A Theory On Aspieism.

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This was a thread I started on AC and I wanted to get the views of the Aspies on this site too.


I have been thinking a lot about Aspies lately after finding out that the guy nurse that orientated me is a probable Aspie. I had my suspicions from certain things he did and said so I just came out and asked him in which he said that he hadn't actually been diagnosed, but did believe he was one. My new friend that I made at my new work place was telling me about her boyfriend and certain ways he acts that are different from her. Strange, but he too sounded like an Aspie and I asked her outright. Later on she said she asked her boyfriend if he was Aspie so he looked it up and said that he did have a lot of the traits and possibly could be. Which leads me to my theory - Could it be possible that there are tons of more Aspies out there that just don't know they are Aspie (unfamiliar with the condition) and also those that think they have it and haven't been officially diagnosed?

Which makes me wonder something else. Say there are tons of these Aspies out there, how do we know that maybe there could be 50% of people that are possibly Aspies? All Aspies are unique just as all NT's are unique, right? Some Aspies aren't as sensitive to some things (light, pain), can understand sarcasm, have empathy, etc. Same as there are some NT's that have some sensitivities, not much empathy seen (NT men usually), depression, etc.

Which leads me to my question - Since people are all unique and I'll say "on a spectrum", might NT's and Aspies have more in common with each other and Aspies aren't really a minority? And might Aspergers be another way that people are being categorized and made to feel like they are "different" from everyone else when in actuality they are not any different from any other NT walking on the street. Just like you have your extroverted people and your introverted people. I'm NT, but I need my downtime just like some Aspies. I think Psychology is a touchy subject and I think that people are categorized into certain little boxes where their behavior can be looked at and scrutinized so that "doctors" can make some sense out of that person's behavior. When I went to a psychiatrist before, one tried to lump me in as a bipolar when another one said I was clearly not that. Why would I have to be categorized as anything? Maybe I'm just grumpy! What are your thoughts about this?

Which makes me wonder how did they come up with "High Functioning Autism"? I've seen some autistic children and they are really in their own world and not able to even communicate. Do you suppose that the "Psychology Community of Doctors" I'll call them, came up with this diagnosis and went along with it for awhile until they realized that there really isn't a difference among most individuals out in the world and therefore it was stricken from the books and no longer seen as an actual "disability"? That is correct that it is no longer seen as a disability by the Psychology community, is it not?

One thing I'm not trying to do is discredit the problems Aspie's have. I'm just trying to make sense out of all of it because I'm really into psychology and I don't like labels. I'd like to think of my Aspie friend and my possible Aspie co-worker as having their own personalities and not being seen or treated as a defective. Maybe my Aspie friend is just an introvert and likes his solitude while my possible Aspie co-worker just has a strange sense of humor amongst other things.

Would you like to be seen as introverted or quiet, liking your own company instead of others, a logical thinker, and having a lot of interest in certain hobbies instead of being put under a diagnosis of AS? Or maybe I'm wrong and some don't want to not be an Aspie. My thing is that when you categorize someone under a diagnosis that has some negative connotations to others then that person starts believing they are different and inferior when they really aren't leading to more depression. NT's (me) have trouble making friends, I can't stand a loud workplace and that's why I work nights, sometimes I have a hard time reading some people's facial cues and I can't always look everyone in the eyes.

Just some things to ponder that's been on my mind.

This is just what I personally think.

Someone can have a lot of, if not all, the traits of Asperger's without actually having it. The diagnosis is made for those who are impaired by it, who display the core symptoms of autism but lack the language delay. Those that have a lot of traits but live normal lives without any more problems than a "NT" are what I'd say are BAP, which are still NTs. Someone on the BAP would score high on the AQ but below the threshold for the autism diagnostic tests.

I also wonder what percentage of people would be on the spectrum if everyone were evaluated.
I know there is a whole class of people to whom "diagnoses" is not a household word, mostly minorities. And even though it's a disability, it is disability that many people suffer with just like people have always done until the 90's when high functioning autism started to be diagnosed.

I also wonder about people who say they pretend to be normal and pass for normal. I saw a u tube video of a young women who seemed normal and was lamenting about having to fake being normal most of the time except for a few days a month or so when she was not but nobody would ever see her that way, she would stay in her apartment and stressed that she would never let any one see her when she was not acting normal.
I wondered what she was like when not acting normal. Was she super geeky like Temple Grandin, or Socially awkward and naïve like Susan Boyle?
I don't understand acting normal. I've seen and known people who are autistic and don't try to act normal and they appear autistic and are just fine the way they are and I can't imagine them acting to appear normal.

What NTs have trouble making friends? I have not met one IRL.

That doesn't mean that everyone who has trouble socially has ASD...but everyone I've known with social trouble is NOT NT. They might have something else like ADHD, etc. but they're not NT.

Hi NurseAngela.

One thing that many aspies seem good at intuitively is recognising other aspies in daily life. I know you have suffered from confusion as to whether you could be on the spectrum or not. Your opening post here inclines me again to think you are perhaps not an onlooker, but a fellow traveller.

The Autistic Spectrum is called a spectrum for a reason, at one end of the spectrum are profoundly autistic individuals and at the other end are high functioning NTs. I've included NTs because the spectrum doesn't just stop at some arbitrary point. Between the two extremes is everyone else. Some, like Aspies, may be closer to NT end of the spectrum but they still possess enough distinct, significant and clinically identifiable, autistic traits that distinguish them from those further along the NT end of the spectrum.

How's everything going with your health, Angela?

I feel every human being is on a spectrum/continuum.

As you know, one doesn't come back "all the way" from pneumonia right away. But you're making progress--and I'm glad you're returning to work this weekend.

Indeed, one does not always succeed while endeavoring to appear normal.

In certain fields, though, there is less of a demand for "normalcy," and more demand for actual, tangible ability.

We just basically have a higher "clock speed".
We are aware of much more sensory data and internal dialog than so called "normal" people.

So, socially we are going off of subtle cues that many others just "tune out". But we can't so we don't know how to behave. Some of have learned well how to "act right" but many have to apply conscious attention to that.
Also the torrent of sound, skin & internal body info sometimes just sends us into "meltdown" which can be profoundly scarring to someones social life.

We all process and handle that sensory overload differently.

We're wired up like squirrels.

That's my theory.

We're really going to need some kind of high tech equipment to measure neural activity more precisely to actually tell how "autistic" someone is.
Silly questionnaires, quizzes and the big pharma sales manual called the "DSM-V" are a wild goose chase.

Part of the problem is that the science studying autism is ignoring the electromagnetic level, they make the false assumption that matter is primary in the universe. "Matter" is just a lower state of energy. It's all the same stuff.
Neurons use electricity, electricity gives off EM waves. Considering only the chemistry is backwards.

Science in general needs to flip the relationship between energy & matter. It's the same stuff.