Symptom descriptions often too drastic?

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This is something that really annoys me. Whenever you read an article about kids that have Asperger's or a list of symptoms, the expressions are too "stark" for me. Sentences like: People with Asperger's ALWAYS have a special interest. When something changes, they get angry and smash stuff. They don't have any idea of how emotions work. Then the person I'm showing it to turns around and says "See? You can't have it, you have emotions sometimes."

Best/Worst thing I ever read was a book by someone who called himself a psychology expert and spent a complete chapter on Asperger's, claiming that all it is about is "not having emotions". Then he continued to talk about how that one guy with Asperger's continued to beat up an old woman because he didn't understand that she didn't like it. WHAT?

Why don't we tone it down a little? People with Asperger's SOMETIMES have a special interest. When something changes, they tend to get upset. They have a hard time understanding emotions.

Oh and please know something about Asperger's before you write that we're all dangerous psychopaths.

Yeah articals like you described hurt alot of people including myself( I do not have Aspergers but I do have Autism). I think they should tone down the drasticness on the symptoms.

True,

My mother took me to a get a psych evaluation as a joke because she wanted "to figure out what the f**k was wrong with me", ended up being Aspergers, Then my mom hears stuff like that from her friends who don't even have it, yet they read articles like described. Now my mom thinks I fake it and that she can get me to stop being sensitive to sensory things etc. If she just continues to scare the s**t out of me or other "methods" like that.

Technically, you need a special interest that you devote an inordinate amount of time to to have AS. Yes, a change of routine is often upsetting, and the response to such is greatly affected by the personality of the person in question. Yes, people with AS have problems understanding their own and also the emotions of others; some do indeed lack certain emotions all together, but others "just" can find it all difficult.

Generally, it's not all or nothing in most cases (apart from the core deficits that must be met), rather bits and pieces.

You don't need a special interest for an Asperger Diagnosis.

Technically, no, however the DSM-IV-TR states in the expanded text that it's pretty much always there.

The experts say the same thing too.

This is one of a few reasons why I'm careful about who I disclose to, when, and to what extent. I find it funny that autism is characterized by concrete "black and white" thinking, but often neurotypicals can easily outdo us in that skill.

In my opinion, people take things they don't understand to extremes. Difficulty expressing empathy turns to sociopathy, stimming "must" be something extremely obvious like spinning uncontrollably, etc.

If I tell someone about my Aspergers, I give them two pages of selfwritten explaination to what it is. One with what it actually is, and one with the myths that is not true. There are way too many myths out there..

Take a look at these clinican case studies produced by NICE in the UK:

Adults:

http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG142/Clini ... df/English

Children:

http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG128/Clini ... df/English


They consist of examples of the entire spectrum. They are a lot more realistic than some of the exagerrated, all symptons present descriptions that do the rounds. These are intended to raise awareness with non-specialist medical staff.

Jason.

Well not in that particular thing, but I think the term "lack of empathy" gives the REALLY wrong idea... I mean, it's a biggie and when I was trying to tell my mom why I thought I should be evaluated, she took it totally the wrong way and said "well you give me gifts when I feel bad, you're obviously empathetic"...

Yeah, mom, you're implying that my friends with AS or another ASD AREN'T empathetic, that's something kinda nasty to say about someone, innit?

I do not like allistic people saying that AS people lack empathy that also Simon Baron-Cohen describes. How many allistic people have empathised with anyone on the autistic spectrum or seen anything from our point of view for a change? Very few if at all. Also the low social status and accusing us of being over sensitive that's bollocks too the low social status is deliberately the result of aspiphobia. My mum thought that autistic people can't show affection which is plain wrong. When I was a kid AS was not even heard of and they mistook it for learning disabilities but in me the political effects of that are still there. What total imbeciles these allistics were

Very true. I was diagnosed with AS when I was 8, and I didn't even have any special interests until I was at least 11.

Not too drastic but I agree that some descriptions are way too general. It's a severe disorder but the level of severity doesn't necessarily correlate to the number of symptoms shown.

I tend to agree. Especially in the DSM V, the need for almost everything to be "extreme" or "excessive" makes it hard to correlate anything to it. I mean, the terms "extreme" and "excessive" are not exactly defined in what I have read. Does merely getting irritated by a certain stimulus mean it is not extreme enough for diagnosis? Do you need to go into meltdown over everything in order to be diagnosed now? Does having a limited number of long term friendships mean that your social dysfunctions are not extreme enough?

I remember once in a report about me as a teenager they said I wasn't totally socially phobic because I went to a concert one time. I thought that was weird. You can be socially phobic and leave your house once in a while.

Thanks alot, I found this very informative. I also found a new test to check if you, as an adult, should consider getting assessed for autism: http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG142/AQ10Test/pdf/English (unsure how new it is, but it was updated 27th of june 2012 atleast)