That's probably why I don't relate to most members here.....

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Less skilled, yes. Not less natural.

I've seen first hand what a less experienced person is typically like socially (in one of my brothers when he was still a teenager). Better than I could ever be with the experience I have.

I am almost convinced lately SPD described better my case than AS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_p ... y_disorder

It describes me perfectly:

"Schizoid personality disorder (SPD) is a personality disorder characterized by:

a lack of interest in social relationships ---> Check, while at times I still have need for it, I don't instinctively have the motivation to build them.

a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle --> True, hell yes.

secretiveness ---> True, my family and my colleagues often described me as "the deep well"; since I even hide the things which were extremely bothering me; they know about them only when i am really cornered.

emotional coldness ---> True; and people find this very obvious. Often called "ice" or "board" for it.

sometimes (sexual) apathy ---> True; 29 virgin, been invited by colleagues to brothel nights several times and wasn't interested ; never attempted to hire a hooker ; never attempted to seek casual sex of any type; my persuasion for any "potential" relationship (aka, pursuing a girl I like) were always very short-lived (any sign of disinterest and puff: no more interest. Had 2 limerences but i think this is totally unrelated to sexual needs.

with a simultaneous rich, elaborate, and exclusively internal fantasy world ---> True; there are fantasy (not the sexual type) worlds and simulations inside.



According to DSM:

Neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family
Almost always chooses solitary activities
Has little, if any, interest in having sexual experiences with another person
Takes pleasure in few, if any, activities
Lacks close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives
Appears indifferent to the praise or criticism of others
Shows emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affect

^ 99% matching except there's a desire for relationships (and friendships) but I would never enjoy too much closeness nor I have the mental energy or motivation to actually build them.

The World Health Organization has some more criteria that I relate to:

Indifference to either praise or criticism. ----> Hell yes. In fact, I just hate to be praised.

Indifference to social norms and conventions.---> yup, that's me too.

Preoccupation with fantasy and introspection. ---> can't be other than me.





Moreover, I don't relate to many issues often mentioned here, like the sensory issues, I don't think I have any extreme sensory allergy in order to be described as sensory issue. No texture or smells bothers me and makes me mad. I never also related to the "meltdown" stories, not even once, to me they sound like extreme loss of temper and that's it, most probably because I really don't know what it is like.

You need to look at your upbringing to see whether Schizoid PD fits or not.

Schizoid PD is [supposedly] in part "made" by the environment, i.e., aloof parents growing up, which means you're socially and emotionally underdeveloped.

Whereas AS isn't "made", it's born into.

Both have lots of similarities, and when you think of it, both are social and emotional isolation, no matter the cause.

There was a very good article that I read about Schizoid Personality Disorder. It was written by a psychologist named Gary Yontef called Psychotherapy of Schizoid Process. Here is the link:
psychotherapyschizoidprocess

Lorna Wing is the psychologist that noticed that there were some similarities in Leo Kanner's patients and Hans Asperger's patients and suggested that autism might be a spectrum disorder. Here is something that she wrote regarding AS and SPD:

"There is no question that Asperger syndrome can be regarded as a form of schizoid personality. The question is whether this grouping is of any value. This will be discussed below in the section on classification"

AspergerSyndrome:AClinicalAccount

Maybe you will find some of this information useful.

Schizoid patients tend to come to therapy
regularly but do not appear to be engaged emotionally. A common reaction of the therapist in
response to a schizoid patient is to become
sleepy, even if he or she does not have this
reaction with other patients. There is so little
human connection during sessions that it is like
not having enough oxygen in the room. The
first time this happened to me was with a
patient I liked. I thought perhaps I was getting
sleepy because 1 saw her right after lunch, so 1
changed her hour. But that was not the problem. In fact, 1 never get sleepy with patients
—except occasionally with a schizoid patient.

The Existential Terror Underneath
To people with schizoid character organization, real human connections are terrifying. In
their fantasy life and their behavior, these
individuals try to live as if in a castle on an

island where they are totally safe. The main
feature of this isolation is a denial of attachment and the need for other people. Of course,
living that way brings on another terror—the
terror of not being humanly connected. If their
tendency to defend themselves by isolating
were to be fully realized, they would not be
connected enough to maintain a healthy ego.
Schizoid individuals have to struggle to
maintain their human existence as individual
persons. The human sense of self and good ego
functioning cannot develop and be sustained
without interpersonal engagement, but schizoid
isolating defenses attenuate the interpersonal
bond to the point of endangering ego development and maintenance. Often schizoid people
will create in their fantasy life the satisfaction
or safety they lack in their experienced interpersonal world. They also have human connections in safe contexts (e.g., at a geographical
distance), and disguised longings are often
found at a symbolic level (e.g., in dreams and
daydreams). One frequent symbolic wish is to
return to the womb, which is seen as a state of
oneness and safety. But, if that were possible,
it would make sustained human identity impossible since it would exclude interpersonal contac

Whereas AS isn't "made", it's born into.

Less skilled, yes. Not less natural.

I've seen first hand what a less experienced person is typically like socially (in one of my brothers when he was still a teenager). Better than I could ever be with the experience I have.

You can't be sure.

I don't think there's a study that shows who's more likely to be socially inept; AS or SPD.

If I am really having this SPD (or avoidant personality, another label and very close), then I should be one of the best members in term of social life quality - I am not.

Huh? We aren't obligated to inform employers of our disorders unless it affects our performance.

Not always. I've had a couple of jobs where my medical records had to be made available to the employer before I got the job. I believe that if I were diagnosed, I would not have been hired.