What my family seems to think about aspergers...

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The theory my family seems to have is that aspergers is just caused by a lack of social interaction. Negative responses from peers might lead a person to develop interests in other things. The differences in the way the people involved in the groups and the people excluded spend their time and the differences in the things the two groups think about causes different types of brain wiring. Social skills develop in the people who are not rejected by the group and the individuals who are separated from the group become more knowledgeable in the area of their choosing. "Mind blindness" is not some disorder but rather something that goes both ways. Social/group thinkers have a hard time understanding people who have focused on special interests and vise versa.

What do you think about this?^^^^^^

I don't think that's the case as all. Asperger's is what makes it hard to socialize properly.

From what I understand, aspergers is a collection of symptoms. The word itself doesn't mean anything. Aspergers is defined by having trouble socializing (among other things). How does having trouble socializing cause having trouble socializing?... That doesn't explain anything...

And if you mean something else by aspergers then please do explain.

(and Im not trying to be confrontational.. Im just trying to make sense of it all)

Asperger's is a re-wiring of the brain that causes, among other things, trouble socializing. While you are correct in that it is a collection of symptoms, those symptoms are caused by the brain operating differently. More socializing will not fix the underlying problem but will, over-time, allow some people with it to socialize in a more "acceptable" manner.

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? The same logic can be applied to this topic.

Asperger's shows some of its signs early in life - before the indoctrinations of society.
Lack of social skills is demonstrated early, not later, and is not the only indicator of an ASD
It is generally accepted that there is a different thinking pattern in people with ASDs that persists from birth to adulthood - even those who start life with full blown ASD and eventually manage to "imitate" mormal social behaviour still think in the same base patterns as someone with an ASD.

There likely ARE people diagnosed with ASD who aren't really on the spectrum who DO fall under your parents' theory. And there likely are some people who are dismissed from an appropriate diagnosis because of poorly trained doctors who think the same as your parents.

Clarification:
ASDs are diagnosed based on personality described from the earliest ages; the hatchling.
So your parents ought to head to a tatoo parlour to get "not a doctor" imprinted on their foreheads.

But the question should be what is causing the social problems. I always think it is to do with emotional responses with people. I believe for Aspies the emotions do not correspond well with real time interactions, and with me are usually completely absent. So I reckon the re-wiring you talk of happened much earlier than when a child meets its peers. And when they do, they do not respond positively because their emotions are not working properly.

Thats just my take on it.

I tried to tell my mom I had it, and she completely brushed me off, and said I just wanted an excuse to behave the way I do... -_-

Not true in my case. Socialising despite difficulties helps you learn about yourself and others. Shielding yourself away from the world is the greatest cause of regression.

My mom used to think that too. Then she found a book about an adult who was an undiagnosed Aspie (he made a lot of money when the stock market tanked, so he was in a really interesting book about it), and realized, oh, wait, this might be a bit more...

Sounds kind of like your family needs a refresher course on what 'neurological' means, though.