Asperger’s Syndrome and Public Perception

Kudos to the writers of Grey’s Anatomy for including a character with Asperger’s Syndrome in this season’s hit medical drama on ABC. Mary McDonnell did an excellent job playing Dr. Dixon, the brilliant cardiac surgeon whose colleagues on the show refer to as “a little off”. While I do commend the show’s producers for featuring a character with Asperger’s, I was a little disappointed with the stereotype portrayal of the disorder. Asperger’s Syndrome is often referred to as a form of high functioning Autism, characterized by above average intellectual capacity with underdeveloped social skills and can include other quirks like spouting of factual information, inability to filter conversation and emphasis on rules. Since it is so misunderstood, I would have preferred they show the world that many people with Asperger’s can be just like you or me. Of course no two cases of Asperger’s or Autism are alike and that is why each case needs to be treated on such an individual basis. One thing the show did highlight is a lesser known characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorder called Sensory Integration Disorder or SID. SID, or Sensory Processing Disorder, can cause difficulties with processing information from the five classic senses (vision, auditory, touch, olfaction, and taste), the sense of movement (vestibular system), and/or the positional sense (proprioception). In the episode, Dr. Dixon becomes overwhelmed when another surgeon changes her diagnosis in front of a young patient and her family. The family becomes overwhelmed with emotion and there is a lot of loud talking and laughing and Dr. Dixon experiences sensory overload and starts to freak out. She tells her fellow doctors that she needs them to wrap their arms around her to help calm her down. The feeling of being weighted down helps restore her sensory balance. For children with the developmental disorder, parents and teachers can benefit from learning to recognize the signs that a child may be experiencing sensory overload and learn to avoid those situations. Weighted vests have also been used for children who have trouble sitting still at school and feel comforted by the feeling of heavy weight. If you think your child may have sensory processing disorder, speak to a teacher or professional to find out what services and therapies are available to help them.