Asperger's Syndrome

• Autistic Disorder

• Schizophrenia (very rare in childhood)

• Schizoid personality disorder (in patients approaching adulthood)

The most obvious distinction between Asperger's syndrome and Autistic disorder are the criteria about language delay and dysfunction. Lack of language delay is a prerequisite for Asperger's Syndrome, where as language impairment is a core feature of Autistic disorder. (N.B. some delay in language acquisition has been seen in a third of children afflicted with Asperger's syndrome). Children with Asperger's Syndrome are more likely to look for social interaction, engage in activities with other children and seek more vigorously to make friends.

Diagnosis of Schizophrenia is extremely rare in childhood. Individuals with schizophrenia have fairly normal developmental history with rather clear cut deterioration of daily functioning with onset of illness.

Introduction | Epidemiology |Aetiology | Clinical Findings | Treatment | Prognosis