Are highly intellectual aspies different than other aspies?

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Do you think intellectual aspies have a different form of asperger's than non-intellectual ones? Is it only giftedness in the intellectuals that makes them different?
I have met both intellectual and non-intellectual aspies and they strike me as having a different form of asperger's. I could be wrong however.

I think that my own intellectual giftedness has helped me to work out a lot of things about social interactions. I think that without that additional bit of intelligence I would have a much harder time fitting in with NTs. To me, it feels like I do the main thinking with the "average" portion of my intellect and handle the social interactions with the "excess" intelligence. In the past (before I realized I have Asperger's) I have often blamed my giftedness for the trouble I had in interacting with others, but over the last few months I have realized that the exact opposite is the case.

Thus it may appear in some cases like gifted Aspies are better able to deal with social situations because they don't have to use as big a portion of their overall intelligence for keeping up with NTs as averagely intelligent Aspies do. But still, this might not hold true in all cases as some of us are dealing with additional internal issues "in the background" like sensory overload or a lack of innate focus which draw upon their intellectual ressources even further.

Uh, yeah.

Highly intellectual is different than not highly intellectual.

I suppose an extremely smart Aspie might be able to more quickly adapt their coping mechanisms to new situations.

On the other hand, sometimes I really wish I was stupid so I wouldn't be so keenly aware of what I have failed at.

I reject the term "intellectual" whose normal modern usage is abhorrent.

There is "intelligent" - here I have insufficient data to answer.

There is "educated" - insufficient data, but a suggestion that there is no significant difference.

There is "thinking" - available data here suggest that the differences parallel those between thinking and other NTs.

I have been labled both ASD and GIFTED in the last 2 months. It was interesting to me because before I received the "gifted" label, I went to an adult aspergers support group and it was VERY obvious to me and to others (two of them made comments in fact) that I was NOT like the others. The difference was that I had my "act" together in a very different way. I have a respected career, wealth, general inner wellness and hapiness. That said the signs of my Aspiness were showing up quite obviously in my stimming (which I do quite frequently), and my inability to look at people or know when to come into converstations and saying inappropriate things. The "crowning" moment for me was at the meeting when there was a break, I went outside with my normal intention of getting away from everyone so that I can re-group but I noticed that everyone was standing outside but nobody was talking. So I did not have to run. I could stand in their midst and not talk and regroup. It was awesome and I knew that on some level they were my people. Likewise they accepted me into their group acknoledging I am different in some way and way more succesful then any of them had become. Once the GIFTED lable was given to me, I was able to understand that in this already somewhat unique group (ASD), I am now even more unique. My therapist explained to me that as IQ goes up, so does the "weirdness" factor as IQ does not happen in a linear way most of the time. So I am weird but able to figure out how to advocate for myself and to make myself useful in this strange world....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7030731/ns/business/

I recently chanced upon this video interview by a "gifted Aspie" with whom I can absolutely relate. I have asked all my friends and family to please watch it as it depicts me exactly. Perhaps there are others who are both that can chime in with their experiences? This is all pretty new to me...

I don't usually go around telling people I have aspergers because they don't believe me anyway. I've gotten better at faking my way through social interactions... Though most of the time I fail at it. I play bass in a rock band so everyone assumes that because I can do that I can do anything. But they don't know what my everyday life is. Even though I'm intelligent enough to figure out how to appear normal my executive function is poop. I have a schedule that tells me what time to do everything otherwise I won't even take a shower. It sucks because I'm intelligent enough to figure some stuff out so I sit here stressing out over a mistake I made while I was out with my girlfriend.

The difference between genius and non-genius is about as big a difference as the difference between aspie and non-aspie (perhaps even more so). So of course brilliant aspies are going to seem fundamentally different. Genius NTs also look fundamentally different from non-genius NTs.

I'm one of those "intellectual" aspies, too.
I have very often felt that my extra intelligence is like a "patch" I can use to cover certain gaping flaws. I could read, write, draw, and speak in full sentences with polysyllables before I could walk, so that helps.
kfisherx: I have gone to Autism support groups and felt the same thing. Like, at first I was put off because I was better at communicating certain ideas, but at the same time, I felt like I fit in perfectly. That same "these are my people". I relate a lot with people like Vernon Smith, Temple Grandin, and the fictional character Temperance Brennan from the TV show Bones, who has Asperger's and is at the top of her chosen profession. The video you posted explains very well why I am choosing to go to college and become a professor. It's social interaction under circumstances I can understand, control, and do tangible good for the world.

I tend to have a really positive attitude towards my Asperger's because I spent so much of my life misdiagnosed and overmedicated. I once wrote:

What about those of us who are both gifted and Aspie, but can't succeed? I have been very unsuccessful at work, and don't see (yet) any way out. Anyone else out there like this:

I think the more intelligence one has the better they can cope. But there is, on the flip side, being too intelligent for one's good I'd imagine.

I think more intelligent aspies fair better because A. they have a better chance at education/jobs and B. they can cope better.

But I don't understand intelligence very well. Why is it I can talk to people with +30 IQs and beyond than my own and not notice a difference?