Can you tell if someone has autism/aspergers

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I'm new to all this, but have a couple of acquaintances I'm sure are on the spectrum

I can tell, just by looking at their posture, body language and their eyes. I've also posted some pictures in this section, earlier on this year. I don't want to keep posting them, because that would be spamming.

Hey! I shower! (most days)

Jokes aside, I'm starting to develop a *dar (Aspdar? Asperdar?) for it. The prospects are intriguing.

Mind blowing in fact. I like Aspdar

You could walk down the main street with A4 info sheets folded into a brochure, giving one to every aspie you see. A contact email on that sheet or so, would give you feedback on how accurate your intuition is, or a more accurate methodology could be found.

Then you could manipulate them away from WP, and recruit them for a cult religion (like Autism Speaks) and install yourself as charismatic leader

Yes. I know. Gene Simmons has nothing on me!! !

It depends on the position in the spectrum. I recently met another Aspie who was quite unlike me. Generally, someone with Asperger's would be harder to pinpoint than [as someone before rightly said] a person who is more profoundly autistic.

It is hard to explain. I remember once I was planning to attend a meet-up for shy people. I was early, so I waited outside. People started to show up. A woman got out of her car, and started for the building where the meet-up was being held. I felt a jolt of recognition. Then, 2 guys arrived. It happened again. It may have been something about the way that they walked, but it is hard to put a finger on. When we were introducing ourselves later, it turned out that the three people I'd suspected were Aspies, really were.

Oh, I absolutely can. Like knows like. I usually can't tell at first sight, unless they're doing something really obvious like putting their hands over their ears or doing everything short of plucking their eyes out of their skull to avoid eye contact, but after speaking with someone for a minute or two it becomes very obvious just by their manner of speech.

I only ever met one person I knew for sure was on the spectrum because I was told. Ummm... he was weird I hate to say it. The way he did stuff, it would be easy to pick out someone else like that IMO, but I don't know what the severity of his autism was. He also thought I was strange too and he couldn't figure it out.

Black Wolf, what is the aspie manner of speech?

Well, we tend to have extensive vocabularies, while expecting others to understand exactly what we mean. We're also often very polite in a formal sort of way, and tend to ask the "traditional" questions when meeting someone and getting to know them; do you have any pets, that sort of thing. Then there's body language, which I'm pretty good at recognising, though not displaying.

Would that be described as sounding intelligent? I keep getting the comment I sound intelligent, but I can't pin down as to why.

Ehh, I will always wonder before I know for sure if I fall on the spectrum... sigh.

Unless it's glaringly obvious, people just blend together and I can't tell.

I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever actually met one,outside of family. If I have met them, than obviously I'm not good at spotting them.

There's this guy at work who I think COULD possibly be an aspie but I'm not so sure. He does seem to talk about the same thing all the time, movies. Which I like because that's what I talk about too. But he seems to be ok in social situations.

As described in the OP, no, I can't and don't believe anyone else can either despite what they may claim. But let me explain.

When people say things like "I can smell an Aspie from 10 miles away", or the like, it implies they can always accurately tell exactly who is an Aspie and who is not. I think that's nonsense. What some people can do is compare people to Aspie cliches they are aware of or compare them to the particular Aspie traits they themselves experience and find an apparent match. However, they only THINK they are always right, there is no means to confirm it, so they end up imagining that they have this unfailing skill simply because there is no means to disprove it, just as there is no means to prove it.

They may guess right some times, when it comes to Aspies quite like them, or Aspies with quite obvious cliched Aspie traits, but they will certainly miss many other Aspies unlike them and those who manage to hide Aspie traits and basically 'pass' as NT (many can, for short periods).

In short, I don't buy it. But I can see how someone might come to imagine that they have this skill. Certainly, by learning all about Aspergers or personally interacting with lots of other people you know have been diagnosed with Aspergers then you will improve your ability to identify other Aspies, but it will never become the infallible 'radar' that some imagine they have.

I tend to agree with Maolcolm, I can see traits in people, but most people will have perceptible traits. If they have lots of traits, I might think ''wonder if you're Aspie?'' But, hey, even with a Dx I wonder if I'm really Aspie. How can it be that my oddness and differentness has a name?

But possibly I'm in denial. Turns out three of my four siblings, one brother-in-law and of course my mother are/were on the spectrum and it was what was normal to me.

Yes, even before I understood or really knew what autism or aspergers was. I remember working with a woman. Looking back she was definately autistic. I remember thinking, wow she's so like Alison (not her real name, but who I now know is autistic). There have been other people I've met and thought, wow, they're so like Alison. Now I realise they were probably autistic.

I have a friend who now I've got to know him better and now I know his wife, and through things she's told me plus I had to rescue this poor guy he cornered in a bar whilst he was talking about his special subject (music) I realise that he is an aspie. We relate alot to each other. I'm not sure how I would bring it up though. I also have another friend I've known for years who I really relate to. We have very similar problems and I'm sure she is an aspie too. And there is a guy I work with. And a guy I used to work with. The list goes on.

But even on tv. There is something in the words someone uses, or the way they behave which can make me think. yep there's an aspie right there.