I've been told I show enough signs to be diagnosed, but have never pursued that. It's more commonly missed in females, as we apparently do not display exactly the same signs as males. Different brain wiring makes females more socially inclined--females with Asperger's may function as well socially as many males.
This may be why I find males much easier to socialize and communicate with than other females.
It's an interesting variation of human development that can be beneficial in some circumstances, but becomes detrimental when it is extreme. Severely affected persons face serious problems in learning and surviving in society. Mildly affected persons increasingly have an advantage, as specialization of interests pays off more and more often now.
A huge surge in Autism rates occurred in Silicon Valley, as large numbers of bright people with specialized interests flocked into the area, and of course, married each other. This reinforced their mildly autistic traits in their offspring, resulting in large numbers of severely affected children.
It wouldn't surprise me a bit to find that people who keep large numbers of reptiles score high on the autistic spectrum, even if they aren't diagnosed. This is an unusual and specialized interest, and one has to have a very narrow focus on it to take it as far as many of us do.
Asperger's is a form of autism, it's not completely different from other types, but there are differences between types of autism.
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