The document discusses various aspects of Asperger syndrome, including its association with a lack of empathy and challenges in social functioning. It highlights findings from a Sheffield survey on bullying, emotional issues, and the high prevalence of mental health concerns among individuals with Asperger syndrome. The content also explores the implications of these social difficulties, including dependence on caregivers, bullying experiences, and the potential for individuals to struggle with identity and interpersonal relationships.

1. Asperger syndrome and the interbrainDigby TantamClinical Professor of Psychotherapy, University of Sheffield

2. Quantum entanglementBoyer V, Marino AM, Pooser RC, Lett PD. Entangled Images from Four-Wave Mixing. Science. 2008 July 25, 2008;321(5888):544-7.

3. Invisible connections

4. Separated sediment layers of marine bacteria communicate electronicallyNealson KH. Geomicrobiology: Sediment reactions defy dogma. Nature. [10.1038/4631033a]. 2010;463(7284):1033-4.

5. Invisible connections

6. Seagulls fall asleep and wake together in the Bay of FundyBeauchamp et al. Sleeping gulls monitor the vigilance behaviour of their neighbours. Biology Letters, 2009; 5 (1): 9 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0490

8. Invisible connections

9. An idea whose time has come?

10. Slime mould Physarumpolycephalum metamorphosing from unicellular amoeba to multi-celled sporangiophorein response to starvation

12. Hunyuan hanging temple, Mt. Hengshan, Shanxi

13. Which is the organism?

14. Ian Couzin (icouzin.princeton.edu)Short-range repulsive behaviour Intermediate range desire to align with neighbours and a long-range attraction to the group as a whole NTASD✔✔✖✔✖✔

16. Neurons are linked by electrical impulses and chemicals into a networkOur brains can be linked to other brains the way that one computer can be linked to another via the internetThese links are the nonverbal communications that pass between us, principally consisting of imitation and of gaze followingImitation and gaze following are automatically initiated by local brain networks apparently specialized for this

17. SchurmannM, Hesse MD, Stephan KE, Saarela M, Zilles K, Hari R, et al. Yearning to yawn: the neural basis of contagious yawning. Neuroimage. [doi: DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.10.022]. 2005;24(4):1260-4.

18. The interbrainExtended cognition

19. Automatic processing

20. Reflexive vs. reflective processing

21. ‘The borg’Jerry Ryan, 7 of 9 StarTrekNeurotypicalAspieBrookdale care conference, London

22. On sale here

23. Themes in adulthood Ryan, S,Räisänen, U "It's like you are just a spectator in this thing": Experiencing social life the [`]aspie' way. Emotion, Space and Society 2008; 1: 135-43.feeling differenttrying to fit insafe spaces uncommon sense

24. Feeling differentBeing disconnected from the interbrain

25. ContributorsAston Bullying ProjectPaul NaylorJeremy DawsonEric EmersonLaura VazquezSheffield surveyMyles BalfeTing ChenMike CampbellSheffield Bullying projectPaul NaylorJenny WainscotJenna Williams15 medical studentsParents, teachers, and people with Asperger syndromeSheffield Asperger Parents Action Group

26. Project Development23

27. Green et al compared 20 adolescent men with AS with 20 with conduct problemsAS groupSeverely impaired practical social functioning AnxietyObsessionaldisordersBoth groups hadDepressionSuicidal ideationTempers and defiance

28. Outstanding areas for concern: Sheffield surveyReduction of available support in adulthoodLack of paid work (36%, 6% of whom supported)Lack of independence60% living with parents21% living independently56% thought they could be more independent with supportBrookdale care conference, London

29. Emotional problems in adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome(findings from Sheffield survey)Self-harm: thoughts 50%, actual 11%Violence: threats 83%, actual 34%Bullied 90%, 30% currently (includes adults)Majority have anxiety-related disorder

30. ‘There is a view of life which conceives that where the crowd is, there is also the truth, and that in truth itself there is need of having the crowd on its side. There is another view of life which conceives that wherever there is a crowd there is untruth, so that (to consider for a moment the extreme case), even if every individual, each for himself in private, were to be in possession of the truth, yet in case they were all to get together in a crowd - a crowd to which any decisive significance is attributed, a voting, noisy, audible crowd - untruth would at once be in evidence’ (Kierkegaard, 1846; Dedication).The viewpoint of mind2/28/11Modum Bad27

31. 24 November 2009Brookdale care conference, London“l’hommeestnélibre, et partoutilestdans les fers. J.-J. Rousseau

32. Is it better not to be so connected to the interbrain?Fewer informational virusesUnderstand machines in their own right not as defective peopleFairness is not prejudiced by sympathyNot in chains

33. Trying to fit inMany other educational obstacles, plus emotional difficultiesBrookdale care conference, London

34. Atypical Asperger syndromeAssociated developmental disordersPredominantly fronto-striatal or fronto-cerebellarDysexecutive syndrome (planning)Dyslexia (writing and spelling)Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (impulsivity, executive functions, task persistence)Also links withTourette syndromeExpressive speech and language disorder (may lead to elective mutism)DysgraphiaDyscalculiaTopographical disorientationBrookdale care conference, London

35. Atypical Asperger syndrome Primary abnormality is lack of empathy, partly due to failure of non-verbal interpretation (‘face blindness’)Ability to make relationships but not to keep themLack of empathy may lead to antisocial behaviour, but greater problem is lack of persuasiveness and ‘social influencing power’Picture on left from Pelphrey et al, 2002 and on right from the film, “Ripley’s game” starring Matt Damon as Ripley24 November 2009

36. Knowing about the world using non-verbal cuesWho is being shot? Terrorists or partisans?

37. Why is that woman so fat?34

38. Coping with a lack of identityFads‘Obsessive’ relationshipsLack of identity in many people with ASDAdopting identity wholesaleJoining charismatic groupsMoving places and workSearching for identity‘Transexualism’‘Aspie’Identities off the pegGangsterProfessorTeddy bear21 Mar 08Advances in research and management of AS

39. Atypical AS‘Look normal’, because normal NVE. Do not seem like ‘Aspies’Form friendships but they do not lastMay have many hidden learning difficulties e.g. lack of speech understanding, reduced working memoryVulnerable adultsLack of empathy leads to a lack of persuasivenessThis may lead to unassertiveness or exploitationCoercive interpersonal strategies, possibly more likely if associated ADHDDrug misuse, violence, other forensic issuesImpulsivity may alternate with compulsivityMay seek an identity as adults, and like special interests in other people with AS, may embrace or drop one ruthlessly.Modelling on others may be even more marked

41. Telling the truth vs. knowing the truthNarrative38

42. Implications for witness statementsPeople with AS do see the trees for the woodAnd may reliably apply a correspondence theory of truthBut they may not have a narrative theory Bruck, M., K. London, et al. (2007). "Autobiographical memory and suggestibility in children with autism spectrum disorder." Dev.Psychopathol.19(1): 73-95; AS McCrory, E., L. A. Henry, et al. (2007). "Eye-witness memory and suggestibility in children with Asperger syndrome. [Article]." Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry48(5): 482-489..As witnesses they may correctly memorize and reports factsmay not report the story of what happened, including the intentions of or provocations to the the actorsThis may limit the value of their evidenceIt may also go against them when they witness to their own defenceWhen people with AS report intentions, one should consider external influenceQuestions should focus on facts and not interpretationwww.existentialacademy.com39

43. Group Independence (or its lack among medical students)www.existentialacademy.com40

44. Other contributors to inconsequentialityLack of emotional empathyNeurotypicals are united, and do not deserve empathyUproarCan any of these factors increase lying?Lack of a shared social contractLack of social influencing powerwww.existentialacademy.com41

45. Safe spacesBullying and exclusion at and from school begin a process of narrowing the number of safe spaces

46. Consequences of bullyingPassive failure to be includedReduced use of community resources (social exclusion)Experience of being unwanted/marginalizedActive rejection , blaming, scapegoatingStigma as a means of keeping threatening Other at a distanceBullyingPainted Bird by Edward Gafford, inspired by the novel ‘Painted Bird’ by JerzyKosiński, itself based on what has been claimed is a fictive war-time experience of the author in Poland

47. Who bullies and why? Evidence is limited, butOn behalf of a social groupBullies are highly regarded, but not popularBullies’ in-group status may be tenuousVictims are differentVictims may be more aggressive than non-victims, and are perceived, perhaps as more threateningBrookdale care conference, London

48. A particularly wide ranging tool kitReadiness to consider the most intense emotional issues and in the next moment, the most practical and cognitive onesHaving a clear grasp of the individual in front of you, not just in life experience, or temperament, but in cognitive abilitiesBe aware of shame and shamingThe limitless potential of social control by shamingBrookdale care conference, London