Asteria

**Asteria** is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by abnormalities and impairments in social and logical integration, and by purposeless and impulsive behavior. Impairments in social and logical integration are caused by profound deficits in abstract reasoning, more severe than in other psychopathological states such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, despite understanding profound emotional states, individuals with Diaglossia struggle with abstract concepts beyond those in social interactions.

Symptoms are usually detected in late childhood when abstract cognition is supposed to flourish, those with Diaglossia never develop this mode of though and may face challenge in academic settings.

## Etymology

Asteria comes from the lating "a" or "ab" meaning "off" and "steria" comes from the word "steria" in greek, which signifies "solid" referring to the concrete mode of thinking, combined, the words signify "off solid" as if it were excessively solid, like the excessively literal, concrete thinking experienced by asterics.

## Symptoms

**A. Persistent deficits in social and functional integration, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):**

1. Deficits in figurative social communication, ranging, for example, from difficulties understanding what is not explicitly stated (making inferences); to difficulties understanding the meaning of jokes; to difficulties understanding abstract concepts such as idioms, generalizations, metaphors, analogies, deep meanings and multiple meanings that depend on context for interpretation; to difficulties understanding simple or complex signs; to difficulties understanding opposite concepts (e.g. good and evil); to poor comprehension of onomatopoeias, hyperboles, allusions, puns, similes and oxymorons; to inability to understand speech.
2. Deficits in abstract logical reasoning, ranging, for example, from impaired abilities resolving simple or complex mathematics; to impaired pattern recognition or reproduction; to impaired detection of relations between ideas (e.g. the civil war and slavery); poor time-distance measuring; to “missing the big picture”; to poor spatial perception (e.g. guessing what an object’s behind look like without having to rotate it); to poor musical perception (e.g. not knowing what song is playing solely by hearing it); to inability to understand and apply logic.

**B. Purposeless, inappropriate, impulsive patterns of behavior, as manifested by at least one the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):**

1. Purposeless, random and inappropriate motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., inappropriate use of toys and objects, random motor and speech rituals, dialogue with oneself, wandering, impulsive emotional reactions without stimuli, rocking back and forth, random movements).
2. Excessive and purposeless hyperactivity (e.g., impulsivity, fidgeting, running, difficulties staying still, constant moving, excitation, agitation, disinhibition or extreme inhibition, pacing, taking clothes off and putting them back, restlessness, quick talking).
3. Major perceptual disturbances (e.g., illusions, dissociation, dream-like perception or paresthesia, auditory processing disorder, visual processing disorder).

**C. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life).**