Is AS essentially just a social learning disorder?

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I've got a bit of a problem with thinking of Aspergers as a broad or comprehensive disorder, when it clearly brings certain strengths with it. Can a disorder produce anything good? Seems oxymoronic to say so.

The more I think about it the more it seems to me that the disorder is mainly confined to social learning. When older Aspies say "it gets better", I can relate. For example, you may start to "get" social banter, only at a much later age than the average population. In that sense, there is a delay in social learning.

However, what if you are brilliant academically, far beyond your years, as a child - can you still think of yourself as disordered in the most general sense?

I think it's a valid question.

You can be academically brilliant but not be able to function well otherwise. If it's bad enough to cause problems leading a satisfying and productive life, it's a disorder.

Whether it's a social or learning disorder is just semantics. Either way, it's a disorder by definition, and causes marked problems.

I wouldn't worry about splitting hairs. I'm more concerned about whether I'm getting along in life.

That's the real question.

This is why I think many people refer to Asperger's as a syndrome. A syndrome isn't good or bad, but neutral. It has pros and cons, and is a set of symptoms, a way of being, a condition.

It's far more than just social. Sensory information is processed differently by the brain. Even if our lives required no social interactions, we would still have difficulties, meltdowns, etc. Maybe not every single one of us, but I think it's fair to say that most of us have difficulties far beyond just social skills.

I think it is a social learning disorder, but there seems to be so many other problems connected to it, like strict routine, anxiety issues, sensory issues, meltdowns/outbursts, and stimming and other things like that.

By the way. I object to the use of the word "just" in the subject line.

Asking if AS is "just a social disorder" kind of minimizes the seriousness of it. It may very well be that it is more of a social disorder than a learning disorder, but however it is categorized, it's a pain in the arse!

I'm sure that wasn't the intention of the OP, but I still reserve the right to object.

I wish I could say that social skills are the only issue we have, but that's not the case.

No. Or at least, not in my case. In fact, I also have anxiety and anger issues, and I find concentrating on things I'm not interested in difficult. But this can change from person to person, since Asperger's often comes with other disorders, too, like Tourette's in my case.

No.... it's a lot more than that.

I am 43 and my understanding of social banter is no better then it was when I was a kid. It hasn't gotten better or worse. I have learned to just largely avoid social situations so it doesn't come into play as often.

i learned small talk after age 50. i learned to stop staring after 50. i learned to stop being over-honest after 40. stimming is just something odd i do, doesn't cause much of a problem. my sensory issues are not severe. i've adjusted my life to the extent that they, too, are merely annoying eccentricities. so for me AS is mostly a social learning disability, one that has cost a great career and delayed marriage to an age at which i can't have children, so quite a severe social learning disability.

It's more than just a social disorder.

some of the worst parts for me are the effects of stress, since i am lacking in social skills the very act of socializing can be very stressfull,
it can give me immense trouble in doing anything, i can feel frozen and i know what i want to do but simply cant, or even worse i keep repeating the same thought pattern and limited set of "instructions" a couple of times before i notice and am able to move on.

People with the condition have difficulties in three main areas. They are:

social communication
social interaction
social imagination.

but aspergers does also include stuff like special interests and love of routines

from: http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/a ... drome.aspx

Well, I wouldn't say that Aspergers unto itself is the only variable in not "getting" social banter at a much later age than average. Another big influencing factor is how much exposure you get (or are allowed to get) to social banter. Reading chit-chat/slang sources and urbandictionary.com alone won't quite cut it. If you're perpetually alienated from from social contact, then yes you won't get it until later when it rubs off on you in dribs and drabs instead of an even flow. It's like the analogous expression some of us use, "if you keep a dyslexic away from books, of course he'll never learn how to read". Of course our challenges aren't quite the same, because you don't need a book's permission to "interact" with it. You have to find people enlightened enough to allow you to be part of their circle. I was lucky to have broken this barrier in my early 20s but still I didn't really, really get social banter until my late 20s. It probably would have been later like in my late 30s, who knows, if I hadn't had accepting friends to hang around with in my youth.

Well it IS called a PERVASIVE developmental disorder, which would imply that it goes beyond just the social. Perhaps people with really MILD ASD might only notice problems with their social skills, but I would gather that there are many, even those with AS diagnosis (rather than autism diagnosis) that would argue that their disorder IS pervasive not just social.