With the introduction of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, Fourth Edition (1994), the diagnostic category “pervasive developmental disorder'' (PDD) was expanded to include Asperger's disorder. In addition, “high-functioning'' PDD is now more commonly recognized. It is therefore important that social workers be familiar with these disorders and the possible roles that they may have in the treatment of this population and in work with their families. This article reviews these disorders, the current literature, and the roles of the social worker relative to (a) education, (b) case management, (c) family therapy, (d) individual therapy, and (e) group work.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
Baron-Cohen, S. (1991). The development of a theory of mind in autism: Deviance or delay?. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 14(1), 33–51.
4.
Barron, J., & Barron, S. (1992). There's a boy in here. New York: Simon & Schuster.
5.
Berger, H. J. C., van Spaendonck, K. P. M., Horstink, M. W. I. M., Buytenhuijus, E. L., Lammers, P. W. J. M., & Cools, A. R. (1993). Cognitive shifting as a predictor of progress in social understanding in high-functioning adolescents with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 23(2), 341–359.
6.
Bishop, D. V. M. (1989). Autism, Asperger's syndrome and Semantic-Pragmatic Disorder: Where are the boundaries?. British Journal of Disorders of Communication, 24(2), 107–121.
7.
Boucher, J., & Lewis, V. (1992). Unfamiliar face recognition in relatively able autistic children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33(5), 843–859.
8.
Bowler, D. M. (1992). “Theory of mind” in Asperger's syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33(5), 877–893.
9.
Bryson, S. E., Clark, B. S., & Smith, I. M. (1988). First report of a Canadian epidemiological study of autistic syndromes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 433–445.
10.
Capps, L., Yirmiya, N., & Sigman, M. (1992). Understanding of simple and complex emotions in non-retarded children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33(7), 1169–1182.
11.
Carpenter, A., Sinclair, J., Ronan, T. M., & Lissner, K. (1992). In E. Schopler and G. B. Mesibov (Eds.), High-functioning individuals with autism (pp. 289–306). New York: Plenum.
12.
Cesaroni, L., & Garber, M. (1991). Exploring the experience of autism through firsthand accounts. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 21(3), 303–313.
13.
Dewey, M. (1991). Living with Asperger's syndrome. In U. Frith (Ed.), Autism and Asperger's syndrome (pp. 184–206). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
14.
Donnelly, J. A., & Levy, S. (1995). Strategies for assisting individuals with high-functioning autism and/or Asperger's syndrome. Paper presented at the meeting of the Autism Society of America National Conference on Autism.
15.
Dykens, E., Volkmar, F., & Glick, M. (1991). Thought disorder in high-functioning autistic adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 21(3), 291–301.
16.
Ehlers, S., & Gillberg, C. (1993). The epidemiology of Asperger's syndrome: A total population study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34(8), 1327–1350.
17.
Frith, U. (Ed.). (1991). Autism and Asperger's syndrome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
18.
Fombonne, E. (1996). Ask the editor: Is the prevalence of autism increasing?. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26(6), 673–676.
19.
Ghaziuddin, M., Butler, E., Tsai, L., & Ghaziuddin, N. (1994). Is clumsiness a marker for Asperger syndrome?. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 38, 519–527.
20.
Ghaziuddin, M., & Gerstein, L. (1996). Pedantic speaking style differentiates Asperger syndrome from high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26(6), 585–595.
21.
Ghaziuddin, M., Leininger, L., & Tsai, L. (1995). Brief report: Thought disorder in Asperger's syndrome: A comparison with high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders. 25(3), 311–317.
22.
Gillberg, C. (1985). Asperger's syndrome and recurrent psychosis: A case study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15(4), 389–397.
23.
Gillberg, C. (1989). Asperger syndrome in 23 Swedish children. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 31, 520–531.
24.
Gold, N., & Whelan, M. (1989). Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. In F. J. Turner (Ed.), Child psychopathology: A social work perspective. (pp. 35–71). New York: Free Press.
Holroyd, J., & McArthur, D. (1976). Mental retardation and stress on the parents: A contrast between Down's syndrome and childhood autism. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 80(4), 431–436.
27.
Horejsi, C. R. (1979). Developmental disabilities: Opportunities for social workers. Social Work, 24(1), pp. 40–43.
28.
Koegal, R. L., Schreibman, L., Moos, L. M., Dirlich-Wilhelm, H.; Dunlap, G.; Robbins, F. R., and Plienis, A. J. (1992). Consistent Stress Profiles in Mothers of Children with Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 22(2), 205–216.
29.
Levy, S. (1994, Winter). The social skills game. The Morning News. Jensen, MI: Jenson Public Schools.
30.
Lindblad, T. L., & Loeffelhardt, J. M. (1992). The Effect of Diagnosis on School Placement, Services, and Parent Perceptions for High-Functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorder Children. Unpublished master's thesis, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
31.
McKean, T. A. (1994). Soon will come the light. Arlington, TX: Future Education.
32.
Moreno, S. (1992). A parent's view of more able people with autism. In E. Schopler & G. B. Mesibov (Eds.), High-functioning individuals with autism (pp. 91–103). New York: Plenum.
33.
Ozonoff, S., & Miller, J. N. (1995). Teaching theory of mind: A new approach to social skills training for Individuals with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25(4), 415–433.
34.
Premack, D., & Woodruff, G. (1978). Does the chimpanzee have a “theory of mind”?. Behavior Brain Science, 4, 515–526.
35.
Ratey, J. J., Grandin, T., & Miller, A. (1992). Defense behaviour and coping in an autistic savant: The story of Temple Grandin, PhD. Psychiatry, 55(4), 382–391.
36.
Schopler, E. (1985). Editorial: Convergence of learning disability, higher-level autism and Asperger's syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15(4), 359–360.
37.
Shea, V., & Mesibov, G. B. (1985). Brief Report: The relationship of learning disabilities and higher-level autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15(4), 425–435.
38.
Sloman, L., & Konstantareas, M. M. (1990). Why families of children with biological deficits require a systems approach. Family Process, 29, 417–432.
39.
Stoddart, K. P. (1994). Families of children with pervasive developmental disorder: A comparison of parent response and service needs based on child functioning level. Unpublished manuscript.
40.
Szatmari, P., Bartolucci, G., & Bremner, R. (1989). Asperger's syndrome and autism: Comparison of early history and outcome. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 31, 709–720.
41.
Szatmari, P., Bremner, R., & Nagy, J. (1989). Asperger's syndrome: A review of clinical features. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 554–560.
42.
Szatmari, P. (1991). Asperger's syndrome: Diagnosis, treatment and outcome. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 14(1), 81–93.
43.
Szatmari, P. (1992). Asperger's syndrome. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 4, 616–622.
44.
Tantum, D. (1988). Annotation: Asperger's syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29(3), 245–253.
45.
Tantum, D., Holmes, D., & Cordess, C. (1993). Nonverbal expression in autism of Asperger type. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 23(1), 111–133.
46.
Tsai, L. Y., & Scott-Miller, D. (1988). Higher-functioning autistic disorder. Focus on Autistic Behavior, 2(6), 1–8.
47.
Venter, A., Lord, C., & Schopler, E. (1992). A follow-up study of high-functioning autistic children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33(3), 489–507.
48.
Wainwright-Sharp, J. A., & Bryson, S. E. (1993). Visual orienting deficits in high-functioning people with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 23(1), 1–13.
49.
Williams, D. (1992). Nobody nowhere. Toronto: Doubleday.
50.
Williams, D. (1994). Somebody somewhere. Toronto: Doubleday.
