How does Asperger Syndrome affect adults?

There have been some votes on my blog in relation to how Asperger Syndrome affects Adults. In order to answer this question, there is no simple answer but what can be said is that adults with Asperger Syndrome have difficulty in being accepted by mainstream society. Although the symptoms of Asperger Syndrome manifest themselves differently in adults, the common symptoms of heightened anxiety levels, needing time out from other people and being unable to process visual, sensory and body language are very common features. A great deal many adults exist in a world which does not understand them and they experience greater levels of social isolation compared to mainstream society. Amongst adults with Asperger Syndrome they represent the highest in the unemployment statistics, suicide statistics and are more than often not within a relationship within a traditional sense. Adults also have a different process of cognitive wiring and mostly do not see the world and its conventional requirements the same way that others do and furthermore adults can experience periods of meltdown and exclusion from certain sectors of the society just for thinking differently and acting differently. More importantly adults with Asperger Syndrome have a narrow set of interests often being interested in or obsessed with certain special interests. Unfortunately society tends to regard people who are different or eccentric as odd and through ignorance in not understanding, such people are excluded from mainstream society. The diagnostic criteria is something that needs review in terms of adults with Asperger Syndrome. I think some of the diagnostic criteria from my own experience of having Asperger Syndrome do not match that of what it states. For instance people with Asperger Syndrome have a lack of empathy and are not able to show emotion. I believe from personal experience that people with Asperger Syndrome show emotion in a different way and being wrongfully stereotyped makes us unable to perform to our true performance levels. Some people with Asperger Syndrome are misunderstood within the school system and furthermore others are not in employment or in employment within menial to base grade positions. Why is this the case? I am tending to think that negative stereotyping is perhaps the cause and this needs to be reviewed. The world is a difficult place for adults with Asperger Syndrome for although the disability is not seen in a visible sense, a great deal many adults deal with the condition on their own and people don't always see it unfortunately. There are some people who refuse to believe it exists and unfortunately there are some in areas of medicine who don't want to become involved or assist with the necessary help to ensure adults are able to deal with and manage their symptoms. Adults with Asperger Syndrome are not disabled and they should not be treated as such but instead more of a focus on what they can do more so than what they cannot do. Just because adults with Asperger Syndrome think differently to others does not mean that they should confront exclusion or rejection from mainstream society. Instead their abilities should be untapped to help make them useful and important members of society. I would simply describe Asperger Syndrome in Adults by the following: 1. Have a difficulty in understanding body language and knowing how to read signals and visual queues. 2. A preference for routine within their lives as a means of certainty but mostly prefer areas of change but gradually. 3. A different way of thinking and interpreting information around them. 4. Find it difficult to talk in groups or large social situations. 5. Emotions can be processed differently and emotional levels can be higher than in others. 6. A difficulty to enter a relationship and in making friends. 7. Experience impairment in processing too much information at once 8. May have sensory and cognitive processing issues. 9. Find it difficult to obtain employment and deal with hierarchy and bureaucracy. 10. May have mobility impairment due to non verbal learning 11. Usually has one special interest or obsession than many interests as an adult finds the latter difficult. Hopefully these are some of the symptoms of Asperger Syndrome in adults but as stated earlier symptoms can vary from adult to adult.