum of Autism. The practical part of the work is based on semi-structured interviews with ten people with Asperger's syndrome. Based on the interviews, brief case studies are created. Subsequently, the interviews are analyzed and research questions are answered.

Individuals diagnosed with Asperger‟s Syndrome (AS) have marked impairments in social interaction, including difficulty expressing and perceiving thoughts, emotions, and intentions. This deficit may be due in part to a delayed or underdeveloped Theory of Mind (ToM). The previous research investigating ToM in individuals with AS has been inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to compare three Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks, presented via three different modalities, to evaluate the recognition of complex emotions and mental states in adolescents with AS compared to typically developing adolescents. Participants in this study included twenty adolescents: 10 adolescents with AS and 10 typically developing adolescents matched by age and gender. Participants were administered three ToM tasks differing in mode of stimuli presentation: a visual mentalizing (VM) task; an auditory mentalizing (AM) task; and, a visual+auditory mentalizing (VAM) task. . Results were analyzed utilizing a factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA). No significant difference was found between the groups overall, or between the groups by task. A pairwise analysis of the data revealed non-significant differences between visual only (VM) compared to auditory only (AM) presentation of stimuli; however significant differences were found between visual only (VM) stimuli compared to the combination of visual + auditory (VAM) stimuli, and between auditory only (AM) stimuli compared to the combination of visual + auditory (VAM) stimuli. These results indicated that the recognition of complex emotions and mental states increased when the stimuli were presented through the combined visual and auditory channels. Clinical implications of these findings were discussed. Recommendations were made for future research investigating ToM in individuals with AS.

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The ability to generate inferences is a skill that is necessary to fully comprehend a text and understand the intentions, behaviors, and emotions of a conversational partner. Individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) have been shown to demonstrate significant difficulty in inference generation in both social contexts and in reading comprehension. Although, the reciprocity of the four components of literacy (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) has been established in the literature (Bradley & Bryant, 1983; Catts & Kamhi, 2005; Englert & Thomas, 1987; Gillon & Dodd, 1995; Hiebert, 1980; Kroll, 1981; Ruddell & Ruddell, 1994); the relationship between inference generation in reading and social inference generation is not well understood. The present study investigated the efficacy of a language-focused reading inference strategy intervention (ACT & Check Strategy) on the general reading comprehension, inference generation in reading, social inference, and metacognitive ability of adults with AS. Twenty-five adults with AS were randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group. The treatment group participants were divided into groups of 3-4 based on their availability and preferred location for treatment resulting in a total of 4 groups. Each group met in one-hour sessions twice a week for a total of six weeks. When controlling for pretest scores, the treatment group was found to perform significantly better on one measure of inference generation in reading and metacognitive ability compared to the control group. Significant differences between groups were not found in two measures of inference generation in reading comprehension or social inference ability.

This qualitative research study investigated the self-determination of community college students diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome (AS). Varying levels of self-determination were displayed within each of the five participants. However, despite the unique characteristics and experiences of the participants, five major and two minor themes related to the collegial experiences of these students were revealed. The major themes highlighted were that community college students with AS (a) enjoyed academic success, (b) found disability services and accommodations important, (c) chose majors based on personal interests, (d) relied on family members for support, and (e) had difficulty developing social connections on campus. The minor themes related to the particular importance of faculty and attendance at a community college to some of the students.

Recognizing emotion from facial expressions is an essential skill for effective social functioning and establishing interpersonal relationships. Asperger's Disorder (AD) and Social Phobia (SP) are two clinical populations showing impairment in social skill and perhaps emotion recognition. Objectives: The primary objectives were to determine the uniqueness of facial emotion recognition abilities between children with AD and SP relative to typically developing children (TD) and to examine the role of expression intensity in determining recognition of facial affect. Method: Fifty-seven children (19 AD, 17 SP, and 21 TD) aged 7-13 years participated in the study. Reaction times and accuracy were measured as children identified neutral faces and faces displaying anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness at two different intensity levels. Results: Mixed model ANOVAs with group and emotion type revealed that all children responded faster and more accurately to expressions of happiness, but there were no other group differences. Additional analyses indicated that intensity of the displayed emotion influenced facial affect detection ability for several basic emotions (happiness, fear, and anger). Across groups, there was no pattern of specific misidentification of emotion (e.g., children did not consistently misidentify one emotion, such as disgust, for a different emotion, such as anger.) Finally, facial affect recognition abilities were not associated with behavioral ratings of overall anxiety or social skills effectiveness in structured role play interactions. Conclusions: Distinct facial affect recognition deficits in the clinical groups emerge when the intensity of the emotion expression is considered. Implications for using behavioral assessments to delineate the relationship between facial affect recognition abilities and social functioning among clinical populations are discussed.

Presently, the DSM is undergoing revision in anticipation of the publication of the DSM-5 in 2013 (APA, 2010a). The Neurodevelopmental Disorders DSM-5 workgroup has suggested that Asperger’s Disorder (AS) and Autistic Disorder (AD) be subsumed into a new, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis (APA, 2010b). This project reviews researcher methodologies for the description, study inclusion/exclusion, and assessment of individuals with AS and AD in 100 highly cited articles from high-impact journals. Results demonstrate that researchers’ methodologies are highly variable. Additionally, all researchers do not use the “gold standard” combination of the ADOS and the ADI-R for assessing AS and AD. The use of inconsistent and potentially inappropriate methodologies in the literature suggests it may be preemptive to base the proposed DSM-5 revision on the incomparable results in the research.

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