No longer having AS = Identity and social issues.

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Cognitive Behaviour Therapists can teach people skills and help them overcome and deal with their issues in life. Some people with ADHD/Autism spectrum disorders have been cured/treated by Cognitive Behavioural Therapists.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can cure/treat Aspergers and ADHD. Children/adults can learn new skills to cope and deal with their issues.

Citation please? The research I've read found some MRI abnormalities that were present in some but not all autistics, and also seen in some non-autistic cognitively disabled/LD people as well.

You didn't spend much time looking did you?

http://www.slam.nhs.uk/media-and-publications/archived-news/slam-experts-win-award-for-mri-autism-scan-breakthrough.aspx

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19291-mri-scans-could-diagnose-autism.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_112644.html

The first link is actually about using MRI in patient diagnosis. This has now gone live at the Maudsley, so it is recognised by the medical community.

What are mindfulness strategies?

It's something that started out in CBT mostly for borderline personality. Basically, if you're aware of yourself in the present moment rather than worrying about the past or the future, you reduce anxiety and have more control over your impulses.

I had this link open from yesterday:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/210102.php

This google search: autism identified by MRI scan

Fundamentally, I would also think he/she's probably NT in his perception though there's a good chance this person is more autistic than average and probably more shy/introverted than average as a child.

To the OP:
The fact that you can accurately, quickly and intuitively read social situations, cues and facial expressions and the way you can quickly and intuitively identify others' "mistakes" suggests that it's fundamental. It's true that aspies can adapt and learn to read situations better, but doing so "quickly" like an average NT is very unlikely to the point of being able to socially function well. Sure, you can get quicker, but not quick and/or accurately enough, I would think. And, I'm referring to the perceptual side of the equation, not the response side. You can quicken your responses, but your real-time perceptual characteristics are relatively stable.

I think that's because we're trying to "left brain" it.

I definitely have some aspie traits. For example, I like to stim by squeezing and twisting a soft T-shirt as I imagine sports or movies.

And yet, I often feel I can respond to people in an more intuitive manner. (Much of the social skill "training" I think is actually counter-productive.) Instead, I've had success with some of the following:

Making a conscious decision to turn down my internal censor so that the default setting is that it's probably okay to go ahead and say it, unless it jumps out at me as clearly inappropriate.

If someone needs space, give them space, without the intermediate step of asking whether they should need space. And same with myself.

Being open to appreciating others. Different than appreciating others, which is more of a force. What I'm talking about is a more softly allowing it to happen, almost in zen like fashion.

Realizing some NTs are jerks, or just disinterested, or not at their best.

Realizing that a conversation or interaction has a rhythm and allowing it graciously come to an end.

Letting a medium mistake on my part just be a medium mistake.

And probably other things as well.

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So, this is what has worked for me. I'm not saying it's everyone's cup of tea

And I do think the point is engagement, not just conformity.

I am not trying to 'pass.' I am trying to be accepted on my own terms as a valued person who has things to contribute.

At a department store over Christmas, I was treated as a manager emeritus by some of the younger employees. Well, it helps that I'm an older guy in my 40s. But also, I'm an approachable individual, I try to be constructive, and I've worked at explaining things without overexplaining. At the same time, I experienced bullying behavior by some commission sales people who resented having an extra person there.

I'd like to thank everyone for helping me work through this. I have an anxiety disorder, and the way if often manifests is that I analyse situations like this to death and second guess myself constantly. Often, it's with the same questions constantly, and so if I tend to talk about this a lot on WP, I apologize.

I guess the general consensus for now is that somehow I have overcome most of my traits to the degree where I'm not seen as awkward, and i just have to portray myself in a different light than most people on the spectrum. My AS was more of an issue as a kid, and in my engagements with the AS community, I just simply have to phrase myself this way.

Taylor Morris of Youtube fame seems to take a similar approach, and people seem to love her for it. I can tell she isn't fully NT (I can still see a bit of AS in her) but she seems to be confident enough to emphasise that things are much easier for her.

I can use this to my advantage while speaking and conducting sessions in that I can translate between both worlds. It's not like I'm fully NT though, as I definitely still have traits. I honestly believe that I have an AS brain, but because of my high level of anxiety, self-conciousness and perfectionism, I seem to inhibit things that would have me pegged as AS.

I totally relate. The anxiety coupled with the AS tendency to perseverate causes a lot of problems for me. I get stuck on a problem and get all upset and then I can't stop thinking about it. I'm taking a mild antidepressant/anti anxiety pill and learning meditation and going to counseling and it is helping me to learn how to intentionally calm down and change my thoughts.

Also I have adapted so well in adulthood that my AS is not readily apparent, but I can remember how different my thoughts were as a kid. I can look back and see how my brain matured over time and I became less autistic and more NT. My autism is not ALL gone, but I can pass for shy and quiet.

I think most of us understand the concept of overanalysing. I'm glad you have found your peace.