Board index › General Discussion › General Autism Discussion

The Opposite of Asperger's Syndrome?

Page 4 of 5 [ 76 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next

Previous topic | Next topic

quotidian_elite
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 2 Oct 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 4
Location: Greensboro, NC

03 Oct 2008, 10:17 am

nutbag wrote:
I thought it was Bill clinton's disease

'cause he is smooth and socially adept

Bush may be dumb as dirt (sorry 'bout that, dirt!), but no one would call him smooth


I've met some people with AS who are smooth and socially-adept; a lot of them are excellent communicators.



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,265

03 Oct 2008, 10:17 am

quotidian_elite wrote:
KurtmanJP wrote:
Exact opposite: Basically, an extroverted partygoer who drinks all his/her brain cells away with alcohol, gets on the dance floor and winds up cleaning the toilet in McDonalds.


lol...actually, working at McDonald's isn't so bad if you're short on finances and you don't have the money to go to college. That's what I'm doing - I couldn't afford school any longer because I had a nervous breakdown from the meds I was taking for ADHD and Bipolar II (which it turns out I was misdiagnosed with) and I actually find that I'm better with hands-on type of things. Which is funny, because I was misdiagnosed with AS and bipolar when I was 14 (AS was confirmed a misdiagnosis when I was 19; Bipolar when I was 21) and people with AS are usually not better with hands-on type things as I am. It's interesting, I'm actually the exact opposite of Asperger's in every way; I'm deeply empathetic and extremely social. But then again, a lot of people with AS are actually very empathetic and highly social. And I've met and studied a lot of people who were misdiagnosed with AS who have characteristics similar to AS, but lack the cognitive deviations of autism. And you can't have the AS without the autism, so in this case it's a misdiagnosis. It's not like there's such a thing as 'Asperger-affective disorder', where someone has characteristics similiar to AS but without the cognitive idiosyncrasies of autism. So if it's purely behavioral, then it's a misdiagnosis. AS should be classified as HFA if one has the cognitive aspects of autism; but even people with the true cognitive aspects of autism can outgrow these characteristics. The people who were misdiagnosed as AS had just been going through an awkward stage during adolescence (and who doesn't; it's such a transitional time with a lot of stupid peer pressure), and in some cases people, like me, were able to outgrow such characteristics within a year or 3 years. So it can be outgrown.

But really, I'm the exact opposite of AS; I'm extremely empathetic, am very good at reading people, deeply intuitive and perceptive when it comes to reading people, and am extremely social and hyperactive. But I've also met and studied a lot of people with AS who are deeply empathetic and are very good socially. So even people with AS are socially-adjusted.


Working at Mcdonald's sucks. It's better, if you can, to work at a restaurant, shorter hours, much better tips:)



RubieRoze
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 12 Aug 2008
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 209

03 Oct 2008, 1:17 pm

Oprah Winfrey?



LePetitPrince
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Mar 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,464

03 Oct 2008, 2:13 pm

The opposite of William syndrome is addition of genes in chromosome 7 and these people usually exihibit abnormal physical features: http://www.geocities.com/abnormaldivers ... 0-q11.html

Autism has no known chromosome cause yet and there's no particular physical features for autistics (the big head thing is invented by aspies here)

You people are trying desperately to associate Autism to a real genetic disorder (Williams Syndrome) so it can appears 100% genetic so you can feel that that you are born different....what a shame.



MissConstrue
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Feb 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 17,052
Location: MO

03 Oct 2008, 2:39 pm

I don't think of aspergers I just look at it as introverts and extraverts.

Extraverts aren't all exactly empathetic or get social cues just because they have good social skills.


_________________
I live as I choose or I will not live at all.
~Delores O’Riordan


LostInSpace
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,617
Location: Dixie

03 Oct 2008, 10:28 pm

Sophist wrote:
People with Williams Syndrome (based on the interviews I saw on some of them) seem very warm people. But because of their deficits, and even despite their social inclination, the interviews said they still have problems socially because they are so different.

But they're a fascinating people.


QFT

Individuals with Williams syndrome are often very friendly and likeable, but don't actually exhibit very good social skills. They may struggle with some of the same social problems Aspies do- how to greet and say good-bye to someone appropriately, topic maintenance, etc. They could walk up to someone, start a conversation, and walk off in the middle of it to go talk to someone else.


_________________
Not all those who wander are lost... but I generally am.


LostInSpace
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,617
Location: Dixie

03 Oct 2008, 10:30 pm

Sophist wrote:

It wouldn't surprise me if NLD symptoms are inherent in William's Syndrome, too, kind of like OCPD is part of Aspergers but it's never diagnosed because it's part of the diagnosis.


Yup, there are several similarities between individuals with NLD and those with Williams syndrome- a tendency to sometimes talk a lot without saying much (called "cocktail party speech") and all the visual and spatial processing issues. They also may exhibit expressive language which outpaces their receptive language- using words that they don't actually understand the meaning of for example, which gives a false impression of their actual receptive vocabulary.


LePetitPrince wrote:
You people are trying desperately to associate Autism to a real genetic disorder (Williams Syndrome) so it can appears 100% genetic so you can feel that that you are born different....what a shame.


I don't think people are trying to associate autism with a "real genetic disorder" here. I think people are just speculating on an interesting topic. There are some "real genetic disorders" which are associated with NLD by the way, at least in the sense that there tend to be high rates of NLD among these populations. Neurofibromatosis type 1, velocardiofacial syndrome, and metachromatic leukodystrophy come to mind. There *is* evidence of a physical/neurological base for NLD (white matter abnormalities), and I don't feel the need to legitimize my disorder anyway. Both objective neuropsychological testing and subjective personal experience provide enough legitimacy for me.

And I don't think I was "born different" any more than my brother with dyslexia was "born different." We each have our own set of strengths and weaknesses which deviates markedly from that of the general population, but it's not like we're X-Men or something.


_________________
Not all those who wander are lost... but I generally am.


DentArthurDent
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jul 2008
Age: 59
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,884
Location: Victoria, Australia

04 Oct 2008, 2:29 am

Archimedes wrote:

Very social, empathetic, friendly, and verbal, but often clueless about mathematics and mechanical things and the like, and often having difficulty following routines or concentrating on some task.



Since when have social, empathetic, friendly and verbal people been clueless about maths and mechanical things. Why should such a person have difficulty following routines.

The description sounds a lot like my partner who is gifted at maths and is very organised. I on the other hand do have aspergers and in relation to her am crap at maths.

Stop generalising.


_________________
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance anyday"
Douglas Adams

"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand" Karl Marx


LePetitPrince
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Mar 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,464

04 Oct 2008, 6:33 am

Quote:
Very social, empathetic, friendly, and verbal, but often clueless about mathematics and mechanical things and the like, and often having difficulty following routines or concentrating on some task.


*Autisnob detected*



philosopherBoi
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Aug 2008
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,255

04 Oct 2008, 6:34 am

I am not sure and I am not sure I would like to know but why do you imply that we don't have empathy?


_________________
When Jesus Christ said love thy neighbor he was not making a suggestion he was stating the law of god.


Woodpeace
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 474
Location: Lancashire, England

05 Oct 2008, 4:33 am

Williams Syndrome and autism are often seen as polar opposites. However this article - http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v7/n5 ... 6_BX2.html - states:

Quote:
However, several cognitive domains are impaired in both: the use of non-verbal behaviours, including eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, bodily postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction, and judging facial expressions. In addition, the two disorders coexist in some individuals. In a series of 128 4-16-year olds with WS, 9 cases of autism spectrum disorders ASD) were identified; 6 other cases were previously reported.


Also in this study - http://imfar.confex.com/imfar/2008/webp ... r2742.html - 87 children with Down Syndrome (ages 2 to 11) were evaluated for autism. The results were that 9 children (10.3%) met criteria for a clinical diagnosis of autism; 14 children (16.1%) met criteria for PDD_NOS.



captain_nonsense
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 4 Oct 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 4

05 Oct 2008, 5:43 am

We arent all cold and unable to understand being social.

We arent all mechanical either.



ethos
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 26 Sep 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 46

05 Oct 2008, 10:30 am

Simple. The opposite of Asperger's is Non-Asperger's.



Taly
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 144
Location: Rain Forest

05 Oct 2008, 11:05 am

Cade wrote:
Sarcastic_Name wrote:
You ignored the fact that the wiki article links to an article to what is already accepted as the opposite of WS, which itself sounds similar to Autism. http://www.geocities.com/abnormaldivers ... 0-q11.html


Thanks. I think it's good to keep in mind more fundamental distinctions and not just judge things by the surface. As Dizzleman said, WS is a chromosome condition, where as autism and AS are still considered neurological conditions with no specific chromosomal causes.

Archimedes wrote:
]What would someone with the opposite of autism / Asperger's Syndrome be like?

friendly, and verbal, but often clueless about mathematics and mechanical things and the like

Thumbs down - for me aspergers can be friendly to those who show interest in their world. And they can be empathetic to those who are not interestead in their world. Not all aspies are good in maths or mechanical things. Daniel Tammet is an asperger who has linguistic and math abilities in the level of a savant. Aspergers can be very verbal, but most of times they only understand what they are talking about, when people talk to them or interrupt them, they freak out. They hate to be wrong. Everyone here has different spectrums and intensities of AS.

AS tends to exhibit one extreme - a kind of left brain extreme. So the extreme inverse would be someone very right brained. Right brain function is more intuitive and emotional, and less systematic and detail- and data-focused. A person with extreme right-brain traits wouldn't necessarily be "normal."

Thumbs up.

talkative (although not necessarily more advanced in verbal skills as AS, since language is a system and therefore hinges on left brain function),

Thumbs up but 8O I am talkative in a very pendatic way and I am objective, when I am happy I am eccentric and senseless but I talk, when I am abstract about my feelings I tend to write or act like an 8 year old when I speak. And about other people's feelings it takes me a long time to interpretate them, I used to act choleric and aggressive at age 15, nowadays I tend to reflect take some time... breathing, and I ask for help of others who can interpretate those methaphoric people, if they don't tell me directly what's going on, that's why I hate double senses and second intentions.

painters or back-up musicians.

That's what excludes me from AS, I can paint and and be a musician and be metaphoric. Which means I am using the both sides of my brain. But like any aspie I cannot understand why people act like they act, I love words and number in theory, but in practice I only gte mine, I don't get theirs.

They usually have trouble with routine,

thumbs up

poor driving skills

If it's a car, that excludes me from AS because I 21 and don't know how to drive, maybe because of a phobia.

They often have trouble with authority are the result of these other tendencies too.

If it's a non aspie, thumbs up and down. It depends on the personality and on the trainment you had when you were a kid. I am very bossy myself.

They often are highly optimistic, frighteningly sincere and seem to think the world is "magical."

Interesting. Everyone here is different. I am optimistic right now about myself maybe because I am 21 years old and just overcame depression and I am pessimistic about people right now and their ability to trick and toy with Taly, and my world is magical, theirs is hell. I would love to live in a forest, I'd do very well.

They also seem frequently to have issues with gender and sexuality,

I don't have sexual attraction, I am 21.

But like Aspies, depression, anxiety and O/C tendencies seem common.

thumbs up

I think persons like Mariah Carey or Tom Cruise would be very good celebrity examples of this. As a musican and artist, I seem to be running into them more often than I like. If by chance ther's a clinical term for this, I'm be very interested in knowing.


Maybe because I am not an american I don't understand what's going on here.



Taly
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 144
Location: Rain Forest

05 Oct 2008, 11:14 am

ethos wrote:
Simple. The opposite of Asperger's is Non-Asperger's.



That was brilliant. 8)

An autistic lives in his own world, an asperger lives in your world his way. And non aspergers fit this world very way. To be aspie you don't have to have 100% of all those spectrums. There are some who have figures of speech but they usually show through art because they can tell in words, and when they can tell in words they though months about or weeks about, there are some that make jokes but most of times nobody get their jokes as we don't get other people's jokes.

For me a non-asperger is someone who always knows what's going on, who can read people and detects who is faking or not(because that's my biggest problem to believe in everything people tell me, there are those who are skeptical about everything, but we both have something in common LACK OF DISCERMENT). A non asperger can sit on a table to have dinner with lots of talkative people talking about non sense subjects at the same time and interect with them. A non asperger can be interrupted when he's so excited about his speech and don't feel hurt about it. A non asperger is spontaneous in a natural way. Because I am spontaneous but everybody think it's senseless.



zen_mistress
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Posts: 6,033

06 Oct 2008, 2:44 am

I dont know why so many people think all autistic people are left brained and good at maths and technology and well organised and always on time. There are loads of AS people who are good at art and suck at time management and are great with languages yet dont understand the nuts and bolts of social interaction.

I think the opposite of autism is an extremely empathetic person who is always finishing other people's sentences and saying "Yes I feel what you are feeling" and not thinking of themselves at all, instead trying to think about what is on other peoples minds. Someone who doesnt have a very solid sense of self and always bases their actions on what others are doing. I dont know what such a person is called though.


_________________
"Caravan is the name of my history, and my life an extraordinary adventure."
~ Amin Maalouf

Taking a break.