The Opposite of Asperger's Syndrome?

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Do any of you believe there is such a thing as an opposite of Asperger's syndrome or autism? As a reference, this topic is already being discussed on alt.support.autism at Google Groups.

Certainly! The establishment types, who rule everything, are our nemesis. They are our polar opposite in almost every respect. Why are they in charge? Because they want to be, and we Aspies lose out because we have no wish to dominate anyone! It has nothing to do with worth nor contribution.

There is a disorder called William's Syndrome, which is in many ways the opposite of AS. People with William's Syndrome are extremely social and easily pick up on a person's emotions. They are also notable for having elfin facial features. What is especially odd about William's Syndrome is that people with it often display characteristics of autism, such as hypersensitivity to sound.

I read about that in a Time or Newsweek article about the spectrum but thought it was called Thomas' syndrome. Anyway, it does exist! The article said people who have it have below-normal IQs like most people with full-blown autism.

Hmm, maybe that's part of "establishment" syndrome? After all, a high IQ clearly isn't necessary to be a boss. Consider the contrasts;

E-types think clothes and general appearence are important (shiny shoes and styled hair etc. are essential if one wants to be promoted) whereas Aspies don't give it much thought.

We are rational and objective, and tend to consider ideas on their merit; the E-types are more concerned with consensus, convention, and the status of the originator of an idea.

Aspies tend to be socialist and unselfish, but E-types want it all for themselves.

Aspies have little use for eye contact and other expressions of non-verbal communication; the E-types live to dominate others and to bask in their displayed reverence, all of which depend heavily on body language.

Aspies know that the important measure of a project's worth is the difference between the resulting revenue, and the amount spent on it, E-types are more concerned with how deadlines are met, and who get's the credit. An Aspie would think an extra week at the design stage, in order to avoid mistakes and lengthy development, would be a good thing; E-types know that "development" is a seperate project, so an extra week on design is a week wasted.

Aspies would favour teleworking and flexitime, as time spent on crowded roads is time wasted; E-types know that what really matters is having people present (it's no fun bossing people around by e-mail!).

I could go on, but I suspect most of you think I'm being facetious? Not at all; if you check out the background to the Chandler and Mcleod test, you'll find that the "H" (for hustler) type is the one most likely to dominate any management hierarchy, and the "H" characteristics ar essentially incompatible with the "A" types. The extremely rare individuals who are strong in both categories, are real sick puppies!

just looked WS up online

http://www.williams-syndrome.org.uk/abo ... arents.htm

looks a lot like AS with a bunch of physical disabilities thrown in, and the added benefit of this "overfriendliness" thing they talk about. hmm.

I am Aspie; my 10yo son is Aspie. My 13yo daughter has Williams Syndrome. Both myself and my son are academically gifted and weak socially. My WS daughter has learning disabilities and is what I call "hyper-social." Makes life VERY interesting around here!

According to that link about William's syndrome, people with WS socialize much like aspies: They tend to hold monologues about their obsessions and be unaware of various social conventions. This does not seem to be the opposite of Asperger's syndrome to me.

You are right, my daughter (13) is maddeningly unaware of some of the most basic social rules that I have learned over the years. And she does tend to go on... and on... and on... when she starts talking about something that interests her. But it's not like us Aspies (speaking for myself, at least) when we get started on one of our obsessions. My daughter will go one and on and on about whatever pops into her head. THAT can be maddening!

While I may now be, out of necessity over the years, quite self-educated about social convention, I still do not LIKE to be in unfamiliar social situations, especially with strangers. My daughter loves it. No one is a stranger to her. She attempts to make friends with absolutely everyone she meets, regardless of age, social position, or anything else. It is especially difficult to get her to understand that children and adults are not on equal footing socially, and that she really shouldn't expect to be naturally welcomed as a participant into every adult conversation and social group that she encounters.

Some people on the autistic spectrum are in the "active but odd" category. I don't know if this applies to "Asperger's Syndrome", but it certainly applies to me when I get plastered.


The opposite of an Aspie is probably a Sociopath. http://home.datawest.net/esn-recovery/artcls/socio.htm

Although I notice the media likes to confuse the two:(

Yes, psychopaths are a truly different entity. They are socially agile, anything but gullible, and prone to take advantage of others. They are everything that we are not.

I think that the opposite of Asperger's would be Relentlesly Normal. I know someone who's like that and she's embarrassed about my quirks and the quirks of a lot of other people, as well.

NT.

Mich

I don't think there an opposite to as, but I could be wrong.

What's going on here? Do any of your really identify with the neo-cons who rule America right now? Do you think as they do? Do you imagine the policy of treating Iraqis (for example) like dirt is going to endear them to the "American way" or is going to stop them and their families hating America?

If not, why do you imagine they would be concerned with an Aspie's well being? To such people we are just scum; their opposite...

opposites imply that they are at two ends of a spectrum. This also implies that there is a middle ground.

NT is not opposite of AS, NT is in the middle of the spectrum.