Aspiedar: can you tell if someone is autistic?

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I'm not sure how ocurate my aspiedar is but I sense that a high percentage of people arround me are autistic. That would make sense since people in my extended family share similar genes with me and also it seems that I subconsciously chose to socialise with aspies throughout the years. Is it only me or do others here on WP also sense that others have ASD?

Unless you have some means to verify your impressions, they will remain exactly that -- mere impressions.

Next time your “aspiedar” indicates someone may be an aspie, you could try walking up to that person and asking if they are on the autism spectrum, but I do NOT advise it.

Because they may respond with the same degree of shock and hostility that any stranger would have if you asked if they were on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

“Aspiedar” may be only a manifestation if your inner desire to find acceptance in people like yourself.

No

It's easy to detect the:
gaze avoiding and
flat or unusual tone of voice.
The unusual or stiff gait is another obvious sign.

I suppose it doesn't help much In life to know if someone is autistic cos it doesn't mean you are guaranteed to get on with them, but it's interesting to know.

I can usually tell if a man is autistic, but not necessarily always. I can always tell if a person is quirky or has some sort of neurological difference even if it's unclear what it is (which it usually is).

Often.

I have seen these behaviors in people being arrested, people who are known to be drunk or stoned, and people whose intellectual capabilities and motor skills are known to be otherwise impaired.

But really, I am curious how people verify their 'aspiedar' impressions when the symptoms could indicate other conditions.  Do they simply believe their impressions are valid and go on their merry way?

I suspected a person was on the spectrum once, and it was later confirmed. Admittedly, this has only happened once, though.

↑ Please forgive me for saying this, but one coincidence does not validate a generalized claim.

Considering all of the celebrities, historical figures, and even fictional characters who have been allegedly 'identified' as being on the autism spectrum without any validation whatsoever, I am inclined to doubt that anyone's 'aspiedar' actually works.

I wasn’t meaning to imply that it did.

My bad!  No offense meant!  I apologize.

No offense taken!

Like I said, I can usually tell if someone (particularly a man, don't know why) may have some sort of neurological condition but not always which condition it is, unless it is something like down's syndrome, or if the behaviours/actions are very obvious and stereotypical, such as a person wearing noise-cancelling headphones and flapping his or her hands and making noises is usually obvious that they're autistic. Well, obvious to some. Unfortunately some people have to stare and ridicule instead of thinking ''hold on, it's obvious that they have some sort of a disability, they're hardly a threat, neurological disabilities do exist''.

There's this guy at work who I can't tell whether he's an Aspie or not, but I can tell he has something. He is in his 50s, lives with his parents, has never drove or married or had children, has restricted interests, and is often quite self-absorbed (not in a narcissistic way, just in a socially awkward way). He's difficult to have a conversation with, as you can't always get a word in edgeways and it's often one-sided. He's a nice guy but often misunderstood. Most people think he's a bit simple but he is actually rather intelligent. I don't know if he could be on the spectrum or have ADHD, or maybe just some sort of learning difficulty (yes, learning difficulties can make a person appear socially awkward, and they can have things they are clever at). He could be anything, but I can't say for sure what. I obviously won't ask him, as I can sense that he's either undiagnosed or is extremely good at pretending he hasn't got any diagnoses. I'm extremely good at that too. I can pretend that I know very little about autism to people who are talking about their autistic kid or whatever (I express compassion of course but I mean I pretend to be like someone who is at least undiagnosed or don't have it at all).

Yes there are people whom I suspected were aspies. But they dont exist in "large numbers".

Two people I worked with for years. Both left the company. One I learned actually was aspie. The other I prolly never know. A third person on a website (not an aspie website) I suspected was an aspie, and she confirmed it.

I'm pretty good at spotting someone early in conversation. I suspect the reliability is much lower without the in-person impressions.

I have the advantage of 1) being diagnosed early, 2) spending a lot of time around a variety of people who I knew to be on the spectrum, as well as those who probably weren't, from a young age, and 3) getting ample opportunity to continue to test these skills in young adulthood.

I don't actually think autism exists as a single discrete thing, even a broad thing that manifests as a spectrum of phenotypes. But I have a low false-positive rate for identifying someone as being in the autistic ballpark. I obviously cannot know my false-negative rate, although I suspect it is higher.

I did not keep score of the number of times fellow students, teachers, and even family members mis-labelled me as 'brain-damaged', 'queer', 'ret*d', or 'spastic'.  Yet those people were all certain they were right because they "just knew" their diagnoses were spot-on.  So, I know exactly how it feels to be mis-labelled and treated as damaged goods or a second-rate person.  I also feel sad for other people who must endure the same treatment.

This is why I wish people would refrain from claiming 'aspiedar' is a reliable means of identifying others.