I think it presents a one-sided view of AS. It focuses on the receptive side, suggesting that the main symptom of AS is an inability to understand social interaction:
Quote:
People with Asperger syndrome sometimes find it difficult to express themselves emotionally and socially. For example, they may:
-have difficulty understanding gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice
-have difficulty knowing when to start or end a conversation and choosing topics to talk about
-use complex words and phrases but may not fully understand what they mean
-be very literal in what they say and can have difficulty understanding jokes, metaphor and sarcasm. For example, a person with Asperger syndrome may be confused by the phrase 'That's cool' when people use it to say something is good.
In order to help a person with Asperger syndrome understand you, keep your sentences short - be clear and concise.
This is
not true of me. I understand other people's nonverbal communication; I have trouble communicating nonverbally in a way that others understand. My posture, expressions, etc are misleading. I understand sarcasm, but other people usually can't tell when I'm being sarcastic because I don't get the tone right.
I
don't use complex words and phrases without understanding what they mean. Is this really a common AS thing? I thought that a lot of us had large vocabularies. I know I do. I frequently hear NTs use complex words and phrases in a manner that indicates they do not understand the meaning.
And the last sentence is just plain condescending. It makes us sound like idiots.
The rest of the article is similar to the above excerpt. It suggests that everything about AS is caused by an
inability to understand something, or an
inability to think a certain way (we're unable to imagine what other people might know?). AS is a collection of cognitive deficits according to this article. This is
not how I experience it. Not at all.