The Opposite of Asperger's Syndrome?

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What would someone with the opposite of autism / Asperger's Syndrome be like?

Very social, empathetic, friendly, and verbal, but often clueless about mathematics and mechanical things and the like, and often having difficulty following routines or concentrating on some task.

There is no psychiatric syndrome recognized for such a state, possibly because those with inverse Asperger's may be able to lead relatively normal lives, using their social skills to get others to do mathematical and mechanical tasks for them.

But there is a condition that includes an inverse-Asperger condition: Williams syndrome, also mentioned in Girls, Boys, and Autism. The article Different Minds discusses the mentality of those with this condition in great detail; its inverse-Asperger character is very evident.

It is caused by a deletion of a bit of Chromosome 7, which causes other abnormalities, like connective-tissue abnormalities that give those with this syndrome an elfin or pixie-ish look. In fact, this condition might even be the original inspiration of elves and the like.

There is a condition called Williams Syndrome. Most of the information around it seems to be centered around children. They have pronounced language skills and extremely good social skills.

Woops!

Mental note to me ~ 'READ PEOPLES POSTS BEFORE YOU REPLY TO THEM'

I'm not sure it's an exact opposite. Williams Syndrome is caused by a specific deletion, but autism doesn't have a single known genetic cause. Some autistics have perfect pitch and savant skills in music; most Williams Syndrome kids are musically gifted and have perfect pitch.

Last edited by DrizzleMan on 08 Jan 2006, 5:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

I call them Type-A personalities

You ignored the fact that the wiki article links to an article to what is already accepted as the opposite of WS, which itself sounds similar to Autism. http://www.geocities.com/abnormaldivers ... 0-q11.html

Thanks. I think it's good to keep in mind more fundamental distinctions and not just judge things by the surface. As Dizzleman said, WS is a chromosome condition, where as autism and AS are still considered neurological conditions with no specific chromosomal causes.



Actually, the extreme inverse probably wouldn't lead to relatively normal lives. To have a "normal" life requires a lot of moderation and compromise. AS tends to exhibit one extreme - a kind of left brain extreme. So the extreme inverse would be someone very right brained. Right brain function is more intuitive and emotional, and less systematic and detail- and data-focused. A person with extreme right-brain traits wouldn't necessarily be "normal."

While I don't know of any clinical term for people like this, informal and rather pejorative terms like "artsy-fartsy type" "prima donna" and "fruitcake" are often used in reference to them. They do tend to be affiable and social (if not overbearing), talkative (although not necessarily more advanced in verbal skills as AS, since language is a system and therefore hinges on left brain function), and emotive to the point of being histronic. Like Aspies, they come across are a bit self-absorbed, although for different reasons. They tend to be flamboyant, oblivious, flakey, vague, and overgeneralizing, and despite their seeming friendliness, actually tend to be rather humorless (espeically about themselves). Their manner of speaking leans towards effect over substance. In fact, they tend to get very impatient and frustrated with informative styles of speech, like that of us Aspies. They are drawn to creative pursuits often, which how I've met so many, and trust me, they are not normal. In creative areas, these people tend to be more the performers, actors, dancers and vocal divas than the poets, painters or back-up musicians.

They usually have trouble with routine, which is why they tend to have trouble holding down "normal" jobs or simply showing up on time. They don't follow rules and regulations well, which may lead to a number of things, like unintentional shocking behavior to p*ss poor driving skills. They often have trouble with authority are the result of these other tendencies too. They usually are very bad at math and often are intimidated by technology, preferring to get other people to do that stuff for them. They often are highly optimistic, frighteningly sincere and seem to think the world is "magical." Since they aren't particularly logical, clear cut cause-effect relationships appear mysterious and vague to them.

They also seem frequently to have issues with gender and sexuality, like Aspies, just in their own way. Many are gay, bi, ambiguous or thoroughly confused, although they rarely are asexual like Aspies. Their social and emotional needs are very pronounced - these are "high maintenance" people. They can exhibit traits similiar to narcissistic, dependant, schizotypal and histronic personality disorders - sort of the inversion of Aspies's tendency to exhibit traits similiar to schizoid, paranoid, and avoidant PDs. But like Aspies, depression, anxiety and O/C tendencies seem common.

I think persons like Mariah Carey or Tom Cruise would be very good celebrity examples of this. As a musican and artist, I seem to be running into them more often than I like. If by chance ther's a clinical term for this, I'm be very interested in knowing.

You said it: histrionic personality disorder.

Hmm....I don't know if I agree with that. Because I have all of the "negative" traits listed here, plus I think I'm pretty empathetic and friendly. Yet there's no doubt in my mind that I have AS.

Williams Syndrome is sometimes put along the same line of comparison as Autism, especially with regards to Savant Syndrome. There's probably other savant talents the person with Williams Syndrome potentially will have, but a BIG one is musical talent.

I've watched two programs on Williams Syndrome from Dateline. They were very fascinating. The second was a follow-up. If anyone can get ahold of them, I highly recommend them.

WSers all kind of have a very elfish look about them. Fascinating.

Temple grandin talks about william's syndrome in this article:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/article295.html

Bland-I think that this just proves how unique and necessary we all are on this planet of humanity. We may not always appreciate each other. "Pollyanna" types always turn me off. But who doesnt enjoy that friendly person who introduces themselves and asks you about yourself at a social event and is so friendly that no matter what you say they are still willing to talk with you? I knew a girl in high school like this. So incredibly funny and nice, I couldnt believe that she would hang with me. Come to find out she was the biggest class slut there was; the main instigator and participant in all of the orgies and such. But she was so innocent of mind and sweet, not too smart, though, I never would have guessed and I can smell a pervert a mile away! I dont know if she had Williams Syndrome or not but she was very pretty, friendly and sweet. I wonder if she even realized what she was doing?

I always thought of Down SYndrome as the opposite of AS, my sister with downs is extremely social and empathetic. Her "social intelligence" regularly tests above her age, as well.

That's easy. The opposite of Asperger's syndrome is Politician's syndrome or, more colloquially,
Bush's syndrome.

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"They misunderestimated me."--George II

Hmmm. I thought the opposite of Asperger's was Paris Hilton. *ducks*

I want you to keep in mind that not all Aspies are good at math. I, for one, am TERRIBLE at almost all types of math besides adding. And while most Aspies are interested in mechanical things and ideals, not all of them are actually good at deciding how they work. I am very interested in how trains work, and know a little bit about them, but I am by no means an expert on the subject, even if I studied day and night on the subject. I like to see car parts, and am interested in how they work, but I have NO clue how cars work in general.