I have direct family members with what was formerly known as Aspergers Syndrome, but none live in the islands.
Named after Viennese pediatrician Hans Asperger, who first described the symptoms in 1944, this is a group of loosely inter-related personality traits, characterized by social awkwardness, discomfort in social situations, difficulty understanding facial expressions or social cues, a tendancy to hyperfocus on one interest, and other behavioral differences from the normal range.
Although still popular with the public, the term "Aspergers" is no longer used as a clinical term by psychologists, who have reclassified this group of individuals as being part of the larger group referred to as the autism scale. As opposed to the kind of severe autism most people think of as being unable to communicate, and being completely out of touch with the world, individuals with Aspergers tend to be at the other end of the spectrum, with some social or behavioral difficulties that are often referred to in later life as eccentricities. People with "high-functioning" Aspergers can be extremely bright or talented, and quite successful if they pursue a career that allows them to be a bit "different." Leading examples are Dr. Temple Grandin, livestock behavior expert, whose life was dramatized in the 2010 movie "Temple Grandin," and Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and richest man in the world.
It's easy to misspell Aspergers, and common to pronounce it wrong, so here's a simple phrase to remind you: "There are no burgers in Aspergers."
As to spelling, there is no "B," and it is correctly pronounced "as purge ers." In the US the emphasis is commonly put on the first syllable, in the UK on the second. Here's a Cambridge Dictionary audio file to hear it spoken:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dicti...s-syndrome#
Good luck with your group. I'll pass the info along to someone who might be interested.
M AT HILO SEA SIDE CONFRENCE ROOM ON APRIL 12TH. IT WILL BE DEVELOPING YOUR CHILDS I.E.P. HOPE YOU WILL SHARE WITH OTHER PARENTS AND HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE ...PLEASE JOIN US ON FACE BOOK AT AUTISUM AND ASPBEGERS SUPPORT GROUP BIG ISLAND..