Asperger's: Close, But No Cigar...?

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In the process of being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder two years ago, I was told by the diagnosing professional that, save for one important point, he might have diagnosed me with a form of autism called "Asperger's Syndrome" instead of ADD. He said that on that one characteristic I was exactly the opposite, and, since that was the most important indicator of all, I did not have the syndrome in question. I was quite relieved. But over the past six months, three people whose relatives have Asperger's Syndrome have remarked on the possibility as well, and I'm a bit concerned. I have found ways to manage the ADD, and so have avoided medications and the like. The prospect of having to learn "counter-Asperger" disciplines as well is daunting, and I thought I'd better satisfy myself one way or the other about that missing symptom before I commit to any professional diagnosis (self-diagnosis seems foolish and perhaps dangerous). The non-symptom in question is this: while persons with Asperger's Syndrome are said to have great difficulty with non-literal use of language, I am VERY good at polysemy -- riddles, double-entendre, even comlex etymologic metaphor. It's what makes life worthwhile for me. If this does indeed preclude diagnosis with Asperger's Syndrome, I can put this whole thing behind me; if it does not, I don't want to deceive myself and avoid doing such things as may be necessary. So, can somone please tell me whether Asperger's is incompatible with my skill at polysemy?

I'm not a psychologist, so I don't pretend to have a definitive answer. But my reading has suggested that diagnosis of ASD's is not an exact science.

At the core is a socialization dysfunction, which has different presentations. However, if you are an adult, it is entirely possible that you have developed learned skills to compensate for circumstances that you otherwise present.

That leads to the question, if you have learned a behaviour to overcome an Aspie trait, do you continue to present that trait? For my part, my coping skills tend to wane under stress or when I am tired. Even though I have learned very good language skills, my understanding diminishes under those circumstances, which suggests that although I don't present that trait in day-to-day life, it is nonetheless part of my fundamental neurophysiology.

It might be worth looking into the origin of your skills (are they innate or learned?) and speak to your psychologist about another look, or a referral for a second opinion.

Hard to say really. No two people with Asperger's are exactly the same. I'm pretty good at riddles.
People can have Asperger's and ADD together - oh imagine that? People have tried to dismiss ADD in me because they think I can only have one and not the other.
I don't think self diagnosis is ridiculous; who knows yourself more than you? I was self diagnosed before I was officially diagnosed. You know, professionals can misdiagnose too?
Although one part of you that is very AS is not simplifying your words. I really don't know what some of these words mean.

There are people in the world who may have Asperger's traits, but they are NT over all. The ability to understand symbols does not necessarily disqualify for a diagnosis of AS, it just means you see meaning in many things, which is a trait I have. I am a Philosophy major, mostly in the field of Phenomenology, so my ability to express, as well as see meaning in texts is does not make me more or less an aspie, it's just one of my intelligences.

I find it odd that Aspergers was ruled out due to that. Were that the thing that, those the things, that disqualified one from receiving an AS diagnosis, I would not have gotten one myself. I question the competency of your professional. No where in the criteria does it say, "If the subject laughs when your secretary comes in and interrupts your session to say that the important package situation has been resolved... there was a simple mistake... the janitor had received it in the rear entry earlier." Normally I could pull a funnier one out of my butt, but it has been a helluva week.

DSM-IV DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA
FOR ASPERGER'S DISORDER

A.Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

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

B.Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

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

C.The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

D.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).

E.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.

F.Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia.

My 7 year old son has a diagnosis of Asperger's. He has, from a very young age, been very interested in and takes much pleasure in language and how it can be used to achieve particular effects. He baffles his classmates by finding humour in words as he instantly perceives different potential meanings.

I would suggest that if this were the only reason that you didn't get a diagnosis, then the person who assessed you isn't particularly competent.

From what I've read on this site distant associations are a characteristic that is common. I am a bit like this and for me it is finding order or connections in the randomness of information. Kind of like the philosophy of "what could be" rather than what "must be". Kind of like being unconventional with words but sometimes people are offended or put off by that. Is that what you mean?

Being very good at what you describe is often a symptom of aspergers. We are great at getting double meanings sometimes because we have developed the logical ability to work them out. Other people develop it naturally, so they don't get both ideas.

If you are a smart aspie you should be able to get a lot of double meanings quickly. Because the literal meaning hits first, then logically you work out the "real" meaning.

Some Aspie's can be interested in word play. I have seen word play discussed in books about Aspergers Syndrome as a characteristic of some Aspie's. Some people can be very interested in misusing words for humour, the length of words, patterns in words, and the spelling of words. It's why some people think James Joyce and Lewis Carroll had some type of Autism. I used to be quite crazy about how things were written back in the day. I used to correct handouts from professors because I did not like way things were written - I could write things in a shorter, more efficient way, or I could use words that added ambiguity to the text. I just loved correcting words!

The "literal meaning" characteristic is more a reference to the rigid thinking that can characterize Autism. This would be an Autistic person thinking "this word can only mean this thing". So when you hear "pick up the floor", the word "pick" only refers to one thing, that is the motion of "picking" and therefor "pick up the floor" means pick up the floor literally. As most Aspie's get older their thinking is more flexible, allowing for multiple definitions for words. The issue with many aspie's is the processing speed, so an aspie may not find the correct interpretation of a word in the amount of time that a NT person would expect the answer. (in fact it is not only an Aspie trait, most children can be insane about the definition of words - as in "music class" cannot be referred to as "Art" class because they are different classes but music is clearly an art. ). Also, some of the literal thinking refers to answering rhetorical questions, which is something I always do and can be very, very annoying. This has to do with rigid thinking as well - stuff like always telling the truth, answering people if they appear to be in need (that is, asking a question) and so on. If you want a good analysis of rigid thinking and interpretation, see Temple Grandin's book about the secrets of social relationships, it's very interesting.

That's silly. You should be diagnosed with PDD-NOS, autism or AS that does not quite fit the criteria. Or look into Non-verbal learning disorder.

As for taking things literally being the primary symptom, that's silly. I think peculiar gaze/eye contact and social defects are the major indicator, so can sensory issues be.

And there is nothing in the criteria about taking things literal or difficulty in understanding metaphors or seeing double meanings or reading between the lines. That might be in the next one perhaps.

I dont have problems with any of that stuff either. Some people get better when them as they become older but younger i was always fine with them. Something that bothers me is even though id get the proper meaning of something straight away, my second thought would sometimes be to put it literally just to give myself a laugh.

I also do fit a lot of the symptoms of ADHD-PI. If ADHD fits you better then go with it.

I hear a lot of negative talk about the 'experts' here. The problem with a community built around one disorder is for most people here its all they know. Obviously experts havent experienced the problem but theyre more likely to be able to compare it to other disorders then we are.

The criteria is pointless.

Find a doctor who knows what they're talking about and knows how to properly assess somebody for AS.

Language can be a special skill or and also ran with anyone.

All testing is done by people who have never been there, and are working from hearsay.

What they are saying is a differance in language use, not a single example. Asperger's are also known for, the well turned phrase. They can just as well have a deeper knowledge of language, Math, Art, and many of the criteria were for use on small children.

The overall idea is a differance from mainstream, not a single point.