Do atypical cases of Aspergers occur, and what is the cause?

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Alastis
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30 Dec 2010, 6:49 am

Dear Fellow Aspies,

I have a question that hopefully someone can answer for me, now upon first reading this it may sound like I am trying to be a little narcissistic or arrogant but I assure you this is not the case. I am just looking for answers and can't seem to find them anywhere else. I have been diagnosed with Aspergers at the age of 21, although it has been suspected for many years before that my Mother just never acted on it. This is where my curiosity comes into play, I have some very obvious traits that most with the condition have but at the same time I have incredibly high dexterity along with incredible social skills, an ability to retain eye contact to the point it is a little un-nerving to some people. I am currently a college student working on dual degrees with Biology and Chemistry as well as a Neuroscience minor I have already completed. To sum up the point I am trying to make, after viewing many different cases because I am naturally fascinated by something I myself have I am wondering why I seem so different from even the typical person with Aspergers. I have had my condition confirmed several times, but many have said I am a very unusual case almost like a Dominant type of Aspie. I was just curious if anyone else could provide some insight or if they share similar traits. I am almost usually skilled with holding down long term relationships and am almost never seen without a girlfriend. It also seems like I am highly skilled at catching people in lies. For some background information my parents are divorced and I was practically self raised for most of my life and always went through normal and honors classes in school even though I had a few minor issues getting bored with work. I would really appreciate some feedback on this, once again I have no intent to try and some overly grandiose or anything of the sort. I just want to know why I feel more different than usual and if anyone else is like this.



Callista
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30 Dec 2010, 11:31 am

My thoughts:
--Yes, it can be atypical. Atypical autism is the largest group of autism cases, larger than either AS or regular autism.
--Holding eye contact too long is a known variant of the usual problems with non-verbal interaction. Not all autistics avoid eye contact; some use too much of it.
--If you're an extrovert and not socially anxious, you will see different from other autistic people just because you are in the minority as an extrovert.

It's possible you don't have Asperger's but have some related condition, or have only some of the traits but not others. Doctors resort to PDD-NOS most of the time anyway nowadays, so it wouldn't be the first time somebody said, "This case doesn't fit," and put it in the miscellaneous category.


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Alastis
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30 Dec 2010, 1:51 pm

I haven't been seeing a regular doctor for it, but the only resident specialist on Aspergers who herself has a son afflicted with it. I do have several of the usual traits but didn't feel the need to mention all of those as I was more curious about the abnormal ones. I am just looking for answers for myself and this seemed the best place to go. I suppose in almost every way I am one extreme or another. I almost obsessive with enjoy the company of others and stare people down without meaning too. Yet I do happen to have a Tic in my right eye. I have plenty of traits that would point to me having it, more so than not. Yet in some aspects I just happen to be different from some others I have known. I don't doubt that I have Aspergers at all, if I did I wouldn't invest so much time and money trying to understand it better. Really I just want to know if any other people with Aspergers demonstrate any strong leadership skills or lots of independents. I certainly get my draw backs from having Aspergers but I learn to cope with it as best I can. One thing I have wondered about is if this developed from it being discovered so late and me forced in with Neurotypicals constantly with no choice but no adapt. I have heard of a study in which a teacher was told that the class she was being taught consisted of all "gifted children," however this wasn't true and they all had been tested multiple times before and all showed up average. However, this teacher unknowing they are average and instead raising the bar for them in the end brought up all of the scores significantly. Not the point that they all became gifted of course, but the point was they were treated as such and for the most part rose to it. If more people would try to look upon Aspies as normal people and be much more accepting wouldn't it be possible that more of us may learn to bypass so of the drawbacks we were born with? Once again I hope nothing said offended anybody. If anything I just wish more people would be accepting and more of us in the future could have a better chance at being accepted for exactly what we are and people appreciating and respecting that. Sorry to stray from my original question, but I still do hope someone else out their has had a similar good experience in getting around our natural limitations.



herbeey
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30 Dec 2010, 7:33 pm

I was under the impression that leadership is something that aspies won't much more problem with than anyone else. Leadership converts a group setting into something quite different. As a leader one has control over the group and the group can effectively become a one-on-one interaction between you and the group.

Where I'd expect aspies to have trouble is when they are just another person in a group.



wavefreak58
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30 Dec 2010, 8:02 pm

I had to laugh at the last part of your question "what is the cause?".

If anyone knew that we'd really have something, eh?


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vetwithAS
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30 Dec 2010, 11:44 pm

I served in the Army for 4 yrs and have intentions of getting into law enforcement. From what I've read here, that likely makes mine an atypical case too as it seems to me most aspies would shy away from such fields. A phrase I once read while researching AS that's stuck with me is "if you've met a person with AS, you've met ONE person with AS". While we all share a common set of traits, it manifests differently in each of us.



tasbro
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31 Dec 2010, 12:22 am

I have always been "different" but was never able to explain why until I first heard about AS just a couple weeks ago, and I am 26 years old.

Though I am almost 99% sure I do have AS at this point, there were certain traits that threw me off. The social part I cannot relate to, seeing as I'm very antisocial. The dexterity on the other hand I can relate to more. Even though I didn't end up sticking with martial arts (more because of the social aspect) I have on many occasions had people call me a natural due to my understanding of the science involved in it, as well as my reaction time. I love playing hacky sack, and have even surprised myself by the way I can hit it almost out of reaction, though it may be 10 feet away behind me.

I think that there are certain traits of AS that you can "train" yourself out of. I'm not sure why, but I think I'm actually pretty good at reading the emotional queues of others. It may just be from observation. My mother always said that at an early age, while my other siblings were clamboring for attention I would sit in a corner silent and watch. So, maybe I can read the emotions of others due to observations over the years, but it doesn't help me apply that directly to social situations.



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31 Dec 2010, 12:59 am

Maybe you're gifted. I always see giftedness as a socially successful aspie.


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ruveyn
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31 Dec 2010, 8:27 am

pensieve wrote:
Maybe you're gifted. I always see giftedness as a socially successful aspie.


There are gifted NTs too.

ruveyn



Verdandi
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31 Dec 2010, 8:41 am

ruveyn wrote:
pensieve wrote:
Maybe you're gifted. I always see giftedness as a socially successful aspie.


There are gifted NTs too.

ruveyn


I thought she meant that she saw gifted aspies as socially successful aspies.



ruveyn
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31 Dec 2010, 11:10 am

Humans are complicated. There are "atypical" cases of any identified difference, syndrome, condition, etc. .....

ruveyn