Signs of Aspergers in Teen males?

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Describe the main and smaller symptoms of Aspergers syndrome in your typical teenage male.

Well every diagnostic criteria applies obviously so your question is not that good. But what you often see is that if he had some friends as a child, then he might have lost a lot or all of them when they became teens. Around that age socialization typically changes from mainly activity-focused (we play football together, we play a game together) to focused on the socialization itself (we hang out together, we chit chat, we go out for a coffee), which is a lot harder for people on the spectrum.

My son is a middle school pre-teen, but his literal use of language is more obvious.

For example, he is doing a book report and I asked him about it and he told me one of the themes of the book is that you can't judge a book by it's cover. I was very pleased to have him report this because it indicated that he is processing the story at a deeper level. Usually he is only able to repeat the story line without going any deeper.

Then I asked him to describe in more detail what he meant.

He meant...literally...that he did not think the cover of the book matched the contents. He thought, based on the cover, that the book would be a happy one, but it wasn't.

Even when I prompted him by saying "That saying also has a figurative meaning. What do you think it is?" he could not get past the physical characteristics of the book cover.

He is of above average intelligence, btw, so this is not something one would expect at his age.

He is also gullible and misinterprets the intentions of others. These things have always been true of him, but they are way more noticeable now, even though he has made some pretty good strides. The gap between him and his peers is wider than ever before.

oh, wow, how much time do we have for this assignment?

I've had two on the spectrum, one only slightly affected, and the other somewhat more affected by Asperger's.

This is what I've observed in my boys:

1. A very difficult time with friends. One had friends, but wasn't good sometimes socially. The other has friends at school, but doesn't socialize with anybody at home. Ever.

2. Very innocent in their outlook when compared to their peers.

3. Innocent when compared to their peers.

4. One had a slight inability to empathize. The other (more affected) one is GREAT with empathy.

5. Tendency to obsess about their favorite interest: one was obsessed with music (a very appropriate obsession which helped him socialize with his peers), the other is obsessed with gaming (not too much -- and frankly, Xbox helps with socialization).

6. Late in developing romantic interests

7. One son has a harder time recognizing sarcasm.

8. One son has a harder time making appropriate jokes.

9. One son has a very difficult time with conversation.

10. Both have a hard time tolerating stupid people.

That's just a short list. If you have more specific questions, I could probably answer some of them.

I'll tell you some of my autism symptoms I experienced as a teenager and I'm a dude:

- Feeling very comfortable in spending most days alone
- Lack of interest in people and interpersonal relationships
- Difficulty relating to people
- Very interested in how things work
- Difficulty speaking when stressed and sometimes being unable to speak at all (Shut downs)
- Intense and narrow interests
- Lack of facial expression, monotone voice
- Sensitivity to light, touch, sound, smell, taste
- Aversion to reading fiction
- Strict adherence to rules and routine
- Sameness and rigid inflexibility
- Black and white thinking
- Lack of empathy
- Difficulty understanding jokes, figurative, symbolic language
- Overly formal and convoluted language
- Taking things too literally

There is so much more I experienced growing up, but don't have the energy to list right now.

Last edited by Dreycrux on 31 Jan 2013, 11:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I had many of the traits mentioned by Dreycrux when I was a teenager and still keep some even now.

In my experience one noticeable thing as a teenager was probably the inability to deal with jokes. I think males in general tend to interact using banter and jokes a lot. That gave me a hard time because I couldn't join in and became even more isolated. Even now I struggle in the same way.

Also teen boys with AS might be rather nerdy (maybe not all) rather than physical or active and popular, sometimes because of the physical clumsiness (deviation from the stereotypical popular males).

Lack of interest or ability to groom oneself.

Maybe ability to focus on the same thing for a long time and extreme attention to detail can be added.

There must be more.

-I could go a day in HS with out talking at all.
-generaly overly shy
-More intrest in interacting with teachers other older adults (for me shop and history etc.)
-Clearly independent thinking and desision making, general rejection of typical teen intrests and beheaviours.
-Overly mature demeanor, immature (should have outgrown) intrests, in general not acting age correct.
-No or little teen friends, no partying.
-Extream lack of ability in sports or any phyical task (myself anyway)
-Easly Offended by jokes or teasing, some was bullying though.
-Bad at group work, no one wanted to be my partner.
Thats what I have to add.

I just can't say how much I can relate to what's in bold...so much. It's good to know your not alone.

Let's see here...

Yep.


Yep.


Yep. That isn't to say that I shunned kids, but I spent more time around the adults outside of the classes themselves than most of the other kids did.


Yep.


Yep. I felt more mature than my classmates in some respects, but I still went home and played with my Lego sets.


I had a small group of friends. I didn't go to parties or dances.


I wasn't a great athlete. I actually stuck with the special ed kids in PE class so I didn't have to socialize or keep up athletically with the other kids.


I didn't get teased too often. I did let it get to me, though.


This was an issue in some classes.

Although my teen years were some time ago, I remember them very well. Here is what I was like.
1. Didn't go to parties. Didn't socialize much, but I did have two good friends.
2. Had narrow interests. I liked to fish, ride snowmobiles, and ride my bike.
3. Did well in school but wasn't very interested.
4. Bullied a lot.
5. I was far from athletic. Actually, I was quite clumsy.
6. I never had a girlfriend.
7. I had no interest in clothes, fads, or sports.
8. I wore the same type of clothes every day.
9. It never bothered me to be alone.
10. I was very independent. I didn't really need anyone's help.
11. I was, and am, intolerant of stupidity.
12. I considered "small talk" a waste of time.
I have no idea what teams are competing in the Superbowl, nor do I care. I won't watch it because I never could follow football games anyway.