aspergers

[avanutria]

Wow, IB, thanks very much for that post. I enjoyed reading it.

While I was studying for my dissertation I came across a newly published book. It's called "An Asperger Dictionary of Everyday Expressions" and you might find it interesting.

http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/i ... 1843101529

[emmline]

That was a good post.

[susnfx]

Yes, that's my niece all right. However, I'd also add, and this is the reason I stated that I'm sure Cran doesn't have it, there is something else - the reason they call it highly functioning autism - it's not just a "normal" person with odd thoughts or habits. You can tell by looking at my niece that something isn't quite right. She doesn't make much eye contact. She'll talk to you, answer questions, but the words seem memorized - there's no real feeling behind them. In fact, quite a few of her comments and answers to questions you realize are quotes from books or movies. She goes to school and gets good grades but does it basically in her own little world.

This is something that her parents have struggled with since she was about 18 months - two years old. It took years of testing, watching her, dealing with her to finally find out what was wrong. Her father has some of the same traits, and while I'm sure there are many people who also have some of the same traits, I don't think for a moment that you'd suddenly find out in early adulthood that you had Aspergers.

The eating habits: Juli went through a long period where all she would eat was raw hot dogs. She was horribly thin until just a few years ago (she's 15 now).

Susan

[gonzo914]

But what about the trough mints?

[Innocent Bystander]

Yes, my son was much the same. It depends on the severity. Even now, I'm quick with a quote, but mostly I can see where it is inappropriate.
When Ben was two years old, he would scarcely talk, and had us greatly worried, but if you gave him the cue, he would recite the whole of "The Sea" by James Reeves ("The sea is an angry dog, giant and grey...") It was very odd. We are very odd.

The Aspergers cases who look you in the eye are concentrating their attention on you and trying to work out your mood. The ones who don't are trying to be ignored and are hoping you will go away.

Never heard of trough mints. You look like a preying mantis, to me.

[Redwolf]

Has anybody here ever heard of aspergers?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger's_syndrome

Somebody kindly told me to look into it; I did and now I think I have it. But I don't know if the person who told me was joking or not.

My daughter has Asperger's Syndrome. She also has ADHD.

The only people who can diagnose either of these conditions are mental health professionals.

Redwolf

[I.D.10-t]

3. AS sufferers are extremely picky about what they eat. My son survives on Pepperami sausages, apples and crisps. He also tolerates one brand of chocolate, “Maribou” which it is a struggle to get hold of. My daughter eats white sliced bread, American muffins and apples. She is happy to eat Cadbury’s chocolate. One of my brothers-in-law survived his teenage years on nothing but Sugar-Puffs. One of my friends asked what they ate for a Christmas meal. The answer is “we don’t.” Eating in company with other people is extremely stressful to us. A table for two in a restaurant is fine, but I can’t handle occasions when my wife’s three brothers and two sisters and their partners and children all sit around a table (and shout at the tops of their voices, or so it seems to me).

Thank goodness, your post was starting to worry me until this part. I can eat almost anything. At one point the food I could get was so bad that I learned that if I thought about the reasons that I hated the food that I could eat it to analyze why I hated it. This worked for all but one meal. (never try to make Mac n’ cheese with MRE “cheese”)

5. Part of AS is obsessive behaviour. Mostly this tends to be rabbitting on about our favourite subjects to other people.

Again, thanks, I much more like to extract information than give it (which I will do freely). My wife has unfortunately figured out this trait and will say “Don’t try that stuff on me!” whenever I go a little too far asking her questions.

[Redwolf]

I think it pays to remember that Asperger's (and, in fact, Autism) is a spectrum disorder. Not all people who have it experience it to the same degree, or have the same symptoms. Some people with Asperger's seem pretty normal in most situations...others may seem just barely higher functioning than someone who is diagnosed as autistic.

Redwolf

[Cynth]

But what about the trough mints?

Lamby explained that. We know enough.

[DCrom]

IB, that was a good post - and you were spot-on about folks with Asperger's traits doing well in technical fields. You see a *lot* of folks with similar personalities working here in Silicon Valley - the stereotype of the "Silicon Valley Engineer" overlaps the list of Asperger's traits by a considerable amount.

I may not have Asperger's - at least, I've never been formally diagnosed as such - but I certainly have many of the traits you list. Here in Silicon Valley I fit in pretty well, but as a kid growing up I had lots of those "on my planet" moments.

[Redwolf]

IB, that was a good post - and you were spot-on about folks with Asperger's traits doing well in technical fields. You see a *lot* of folks with similar personalities working here in Silicon Valley - the stereotype of the "Silicon Valley Engineer" overlaps the list of Asperger's traits by a considerable amount.

I may not have Asperger's - at least, I've never been formally diagnosed as such - but I certainly have many of the traits you list. Here in Silicon Valley I fit in pretty well, but as a kid growing up I had lots of those "on my planet" moments.

An interesting thing is, there's a much higher than average percentage of children being born in the Silicon Valley with Autism-spectrum disorders (including Asperger's Syndrom). When you think about it, it makes sense...my hubby (a programmer who proudly refers to himself as "a professional nerd," and was once diagnosed as "high-functioning autistic," which is what they used to call Asperger's kids) refers to this area as "the place where nerds go to mate"! Seriously...when you consider that there is almost certainly a genetic element to this sort of thing, the Silicon Valley "Asperger's Zone" really does make sense.

Redwolf

[Lambchop]

There seems to be a strong correlation between those with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism (HFA) and the INTP type of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) . . . Another theory states that Asperger's correlates to the INTP personality type, whereas high functioning autism correlates to the INFJ personality type.

[Jack]

Saying that I am picky about what I eat is an extreme understatement.

[avanutria]

An interesting thing is, there's a much higher than average percentage of children being born in the Silicon Valley with Autism-spectrum disorders (including Asperger's Syndrom). When you think about it, it makes sense...my hubby (a programmer who proudly refers to himself as "a professional nerd," and was once diagnosed as "high-functioning autistic," which is what they used to call Asperger's kids) refers to this area as "the place where nerds go to mate"! Seriously...when you consider that there is almost certainly a genetic element to this sort of thing, the Silicon Valley "Asperger's Zone" really does make sense.

There's a really interesting article about that here:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12 ... rs_pr.html

While not linguisticky enough to be a topic of my dissertation, it's what motivated me to study the condition.

[amar]

INFJ for me, along with wild and crazy Mohandas Gandhi and Eleanor Roosevelt. And if you will permit me an embarrassing revelation, after I did a report on FDR when I was a kid, Eleanor Roosevelt became my idol. I could even do a good imitation of her speaking. What a nerd I was. (Please note the past tense.)

Carol

PS I just noticed that on the second site that describes this personality type, included along with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Theresa is, of course, Tom Selleck.

INFJ. Me too.

# slightly expressed introvert 11
# moderately expressed intuitive personality 25
# moderately expressed feeling personality 50
# slightly expressed judging personality 1