Summary

• Characterised by qualitative impairments of social interaction, and rigid and ritualistic patterns of behaviour, occurring in the context of normal intellectual capacity among individuals whose language development was normal from infancy.
• Being developmental in nature, these key characteristics are present from early childhood.
• Categorised alongside autistic disorder as one of the autism spectrum disorders.
• Is not simply a mild form of autism.
• As a syndrome, it is diagnosed according to the presence of a threshold number of symptoms in a number of diagnostic domains, and with specified exclusion criteria.
• While there are currently no curative treatments, much can be done to improve overall level of functioning, including social skills training, behavioural intervention, and medication for behavioural and comorbid health issues.