Aspergers vs. the "Highly Sensitive Person"?

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I hadn't heard of this before, but several of the symptoms overlap Aspergers. Are the two independent conditions or do all Aspergers people fall under this category? Video I came across link here.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04gnoReKgD4[/youtube]

I fall in the category.

I am usually told that Im insensitive. I think the lack of empathy associated with aspergers can also make them more insensitive. However I could see the sensory sensitivity overlap. Also I don't like when too much is going on at once. I hate any sort of multitasking. Emotionally though im not sensitive at all.

I'm very sensitive thou some people think otherwise because I can get withdrawn & closed down & they misinterpret that & my other actions

I would say they are independent conditions. I have the book and I have since defined myself as an HSP, or "Highly Sensitive Person" because I match most of the traits. I may also have Asperger's, but I am still learning about it.

Here is the self test on the author's website in case anyone is interested:

HSP Self Test

I find this interesting and a little confusing

The way I see it, there are different types of sensitivity e.g

1. Sensitivity to physical things, e.g dislike of noises, lights, strong smells.
2. Emotional sensitivity: finding sad movies upsetting, disturbed by violent films, feeling strong empathy for the emotions of others
3. interpersonal sensitivity: being easily wounded and hurt by the behaviour and actions of others.

I think these are quite different things. From what I have read on this site, aspies vary a lot in how sensitive they are in these different areas. The hsp model seems to describe a high sensitivity across all those areas, which will not be the case for most aspies even though most aspies are extremely highly sensitive in one way or another.

I'm highly sensitive, though only about me

20% of the population is much too high for it to be synonymous with Asperger's.

I think the issues I faced in life due to my AS caused me to be more sensitive. Being rejected, being misunderstood, being bullied, being criticized & other problems Aspies face as kids can cause us to be alot more sensitive than the typical NT

pretty much the same way. I CAN bethough IF I'm in a mood though?

Yes, i do think so. When i'm in a good mood, i can be very tough.
But i guess i'm just very narcissistic and have a BIG ego.

I came across high sensitivity while searching for an explanation for my bizarre behaviour, before I'd ever heard of Asperger's. I bought every book Elaine wrote on the subject and spent hours at a time browsing the internet for all the information I could find. For a time it became a special interest, particularly because it was the closest I'd ever come to an explanation for what was different about me. Now, learning about Asperger's, I realise that all my HSP traits overlap with my AS traits, so I have no idea if I have both, or if the high sensitivity is just a part of my Asperger's. As for whether the two are the same condition, I think it's sort of like the square vs rectangle thing: All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares, in other words, all people with AS are HSP's, but not all HSP's have AS. That's my theory at any rate, since from what I've read, most of the HSP traits are inherently a part of the AS diagnosis, I'll need to do more research to be certain though.

Then again at times Icome across as very emotional? I have minor bipolar andschizophrenia. I dont know if thatcounts as being "sensitive though?"

Sorry for necromancing this thread from 1 year+ but I felt the need to since I wanted to reply to this:

Only when you say to yourself that you are insensitive, maybe it will be true.
Have you thought about that?(whether you feel you are sensitive or insensitive) Have you considered what you think yourself or are you still pondering and is it like an open issue you haven't considered thinking about yet?

I want to raise the issue of people commenting on animals saying things like "they don't think, they can't feel". Animal lovers would feel very upset about this. I think that we should focus more on what we think and not so much on what others think, cause they are probably wrong. Mainly because they are not you.

My feeling about this most closely mirrors StarTrekker's thoughts here. I've tested as HSP 21/27 and relate very strongly to the criteria, but also seem to overlap with AS traits bigtime, so what StarTrekker said is what's already on my mind about myself.

Hello. I am Carltcwc with a different username. I found your response though so I can still post back. About your question I have noticed a few things in my that are opposite from other people with autism/Asperger's. A few things are I am more extraverted, I'm a sensation seeker and I'm not sensitive with a couple exceptions. I took the test linked here; http://www.hsperson.com/pages/test.htm The things I responded yet to are:

-I am easily overwhelmed by things like bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens close by. (I hate bright lights)
-I get rattled when I have a lot to do in a short amount of time.
-I am annoyed when people try to get me to do too many things at once.
-Being very hungry creates a strong reaction in me, disrupting my concentration or mood.
-Changes in my life shake me up. (depends)
-I find it unpleasant to have a lot going on at once.

I think I'm mostly unaware of my own feelings and emotions. While I have sensitivity to lights or having to do things quickly I feel unaffected by other peoples emotions nor am I bothered by sounds, although I often cannot understand what someone is saying if there is other noise going on such as music or tv. I sing in a death metal band so it wouldn't work well for me to not tolerate loud noise.