A REAL difference between HFA and Asperger's

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I am aware that autism is now an umbrella term for LFA, HFA, and AS. But there are some autists who really have absolutely no interest in social interaction and the question I have is what is the exact physical basis of lacking that desire since many autists and the vast majority of human beings do.

And I am ALSO aware of people diagnosed with classic autism who do have an interest in social interaction and communicating with others. I am suggesting that diagnostic criteria being altered a bit to distinguish between those who do use verbal communication and those who use little to none at all, as well as those who want to interact and connect with people versus those who are completely solitary. That is my point!

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But there are some autists who really have absolutely no interest in social interaction and the question I have is what is the exact physical basis of lacking that desire since many autists and the vast majority of human beings do.
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How do you know?

And the question you have is 'what is the exact physical basis of lacking that desire', 'since many autists and the vast majority of human beings do'.

Sorry, that is not even a question, very poorly put, very poor grammar anyway. You start by making a sweeping generalization (which is ok).

And please don't call me an autist. Sounds like a more polite version of 'spazz'.


Please go back and read your entire sentence again. Break it down to component parts that anyone, be they 'autist' or not can read. Btw, some of us 'autists' are very very good at spotting stuff like this and make excellent proof readers. I am aware of all my mistakes, but this is not my day job, so I can be a bit lax.

Really. There is a sense of venom coming from you. You come across as 'preachy' and serving the sermon from the mount. Apart from that, your sentence is disjunctive, and even if someone wanted to answer you, they couldn't, because they would not know what you are talking about.

I say all this, respectively, of course.

Doesn't sound very respectful

It seems there is just as much need to educate Aspies about their fellow "Autists" as much as there is a need to educate NTs about Aspies. Ignorance (whether deliberate or unintentional) is everywhere.

Are you mixing up 'respectively' with 'respectfully'?


Anyway, if you are saying it is not 'respectful', then I guess you are implying it is 'disrespectful'.
Could you say if that is so, and if so, how that is so?

Ignorance and prejudice both. I've seen some higher up on the spectrum deny the commonalities with "classic" autism based solely on arguments that boil down to "I'm not them, I'm better than that." Basically repeating the same outcasting that they themselves receive...it's despicable. I accept arrogant NT's more than arrogant aspies-- the NT's have probably never been outcast and therefore have no first hand exposure to the effects it has, most aspies do so they should know better.

Erm, there was nothing wrong with my grammar. It was a run-on sentence and I should have added the words "have that desire" at the very end. So yes, I made a punctuational error and poorly worded the last part. But if you're going to call me out on these sorts of mistakes, make sure you're correct about what kind of mistakes they are.

Needless to say, this is a total RED HERRING. I made a sweeping generalization that the vast majority of human beings have a desire to communicate verbally and interact with other humans. There is a basis to this: Humans are *social* animals that live in large groups. And it was pointed out to me before that many autistic people also have the desire to be social, they often lack the know-how and in some cases may lack the ability. But the quantifier "many" is not "most"(which means >50% && <100%)! It is an indeterminate quantifier that implies > 10% but <100%.

But if you must, I will put it another way: What is the neurobiological basis of the desire to interact socially with others and is it possible that certain autistic individuals may have a comprehensive lack of such and if so, what is physiological cause of that effect?




Okay fine. I call myself such FYI.




I did. And this sense of *venom* coming from me is entirely in your imagination. And no, what I said is not a disjunction. Do you know what the word means? It means an either/or(XOR in Boolean logic). A person can be autistic(which now means on the autistic spectrum) and still wish to partake in social endeavors. OR they may not wish to do so. The OR operator(inclusive disjunction) means both, one, the other, but NOT "none". You presumed incorrect that the use of "or" is an exclusive disjunction when in this case it is an inclusive one.

I's complicated. Some autistic people are oblivious to social conventions but enjoy being with their family and emotionally need and love other people.
There is a physical basis in the mind but it is not so much lack of interest in social interaction but a lack of awareness, ability, and understanding of socially relating to other people.
Everybody needs people, but sometimes autistic people have a different way of connecting.

You see, what you're describing sounds very much like what was formerly called ASPERGER SYNDROME rather than Autism.

Here is the DSM-IV entry for Aspergers:





Not *everybody* needs people. There are documented cases of some extreme individuals who actively avoid social interaction and refuse to change despite any incentives to do so. Some of these people are able to communicate verbally.

What incentives? Can you make someone normal by giving them incentives?
I'm not talking about extreme individuals who actively avoid social interaction. Anyone can actively avoid social interaction.
It's not the same as having a lack of awareness and understanding of how the social world works, or having no instinct to socialize, or being locked in your own world because that is the way your mind works.

Link>Social symptoms in autistic children may be caused by hyper-connected neurons

Once met a none verbal autistic guy who loved to be around people. He would just sit at the table and say nothing. But one doctor undiagnosed him just because he liked to be with people and I said autism isn't when someone doesn't want to be with people, it's about impairments in communication and socializing. The doctor said he just had a low IQ and then the mother wasn't sure if he was autistic or not. I asked her if the doctor was an expert in it and if he specialized in it. I wouldn't listen to someone who doesn't have lot of knowledge about it. The guy could also understand body language and knew feelings because he would say things like "Mom happy" "Mom sad."

oops sorry yes I did!!

Yes very true. Prejudice is usually a product of ignorance. Education often remedies ignorance. Of course you can always take a horse to water...

It is true that some people with hfa don't desire being around people just for the sake of it. I don't enjoy being around people unless I have a reason like I want to learn something from them or we have shared interests, but then it's not the people that it's enjoy but what me and the other people are involved in that I like. Sometimes I like think I likes nice to have real life friends but I can take it or leave it. I prefer to chat online or by text but I can get by perfectly fine in person. I just don't get anything from being around someone just because you can.

That is why Kingdom of Rats is needed back here now more then anytime since I have been a member. She was my teacher on this topic.