Asperger's Syndrome

[iCandiBallPythons]

I have mild Aspergers. Trust me it's nothing at all to be ashamed of or embarrassesd about. I don't take medication of any sort, and I find it very managable. I find the most difficult part of Aspergers is for the people around me to understand it , even in the least. I would suggest doing alot of research on the topic, this will help you understand yourself alot more. I'm not nerdy or anything but, I am very intellectual, Aspergers is very fascinating, and some of the most intellectual people in history were Aspergers My girlfriend is a Special Ed teacher and she would have never guessed I had if I wouldn't have told her. One thing that aggravates me is people sometimes confuse aspergers and autism, which are two totally different things.

[Dave Green]

I recommend that you read the book "Look me in the eye" by John Elder Robison.

[WingedWolfPsion]

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.

[Kysenia]

There are many very influencial and famous people in the world that have this as well.

[abuja]

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.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I was just diagnosed and I'm 13, so my parents didn't catch the signs early on because I'm a female.

[abuja]

There are many very influencial and famous people in the world that have this as well.

Just to name a few!


* Jane Austen, 1775-1817, English novelist, author of Pride and Prejudice
* Béla Bartók, 1881-1945, Hungarian composer
* Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827, German/Viennese composer
* Alexander Graham Bell, 1847-1922, Scottish/Canadian/American inventor of the telephone
* Anton Bruckner, 1824-1896, Austrian composer
* Henry Cavendish, 1731-1810, English/French scientist, discovered the composition of air and water
* Emily ****inson, 1830-1886, US poet
* Thomas Edison, 1847-1931, US inventor
* Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German/American theoretical physicist
* Henry Ford, 1863-1947, US industrialist
* Benjamin Franklin,1706-1790, US polictician/writer
* Kaspar Hauser, c1812-1833, German foundling, portrayed in a film by Werner Herzog
* Oliver Heaviside, 1850-1925, English physicist
* Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, US politician
* Carl Jung, 1875-1961, Swiss psychoanalyst
* Franz Kafka, 1883-1924, Czech writer
* Wasily Kandinsky, 1866-1944, Russian/French painter
* Abraham Lincoln,1809-1865, US Politician
* H P Lovecraft, 1890-1937, US writer
* Ludwig II, 1845-1886, King of Bavaria
* Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1868-1928, Scottish architect and designer
* Gustav Mahler, 1860-1911, Czech/Austrian composer
* Marilyn Monroe, 1926-1962, US actress
* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791, Austrian composer
* Isaac Newton, 1642-1727, English mathematician and physicist
* Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, German philosopher
* Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, British logician
* George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish playwright, writer of Pygmalion, critic and Socialist
* Richard Strauss, 1864-1949, German composer
* Nikola Tesla, 1856-1943, Serbian/American scientist, engineer, inventor of electric motors
* Henry Thoreau, 1817-1862, US writer
* Alan Turing, 1912-1954, English mathematician, computer scientist and cryptographer
* Mark Twain, 1835-1910, US humorist
* Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890, Dutch painter
* Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, Italian Painter,Scientist
* George Washington, 1732-1799, US Politician
* Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951, Viennese/English logician and philosopher
* Virginia Woolf, 1882-1941, English Writer

Historical people prominent in the late twentieth century (died after 1975)

* Isaac Asimov, 1920-1992, Russian/US writer on science and of science fiction, author of Bicentennial Man
* Hans Asperger, 1906-1980, Austrian paediatric doctor after whom Asperger's Syndrom is named
* John Denver, 1943-1997, US musician
* Glenn Gould, 1932-1982, Canadian pianist
* Jim Henson, 1936-1990, creator of the Muppets, US puppeteer, writer, producer, director, composer
* Alfred Hitchcock, 1899-1980, English/American film director
* Howard Hughes, 1905-1976, US billionaire
* Michael Jackson, 1958-2009, US singer
* Andy Kaufman, 1949-1984, US comedian, subject of the film Man on the Moon
* L S Lowry, 1887-1976, English painter of "matchstick men"
* Elvis Presley, 1935-1977, US musician
* Charles Schulz, 1922-2000, US cartoonist and creator of Peanuts and Charlie Brown
* Andy Warhol, 1928-1987, US artist

Contemporary famous people

* Woody Allen, 1935-, US comedian, actor, writer, director, producer, jazz clarinettist
* Tony Benn, 1925-, English Labour politician
* Pip Brown "Ladyhawke", 1979-, New Zealand Singer/Songwriter, Musician
* Charles ****inson, 1951, US Writer
* Bob Dylan, 1941-, US singer-songwriter
* Joseph Erber, 1985-, young English composer/musician who has Asperger's Syndrome, subject of a BBC TV documentary
* Bobby Fischer, 1943-, US chess champion
* Bill Gates, 1955-, US global monopolist
* Genie, 1957-?, US "wild child" (see also L'Enfant Sauvage, Victor, )
* Crispin Glover, 1964-, US actor
* Al Gore, 1948-, former US Vice President and presidential candidate
* Jeff Greenfield, 1943-, US political analyst/speechwriter, a political wonk
* David Helfgott, 1947-, Australian pianist, subject of the film Shine
* Garrison Keillor, 1942-, US writer, humorist and host of Prairie Home Companion
* Paul Kostabi 1962-, writer, comedian, artist, producer, technician
* Kevin Mitnick, 1963-, US "hacker"
* John Motson, 1945-, English sports commentator
* John Nash, 1928-, US mathematician (portrayed by Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, USA 2001)
* Keith Olbermann, 1959-, US sportscaster
* Michael Palin, 1943-, English comedian and presenter
* Keanu Reeves, 1964-, Lebanese/Canadian/US actor
* Oliver Sacks, 1933-, UK/US neurologist, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings
* James Taylor, 1948-, US singer/songwriter
* Robin Williams, 1951-, US Actor

[WingedWolfPsion]

Well, most of that list is speculative, of course. Unless people have an actual diagnosis, it's merely a guess. In some cases a good guess, but still a guess.

[BPelizabeth]

I have worked with a child for 2 years now with it. You just learn their boundries and what sets them off. His Mom is a good friend of mine....she has a saying...."Im either laughin or cryin".

The person that stated a lot of ppl with this become very successful is exactly correct! Look how detailed pokeymon is....the person that created it has this as well.

My son is friends with this child and gets along fine with him. Kids tend to understand that not everyone is the same...some things set some off...some set others off. Wish I could say that for some adults. It saddens me when ppl ask me why I let my son go to his house. I hear aren't you afraid he is going to hurt him. UGH...makes me very angry and sad all at the same time. Wish adults would be more like children in this aspect....accepting!!

[dsirkle]

I have a cousin diagnosed with Asperger's.There is an undiagnosed strain of it in my family. It's nothing more than a mild case of autism. Mild enough that the person should be able to live a normal life, to work, marry, have children etc. The strength of Asperger's is that the person can think and reason more objectively without being unduly influenced by emotion and to be able to concentrate very deeply on something. The weakness is that understanding nonverbal communication such as body language and polite indirect hints that is intuitive to others must be learned either by instruction or painful trial and error. The tendency to avoid eye contact will attract bullies unless overcome. There is a somewhat interesting article that can be found on the internet about how not to attract bullies that was written by a famous author that posts on this site.

[bsd13]

I have a niece with autism so in reading up on it I've seen some information on asperger's but not overly familiar with it.