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Patrick Mckee

Jennifer Rodrick

English 115

3 December 2018

Asperger’s Syndrome and Conformity

In society we all conform and adapt based on our surroundings, and Asperger Syndrome

individuals also conform to their space too. Asperger Syndrome, defined by the DSM-V, which is

a book by the American psychiatric Association, states that; Asperger’s syndrome is a disorder

that is a part of the autism spectrum disorder group. The disorder is marked by social interaction

and verbal difficulties, as well as difficulties with nonverbal communication. Repetitive and

restrictive patterns are often seen in the behavior of those who suffer from Asperger’s.

Asperger’s struggle with things as they have a hard time understanding people, and emotions.

With this in mind, Asperger individuals become more performative from positive support in their

space, which results in a confidence boost, higher self-esteem, and social skills which is vital in

interactions between people.

Asperger individuals need support in their space in order to strengthen their social skills.

Schools can be the perfect breeding ground to better communication skills for people. Most

people are natural adept at the skill, and communication is necessary for the interactions with

other people. Psychologist have noted that Asperger Syndrome individuals benefit from

programs to help them gain the skills in daily interactions. It is critical that they learn the skills as

they go onto adult hood. An article called, “The Needs of College Students with Autism

Spectrum Disorders and Asperger's Syndrome,” by Jennifer A. Cullen, a researcher at Widener

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University: said, “As students were asked to identify their social needs, the responses and

discussions related to social needs expanded to include discussion of some elements related to

daily living skills and academic needs; therefore, a general category of Needs Related to College

emerged. The main category of Needs Related to College further diverged into four

subcategories: Social Needs, Academic Needs, Daily Living Needs, and How Those Needs Are

Met.”. (Cullen). The main goal of this research article was to see if Asperger college students

were receiving enough support, and learn the possible ways that the schools can support people

with Asperger Syndrome. The researcher created four subclasses in order to see if the entire

group of participants are getting enough help. The first subclass addressed the social needs of the

participants. Those include interactions with other students and staff. The participants were

mixed as some were trying to understand and fit in with people while others feel they are fine

being the way they are. The second subclass focuses on Academic needs, mostly referring to

getting help with group assignments and understand certain things, like metaphors or abstract

ideas. The third subclass focuses on daily living needs, which address on how each of them live

and how each environment encourages stronger communications. Most reported to live at home,

on campus in the dorms, and renting out apartments. The final subclass How are the needs being

met, focused on how each different factor to persons life influences. The influences come from

friends, family, and school. These positive spaces promote performative growth in

communication skills for the people as well as preparing them for the future.

Unfortunately, Asperger adolescents suffer from a wide range of emotions like depression

and anxiety, but they can improve self-esteem through positive support in their space. Depression

is bad for anyone and it is harder for Asperger Syndrome individuals to express their emotions

fully. Asperger Syndrome adolescents need the support, since unlike people without Asperger’s
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syndrome, they can be negatively impacted by accusations and bullying. According to one

researcher Kristin Anderson, researcher at the University of Colorado, author of, “Asperger's

Syndrome in General Elementary Education: Problems, Resources, and Improvement for All”,

said, “Also, informing all students that the classroom is a safe place where bullying does not

exist and all students’ ideas are valued equally, helps set the tone for a successful year. Often

times changes in schedule and routine will throw off a student with AS, so informing students of

changes well in advance will help them prepare for the modifications. With the new expansion of

technology into many classrooms, teachers are better prepared to differentiate instruction for

their students. Since students with AS often respond well to visuals, graphics, and models,

computers allow students to get these necessary accommodations.”. (Anderson). This article was

focusing on the advancements that are currently helping and more ways we can support

individuals with Asperger Syndrome in the community which gives the person a better chance at

succeeding. It talks about keeping the individuals away from bullies which can have a disastrous

effect on their self-esteem. The article also talked about social support, teach people in general

on ways to communicate with each other and be friendly. It mentions that schools are making it

easier to keep the individuals safe from harm from other individuals. In the same topic, schools

are giving one on one aides to assist the person with Asperger Syndrome. The other topic in the

article talks about school support resources, which include therapy and providing a group of

people to create a positive impact on the individual with Asperger Syndrome. The last main topic

of support comes in the form of family. It mentions way that the family can support and

influence people by sending them to out of school groups with similar issues. This create a space

that has a positive growth for the Asperger individuals by providing a place that they can get
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support to develop strong self-esteem. This is performative for them as self-esteem will ward of

depression and other negative consequences, like poor school performance, from occurring.

Confidence is an important key in everyone’s decision making meaning it gives us

courage to do things, like being able to project more in a job interview. Asperger Syndrome

people need confidence too, as it helps them learn and explore the mysterious emotions that this

world contains. These mysterious emotions can include, but not limited too; romantic feelings, or

self-confidence. According to researcher Jonathon Vincent, a researcher of autism at York St

John University, author of, “Transition from secondary to higher education: an evaluation of a

pre-entry transition programme for students on the autistic spectrum.”, said, “One practitioner

noted, I think quite often with the parents, it’s a massive transition for them because they are

letting go of the person they have kind of been looking after for the last eighteen or maybe even

more years...and so if we are able to give them some confidence then that feeds back to the

students. A clear relationship is identified between how the parents feel about the transition

process and its impact on the students” and, “any parents also reported feeling relieved that they

could see their son or daughter engaging in activities, growing in confidence and feeling happy

as the statements above suggest.”. (Vincent). The research in this article was done to determine

what is the most effective way to meet each students’ transitions needs as the transition into

school and also the effective programs in helping people with Asperger Syndrome. The article

took in different prospective, from teachers, to students, and to the parents. The teachers talked

about teaching social skills and making activities that the person with Asperger Syndrome can

participate in. The teachers also mentioned that they have made a way for everyone to talk to

each other and gain new prospective on different topics, like understanding how people behave

in social situations. The students with Asperger Syndrome talked about wanting to belong and
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also being able to understand other people’s emotions. The parents addressed the real challenges

that their children will face when they go off too higher education. The findings of the research

indicated that programs that help develop relationships and social skills gave the individuals

more confidence in their abilities to perform well in upper education. Activities including life

building and learning how to survive by yourself our indicated to be important skills. The article

shows that these programs and creating a positive space to help the people with Asperger

Syndrome conform to society’s needs. This in turn gives the Asperger’s syndrome individuals a

massive boost in confidence.

Asperger Syndrome has been removed from the DSM-V handbook in 2016, but now they

classify it on the high end of the autism spectrum. The picture from, Applied Behavioral

Analysis, reflects how Asperger Syndrome correlates to autism and its difficulty that inflicts

upon people, like educational difficulty. The good news is these people are capable of learning

the skills needed. The articles posted previously shows the possible mediums in which they can

become performative and conform to society. The second image above details the spectrum

leading down to autism. The image shows that Asperger Syndrome is on the high end of the

spectrum, even though I have a mixture of both Asperger’s and Autism, this does make sense. In
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the psychologist’s observations notes, it details my refusal to give eye contact, my repetitive

movements, walking in circles being another one. If it was not for my parents and the aggressive

behavioral therapy done on me, I would have not been able to be as performative as I am today.

Overall, Asperger Syndrome people, have a lot of support, especially from the schools

and family, which in turn leads to a greater way of life for them. Support groups and additional

resources, like life improving workshops, need to continue to grow, as it builds confidence, self-

esteem and communication in the Asperger Syndrome individual. This helps them become

performative by giving them the artistic tools to life, and with these tools they can create a

masterpiece in this world.

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Work Cited:

Anderson, Kristin. “Asperger's Syndrome in General Elementary Education: Problems,

Resources, and Improvement for All.” CU Scholar, 28 Apr. 2015,

scholar.colorado.edu/honr_theses/777/?utm_source=scholar.colorado.edu%2Fhonr_theses

%2F777&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages. Accessed. Oct. 18,

2018.

“Asperger Syndrome.” Asperger Syndrome Outlook South West, www.outlooksw.co.uk/asperger-

syndrome. Accessed. Oct. 22, 2018.

Cullen, Jennifer A. “The Needs of College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and

Asperger's Syndrome.” Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, Association

on Higher Education and Disability. 30 Nov. 2014, eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1066322.

Accessed. Oct. 18, 2018.

DSM-5 Classification. American Psychiatric Association, 2016.

“Is Asperger Syndrome the Same As Autism?” Applied Behavioral Analysis,

www.appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org/is-asperger-syndrome-the-same-as-autism/.

Accessed. Oct. 22, 2018.

Vincent, Jonathan. “Transition from secondary to higher education: an evaluation of a pre-entry

transition programme for students on the autistic spectrum.” Research at York St John,

Mar. 2016, ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/1819/. Accessed. Oct. 18, 2018.

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