The Asperger's Spectrum and Subtypes

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I strongly believe that there is a spectrum within Asperger's Syndrome as well as sub-groups of aspies. I am not an expert, this is just based on my observations of other Aspies, what I've read about the subject, and my life experiences.

The Introvert: Shy and overwhelmed by social situations, dosn't like to talk much and prefers solitude.

Balanced: Neither an introvert nor an extrovert, however when their special interest is brought up in conversation or they feel compelled to lecture others, this type will turn into a non-stop chatterbox.

The Master Communicator: This type is exceptionally articulate and loves to be around people despite their lack of social skills. They are major chatterboxes that will dominate the conversation. When working in groups, this type will want the rest of the group to be a captive audience as if they are attending a seminar. They have a superior ability to express their feelings and are able to get their point across. This type will probably be a very good writer and excell at english, communications/public speaking.


Special Interest Typology:

The Techie: This type is very interested in technology, paticullarly computers, electronics, and machinery. They tend to think very logically and probably possess above-average math and physical science skills. Notable examples include Bill Gates and John Elder Robison

The Scientist: The name of this type is self-explanatory, these guys are fascinated by the natural world and how it works and their interests can range from biology to quantam physics. Good examples include Albert Einstein, Issac Newton, and Temple Grandin

The Social Scientist: The social scientist isn't primarilly interested in physical science or technology. If they do have an interest in science, it probably will will overlap with social science such as biological anthropology, paleontology, archeology, etc... Possible interests include geography, history, anthropology, psychology, sociology, paleontology, archeology, economics etc...

The Athlete: The rarest of Aspies, the athlete has a very strong passion for their sport and has the potential to become exceptionally good at it. The sport will most likely be individual but if competative will not require alot of team work and social interaction. This type is extremely health conscience and follows a strict moral code of athletic training and healthy eating which at times seem to border on extreme such as not having the occasional treat. A good example of the athlete type would be Clay Marzo.

The Artist: Another rare type of Aspie, the artist loves to create and innovate with possible interests ranging from graphic arts to music. Good Examples of the artist are Mozart and Ludwig Van Beethoven.

My Functionality Scale of Aspergers Syndrome: It has a range of 1 - 10, the lower the number the higher the functioning, a person with a score of 1 has the highest functioning form of Asperger's and Autism possible. A person with a score of 5 has "classic Asperger's Syndrome", a score of ten indicates the lowest functioning form of A.S. and is bordering on PDD-NOS.

Here is what I have so far on my scale of functionality, levels 4-10 are coming soon:

Level 1- Highest Functioning Asperger's
Independent, well developed social skills, have the ability to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate behavior in the majority of social situations, employed, has at least a small network of friends and acquaintences, and is highly aware of their social challenges and strives to improve on their social skills. Level ones are usually adults that have learned from time and experience.

Level 2- High Functioning Asperger's
Independent, average but solid social skills, have the ability to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate behavior in the majority of social situations however they can appear akward from time to time, might be employed, small network of friends, and is highly aware of their social challenges and strives to improve on their social skills. Level two's are essentially level one's with less social experience and are more likely to make mistakes in social settings.

Level 3 - Higher Functioning Asperger's
Mostly independent but can use improvement in certain areas. Superior social skills compared to other Aspies but appears slightly akward when interacting with NT's. They are aware of their social challenges and for the most part can interact with others. However they might make the occasional slip-up and offend someone, but they immediately realise when a mistake has been made and take responsibility for it. Level three's usually have no trouble with academics, but might have difficulty finding and keeping employment. They also strive to make friends and might actually have a few or several acquaintences whom they are on good terms with.

Last edited by Matt55 on 13 Dec 2009, 10:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I'm the Artist - Master Communicator

"The Introvert, Balanced, The Master Communicator." Are the differences between these not just based on how much social anxiety the person has? Which is based more on what happened to them throughout their life than a higher level of austism or aspergers?

Again, I am not claiming to be an expert, I am simply basing the typologies on observed behavior and people I have read about.

According to your criteria, I am a Blalanced - Artist.

Introvert, balanced, techie

80%-Techie
20%-Artist.

Interesting theory/taxonomy.

When I was a kid I started out as the techie type -- loved taking things apart, understanding how machines worked, and drew endless diagrams and sketches of various 'inventions.' As time went on I began to read things about science and started to see the natural world as a giant system and was fascinated to try to understand how it worked, as well. As a teen I combined those two by writing probably hundreds of computer programs simulating physical systems (like orbiting planets). Then I got a little sick of staring at computer screens, and majored in physics in college.

As I've gotten older analyzing social/cultural/psychological things has become more interesting. The techie interest is still there, though a it more subdued. Part of that may due to some cognitive impairments I aquired; the hard-core tech stuff became difficult after that.

So, Techie --> Scientist --> Social Scientist

And "The Introvert." If I spoke any less I'd be non-verbal.

Quote from Bertrand Russel (which I am paraphrasing & mangling badly): "When I was young I studied mathematics. When I got older and my brain turned soft, I studied philosophy. And when I went completely senile, I became a political activist."

I would be "The Techie", and the other I'm not sure about. However, I would say somewhere between "The Introvert" and "Balanced".

I also feel confident that AS is a spectrum.

We are on so many different levels regarding how the criteria and traits affect us.

i dont fit in any of those catagorys O.o please consider adding new social and intrest based types of aspies

A spectrum within a spectrum!

I would classify myself as a Master Communicator, and a mixture between Artist and Techie -- probably 50-50. I'm a professional musician (I'm proficient on guitar, keyboards, vocals, and clarinet) and audio engineer, but I also passed the CCNA exam about ten years ago -- and I use four different computers at different points during the writing and recording process. I built a prosumer wiring closet for my house.

Officially, there's two, and the social behaviour goes (this was based on a study of hundreds of people with various ASDs, and they clustered into two groups with those diagnosed with AS):

Odd and eccentric (one sided and verbose way of interacting)
Overly formal and stilted (a highly scripted and formal way of interacting, usually overly apologetic to the slightest social mistake)

The first one is usually run-of-the-mill AS, whereas the second is milder, and tends to shade into "normal" (i.e., BAP/extreme introversion). People can bounce between both though.

With your category I'm probably between level 1 and 2, 20% Techie, 70% Scientist, 10% Social Scientist, between balanced and Master comunicator (I'm introverted inside but I can comunicate pretty well and I always advocated for myself).

Definitely Introvert/Artist.

This demonstrates a lack of understanding about what PDD-NOS actually is.

The differences in Levels 1-3 is so slight that a person really has no quantifiable way to determine under which level they would fall. Also, it's well-known that functioning levels can change over time and situation for a given individual, sometimes quite significantly.