Aspie radar

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How good are you at detecting other autistics?

Do you have an 'aspie radar'?

I'm not sure if I'm good at it or not. There's this one woman at work who I think is much more severely affected than I am--very obsessive about rituals. She gets mocked a lot behind her back because she doesn't dress "normally" (did I mention these people are adults?), she seems to have no perception of how people see her (low theory of mind), and she makes very blunt comments about people that come off as rude ("how can you eat so much and stay so thin?). And she is always "correcting" people, gets mad at them if they don't use the recycling bin or take stuff from her drawer in the company fridge). She gets picked on behind her back, which makes me feel bad; not everyone can be normal, but she's managed to find a way to make it through alright for her.

That's the only one I can think of off the top of my head, although my mom who's an NT, thinks everyone who's NOT like her has AS.

Hard to say for sure, since I hardly ever meet new people anymore, but I'm absolutely certain that a few people I worked with over the years were Aspergians.

The tendency to remain aloof and apart from the group, the focus on specific obsessions and tendencies to prattle nonstop about their obsession without realizing that others aren't particularly interested are obvious tells.

I probably wouldn't recognize another Aspergian even if they fell out of the sky and landed on my head. Seriously, though, I rarely meet people these days but I'm sure I've met one or two in the past. As a matter of fact, looking back, I think my first paramour may've been on the spectrum. Hard to tell in retrospect, though.

It is impossible to verify having "Aspie Radar" unless (1) the suspected aspie had received a valid diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, AND (2) he or she admitted it. I'm of the opinion that while may people believe that they have such an ability, they do not realize that confirmation bias may play a major role in the intensity of their belief.

You can't just go around saying to yourself, "Yes, that person is an aspie" and expect to be right even half of the time. A 2003 review of epidemiological studies of children found autism prevalence rates ranging from 0.03 to 4.84 per 1,000, with the ratio of autism to Asperger syndrome ranging from 1.5:1 to 16:1; combining the geometric mean ratio of 5:1 with a conservative prevalence estimate for autism of 1.3 per 1,000 suggests indirectly that the prevalence of AS might be around 0.26 per 1,000 - that's 0.026 per 100, or 0.026%, which is a couple of orders of magnitude below 50%, or 50/50.

Sources:

• Fombonne E, Tidmarsh L (2003). "Epidemiologic data on Asperger disorder". Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 12 (1): 15–21. doi:10.1016/S1056-4993(02)00050-0. PMID 12512396.
  
• Fombonne E (2007). "Epidemiological surveys of pervasive developmental disorders". In Volkmar FR. Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 33–68. ISBN 0-521-54957-4.

Are there particular traits one consciously notices when identifying people with Autism? Are any of them physical? A certain walk, q certain stature?

I have been only looking for it just for a few months. And I have looked back. At best I can suspect it. The people I suspect Talking about the same topic, using the same expressions over and over, sensitivity to noise or lights. But those traits may be something else. Also I have met people at support groups who compensate so well I would not have suspected them. As long as it does not get past the fun, hobby stage it's ok.

Yes, I actually also think the character of mash ,"radar",had aspergers did anyone notice that?

Yes, I actually also think the character of mash ,"radar",had aspergers did anyone notice that?

No. He was a fictional character, played for comic relief.