March 13, 2026, 11:59 am | Read time: 9 minutes
Asperger’s syndrome is a form of autistic developmental disorder. Those affected by the disorder have difficulties in social interaction and are characterized by restricted behavioral patterns and interests. FITBOOK editor Julia Freiberger explains the causes and symptoms of the condition.
The condition often manifests as a lack of interest in social contact among those affected, who also struggle to comprehend certain social situations. Individuals with this condition frequently face challenges in recognizing and empathizing with the emotions and feelings of others. This can result in social isolation and discrimination. Because Asperger’s autism cannot be cured, it is a lifelong challenge for those affected.1
Overview
What Lies Behind Asperger’s Syndrome
On the one hand, according to the diagnostic criteria, autism means that those affected have limited social and communication skills. For example, they find it difficult to interpret facial expressions or understand irony. Their communication style is often notably direct, which may be perceived by others as lacking in empathy. People with Asperger’s syndrome have normal to above-average intelligence and also have no pronounced language delays—this is where Asperger’s syndrome differs from other forms of autism.
The second key characteristic of autism is that those affected tend to be monotonous. For example, they have a desire for rituals, the same food, or topics of conversation. They usually also suffer when sensory impressions become too strong: Light and sounds seem extremely bright or loud to them. Nevertheless, numerous myths still persist about autism and Asperger’s syndrome. Furthermore, there is some disagreement among scientists regarding certain aspects.
Causes of Asperger’s
Asperger’s syndrome is based on neurological developmental peculiarities. More specifically, specific changes within the function and structure of nerve cells and in the networking of different brain regions.
The precise causes of Asperger’s syndrome’s development remain unknown. However, researchers assume that a combination of several factors can contribute to the development of the disorder. These include:
Genetic Influences
Human genetics seems to play a role in the condition’s development, as numerous individuals affected have close relatives with Asperger’s autism or similar symptoms. In addition, several genetic changes have also been identified that can increase the risk of autistic disorders such as Asperger’s syndrome.
Age of the Parents
Older parental age can also increase the likelihood of developing the disorder or other autism spectrum disorders.
External Factors During Pregnancy
Proven risk factors during pregnancy include infections such as rubella, diabetes in the mother, premature birth, or breathing problems in newborns. The use of certain medications during pregnancy (such as anti-epileptic drugs) is also being discussed as a possible risk factor.
Biochemical and Neurological Characteristics
Other risk factors include biochemical and neurological characteristics. These include deviations in the structure of certain brain regions, irregularities in electrical brain activity, and changes in the composition of neurotransmitters (messenger substances in the brain).2
What Are Typical Symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome?
Most children or adults with Asperger’s autism have hardly any cognitive or language deficits. However, in addition to difficulties with social interaction and the urge to engage in repetitive behaviors, there are other symptoms that affect their lives to some extent. These include:3
- Obsessive, pronounced interest and knowledge of a particular topic
- Hypersensitivity to sounds, smells, and touch
- Exaggerated emotional reactions
- Difficulty empathizing with others
- Little to no interest in social contact
- Avoidance of eye contact
- Early speech development and sophisticated speech style
- Clumsiness when walking or impaired motor coordination
People with Asperger syndrome do not all experience the symptoms in the same way. Someone may only have a few of the symptoms or experience them to varying degrees.4
Those Affected Are Not Without Empathy
Autistic people are said to be unable to empathize with others—incorrectly, as autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen from the University of Cambridge explains. It is true that many have difficulties putting themselves in other people’s shoes. But empathy—in addition to this cognitive part—also has an affective part, i.e., an emotional reaction to other people. In this area, people with Asperger’s autism do no worse than healthy people.
People with Asperger’s Autism Usually Have Isolated Talents
Even though autistic people often have problems in social areas, they are often considered geniuses in other areas. People with Asperger’s autism, in particular, are portrayed as highly intelligent. For example, in the movie “Rain Man,” Dustin Hoffman plays an autistic man whose tremendously good memory pays off when playing cards.
Some companies even employ autistic people specifically because they are considered to be particularly detail-oriented. This can be helpful when analyzing errors in the IT sector, for example. “Autistic talents can emerge in all areas in which patterns can be analyzed,” says Baron-Cohen. In music, for example.
However, people with (Asperger’s) autism are by no means always highly gifted. Exceptional ability is usually an isolated talent. This means that the special ability only affects one area. This is also known as partial ability or savant syndrome, and only a few autistic people are savants. The term “savant” originally comes from the French and can be translated as “knower.”
Different Forms of Autism
Doctors and psychologists have long distinguished between different types of autism based on the level of intelligence. People with Asperger’s or so-called “high-functioning” autism have a higher level of intelligence than people with “classic” autism, Kanner autism. Leo Kanner first described the autism syndrome in 1943. One year later, Hans Asperger published his habilitation, which gave the other autism variant a name.
Incidentally, Asperger is an example of why scientists advocate not naming diseases after people: He is said to have had a questionable closeness to National Socialism.5
How Is Asperger’s Diagnosed?
A challenge with this disorder is its difficulty in being distinguished from other neurological or psychological conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, developmental disorders, or personality disorders. This requires a detailed medical diagnosis. In children, a child and adolescent psychiatrist is responsible for this, while adults are diagnosed by a specialist in psychiatry or psychotherapy.
If Asperger’s is suspected, the diagnosis involves the following steps:
- Discussions with the patient and their relatives
- Recording previous or current illnesses
- Consideration of reports and findings from other doctors
- Detailed psychiatric, physical, neurological, and laboratory examinations
- Information from people in the patient’s environment (e.g., teachers, friends, etc.)
In order to make a diagnosis, attention is paid to the typical characteristics of Asperger’s syndrome. For example, children with the diagnosis often exhibit less imaginative play behavior compared to their peers. In addition, their facial expressions appear monotonous, while their language is perceived as unusually detailed. It is also rare for them to respond to emotional stimuli such as personal remarks or a smile. Instead, avoidance of physical closeness and eye contact can be observed.
The diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome is much more difficult in adults, as the abnormal behaviors are often not as pronounced in them as in children. It can also happen that affected adults do not remember the specific challenges of their childhood. Coping strategies that have been developed over time in order to appear “normal” in everyday life also make a diagnosis extremely difficult. Those affected often first consult a doctor due to various accompanying illnesses (such as depression, anxiety disorders, etc.), so that only then can a diagnosis be made.6
Asperger’s Syndrome as a Diagnosis Is Questioned
It was only included in the diagnostic catalog in 1980—and scientists are already questioning whether Asperger’s syndrome actually exists. The syndrome no longer appears in the current diagnostic catalog used by psychiatrists to classify disorders. In 2013, the previously separate clinical pictures were combined in the specialist literature (for example, in the so-called “DSM 5,” the fifth edition of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”) to form the so-called autism spectrum disorder. Since then, autism has been considered a health-disease continuum, i.e., a condition between “complete health” and “absolute disease”. The current 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) also summarizes all variants under the uniform term “autism spectrum disorders.”.7
Can Asperger’s Be Treated?
As already mentioned, the disorder is not yet curable. Instead, therapy for those affected focuses on making everyday life easier through targeted support, for example, by improving social skills. However, it is important to note that not every case of Asperger’s syndrome requires treatment. This depends on the individual needs and the intensity of the symptoms of the person affected.
What does it mean to be neurodiverse?
When a Tic Disorder Becomes Tourette Syndrome
Different Perceptions of the Disorder
Indeed, even among those diagnosed, there is disagreement. Some see autism as a disability, others emphasize under the keyword neurodiversity that they just have a different way of perceiving it. It is indeed unclear where autism begins. According to the new diagnostic criteria, many people with Asperger’s autism would no longer be considered autistic at all—according to one analysis, this would apply to one in four people.
Famous People with Asperger’s
There are several famous people with Asperger’s syndrome who have shown that this form of autism can go hand in hand with exceptional talents. One of these is the now 21-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg. A few years ago, she shared her experiences on Facebook and openly addressed the fact that her difficulties in ‘socializing’ were a decisive reason why she initially protested alone for the climate. “If I had been ‘normal’ and sociable, I would have joined an organization or started one myself.” She also wrote on Twitter: “I have Asperger’s, which sometimes makes me a bit different from the norm. And—in the right circumstances—being different can be a superpower.”
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk also announced years ago that he had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. In his biography, he describes, among other things, that he can only approach people analytically and is less able to perceive emotional signals than other people. Elon Musk also spoke openly about the fact that he thinks differently from many other people and sees this as a strength.8