How is Asperger a Disability or a Disorder?

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The last time I was given an IQ test, there was a 52 point deviation between my Verbal and Performance IQ. My VIQ was high enough to put me in the gifted range, and my PIQ was low enough to put me in the borderline r******* range. The evaluator said that he had never seen anything like that, and didn't know what to make of it. He told my mother that it was impossible to get a measure of my overall IQ with such a huge deviation.
Granted, this was when I was in fifth grade. The following year, I was given an shortened version of an evaluation, because it was decided that I should be declassified from all special services, so I didn't have to enter Junior High with an IEP. The evaluator said that my VIQ and PIQ scores had definitely gone up, but he couldn't say exactly how much, because he had not administered the complete test.
My point here is; an IQ test is pretty much useless in measuring my intelligence. I don't set a whole lot of store by IQ tests in general, and I don't set any store by IQ tests when it comes to measuring the intelligence of individuals on the autism spectrum.
I apologize if this post is completely incoherent. Though I am supposed to be verbally gifted, I haven't had coffee yet today, so my alleged verbal "gifts" have not kicked in yet.

JohnnyD017 wrote

I wonder why people ALWAYS generalize like this. In any event, it is widely understood that some autists benefit from exceptional talents, and it serves no useful purpose to refuse to accept this. Based on the research of a contributor to these forums, 10% of AS have are gifted in some way.

Intellectual and artistic talents are difficult to measure, but in music perfect pitch can be detected. Numerous web sources state that about 1 in 10,000 Americans have perfect pitch, but it has been suggested that 1 in 20 AS have it. Since this is 500 times more prevalent than "normal", a degree in statistics is not required in order to understand the correlation.



Why denigrate such skills by characterizing them as "freakish"? My understanding is that these forums are at least in part designed to provide support. As such, people should be able to discuss their problems without being ridiculed and, on the other hand, people should also be able to discuss their talents without being mocked.

What about somebody who was impaired earlier in life, but found ways around the impairment and now can do all the things an NT could do? Would that person still be an aspie? It's a permanent condition, but one could learn to fake being normal.

Also, there are some jobs which don't really require an extensive interview process. If your problem is merely in obtaining a job, you could try something like that. That's my problem, getting through the interview, but once I'm in, I'm a good worker, except that I'm late a lot because I never remember how to estimate time.



I don't think IQ tests are a truly accurate way of measuring intelligence anyway. There are many things one could be smart at, IQ only measures a certain kind of processing.

He can't be given a diagnosis because the "significant impairment" criterion is not met, but he is still neurologically and possibly culturally autistic. But remember that "significant impairment" includes having to try so hard that you use up all your effort doing what is effortless to most people, because it drastically reduces your ability to cope in unusual circumstances.

pensieve wrote

The idea is frequently advanced on these forums that the more a person feels she/he "suffers", the more severe her/his AS is, and, indeed, anyone who doesn't perceive himself to suffer doesn't have AS. This may be convenient argument for those who wish to use AS as a tool to gain sympathy and support , but I don't believe it reflects reality. I doubt that there is a reliable way to measure the overall severity of an individual's autism and, moreover, I find the concept such comparisons somewhat distasteful, but it may well be that many of those who perceive themselves to suffer the most are actually among those who are the least autistic.

It is an artificial disability most of the times. The world has been constructed in a way to give advantages to NT. NTs find it hard to understand since they had them for all their lives... If what you think is AS has not ever caused inconveniences to you, then you probably don't have i. Maybe you are just more logical-thinking and just that.

The whole point of the AS label is to work out as a way to allow people with it get support for this impairment. Do notice it is merely a label based on a set of traits and not something biological or anything. If you don't have issues caused by it that could get helped with a diagnosis (like being able to tell your boss that you would have issues with certain things that are 'standard' in inter-human relationships then you don't need this label. IT is not thought as something to make you feel good or special like the indigo child woo woo.

Basically, AS people should have trouble with imitation and face reading besides the traits you mentioned. That's what the label's rules say...

its a PDD, a progressive development disorder. it messes up the progressive development of ur brain. its just tht its a fad now and nuerologists will automaticlly deem everything aspergers

There's been a number of people who have responded with something to the effect..."Asperger is a certain neurological wiring (that is different than Neurotypicals) PLUS being disabled".

So then, if that's what Asperger is, then is there a name for someone who has the "same" neurological wiring as someone with Asperger, BUT is NOT disabled?

Yeah, it's called Broader Autism Phenotype. It comes under PDD-NOS.

Parents and relatives of people with AS/AD oftentimes have it (think of it as...Schizotypal PD compared to Schizophrenia in terms of "disability").

To add, it's not the same "wiring" though, it's less damaged "wiring".

To add again, IIRC, this gives good information on it.

That's a mouthful

Perhaps this is what the "Geek Syndrome" is that the article on Wired was talking about. Although they are calling it Asperger. (Eventually, I'll try and dig into the data behind that article, to get more details.)

From a Genetics point-of-view, it looks like it is likely being positively selected for. (Which makes calling it "damaged" a little misleading. It's like calling opposable thumbs "damage". Sure opposable thumbs are horrible for walking on all fours, but they're great if you want to grab stuff.)

You would be equally in error to consider thumbs to be a boon - if the environment changes and being able to run on four legs was a more desirable trait, then humans would be severely disadvantaged. Benefit comes from applicability plus adaptability, not from some single characteristic or ability.


M.

i would have though the more a person feels that he/she is suffering the less severe their ASD would be as it would mean they're far more in touch with emotion/empathy than someone who is severely impaired but does not "suffer" from these impairments. the higher functioning you are on the spectrum the more you "suffer" from being on the spectrum. (???)

You're quite correct. "Fitness" of a trait depends on the environment. (I was trying to keep my analogy short.)

But from the looks of it, Broader Autism Phenotype or PDD-NOS (assuming that's what "Geek Syndrome' is) seems like it is improving "fitness" in some environments that exist today. I.e., in certain environments today, it is a boon.

Pervasive Development Disorder, that means it affects everything, opposite of a specific developmental disorder.

It’s not particularly likely based on the current evidence available to us.

Could you present your evidence please?