am i asperger or not

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whats teh difference between asperger and social awkwardness? i've noticed in my friends they are emotionally reactive to things that i might not be, i'm always a little unsure of how to act. does that make me asperger?

every definitino i've read about asperger is just really confusing and ambiguous.

(I) Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

(A) marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, and gestures to regulate social interaction
(B) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
(C) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interest or achievements with other people, (e.g.. by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
(D) lack of social or emotional reciprocity

(II) Restricted repetitive & stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

(A) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
(B) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
(C) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
(D) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects


(III) The disturbance causes clinically significant impairments in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

(IV) There is no clinically significant general delay in language (E.G. single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years)

(V) There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction) and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

(VI) Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia."


---> We cannot tell you whether you have AS or not, usually.

You must be objective about yourself, see how you could fit the characteristics and how you can be considered as different, plus reflect upon your childhoos, ask to your parents who you acted, what were your interests, how was your social life, what did the teachers said about you, etc.

You can also take the Aspie Quizz, the AQ and other tests like the Empathy Quotient test. It will not give you a diagnosis though, some people who have been diagnosed with AS have a AQ below 32 and scored as "in between NT and AS", some NT may have a higher score. It can depend on the way you understand the questions, how you have adapted (AS can adapt, Daniel Tammet is a pretty good example of that) and what other disorders you may have (or just if you are depressed, etc though none of my friends have score poorly on the NT thing).

We'd really have to know a lot more about you than that. Do you have anything you're really, really interested in (and probably an expert on)? Do you have any strange pet peeves, like fluorescent lights or tags in clothing?

If you suspect you have Asperger's, a diagnosis from a mental health professional would settle the question for you. Of course, I'm well aware this can be financially prohibitive.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Of course the definition is confusing--it is meant for NTs to identify something totally alien to them! Sort of like coming up with rules to determine gender, based on what you can see at the mall.

Forget about the definitions. Instead, study this forum, where you have lots of actual, diagnosed Aspies. Have you been there, and done that? Every week? Every day? Sort of, but not really?

indeed, the diagnostic definitions aren't that helpful in the process of self discovery.

don't study the forum, please read up from experts in the field, first stop should be the complete guide to asperger's syndrome by Dr. Tony Attwood.