The LPN is receiving a report on a newly admitted 14-year-old boy. He is described as being very bright and a good communicator, but his social interactions seem a bit “off.” He spends much of his time playing with his baseball card collection, which he has organized in a meticulous fashion. Given this information, which diagnosis does the nurse suspect the patient may have?

We usually do not think of people with autism as having good communication skills, so this is a tricky one. The child described would have fallen into an Asperger syndrome diagnosis before 2013, which is now termed “high-functioning autism” and falls on the autism spectrum.
Children with this diagnosis tend to be very bright and often have a good command of language. While they may enjoy being social, they can seem “awkward” or “different” in their interactions. They often are interested in a particular subject or topic and become extremely fixated on it. Those with lower-functioning autism typically have language delays and are not interested in social interaction.
**Note: LPNs are not able to diagnosis Asperger’s or any other mental or medical health condition; this must be done by a qualified medical doctor. However, LPNs should be aware of such conditions and their signs, symptoms, and treatments.