The team behind Your Little Professor is dedicated to providing factual information for parents and caretakers of adolescents:on the autism spectrum or with other neurodevelopmental disorders,with ADD, ADHD or other executive functioning deficits.

1. Help for Children & Teens with Autism Spectrum
Disorder, Aspergers, and Learning Deficits

2. In 1944, Austrian doctor Hans Asperger published the first
description of what has become known as “Asperger’s
Syndrome.” He described a pattern of behavior known as
“autistic psychopathy” that included a difficulty feeling
empathy and forming friendships, a tendency to become
obsessively interested in things, a one-sided conversational
style, and clumsiness of movement.

3. Asperger called the children with these behaviors “little
professors” because they could talk endlessly and in great detail
about the subjects that had caught their interest. Because much of
Hans Asperger’s work was lost in WWII, this autism spectrum
disorder did not become widely known until the 1980s when Lorna
Wing, a British researcher, published a paper
called Asperger’s Syndrome: A Clinical account.

4. Since 1944 we have grown to consider Asperger’s syndrome on the
scale of Autism Spectrum Disorder. To this day the characteristics
Asperger saw in these “little professors” remain true: Autism
Spectrum Disorder children and teens often demonstrate an amazing
ability to recall dates, names, and events. One parent laughed about
how her ten-year-old knew the scientific name of everyday things –
from household sugar to the trees in the backyard. He would insist
on discussing things using the scientific nomenclature.

5. 2006 marked the 100th anniversary of Hans Asperger’s birth
and the 25th anniversary of the publication of Lorna Wing’s
paper. Since that time, many parents have recognized that their
child, originally diagnosed as Asperger’s Syndrome is actually a
high-functioning form of autism.

6. Officially, Asperger’s syndrome is no longer an official diagnosis.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a part of a larger category of we
now recognize as neurodevelopmental disorders. These disorders
include executive functioning disorders such as Attention-Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, ADD) as well as language-based
learning disorders like verbal or nonverbal learning disorders .

7. Your Little Professor was created as a resource for families who have
a child diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder (Autism
Spectrum Disorder, Aspergers, NVLD, LD, ADHD, ADD). We offer
ideas for families searching for camps & programs for Asperger’s,
Autism Spectrum Disorders, and other neurodevelopmental
disorders. We hope you find the site friendly and helpful for your
needs. Enjoy!