How can I spot an aspie in real life?

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I've been trying to find a real life example of an aspie, but I simply haven't been able to spot one yet because I'm guessing most aspies just aren't that obvious. But, today, I saw a girl who wobbled side to side with a very odd gait and I looked at her facial expression and it seemed to be semi-awkward and distressed. I tried to identify the "connected lower ear lobe" that my cousin suggests is common among aspies and down syndrome individuals, but I couldn't see it (I'm not even sure if it's true.).

So, I don't know if she would've been a "real aspie". She noticed I was looking at her, so I stopped glancing. So, how can I *for sure* identify an aspie in real life?

Anyway, I'm going to an ASD support meeting on Oct 25th so I can see the range of individuals that comprise the spectrum. It's going to be exciting for me to see what you guys are like in real life.

I am new to all this but my guess would be that you would ask them if they have Aspergers and if they say yes then they are an aspie - I really don't think there is any other way to be sure

Redacted.

Last edited by Willard on 01 Oct 2011, 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I spotted one at a subway station on Wednesday. I am 100% certain about this guy I saw. He was walking on his toes and stimming at the same time that I was doing the exact same thing. Everyone else was standing around waiting for the train, and there were two people walking on their toes around the platform and making weird hand movements.

Find the Librarian in a Science and Engineering specialized college library.

Look among the Geeks.

Actually, I saw Tony Attwood in a web seminar, and he was talking about a game he made up called "Spot the Aspie". It included mechanical walk, hunched over shoulders, arms around books, not looking at anybody else in the crowd. He illustrated that walk himself, and it did look like me when I was in college (I've never watched myself walk, but long before Asperger's was a diagnosis, a friend of mine spotted it, and suggested that I might do things to get more graceful, like practicing walking with a book on my head. She was trying to help me be more attractive) I knew about my posture, and have always known. He placed the "player" of the game in several hypothetical situations, including the Student Union, all the way to that Technical Library, and various campus spots in between, and finished off by saying, "You don't get any points at all for the Librarian there: that's a sure bet." Probably he was exaggerating about the 100% part.

In my case, look for the fidgety hands.

Don't you stop to think just maybe your obsession is verging on the creepy? What is it you think you have to gain by spotting a "real aspie" anyway?

nemorosa: I believe swbluto is unsure whether or not to believe itself on the autistic spectrum or not. Therefore, swbluto is looking for manifestations of the behavior in others to compare it's own behavior / mannerisms to.

swbluto: perhaps you could visit an aspie support group, if such a thing is available in your area? Being around AS people and observing said mannerisms would be more profitable research than scrutinizing strangers.

Look for the big scarlet "A" sewn on to their clothing. I see a lot of them around Disneyland.

Last edited by Fnord on 30 Sep 2011, 6:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This particular "mythology" comes from science:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20473590



Actually, if autism is genetic, it is not at all controversial or surprising that there may be other manifestations that travel with it. However, I think the associated traits are much less likely in people diagnosed with AS than in people diagnosed with autism.

That said, someone else pointed out the data in the above research is probably a bit too good to be true in another thread, but I do not know either way.

That's a very personal thing to ask or suggest of someone and I have had some very angry responses to that question.

I do stand out but admit I am not typical.

I suspect that many of this symptoms will occur in any "introvert and low physical activity" person.

EDIT: thinking a while, I came to the conclusion that this point is more important that I first thought - if you are searching for aspies, it is of little help to know how to recognize an aspie compared to a "normal" person (I suspect that this is little easy after some interaction); what you really wants to know is how to spot an aspie compared to "broad autism phenotype" / "healthy schizotypy" / "regular INxx".

As I mentioned in my earlier post, stimming is a good indicator. Not everyone stims in public, but those who do have a good chance of being on the spectrum.

Yep. You're not allowed to ask directly about a disability in normal society because it implies you think they're disabled which is pretty insulting if they aren't. If I were to ask directly, I think I would ask something like... "Do you have something that starts with an... A?", but that requires a level of intelligence to answer that is not necessarily guaranteed by someone with autism/aspergers.

Maybe... "What are you interested in?" after a quick short introduction, and then maybe I could detect unusual interests. Not many people are going to be upfront about unusual interests, though...

I think my obsession is verging on being aspie.

But, being aspie is creepy, so I guess you could say that.

Anyway, I hope to gain insight into the condition that I can't gain from the internet. Sure, it's fun reading everyone's posts and everything, but I lack "real life" experience that cannot be described by text alone. You know, the interpersonal dynamics, how they tend to react and/or respond, how they respond to certain introductions, etc.

I want to take an aspie and make them my lab project.