No: 41 / ASSESSMENT OF AN ADOLESCENT WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME USING PROJECTIVE TESTS IN TERMS OF PSYCHOSIS

  • ASSESSMENT OF AN ADOLESCENT WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME USING PROJECTIVE TESTS IN TERMS OF PSYCHOSIS

    Ş. Özdenur Tetikçok, Ercan Taş
    Summary :

    Asperger's Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder within the autism spectrum, characterized by difficulties in social interaction, communication, restricted behaviors, and limited interests (DSM-5). The aim of this study is to examine the psychological functioning of a 17-year-old male patient who has been under follow-up for one year with a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome (DSM-IV), through his responses on the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Test (T.A.T.). The patient's responses were reported using the content analysis method of the French School. The patient produced a number of responses above the age average (mean: 19, R: 34). His answers were emotionally flat, raw, and contained aggressive content. His resistance to emotional bonding and lack of libidinal investment are notable, as his responses reflect a withdrawal from the anxiety generated by relating to others, instead offering arbitrary interpretations from his internal fantasy world. Throughout the tests, several characteristics stood out: affective bluntness, difficulty in constructing the human body, a perception of the external world as threatening, the complexity of responses, signs of narcissistic insufficiency, and difficulty separating from the test situation. Taken together, these findings suggest that the patient is positioned at a paranoid-schizoid level of functioning. Issues related to the pregenital stage and the impaired capacity to establish and sustain relationships with others were identified as the most prominent features in the test results.

    Keywords : Asperger's Syndrome, projective tests, psychosis