International Asperger Syndrome Day

It all depends on the way you look at things, once you understand how they think and how they see the world, what one day seems like a disability, another day can be a talent.

In order to make the group and its needs visible, and to raise public awareness, since 2007, the International Asperger Syndrome Day is celebrated on February 18. This date coincides with the anniversary of Hans Asperger's birth (18/February/1906 to 21/October/1980).

The purpose of this celebration is to raise awareness in society of this type of autism, of neurological origin, which causes a severe disorder of human development. It is a fairly frequent disorder, since in the world between three and seven out of every 1000 people live with this condition; in spite of this, little is known about the exact cause.

Asperger's syndrome includes a set of alterations in social interaction, communication and interests, and involves a disability to relate socially, which causes maladaptive behaviors and difficulties to function.

A person with Asperger's does not recognize body language or tone of voice, has difficulty making friends and finds it almost impossible to interpret the actions and thoughts of others. However, people with this condition have normal or above-average appearance and intelligence, they find it difficult to understand the "unwritten" social rules and may sometimes behave inappropriately.

It must be understood that their behavior is not intentional. It reflects a different way of understanding and navigating the world.