right brained aspergers?

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hi

no, i never did consider this possibility; i wasn't aware of NLD. I just now read about it. It could be possible, yet i score very very high on asperger tests. It could be possible i have both; maybe. Is it possible they correlate? I mean, hmmm... wow, you kind of threw me for a loop here... thanks, i think? :/ now i'm confused...

mike
http://www.myspace.com/mikegeorgemusic

I have NLD, and my left side is weak (left grip is in 10th percentile, while right is in 65th). Additionally, I tend to not pay as much attention to my left visual field, and during a cancellation task (presented with a field of randomly selected characters, I was asked to cross out all the 3's), I actually missed 2 in my left visual field (which is extremely unusual according to the person who tested me). However, my right side coordination is worse than my left side coordination, so my mom (who is a psychologist) wonders my brain is less strictly lateralized than it is in most righties. Bilateral dominance for language and other functions is more common in lefties and close family members of lefties (which I am), so this is possible. Weak lateralization would explain why there are some neurological signs on my left side, and some on my right. Interesting, anyway!

Neuropsychology is actually one of my pet interests, so I've read up a lot on right hemisphere disorder, and the similarities between RHD and NLD are striking. Well, one main theory for NLD involves a disturbance of white matter, and since the right hemisphere normally has much more white matter than the left hemisphere (it's designed for distance, rather than local connections), it would make sense that RHD and NLD would be similar.

i dont have, nor never did have any weakness on the left side of my body. Rather, I'm very left hand dominate. I think in a very spatial way. Visual strengths, i have many...

I, as well as my father both have multiple AS traits, as do my father's brothers, and my cousins, and additionally, his father, and my mother's father also. My nephew has high functioning autism. It is a family affair of epic proportions.

I must admit the similarities between NLD and AS are intriguing, although, I am sure I have aspergers.

thanks for the subject matter. It is interesting.

Mike
http://www.myspace.com/mikegeorgemusic

It's still possible to have AS and be right-handed, right? I am right handed.

oh yes! very much so!! ! in fact, i do believe, the vast majority of aspies are probably right handed much like society as a whole.... my interest is in any possible differences between left brained and right brained aspies, and what those differences may be, and i wonder why noone has ever studied this concept before, that's all..

mike
http://www.myspace.com/mikegeorgemusic

So far it has seemed in the polls regarding right-handedness and left-handedness, the majority of people who respond are right handed, but the ratio of lefties on the board vs. the supposed general population of lefties is decidedly high.

My (very ASish) paternal grandfather (also VERY technical and scientific)was born lefty and forced/trained to be a righty
My (very ASish) mom(very artistic) is a lefty...

From what I have read about NVLD's ...they seem to be mostly right-handed....but maybe I am mistaken

Another thing to add- in this article I'm reading about right hemisphere functioning, it says that Rourke (big NLD guy) believes that patients with NLD, and possibly AS, show right hemisphere deficits, while those with HFA show left hemisphere deficits.

Really from other things I've read, it seems like there are two main branches in AS though- those who pattern like NLDers (strong verbal skills, weak visual skills), and those who pattern like those with HFA (weaker verbal skills, strong visual skills).

Last edited by LostInSpace on 21 Mar 2008, 12:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

So does that mean people with HFA tend to be right-handed? I'm sort of confused on the differences between AS and HFA here. I self diagnosed myself with AS, but now I'm wondering if I might have HFA instead.

No- don't confuse handedness with hemispheric strengths. Terms like "left-brained" and "right-brained" can also really misleading when applied to handedness. Forget the handedness thing- unless you are talking actual damage to one part of the brain (not just strengths/weaknesses), it isn't very relevant.

Also the current thinking on HFA/AS is that no language delay= AS. Did you have a clinically significant language delay (no single words by two years or phrases by 3 years)?

Yeeks! confusions confusions!

I am certain that there is dominance in my right field of vision because my left eye is horrible I can't read large print with it. Even with glasses it is still bad...it affects my general depth perception and everything...BUT any test says that my left eye is dominant.

Both sides of my body seem to be of the same strength..

any left-right dominance test I have ever taken says that I am right-brained, (with a slight tendancy towards bi-lateral)

How common would it be for an NVD to be a lefty?

I doubt that I am HFA..I think i started talking at the normal time...I am kinda afraid to ask my mom about it.

From what I've read- unusual, but not unheard of.

Same situation here. I simply don't know when I started talking, and my mom is very ignorant and outright denies that I have any form of Autism (she's one of those mothers who acts like we live in a perfect world where nothing bad could ever happen to her child). I simply don't want to ask her for this reason.

I think I recall my mom saying I went almost straight to sentences, but I don't know at what age. I do recall a point when I was able to think more than I was capable of verbalizing....but it could be that all this AS stuff has just gone to my head....

Before kindergarten, i started reading road signs, after more-or-less learning to read from an Alpha-bits cerial commercial...that is what caused everything to sorta snap into place..reading wise...

I think I may be right brained autistic, but then again I never have gone through a scan or MRI to back this statement up.


I seem to do more with creativity/language/abstract thought and writing. I can also be rather scientific and logical thinking too... so go figure... I struggle with numbers and math. I did fairly okay with it but it took forever for me to process the information.

The abstract thought is sort of an anomaly, because supposedly something autistics struggle with. I tend to think of it as a weakness, but when I was evaluated around 2005, the shrink said it was above normal. (Even for NTs???)

I use my right hand for drawing, writing, and eating utensils, but my left hand for most other activities, or I switch off hands.

I looked up NLD and it doesn't seem to ring for me. I was a late verbal talker. (although I recall speaking words (and sentences) and thinking I was talking, when I wasn't.) I think when I did talk, I may have surprized a few relatives, because they noted my vocabuary fairly well developed.

On a side note:
I am certain I have some form of dyslexia. I can’t seem to coordinate when I type or handwrite so often my letters get jumbled, even though it isn’t a conscious intention.

Hemisphere functioning appears to be inconclusive for AS and "HFA": here

I suppose AS would be constructed of people who are mostly right brained. Or that's what those Brits always preach. (You know, Simon Baron-Cohen and such.)