Are Scientists Overstating Symptoms of Asperger's?

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I wanted to ask a question that I've had for some time now, and I feel like it needs to be heard: are scientists overstating and misdiagnosing symptoms of Asperger's too much? I've noticed that there are mostly negative responses from the scientific community on this, and that scientists tend to not focus on the good qualities of the disorder, such as an impressive long-term memory or having above-average intelligence. It's sad to know that most people do not focus on the good qualities of this, and raise misconceptions, which leads to ignorance. I'm getting frustrated waiting for an answer from the scientists about Asperger's, and I want to speak up and tell scientists to stop focusing on the bad and focus on the good. Comments on this are always appreciated. Thank you!

These are not symptoms or diagnostic criteria, they're merely stereotypes and not always accurate. The fact that we may tend to be sticklers for precision in speech (because we're so prone to misinterpret intent otherwise) and often prattle on in great detail about obscure obsessive-interest subjects may give the appearance of high intelligence, when in fact, IQ is about average. I'd like to think I'm smarter than most other people, but realistically, I think it just feels that way because common neurotypical thinking seems so stupid to me.

I'm not certain what you mean by "overstating symptoms" - I felt the DSM descriptions described me to a T. It was so accurate, it was creepy.

However Pollyanna -ish one wants to be about AS as a "gift," it's a very real set of handicaps that are frustrating and often depressing in youth and genuinely crippling obstacles as an adult, when they can make it difficult to maintain steady employment and keep a roof over you head. So no, I don't think the negatives are being overstressed, if that's what you mean.

I actually worry that stories like John Elder Robison's Look Me In The Eye may lead people to believe that it's not a serious disability after all - if his life has been such a success, then any Aspergian who struggles must be just a whiner making excuses and frankly, we get enough of that kind of "you're just not trying hard enough" bullying as it is. If an Aspie has the good fortune to stumble into a field that jibes with their own personal interests, they may have a solid career and do well for themselves. If they're not lucky enough to fall into a perfect niche like that, the things that neurotypical people take for granted as simple and everyday can make just getting by a painful daily struggle.

So, again, no, I don't think the disabling aspects of the disorder are overstated at all. In fact, I think they need to be clarified, so NT people can have a better understanding of just how difficult living with AS really is.

Yes, I do think the disabling aspects are overstated.

I'm sorry, but I do.

I'm sick of people telling me I can't have the life I have, or do the things I do. I'm sick of being told what my limitations are. I'm sick of being told how well I'm doing when I ask for help with something I DO struggle with, simply because I don't fit the clinician's image of someone with Asperger's.

So I found a husband-- I'd like to be able to disagree without either shutting up or getting into a fight.

So I found friends-- I'd like to know how to keep them without totaling up the annual dollar value of putting up with me.

So my family likes me-- I'll bet they'd like Attila the Hun, too, if he came bearing gifts.

So I learned how to compensate. Yay, me. Now I'd like to learn how to have what everyone else I know has-- and I think I might be able to learn it, if people would stop telling me how WONDERFULLY I'm doing "for a person with ASD."

It's a common statistical and logical error referred to as "the clinician's error." Experts only see people who are having problems, and they get paid to focus on the problems. Therefore, they tend to see things as being worse than, say, the people living with a given condition. They're not out to get us...

...but it still ends up being kinda sad.

I think that the criteria for an Asperger's diagnosis are there for the purpose of describing Asperger's and to help distinguish it from other conditions. It has nothing to do with trying to make anyone feel bad or good about themselves. That some people diagnosed with Asperger's may have a very good long term memory is immaterial.

I want us to move from the 'professional' model where we wait for psychologists to help us,

to the Civil Rights model where we build our own institutions.

OMG, YES! I'm researching with the stance that people on the autism spectrum have differences, which are only disabilities because the minority is not accepting of these differences. I spend a lot of time reading academic papers about autism and it really bothers me the way that even the most well-meaning of them talk about "deficits" in this or that that impair people on the spectrum. There are VERY FEW academics who do not few autism in this way and are not looking for a way to turn autistic people into neurotypical people. We could very easily "cure" Black people by making them White, but why in the world would you want to? Why not just keep the majority from being jerks so that everyone can be themselves?

They can't. The positives are as varied as the Aspies they effect, and not every Aspie has positives... SOME only have negatives.

Aspergers is kind of a mixed bag, in terms of its positive and negative symptoms. On the one hand, people with AS tend to have excellent sensory perception, higher-than-average intelligence, and great attention to detail. On the other hand, people with AS tend to have problems with socialization, emotions, and non-verbal communication. As well, people with AS just work differently than other people. There's no real way to explain it without going into long-winded pages of details.

I would have to agree, I actually get annoyed by the whole 'AS is great' bandwagon, sure people with it can accomplish things and some are able to find steady employment but it wouldn't be a considered a disorder if it didn't cause very real difficulties in functioning....I just think people are getting an unrealistically positive impression of the disorder.

Actually, Aspies tend to have the same spread of intelligence as NTs. The reason there is the belif that we have a higher than average is that if the IQ is below 70, the individual is automatically classified as autistic, not aspie... By removing our lowest IQ memebers, we gain a lot of points in the averages...

I discuss aspies and intelligence HERE

I never actually knew that. It makes sense however, given that Aspergers Syndrome and High Functioning Autism are often used as synonyms for one another, albeit incorrectly. That said, the last time I took an IQ test (which was many moons ago), I scored 125. Do I feel any smarter than the average person? Perhaps in a few ways, but there are also many ways in which I feel like I am a bumbling idiot. I mean, my communication skills aren't the greatest, I'm not a particularly fast thinker, and I have trouble understanding many mathematical and scientific concepts.

Yeah... the problems that we have with obsessive tendencies and special interests tend to soak up all the extra... LOL...

VAGraduateStudent and Bigmouth 503 both have good points.

My preference to be alone most of the time or to socialize in small groups for small periods of time is only "disabling" because only a small a majority of people have those traits and the vast majority dislike those traits. It has nothing to do with right and wrong or deficits.

My Executive Functioning ie poor planning, lack of ability to adjust to change etc are true "deficits". My messy living space is truly disordered.

If you have some enhanced sensory perception it is an advantage. If you have very very intense sensory perception whatever advantages you gain from that are far outweighed by the disadvantages. Many places and experiences are a nightmare for you. It is an overall deficit.

Do you define someone being blind by the enhanced ability to understand what they hear?

Valid reasoning, but not at all comparable... There are no bonuses to being blind. For many autistics, the ability to soak up information about their special interests, hyper-vigilance and hyper-focus are considered to be positives...

What we have here is a case of self esteem versus disease (please refer to the medical definition, I am not arguing for or against this term, it happens to fit by definition)... and honestly, I believe that excessive self esteem is problematic for many autistic spectrum individuals... (I wrote about that HERE.

I was not aware hyper-vigilance was a symptom of autism, that seems more like an anxiety or PTSD symptom(both of which can be autism co-morbids) but regardless of if its an autism symptom as well I don't see what's so great about it. I hate being hypervigalent, makes me feel like I'm going crazy because my brain is looking for any threat even threats that aren't there.

So not so sure that is a positive. The other two are positive, but one positive trait does not really minimize the effects of the more disabling traits.