For diagnosed aspies: Do you meet these criteria?

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I think they all apply to me to some extent. The ones that apply to me the most are 4, 6, and 8.

I'm diagnosed.

I find social situations confusing - Yup, very.

I find it hard to make small talk - I've learned lots of ways to seem to do it, but it's exhausting.

I tend to turn any conversation back onto myself or my own
topic of interest - if I possibly can, though at the risk of others being horrified.

I am good at picking up details and facts - oh yes, especially visual info.

I find it hard to work out what other people are thinking and feeling - not a clue most of the time.

I can focus on certain things for very long periods - 18 hours a day I'd say.

People often say I was rude even when this was unintentional - yes, often

I have unusually strong, narrow interests - oh yes

I do certain things in a very inflexible, repetitive way - indeed so

I have always had difficulty making friends - less so once I'd learned the fine art of seeming really interested even if I had no clue what they're talking about. But yes, very much so. Doesn't help that I often can't recognise the ones I've got!

All of these do apply to me, but some aren't prevalent 24/7.

All but #3.

This is actually a pretty cool 'distillation' of the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV)'s criteria for AS, in that you don't need to be a PhD to understand it. But like all criteria I've seen, not all will fit with each Aspie. Honestly, I don't think that we have a great way to inclusively diagnose all those who have AS, in that there are several different presenting 'symptoms' and a huge variety in how 'bad' those 'symptoms' are -- I've known Aspies who were so severe that they could barely function on their own, and I know many, many Aspies who are so high-functioning as to have minimum issues dealing in the NT world, but who also fit the criteria.

The bottom line is that it really doesn't matter what the diagnosis is so long as:
1) We each know our own limitations and learn how to work around them or with them
2) Every person who has limitations that will hinder him/her in the NT world gets the help they deserve

It's the last one that is difficult -- because in the US if you don't have a diagnosis, you generally can't get the services you need!

I was just about to write that it all applies apart from 9 but I started thinking about it and actually, it does a bit...

I just came back from a holiday where I was constantly around my two friends for 9 days straight (we even shared a bed- imagine how exhausted I am right now!) and they kept saying how annoying it is for them to hear me moan about the food not being right all the time.

or maybe I'm just a picky snob ;p

I seem to fit all of the criteria. Numbers 3 and 9 are actually two of my strongest Aspie symptoms. My weakest criteria are number 5 and number 7. I'm not horribly socially deficit. I'm quirky in social situations and I stand out for sure, but I can get by when it's a structured situation. My AS manifests itself the most in the "special interests" and the drastic need for sameness/routine.
-OddDuckNash99-

1.- Not really confusing. I actually understand the dynamics pretty well... well enough, indeed, to find them rather pointless, shallow, illogical and, more often than not, downright contradictory. Which is why I don't like them.
2.- See previous answer. I'm able to small talk like the best, partly because I understand the dynamics and partly because... well, because it's called small talk for a reason: shallow, aimless, ritualistic... in other words, rather easy to fake. Still, I usually reject doing it, precisely because of that.
3.- Yes, and I'm not that successful at trying to avoid it.
4.- Not so much details and facts, but explanations and rationales.
5.- Very hard. I usually find myself trying to make others explicitly express their thinking and feelings, or else I don't recognize them.
6.- Quite true.
7.- Absolutely not. I may be dry, aloof and even cold on occasion, but whether it's out of inherent kindness, or a full -and quite ingrained- understanding of social rules, etiquette, etc., I'm very unusually rude and, as far as I know, when I *am* rude, I'm perfectly aware of it, and in fact it's a conscious, even “premeditated” choice.
8.- Very true.
9.- Not really.
10.- Relatively true. Most people feel rather comfortable in my company, mostly because #7, and they tend to consider me a good, likeable friend. But mostly because I hardly see the point in socializing, or in actively seeking friendships, there aren't many opportunities for people to know me, so I end up having very few friends.


There are other typical AS traits that apply to me very well, and yet others which are just as way off the mark with me as #7. I'm undiagnosed (in fact I only recently became aware of the term AS) and, while I'm not necessarily inclined to be professionally diagnosed, I've found myself intrigued at the many similarities between my personality/behaviour and the formal descriptions of AS.

3 a little bit, but not all the time because i know this has a bad effect.
7 rarely but they don't excactly say it but make it clear in a different way.
9 sometimes i do it a bit inflexible but circumstances teach/force me to act more flexible.