Could this person possibly have aspergers?

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This girl I know, who is a bit of a hypochondriac, has somehow convinced herself that she is somewhere on the spectrum. She only thought this after seeing a TV show that features a boy with aspergers, and then she did some research on the subject. She started looking at the different symptoms among male and females, and found that the can be quite different. What she is concerned about is the fact that she is shy around strangers, listens the the same song over and over again, obsesses about certain people at whom she admires--she will then fantasize about what her life would be like if she had these people around her and family and friends, etc...and it's not in a romantic way, and she doesn't stalk them or anything and is no threat to them. She simply admires certain qualities/situations about them or the life, and tries to imagine what her life would be like with those qualities/situations, as well as the people around them. Also she has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder when she was 17, and can get irritable at times. She is very self conscience, and I know a lot of that stems from that fact that she had a hearing disability growing up, and well as being emotional/verbally abuse by her dad. She has never liked who she is or her family, so I think that her problems with obsessing over others is a defense mechanism. She also tends to dress comfortably, and just throws her hair up in the mornings,--not because of sensory problems or anything, but the fact that she can be kinda of slow going in the mornings. As I mentioned earlier she is shy, but once you get to know her she is outgoing, and a great listener. She has had trouble making friends, especially when she was young, but she was just so shy and she had hearing loss. She is very friendly and respectful to others. She get jokes, and facial expressions, and has a great sense of humor--as well as being easy to talk to. She does some obsessions--like ghosts and can talk your ear off about one thing. She usually only rambles on about a topic if she worried about it. She's also addicted to her computer and phone and can play games on them for hours. All of the things I've listed above come out more when she has nothing to do, but think. She doesn't care if her routine is disruptive, and can pretty much go with the flow.

I don't personally think she is on the spectrum, and she has tested in the neurotypical range on all the online tests. She is an ISFP personality type which is the artist type, and these people can be hard to get to know well.

She is one of my best friends, and she came to me for advice on her worrying, and I was hoping if you guys could help to put her at ease. Thanks!

Her "flaws" ie; shyness and anxiety could very well be the result of the emotional abuse she's experienced.

I think it's normal for anyone to listen to the same song over and over, and to admire people and obsess over their qualities to a certain point. It's a part of how we learn, we learn from others and try and integrate the things we've learned into our own behavior to better adapt ourselves.

It's easy for someone to feel inferior and imperfect when they've suffered emotional abuse, especially from someone who is supposed to be there to protect her and educate her. Parental figures aren't supposed to be cruel and abrasive, it's confusing for a child growing up in that sort of environment.

Perhaps she thinks if she can find something to explain the abnormalities in her personality, then she can feel more comfortable with herself? I'm not sure, but I think it would be important and beneficial for her to seek some professional support, since it's not an unresolved burden she wants to carry with her for the rest of her life.

I wouldn't say that no, she isn't on the spectrum, since I'm not a doctor of any sort, and I've never met her, but from your perception of her personality, I would guess that no, she isn't on the spectrum.

The aching to belong to a group can be all consuming for one who had been marginalized and deeply wounded. I see this here on WP and I have seen it in many other groups such as AA and it's many numerous affiliations.

What always intrigues me is how often members of marginalized groups are so unwelcoming to others who are not a 'perfect fit' .................it's like wherever there has been suffering, there is often over-protectiveness. Wherever there had been an absence there us often a desire for abundance.

The compassionate and wise approach to such seekers is often to listen as deeply as one can and use as much skillful means to direct the person to their truth.

Could someone with mild ASD be misdiagnosed with a hearing disability? I am interested in this because I had one, too.

Would an untrained doctor be able to distinguish a minor audio processing problem from an actual hearing disorder?

The listening to the same song over and over is definitely AS-like. I also get jokes, etc. and am definitely diagnosed on the spectrum. Being on the spectrum can also cause one to be subject to emotional and physical abuse from parents, etc. which people may attribute as the cause of later social problems (personal experience).
She also sounds very obsessive with a few OCD tendencies, which is also like me. I get obsessive mostly when I am worried about something, like all my posts about symptoms on this board since my diagnosis indicate. I wouldn't be surprised if she is on the spectrum or at least was at some point. Asperger is famous for some reason, but more than 50% of those on the spectrum are PDD-NOS.

This story has already been posted except it was told differently in less detail and I am not sure where to find the thread. Maybe someone else will be willing to dig it up and post it here. Now I wonder if the question was actually genuine or did the OP join here and take that post and re post it for trolling changing it a little bit?

If I am wrong, I apologize if it was just a coincidence that both friends have the same medical history and symptoms and the same disorder.

She sounds like she has the definite possibility of being on the spectrum, but I'm not saying if it's more likely that she is or not.