Asperger's Syndrome

Prevalence:
Estimates of the prevalence vary markedly depending on the stringency of the definition used.

• Wing and Gould (1979)
  Prevalence rate of 0.6 per 10,000 children with a combination of Asperger's Syndrome and Mild Mental Retardation
  Aditional 1.1 per 10,000 children who had been autistic in early life but later showed features of Asperger's Syndrome

• Swedish Epidemiologic Study (Gilberg and Gilberg 1989)
  10-26 per 10,000 children with normal intelligence rate
  Additional 0.4 per 10,000 Swedish teenager had a combination of Asperger's Syndrome and Mild Mental Retardation

Sex Ratio:
Asperger originally reported the condition only in boys but Wing reported the condition in girls as well. There does appear to be a male predominance, ratios ranging from 3.8 to 10.5 boys to every girl.

Social Class:
A trend towards greater prevalence in higher class has been noted, which according to Wing might be a result of greater awareness and hence a tendency to seek more services from special clinics compared to lower classes.

Introduction | Aetiology | Clinical Findings | Differential Diagnosis | Treatment | Prognosis