Asperger Syndrome Disorder Diagnosed in Adulthood: A Case Report

Asperger's disorder (AD) is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by social impairment, restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. It is seldom that individuals with AD are referred to a psychiatry clinic only for their social and communication deficits. Quite often, the main reason for referral is the presence of other disabling symptoms, such as physical aggression and depression. Although diagnosed mainly in children, AD is increasingly being diagnosed for the first time in adulthood. Here, we present a 24-year-old patient with recurrent depression who was diagnosed as having AD for the first time in adulthood. This case is important to show the difficulty of diagnosing AD for the first time in adulthood and to show how a proper and effective treatment may be delayed if the underlying diagnosis of AD is missed for years. We wanted to emphasize the importance of developmental history and the usefulness of liaison with child and adolescent psychiatry in similar cases when the diagnosis is not clear. (Archives of Neuropsychiatry 2013; 50: 78-81)