oceandrop wrote:
There's a lot of truth in this. Before I was diagnosed I was 100% convinced that there was something wrong with everybody else. Why did they enjoy going out at night and dancing around in dark clubs getting drunk, then spending the rest of the week talking about it before repeating it again at the weekend. Why are they so disinterested in studying interesting subjects unless they're forced to by some school/college curriculum? Why do they lie so much and get involved in absurd social intrigues and backstabbing and "he said" / "she said" nonsense that just goes on and on and on? Why do they attach so much value to social recognition and climbing social hierarchies instead of progressing in a tangible way such as in knowledge/ability in a special interest. There are even scientific studies showing people with AS score lower in measures of envy -- hardly surprising as we know how to be happy and content with truly awesome things in life, like books and special interests.
The advent of computers/internet/phones etc. are making the world more accommodating for AS people. and rates of AS seem to be going up, so I'm sure a couple of hundred years from now the autistic genes will be so widespread that having some AS traits will become the norm.
Actually, research has recently been done that has measured at least some AS traits in thirty percent of the population. AS traits are typical in a large part of the population. So in a way, by definition, AS traits are already "neuro-typical" in a large part of the population.
On any given day, almost anyone can display at least one of the traits we associate with Autism. And on the other hand, on any given day some people with autism show no visible behavioral traits associated with the disorder.
Depends on the individual and the circumstance. I don't think I have ever met anyone I would consider neurotypical. They all seem a bit neuro-divregent to me. But as observers we only see people's behavior; we don't get to see the inner workings of their nervous system. At this point neurologists aren't completely sure what the specific neurological differences are.
Basically it's somewhat of a guessing game.
I highly doubt most of the population is going to have AS at any time.....everyone has traits of various mental disorders, that does not mean they have the disorders. For instance it is normal to feel anxious if you are in some sort of danger or in a situation that is cause for anxiety like before a test or job interview or something.....people who experiance this do not have an anxiety disorder but they are experiancing symptoms someone with an anxiety disorder could experiance for no real reason.