Do you experience persistent over-concerns or fears relating to everyday activities like eating with others, meeting with others or even thinking about bodily functions? If your anxiety has lasted more than 6 months and interferes with getting things done or working with family, friends or co-workers, you may have an Anxiety Disorder.

Anxiety disorders often accompany other disorders. For example, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and many Depressive Disorders, often complicate anxiety disorders. When anxiety becomes so intense as to cause physical symptoms, like knocking of the heart (palpitations) or the sensation of suffocation (hyperventilation), it has reached the level of a Panic Disorder.

Anxiety disorders can be fueled by stressful events or activities, like sexual molestation or rape, the death of a loved one or bullying. But seemingly trivial activities, like participation in a group or meeting new people, can also trigger an anxiety disorder for some vulnerable individuals. Inheritance often creates such vulnerabilities; that is, anxiety disorders can run in families.

Successful therapy for anxiety disorders often requires effective treatment of any associated conditions and may include psychotherapy, medication or both.

Psychotherapy aims to provide an individual with effective strategies to avoid known triggers and to manage stressful events or activities. Medications can directly change brain chemistry to create resistance to stress and resultant anxiety.

Psychologists and Psychiatrists are best equipped to treat anxiety disorders, but the latter group of professionals are licensed to prescribe medications.

Asperger Disorder is a higher functioning form of Autism. This means, with the exception of social competence, thinking ability is usually average or above average.

What makes children with Asperger Disorder most recognizable are deficiencies in social and communication skills associated with repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Commonly included in communication disturbances are odd patterns of speech. Deficient social-adaptive skills make it hard for affected children to interpret other people’s body language. For example, they may not recognize a parent’s annoyance or anger and continue to engage in behaviors seemingly intended to provoke more annoyance or anger. Poor eye contact can be seen as early as toddlerhood, and often persists into adult life.

Ritualistic, repetitive behaviors, like reciting a sequence of numbers or moving arms or legs in a complex, but stereotyped fashion, may become intense and intrusive enough to qualify as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Indeed, it’s common to see children with Asperger Disorder exhibit several associated disorders. Among the most frequent accompaniments of Asperger Disorder are OCD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Depressive and Anxiety Disorders.

Asperger Disorder is several times more common in males than in females. The disorder may affect several individuals within an extended family, suggesting inheritance may play an ill-defined role. Many theories have been proposed to explain the occurrence of Asperger Disorder, including poor bonding between parent and child, exposure to toxins during pregnancy and the accumulation of mercury from thimerosol-preserved vaccines. None of these proposed causes for Asperger Disorder has been scientifically established.

The treatment of Asperger Disorder aims to improve an affected child’s ability to understand and relate to other people. One well proven form of treatment is Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA therapy). Through ABA therapy, a skilled therapist can improve an affected child’s performance of Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s), like personal hygiene, managing finances, employment routines as well as social mores.

A child’s intellectual level (IQ) and level of motivation are directly related to successful integration into society. Equally important is effective treatment of associated disorders.