Navigating through the social maze

The World is a complex place, chaotic in nature, fraught with hidden dangers, and no more so is this the case than in the realm of human social interaction. The intricacies of communication both verbal and non-verbal, the subtle interplays of body language and the signs and signals that we all give out, almost without realising can make understanding somewhat difficult for those of us who are not natural social animals. There are several neurological conditions that make social interaction more challenging but perhaps the most widely known is the spectrum of disorders that come under the umbrella of Autism. These can range from the extreme case such as that portrayed in the film "Rainman" to the far more subtle conditions that fall under the term Aspergers Syndrome.

With conditions at the aspergers end of the spectrum there are in some senses additional difficulties, since there are very few, if any, external cues to someone with the condition. It has been suggested that such great minds as Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein may have displayed Aspergers traits and both were certainly compromised in social situations. As with so many neurological conditions these syndromes are not fully understood, and the facilities to test for them are severely limited. Getting a diagnosis as an adult is next to impossible without first hand evidence from a relative who knew the individual as a very young child. As these are developmental disorders, it is behaviour in the early years of development that is crucail for an accurate diagnosis.

The symptoms of Aspergers syndrome are an inability to understand social situations caused by a lack of instinctual empathy. The typical person with Aspergers, if such a think exists, will tend to be quiet, tend to be quite reserved, will have difficulty in making appropriate levels of eye contact, either avoiding it or tending to stare, and may have difficulty with understanding whether their conversation is appropriate or engaging, tending to talk at length about inappropriate topics. There is an additional wrinkle to this tale however. For those with Aspergers who have never been diagnosed, and who have had to try to muddle through life as best they can, there is a tendency to have become quite good at hiding these traits through a range of coping strategies. These have been know to include asking a lot of questions during a conversation, using stimuli outside the conversation area as an excuse to keep shifting eye focus and breaking eye contact, exaggerating facial and physical gestures during speech, and limiting conversations to non-contentious topics.

It is always worth bearing in mind when engaging in any social activity that those around you may not have the same level of social awareness that you do. They may have heightened senses that are prone to being overstimulated, they may engaged in repetitive or stereotyped bahaviours or need to stick to a set routine. If you are someone you know matches to these criteria, it may just be that they find socialising a little more challenging, and may need a little patience.