Difference between NT and Aspergers/Autism

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Can some one list a clairified list of the differences? I tried wikiing it, but it just left me confused, since I spotted some of those traits in most people I know who - as far as I know - aren't diagnosed with even PDD-NOS. In fact, nearly everyone seems to have some form of it, so there doesn't appear to be an actual dividing line. What line do the shrinks use?

I'm not going to lay out specifics for you, but I will type something.

Interpretation, over analyzing, and no definition of the normal qualities is your worst enemy.

How somebody interprets something is how they define it. How they define it is how they explain it. How it is explained to somebody else influences how they interpret it. Breakdown in communications! Can also be a lack of proper explanation of the persons interpretation.

Over analyzing can be good or bad. Sure, if you wanted you could see a lot of traits. "black and white thinking" can seen in politics for example. They take sides to the extreme, even though there are good qualities from all sides.

No definition of what is normal is bad. Like talking about the proper amount of eye contact. They talk about obsessive interests, but give no example of normal followed with an example of abnormal.


I find this okay for professionals who should already know these things, but when they get published for public use, it becomes a problem. People should learn what is considered to be the normal of what is supposedly abnormal when being taught about a condition, so they can judge accurately rather than calling BS because they see it in everyone (when in fact they see the normal amount in everyone, not the abnormal that was talked about).

The dividing line, in theory, is supposed to be where the traits become a problem for "normal" functioning. The DSM-IV criteria are usually used to make a determination, but some of that is subjective and open to interpretation, probably due to the nature of what Asperger's actually is. So in reality, there isn't a clear cut line.

Things get even foggier when people with AS become adults. They often build in coping strategies, catalog vast amounts of social interaction information in their heads, and find niches where they are accepted. These things can mask their disabilities.

There are older folks here (I'm talking late 20s and up) who weren't diagnosed with AS as kids, mostly because the diagnosis wasn't available. Now that they have grown up, some of them with "milder" AS may have few problems functioning "normally" and so would probably escape diagnosis. Yet there is no "cure" for AS, so once you've been diagnosed with it, you will always have it. This leads to an interesting paradox of sorts.

Take Joe and Jim, for instance. Both had very similar traits growing up. Imagine that Joe was diagnosed with AS as a child, while Jim (for whatever reason) went undiagnosed. Now that both of them are adults, they're functioning just fine: hold a job, married, kids, happy with life, etc. (however you measure "functioning"). Now Joe can't "shake" his diagnosis, yet Jim wouldn't be able to get one.

This also can lead to presuming you have AS because you fit some of the DSM-IV criteria. If you go in convinced that you have AS, you can probably convince yourself that you do.

I simply stopped caring where I fell in relation to the actual "line." I don't need to seek a diagnosis because my life is working very well for me. However, I'm far from "normal" by most people's standards and I share many traits with those here on WP.

I guess my question to the OP is: why are you seeking where to draw line?

I'm not. I'm seeking to find out where the psychiatrists draw the line, out of interest. It's one of my many interests.

After a bit of thought, I've decided to diagnose everyone I know with PDD-NOS, to varying degrees.

I think this a lot. Sadly, there is no real answer for this sort of question.

No wonder you people are isolated. Jesus.

Erm... sorry? Can you direct that at a particular comment? I have no idea what you are referring to.

Nevermind, I figured it out from some of your other posts.

Either you are the one with serious issues, or you're a troll. Or, most likely, both.

Are you kidding, and I'm just taking you too literally, or are you really thinking that PDD-NOS means normal, with a few quirks?

My 7 yo son is diagnosed with PDD-NOS, and he is affected by his autism far more than I have ever have, am or will be with my suspected AS. He only got that diagnoses because he has too much emotional/social reciprocity to be diagnosed with classic autism, and he has a speech delay that precludes him from having an AS diagnosis. The doctors that saw him noted that the way he socializes is extremely atypical, but just the fact that he does attempt to do so means that he can't be diagnosed with classic autism. You'd definetely notice that he's autistic after trying to carry on a conversation with him for a few minutes.

Sorry, I should perhaps have worded it differently. When I said PDD-NOS I was refering to the mild autism diagnosis, even milder than Aspergers.

The thing with PDD-NOS is that it seems to mean Autism that doesn't fit either Kanner or Aspergers. I realise that, and apologise for any offence caused.

It's okay. I know that the term PDD-NOS is so ambiguous that it's hard to know exactly what it means.

We are more "alone" and see things differently than "they" do.

We would like to think that our thought processes are higher and purer than theirs.

But perhaps we are wrong.

It basically means "other on the spectrum." That could be mild, moderate, severe, it doesn't really matter. It's a huge bucket they are looking to "fix" for DSM-V.

Yes, you're right. It is subjective. They don't give you a tissue sample test or a brain scan to diagnose you, but rather look at behavior. So they have no choice but to figure out if the symptoms/situation are to the point where it's clinical. Although there is a debate on whether the disorder is an actual condition or not, since there is a continuum and most have some traits, they have no choice but to find out if it's clinically interfering.

I took an abnormal psychology class earlier and the professor said that medical students have a tendency to become paranoid that they have all these medical problems, while they really don't. The professor said likewise, those who learn about psychological disorders do the same thing, and analyze everyone else. He said everyone has symptoms, but it's not a disorder until it becomes clinical.

The definition of psychological disorder does not necessarily mean condition or mental illness (they have things like compulsive gambling disorder, lol, and anti-social personality disorder where someone gets a thrill from doing criminal activities and knows that what they're doing is wrong, most psychologists say the best therapy for those with anti-social personality disorder is prison since they don't respond well to therapy and instead manipulate the therapists). In order for it to be a disorder, it has to:

1. Be abnormal (everyone has problems, so it has to be abnormal)
2. Has to interfere with your life or others in a way that's clinical (Michael Jordan had out of the ordinary basketball skills and some people have very out of the ordinary hobbies, being odd or out of the ordinary isn't classified as being a disorder unless it's clinical)
3. It has to be chronic (everyone at some point has short term problems that are abnormal and cause havoc, but it's not a disorder unless it's long-term)


Of course, underneath all of these requirements, there could be an actual condition, or not. However, since they don't take tissue samples or brain scans, but rather look at behavior, that's why they have no choice but to ask if the behavior/situation is clinical. The Autism-Spectrum Quotient test has been tested by peer-review research and found to be good at distinguishing those with ASD from those who don't, although it's very accurate it's still not good enough for formal diagnosis (here's a link to many peer-review studies on the Autism Quotient at the bottom of the page http://www.autismresearchcentre.com/tests/aq_test.asp ). Everyone has some traits like you said, but there has to be a line drawn.