Editing Asperger syndrome (section)

=== Motor and sensory perception ===
Individuals with Asperger syndrome may have signs or symptoms that are independent of the diagnosis but can affect the individual or the family.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Filipek PA, Accardo PJ, Baranek GT, Cook EH, Dawson G, Gordon B, Gravel JS, Johnson CP, Kallen RJ, Levy SE, Minshew NJ, Ozonoff S, Prizant BM, Rapin I, Rogers SJ, Stone WL, Teplin S, Tuchman RF, Volkmar FR | s2cid = 145113684 | title = The screening and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders | journal = Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | volume = 29 | issue = 6 | pages = 439–84 | date = December 1999 | pmid = 10638459 | doi = 10.1023/A:1021943802493}}</ref> These include differences in perception and problems with motor skills, sleep, and emotions.

Individuals with AS often have excellent [[Hearing (sense)|auditory]] and [[visual perception]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Frith U | title = Emanuel Miller lecture: confusions and controversies about Asperger syndrome | journal = Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines | volume = 45 | issue = 4 | pages = 672–86 | date = May 2004 | pmid = 15056300 | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00262.x| doi-access = free }}</ref> Children with ASD often demonstrate enhanced perception of small changes in patterns such as arrangements of objects or well-known images; typically this is domain-specific and involves processing of fine-grained features.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Psychological factors in autism |vauthors=Prior M, Ozonoff S|pages=69–128|title=Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders|edition=2nd| veditors = Volkmar FR |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-521-54957-8}}</ref> Conversely, compared with individuals with high-functioning autism, individuals with AS have deficits in some tasks involving visual-spatial perception, auditory perception, or [[visual memory]].<ref name=McPart2006 /> Many accounts of individuals with AS and ASD report other unusual [[sensory processing|sensory]] and perceptual skills and experiences. They may be unusually sensitive or insensitive to sound, light, and other stimuli;<ref>{{cite book|vauthors=Bogdashina O|title=Sensory Perceptional Issues in Autism and Asperger Syndrome: Different Sensory Experiences, Different Perceptual Worlds|publisher=Jessica Kingsley|year=2003|isbn=978-1-84310-166-6}}</ref> these sensory responses are found in other developmental disorders and are not specific to AS or to ASD. There is little support for increased [[fight-or-flight response]] or failure of [[habituation]] in autism; there is more evidence of decreased responsiveness to sensory stimuli, although several studies show no differences.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rogers SJ, Ozonoff S | title = Annotation: what do we know about sensory dysfunction in autism? A critical review of the empirical evidence | journal = Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines | volume = 46 | issue = 12 | pages = 1255–68 | date = December 2005 | pmid = 16313426 | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01431.x}}</ref>

Hans Asperger's initial accounts<ref name="McPart2006" /> and other diagnostic schemes<ref name="EhlGill">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ehlers S, Gillberg C | title = The epidemiology of Asperger syndrome. A total population study | journal = Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines | volume = 34 | issue = 8 | pages = 1327–50 | date = November 1993 | pmid = 8294522 | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1993.tb02094.x}}</ref> include descriptions of physical clumsiness. Children with AS may be delayed in acquiring skills requiring [[dexterity]], such as riding a bicycle or opening a jar, and may seem to move awkwardly or feel "uncomfortable in their own skin". They may be poorly coordinated or have an odd or bouncy gait or posture, poor handwriting, or problems with [[motor coordination]].<ref name="McPart2006" /><ref name="Klin" /> They may show problems with [[proprioception]] (sensation of body position) on measures of [[developmental coordination disorder]] ([[motor planning]] disorder), balance, [[tandem gait]], and finger-[[thumb apposition]]. There is no evidence that these motor skills problems differentiate AS from other high-functioning ASDs.<ref name="McPart2006" />

Children with AS are more likely to have sleep problems, including difficulty in falling asleep, frequent [[Middle-of-the-night insomnia|nocturnal awakenings]], and early morning awakenings.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Polimeni MA, Richdale AL, Francis AJ | title = A survey of sleep problems in autism, Asperger's disorder and typically developing children | journal = Journal of Intellectual Disability Research | volume = 49 | issue = Pt 4 | pages = 260–68 | date = April 2005 | pmid = 15816813 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2005.00642.x}}</ref><ref name=Tani /> AS is also associated with high levels of [[alexithymia]], which is difficulty in identifying and describing one's emotions.<ref>Alexithymia and AS:
* {{cite journal | vauthors = Fitzgerald M, Bellgrove MA | title = The overlap between alexithymia and Asperger's syndrome | journal = Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | volume = 36 | issue = 4 | pages = 573–76 | date = May 2006 | pmid = 16755385 | pmc = 2092499 | doi = 10.1007/s10803-006-0096-z}}
* {{cite journal | vauthors = Hill EL, Berthoz S | s2cid = 28686022 | title = Response to "Letter to the Editor: The overlap between alexithymia and Asperger's syndrome", Fitzgerald and Bellgrove, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(4) | journal = Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | volume = 36 | issue = 8 | pages = 1143–45 | date = November 2006 | pmid = 17080269 | doi = 10.1007/s10803-006-0287-7}}
* {{cite journal | vauthors = Lombardo MV, Barnes JL, Wheelwright SJ, Baron-Cohen S | title = Self-referential cognition and empathy in autism | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 2 | issue = 9 | pages = e883 | date = September 2007 | pmid = 17849012 | pmc = 1964804 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0000883 | veditors = Zak P | bibcode = 2007PLoSO...2..883L| doi-access = free }}</ref> Although AS, lower sleep quality, and alexithymia are associated with each other, their causal relationship is unclear.<ref name=Tani>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tani P, Lindberg N, Joukamaa M, Nieminen-von Wendt T, von Wendt L, Appelberg B, Rimón R, Porkka-Heiskanen T | s2cid = 45311366 | title = Asperger syndrome, alexithymia and perception of sleep | journal = Neuropsychobiology | volume = 49 | issue = 2 | pages = 64–70 | year = 2004 | pmid = 14981336 | doi = 10.1159/000076412}}</ref>