Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome are truly an interesting population. Gifted individuals with Asperger's Syndrome are even more fascinating--and confusing. Children with this disability are sometimes described as "little professors who can't understand social cues." (Safran, 2001, p. 1) They are highly verbal, have obsessive interests in certain subjects, have exceptional memories, usually have above average IQ's, are hypersensitive to sensory stimuli and experience social isolation. (Neihart, 2000). Gifted individuals can manifest these behaviors as well. However, even though children with Asperger's Syndrome manifest behaviors that are very similar to gifted children, upon closer examination, the motivation for the behaviors is quite different. For example, both gifted children and children with Asperger's Syndrome are highly verbal. Both populations usually have extremely advanced vocabularies and love to talk about their interests. The difference is that children with Asperger's are very literal and have a difficult time with abstract thought. This is not the case with the gifted child. The child with Asperger's will memorize a vast number of facts and parrot them back. The gifted child on the other hand, understands the concepts behind the words.

This page, provided by the Hoagies Gifted Website has some great links to articles and books on Asperger's Syndrome.  I highly recommend it!

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/aspergers.htm

For further information on Asperger's Sydrome and High Functioning Autism, I encourage you to visit this site: http://www.autism.org/contents.html#temple  It contains numerous articles by Dr. Temple Grandin, an associate professor at Colorado State University.  Her book, Thinking in Pictures chronicles her life as a highly functioning autistic.

Did you know...Thomas Jefferson, 3rd U.S. president and author of the Declaration of Independence may have had Asperger's Syndrome?  For further information, go to www.amazon.com and look up the book, Diagnosing Jefferson.

Just like any other twice exceptional learner, children who are gifted and have Asperger's can benefit from various compensation strategies.  It is important to note however that these children are literal, enjoy rote memorization, have severe social deficits, tend to obsess on certain subjects and can be highly sensitive to sensory stimuli.  Keeping these things in mind, the follow strategies may be of benefit:

• Social Stories:  One way to address difficulties with social interactions is through illustrated stories that show people's thoughts and feelings.  The book Comic Strip Conversations by C. Gray is one example.  The stories include thought bubbles of different colors that visually illustrate a person's thoughts and feelings.  It provides a visitor's guide to our culture by explaining various social conventions and their rationale.
• Expanding Personal Interests:  Children with Asperger's need to learn to broaden their interests.  However, they should also be given time to pursue their passion.  Using the interest as a jumping off point for other related interests is one strategy.  For example an obsession with cars could branch out into other modes of transportation, how combustion engines work, etc. 
• Language Compensation Skills:  Poor comprehension skills are common.  Capitalizing on the child's exceptional memory by providing rote assignments may be of benefit.
• Sensory Issues:  Extreme sensitivity to certain types of stimuli may be an issue.  Make every effort to accommodate for this.  For example, allow earplugs to be worn when necessary. 

This excerpt was taken from the article, Which is It?  Asperger's Syndrome or Giftedness:  Defining the Differences, by Cindy Little in the Winter 2002 issue of Gifted Child Today