Asperger's Disorder

Asperger's disorder is characterized by impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

• Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction.

• Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level.

• A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people).

• Lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

Asperger’s disorder is also manifested by restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interest, and activities, by at least one of the following:

• Encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus.

• Apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals.

• Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements).

• Persistent preoccupation with parts of objects.

The disorder causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years.

There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia.

UPDATE The new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- Fifth Edition (DSM V) will remove Asperger's as a separate disorder and will include it under the "autism spectrum category". The DSM V manual is expected to be released in May of 2013.

Diagnostic criteria summarized from:

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.