Asperger's Syndrome is Scandinavian

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Some cultures are just socially shy and NOT autistic!

^This. The OP's claim that Asperger's is Scandinavian because Scandinavians tend to be socially awkward is making a huge generalization about both Scandinavians and AS. First of all being socially awkward does not mean you have AS- in fact most socially awkward people do not. There are many underlying causes that can result in being socially awkward such as upbringing, social anxiety, having a disorder other than AS or simply being shy. I've met plenty of people who were socially awkward and/or shy who did not have AS. Honestly it's no wonder so many people don't take AS seriously with people being so quick to slap the label onto anyone who is a bit awkward or quirky.

People from Scandinavian countries and many Asian countries may have a tendency towards being reserved which may seem "odd" to people from countries where being extroverted is considered the norm but that is because you are looking at it from the lens of your own culture. Culture and the way a person is raised has a huge impact on their actions and behavior, if a person is raised to value being reserved over being chatty and outgoing they will most likely be reserved- that is not an indication of a developmental disability. I'd bet if you took an NT child from southern Italy and raised them in Sweden they'd most likely turn out very different than they would have in Italy because of the differences between the cultures. What is considered normal in Sweden would not necessarily be considered normal in Italy, that doesn't mean the Swedish sense of normal is a disorder because the Italians may view it as strange.

I am Jewish..my ancestors are semitic...i have aspergers. I think the case is settled right here and now lol.....

OK Aspergers Syndrome has been everything so far, I'm waiting for the day when a thread intentionally or unintentionally pops up saying ''AS is NT'', honest. And when I do see that come up, I will be happy of being Aspie because of being part of the NT group.

Oh, no... Why did you have to put that video there…?

There are cultural differences, but that tango part was just… Finnish culture is nothing like the Mediterranean or American when it comes to social codes and manners, but that is the enrichment different cultures bring.

But I can say for sure, that the European autistic genes aren’t definitely Finnish, since Finns weren’t Vikings. They stayed home… Though I found this not so scientific study (link here) claiming that Finns still did cause autism…

I don't think it's Scandanavian. I have AS and I cannot stand that Ikea furniture. Nor could I stand all that cold weather. Or all the tall, perfect blonde people everywhere.

No, no.

Rofl! I'm from Finnland and it really is like this. By the way, is it normal in other countries (like the US) to speak to strangers on the bus etc? That sounds really bizarre.

You'd hate my house.


My heritage is mostly Swedish (though I'm neither tall nor blonde) and Scottish, my partner's is Danish and German in spite of that I agree, I don't think it's a Scandinavian thing.

LOL, maybe I need to change my answer!

And this thread is about Scandinavia. It consists of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Finland is not part of it.

No but there's a lot of common ancestry there so genetically speaking it's relevant, I still don't believe it but the resemblance is funny.

I'm Norwegian, I can't say that the people here are particularly weird. Nor is the people I work with, even though they are mostly engineers, and could all be called nerdy.

But it could just be that I can't really tell if someone is weird, since I don't really know what's normal. All I know is that I am the weird one at work.

On the other hand I have little experience with being around people from other countries. It could very well be that Norwegians ( and scandinavians ) in general are a bit more Aspergers-like that the rest of the world.

But I really wish it was so that a major part of the population had aspergers, then we could all be weird together

My father's side of the family has alot of people from Sweden, I've met them here in the US. As for my Mother's side of the family, my grandpa 'says' there are Swedish relatives, but I don't know who they are.

OP: "I've never met a Scandinavian person who isn't socially awkward. "

No, there are big differences between how different people think there and their social skills, just like other places. The ones I have met in person did not seem socially awkward at all, infact, it was pretty odd they were a little younger than me and being dominant over where we were going and what we should do and how we should do it activity wise. I felt like, even though this is my home, they were still guiding around every where and I was walking behind them., they would talk to people first at stores, etc. They got along with my family from here just fine. It was Fourth of July and one was even throwing fire crackers at me to make me jump and see if they could get a reaction out of me.

I wish I was part Scandinavian, but I'm not. I think that it also originates from Germany because on my dad and my paternal grandmother show signs of AS and they are part German as well. I also know other people with AS who are part German as well.

Yes. I do not have Scandinavian Asperger’s. I have Finnish autism.

Both literally and as cultural metaphor.

Ahh, yes, and all japanese people aswell, since in their culture it's little to no eye contact.