Hypothesis: Asperger's VS HFA

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If no one would mind, I'd like to present an hypothesis on the distinction between Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism

Asperger's: Problems with visually-oriented learning--"nonverbal learning disability"--tendency toward relative strengths in the verbal realm. Tendency to be "clumsy" and be uncoordinated in a physical sense. Mechanically inept. Right-brain dysfunction.

High-Functioning Autism: Problems with verbally-derived learning--tendency toward strength in the visual-learning realm (i.e., as exhibited by "visual learners" such as Temple Grandin). not clumsy, more ability in the physical realm. Very mechanically adept. Left-brain dysfunction.

I'm just putting this hypothesis "out there." I don't have an all-abiding belief in it, though I believe there is something to it. Rather, I want to introduce an amiable debate.

I am undiagnosed (I don't want to spend the money to get diagnosed). My parents were encouraged by doctors to institutionalize me at a young age--owing to the fact that I was going to end up a being a "vegetable" (i.e., someone who will be fully dependent for the remainder of his life). I am fortunate that my mother "saw something in me."

I did not develop oral speech until age 5. Otherwise, I exhibit more the Asperger's phenotype than the HFA phenotype. I am a poor visual learner and memorizer. I respond solely to the written word. I am somewhat clumsy (though I've overcome this somewhat). I have been able to keep a job and to get married. I learned to drive 15 years ago, at age 37. I'm still "clumsy" in social situations--I've developed a "court-jester who cannot be messed with" persona to overcome this. I still become overwhelmed by stimuli, especially when it involves many people within an enclosed space. I can't "do 2 things at once."

Thank you for any input.

I think the issue is very complex. With me, I am clearly more left-brained and definitely "pure" aspie as opposed to HFA. (Informally labelled aspie by a professional, but not technically officially diagnosed) My visual skills are horrible and I am fairly uncoordinated, hence my very awful typing, evident on almost all my posts.

My son, honestly is mixed. I was discussing this on another thread, and because he was verbal, and has some very left-brained skills, I thought he was more aspie than his HFA diagnosis indicated. Now that I look at it, now I can see both elements. My husband is more right-brained than I am. I view him as kind of aspie-light, but he has some very strong right-brained skills. So the genetics are there for both left-brained and right-brained tendencies.

I think that the differences are more illuminating for some than others, depending on what array of skills and deficits a person has.

Edited to clarify: By "pure" aspie I do not mean I have 100% all aspie traits, just that I don't appear to have any spectrum traits that are stereotypically HFA as opposed to aspie. (I hope that makes sense.)

I have both.

LOL...Now this is weird: I am rather uncoordinated, but I'm an excellent typist. I make my living as a data-entry operator. Sometimes I remember phone numbers by touching the touch tones, discerning the pattern I create when I touch them.

I am able to screw in a light bulb, but barely. IKEA is not my friend--forget about putting things together. I guess, with much repetition, I could begin to put things together--but the frustration during that "much repetition" probably would be too hard for both my wife and I to bear. My wife gets irritated when I have to wait a little bit to make a turn, or to change lanes. I have to obtain the "whole picture"--otherwise, I might get into an accident. Most people can just change lanes and make turns "on a dime"--they have an instinctual visual sense, which I don't possess. My wife doesn't believe in Aspie-ism. She believes totally in "willpower" overcoming weaknesses.

I believe I have mostly Aspie traits. I might go on and on about a special interest, like the weather. In fact, I ran up a $600 phone bill at age 11 (in 1972) because I wanted to know the temperature at many locations in the United States (long distance was expensive then). I used to ask questions as a young child such as "Why are you fat?" I'm still not that good at initiating conversations, especially when there's another conversation already under way. I could get overwhelmed when stimuli is placed upon me from various different directions.

When I was in college (I graduated in 2006), I relied on textbooks, rather than on lectures. Taking notes was pretty much a useless exercise; professors would wonder why I didn't take notes. The syllabus was my best friend. I didn't do too badly, though. In general, in order for me to comprehend a word, I have to SEE the word in print, rather than have someone say the word to me, even though it is correctly pronounced. Same with names. I'm rather poor at remembering people's names; it helps if I could see the nameplate of the person, or the name listed somewhere. I am able to comprehend words much better than images. I've been known to go into the ladies' room because the symbols for "men" and "woman" look so similar at times.

Perhaps I had "autistic" traits as a child before age 5--but in my memory, I didn't "stim" or perform stereotypically "autistic" actions, such as toe-walking. I was more the "little professor" type. I had no verbal speech until age 5, though.

I have previously found one research project that supported this idea. If I ever stumble across it again, I'll post a link here.


I fit into your description here of high functioning autism. I had a recent neuropsychological evaluation and it was even pointed out to me specifically that I have defencies in my left brain--to the point that I was asked about head injuries and childhood to rule out left hemisphere brain damage. Nope...born that way..

I was diagnosed with Aspergers however (and mixed expressive receptive language disorder). I first spoke at age 2.5. I was echolalic for years though. The prevailing thought at the time was that there was something obscure with my hearing. No test has ever shown that my hearing is in any way impaired.

I've seen a couple of them (research papers) myself.

There seem to be many unofficial "disorders" out there: "Nonverbal learning disability," "auditory processing disorder," "Pragmatic-Semantic Disorder" to name a few.

When I was 15, I scored about 150 Verbal and 90 Performance on the Weschler (incorrect spelling) test. My scores have evened out more recently--about 120 Verbal and 105 performance on average. Obviously, IQ tests are beset with problems, but they could be used as somewhat of a framework.

There have been studies which state that people thought to be HFA (or Autistic in general) score better on the Performance Scale; and people with Aspergers score better on the Verbal Scale.

I have both too

I don't believe there's a bit of difference between the two - they're the same thing. Speech delay in early childhood isn't enough of a difference to make a real difference. You can subdivide individuals into groups all day long, but that's typical "inspecting the trees, instead of seeing the forest" type thinking, the disorder is the same.

I believe the Spectrum is the same. There are many aspects of the Spectrum

I was hoping for the discussion to keep going

I hope I didn't have anything to do with it not keeping going.

I don't think you did anything wrong, people get busy and then sometimes you just don't get responses, sometimes people do.

IMO there may be differences in Aspergers from HFA, but as far as the US this is distorted by trying to decide diagnosis based on how someone looks in the present to a professional.

It's a pretty interesting hypothesis. Though, I seem to be a bit of both.

- I tend to be more a visual learner, than a verbal learner. My WAIS Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) scores are far higher than my WAIS Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) scores. I particularly did much better on the categories requiring Fluid Reasoning. Whatever that means. Check that for High-Functioning Autism.

- I am fairly uncoordinated (from a sports perspective). Check that for Asperger's.

- I am OK mechanically (e.g. I can put together things like BBQs, etc. that I buy at the store). Check that for High-Functioning Autism.

- I always considered myself more left-brain (analytical) than right-brain. Check that for Asperger's.

Result – Um. A little of each?

LOL....a Prime Example of why Autism is a Spectrum!

I just heard Temple Grandin speak!

One thing she said (and I hope I'm not bastardizing her point) said that research indicated that language covers up enhanced sensory perception. I thought this was pertinent to this topic. Left brain=language, right brain=sensory

Relating this to my life, where I sometimes struggle with language production and I always struggle with speech, I've come to some interesting conclusions.

Some activities shut my language off. I've known this for a long time and have always tried to manage it. Intimate time with my husband is one of those activities (and not one my parents thought to prepare me for!). That has been the biggest switch and a somewhat major problem. Over time, my husband noticed that he could get me talking about math.

I now think I probably personally have enhanced whole brain connections in math and that my sensory center and my language center have trouble connecting--and my sensory center is more well-developed.

The thread would probably have gained more traction if you had something to support your hypothesis.

Do you disagree with the hypothesis? There are studies out there which illustrate the possibility of some generalized truth to the hypothesis. Obviously, this is not applicable in all cases--autism is a complex spectrum, after all. Some of these studies have been posted in Wrong Planet, one of which, done in 2009, dealt with the "differential effects of white matter systems"in Aspergers and HFA.

Truthfully, the opinions presented here proved the hypothesis that ADD are too complex to characterize in a precise manner. It's always good, however, to present hypothesis that might aid in distinguishing one ADD from another so each component of the Spectrum could be understood by everyone.

Blanket suppositions do not create quality and substance in anything.