While Asperger’s Syndrome shares some similarities with High Functioning Autism there are differences with age of onset, language development, and cognitive function. Children diagnosed with Asperger’s exhibit more significant motor skill delays, fewer speech delays, and more obsessive interests. Both forms of autism are considered to be on the milder end of the spectrum. We are also attuned to research that shows that up to 80% of children with Asperger’s may have another non-verbal learning disorder, but these conditions are separate.
How Whytecliff can Help Kids with Asperger’s
For children diagnosed with Asperger’s, Whytecliff’s approach mirrors our approach to high functioning autism — with tuning to incorporate adaptations, modifications to mitigate any motor skills delays, using more precise clear communication, and providing emotional support and strategies to accommodate more obsessive interests.
As with all learning challenges, we endorse a progressive perspective that does not define children by their particular special needs label or by any particular emotional or life challenge they face. Unlike some programs that focus on treating deficits (where children are treated like a car in a shop, or as patients to be treated by their particular diagnosis), we focus instead on cultivating children’s developmental assets (where children are seen as agents of their own growth and change). Overall, Whytecliff offers youth with Asperger’s a fresh chance for them to make their best possible progress and become their best possible selves.