Gifted Children With Asperger's Syndrome

Abstract

Asperger's Syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social comnmniunication and by repetitive patterns of behaviors or interests. It is observed in some ifted children. The author proposes that gifted children with Asperger's Syndromie mnay not be identified because their unusual behaviors may be wrongly attributed to either their giftedness or to a learning disability. The article discusses ways in which Asperger's Syndrome might be missed in gifted children and proposes guidelines for differentiating characteristics of giftedness fromn characteristics of Asperger's Syndrone.