Neither Aspie Nor NT, but somewhere in between

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There is no in-between. That's what Asperger's is, it's basically at the fringe between autism and NT, often referred to as a "touch of autism." If you're somewhere in between, you're probably just an introverted NT with intense interests. Sometimes characters traits are simply character traits, they don't have to be a symptom.

I am neurotypical, but was unexpectedly told by my psychologist that I show strong signs of Asperger's Syndrome. I am not diagnosed, and I personally do not believe that I have AS, as I am quite informed on the issue.

I don't believe that. People with AS have a large range of symptoms, and some are more affected by it than others, etc. AS is towards the top of the ASD spectrum, but it's not a single point. It occupies a chunk of the spectrum (and overlaps with other ASD diagnosis).

I wish I could draw a graph to show what I mean, but I think you're thinking of individual ASD diagnosis as occupying just a single point on the ASD scale, and none of them do. They're all a range (and not really even just a single two-dimensional scale, but more of a 3D scale encompassing various symptoms).

I composed a whole thread in my head on this very topic and then when I came to post it, well here it is! I'm an inbetweenie. I call it Aspie Lite and I am glad to find that I am NOT in my own category!

everybodies got phobias

see what mean about aspie as a wide term,guess those who do not fit AS would be classed as borderline autistic?

Am agree about PDDNOS-it would be better if it was all just...ASD which would clearly show it's a spectrum and would force people into seeing the individuals weaknesses/strengths and not just the one definition like with both AD and AS.
Are probably more likely to get better understanding and support with an AS label rather than PDDNOS if can get it.

I think I might be only slightly aspie, I have all of the social problems discribed, but I do not have as many problems with textures. I have specific clothing, but I like the feeling of wood, feeling rough things does not bother me, ect.

You don't have to have problems with textures and things to have AS. It's a wide range of potential symptoms that seems to come along with it.

About NPD: well I dont know a lot about it, I kind of did think that a lack of primary empathy is one of the indicators for it, and for ASDs.

What I mean by lack of primary empathy is a sort of empathetic disconnection from the world, and an unawareness of the feelings of other people: it is hard to care about other people's feelings when you dont know what they are.

But this doesnt mean that ASD people cannot be caring people, it just means they have to learn empathy,

sort of forming a link between their intellect and their emotional side so that they can recognise when someone is upset, and respond.

Generally an ASD person will match up an image of their own distress with the image of another's and then feel empathy,

whereas an NT's mirror cells will pick up on the distress and they will get a feeling directly from it.

From what I have heard, a person with NPD also lacks the primary empathetic development and can only rely on secondary empathy. But, Im not sure of this.

It would explain where all the extroverts are who have ASDs though.

Oh my God,

I'm not only one. I'm really not the only one who is lost in the grey transition area
between Aspie and NT!

Wonder of wonders....

Last edited by Dark_Red_Beloved on 07 Feb 2008, 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don't think it is a transitional area so much as it's that AS is a spectrum, not a single point on the ASD spectrum. Not everyone is equally affected by it, and everyone has a different set of symptoms.

good point.I'll have to pay a bit more attention to my semantics before I post from now on.

I was diagnosed with Adult ADHD very recently. Someone I met through an ADHD forum suggested I may be slightly Aspie. I did the most recent rdos test and got 150 Aspie and 60 NT. How "Aspie" is that? I'm not really clear on how the range works. It looks fairly significantly into Aspie territory but I'd like a rough idea of how "severe" for want of a better word my Aspiness is.

It is called a spectrum after all, and believe it or not there's actually a reason for it.

Yes, but the question really is: "At what point on the spectrum do I lie and how many others occupy the same position?" In other words, what is the mean score and does it lie above or below mine? A score above the mean, of course, indicates greater Aspiness than normal.

I was originally diagnosed as mild to moderate aspergers syndrome during a bad confusing time in my life but after all the s**t I manage to overcome I think Im borderline aspie. I can come across as an awkward NT to many of my friends who actually know me. One aspie test indicated that I had both aspie and NT traits. I took it 3 times and my scores range from 70-110 aspie score. The AQ test I scored 33 most recently. I look at my symptoms, I barely have any sensory issues, no motor problems. Ive self-taught myself 90% of the social skills I know within the last 4-5yrs. I went 2000 miles away from home to college 8 months after my diagnosis. I do enjoy socializing to an extent, I can read non-verbals reasonably ok by now and Ive gotten to a point in my life where those non-verbals mean something whereas they didnt before. My aspie side shows due to a lack of empathy, I dont know how people are really feeling and thinking, all I can read is the non-verbals there trying to send me, I still make tons of social mistakes.

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. I too have had some pretty bad times but I'm feeling a lot happier now after finally getting some answers. I can now see the Asperger's in me since childhood and the effects its had on my life: I was definitely "different" and shunned by other kids; a bit of a loner; initially did poorly at school due to my behaviour; had trouble picking up simple tasks like tying shoelaces, ties, etc., but verbally very precocious. Due to my hyperactivity my parents sent me to a gymnastics club in an effort to exhaust me. I didn't like it much at first but got into it in a big way becoming a national champion. I also dived(as in springboards), did judo, swam and played racquet sports. No real issue with motor coordination then! I can be pretty clumsy though and definitely take extra care to avoid being clumsy which may hint at some issues though.

I have problems with social interaction, eye contact, social events, relationships, etc., but I have a small circle of friends and have worked successfully as a contract software developer for 15+ years. I do have trouble reading people. I've a tendency to be mistrustful, spend too long trying to size someone up and by the time I've decided they're probably ok, they think I'm not worth knowing.

I have to force myself to socialise; I'd much rather not bother to a large extent. When I do, I often enjoy it. A roomful of people I don't know is my idea of hell though, even if they're relatives.

Looking back, I now realise that, although I've lived independently for nearly 25 years, I haven't really been able to cope with life at all. My anger issues have got me into too many scrapes; I have lots of trouble dealing with the minutiae of life like paying bills, shopping, doing taxes, dealing with officialdom, etc.; I can't quite bring myself to embark on relationships despite not having particular difficulty with women - I just know any relationship would be doomed before it started and would rather save myself and them the trouble.

However, it's nice to know why, exactly, I have this weird, off-the-wall problem solving ability, tenacity and extreme desire to understand things. Perhaps now that I understand myself better, I'll be able to offload a lot more of the mundane life stuff that I can't handle and concentrate on the things I can handle and possibly make a real contribution in some sphere or other.