Need to find out some stats...

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What percentage of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder also have:

An Introvert personality?
Anxiety disorders?
obsessive / compulsive disorders?
Had traumatic experiences? (especially in first four years of life)
Had problems before or during their birth?

An Introvert personality?
I'm not sure. I'm pretty borderline.

Anxiety disorders?
No.

obsessive / compulsive disorders?
I definitely don't have it, though it does look that way sometimes.

Had traumatic experiences? (especially in first four years of life)
I don't think so.

Had problems before or during their birth?
I don't think so.

Not to be glib but, "Good luck with that."

To get really reliable statistics on stuff like this, you're probably going to have to go to http://scholar.google.com, and you'll likely have to fork over some dough for it, if you can even find what you're looking for.

You may get all kinds of guess work and speculation here, or even a few news article or blog links, but I wouldn't count on their accuracy.

Happy hunting.

After reading a separate post on research into introversion, I realised many folks at the "young person's social group for aspies" I sometimes attend, may be introverts. Also some of the traits described sound similar to the "symptoms" of Asperger's.

About 25% of NTs are introverts. I think the proprtion of autistics must be larger. My estimate, based on the autistics I've met, is something like 75-90%, depending on how many are actually too introverted to actually go to support groups, attend school or church, or do things where they might meet people.

The rate of crime against autistics is much higher than average, including child abuse. However, the rate among NTs is also rather high; and a significant minority can report that something traumatic happened to them in their childhoods. Autistics are probably easier targets than NTs in many cases.

Anxiety disorders, including OCD, are higher among autistics than NTs. There should be some research done on comorbids; but remember that these will generally be counted only for easily diagnosable cases--not subclincal, mild, or "lost diagnosis"--so that the numbers should be skewed somewhat higher than they ought to be.

Autistics are more likely to have been born prematurely. But the rate of complications among NT pregnancies/births is also close to 50%.

If you take those without an official diagnosis:

An Introvert personality? Yes.
Anxiety disorders? none diagnosed, though one psych suggested social anxiety.
obsessive / compulsive disorders? No.
Had traumatic experiences? (especially in first four years of life) physical and sexual abuse.
Had problems before or during their birth? Born 3 months premature.

I didn't know autistics are more likely to have been born prematurely.

birth / pregnancy complications are definitely more likely if someone has asperger's. It sounds like complications with development contribute to creating asperger's, alongside genetics. But not in everyone.

I wondered "what if asperger's involves extreme introversion?" but not all aspies have introversion.


What about over-diagnosis? could "fake" aspies have statistically lower rates of co-morbid diagnosis of anxiety, introversion, or of premature birth or developmental complications?