I've seen and met many incorrectly diagnosed kids. They weren't getting the help they needed, and in general were allowed to go around doing whatever they liked. Screaming, running around, kicking people, bullying me. And they were untouchable because of their diagnosis.

I have it. We're just like normal people, it's just that we have a few idiosyncrasies and struggle a lot with body language and non verbal ques.

With enough hard work we can do almost as much as so called "neurotpyicals" can do. Don't pity yourself, you're not retarded, and don't let anyone tell you different.

There's a place on the web with a huge community people with aspergers, autism, etc. It's called www.wrongplanet.net There's also an IRC Channel on freenode. People there can give you advice on how to cope, date, or just going through life problems with it in general.

There are a lot of great people on that site, and they've certainly helped me out over the years.

I guess these are the "idiosyncrasies" that I was talking about.

Probably shouldn't have glossed over them like that in my last post 

That awkward moment you're about to tell people online that you both are on the spectrum and are retarded...

It's not a fun combination.

On topic, I've been diagnosed to be on the spectrum. Oddly enough, it seemingly hasn't made me less kind or anything. I was bright enough at a young age to realize that I was missing out on peoples' feelings, and learned to compensate by trying to be constantly sympathetic. To this day though, I have a weird mix of being very sympathetic to people, but not empathetic.

That said, since I've had to teach myself what social cues and body language mean, sometimes I actually spot things that other people miss. Both in others and myself. And although I have trouble emphasizing with other people in social interactions, I have learned to do it abstractly better than most. So, in short, being on the pectrum has helped make me more awkward and miserable, but also more insightful and kind. Which is why, although I'm taking medication for certain symptoms, I would not like to be "cured."

It's a shame though. I sometimes wonder what people see when they look at each other and automatically understand so much more than I do.

I don't mean to sound insensitive but I really think you could benefit from doing a little more reading because at worst this comes off sounding like I don't understand this condition so therefore it doesn't really exist.  Or at best, that it's just a variation of 'normal' which only serves to dimish it and make it harder for people who need help to seek it, either on behalf of themselves or their loved ones.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (of which Asperger's Syndrome is a part) is a defined clinical syndrome with an genetic predisposition that has been well established through twin studies.  It is categorised as a developmental disorder/delay, not a 'mental' disorder, but what it does have in common with many kinds of psychiatric illness is that, for now, diagnosis is clinical and not biochemical.  Specifically the diagnosis of depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia is also clinical i.e. there is no discreet biochemical or imaging study that is diagnostic, it is based on objective clinical assessment against established criteria. 

Similarly there is no discreet test for Alzhiemer's Disease but I think most people can intuitively understand there is a difference between not being able to remember the name of someone you met this morning versus not being able to remember your own name. Both are memory loss but the degree is vastly different. While some people with Asperger's are simply behind when it comes to developing social skills and social understanding, there are others that simply never develop those skills and understanding. 

Having said all that ASD is also associated with measurable language disorder, motor abnormalities, and changes on MRI and PET scans and if recent research is to be believed there may actually be a genetically-based screening test for ASD within the next couple of years.  However for now the diagnosis rests on clinical criteria alone and is only going to be as good as the clinician performing the assessment i.e. should be a specialist in the field of developmental disorders,  not just a psychologist.

To suggest that most people exist somewhere on the Autistic Spectrum beacause  they may have a few established routines, are a little change averse and get a bit overwhelmed from time to time grossly misrepresents the magnitude of what we are talking about.

I'll stop there.

Yeah, I think that causes another problem in itself, others looking from the outside in, under the mindset that everyone on the spectrum has some beehive mentality and should be made excuses for. I admit, I did have unusual enough behaviour as a kid to warrant referrals and such beforehand, but at the same time I don't know if that was to do with my upbringing, I didn't exactly have much in the way of a poignant role model or resources, just as an example, by the time I got the internet at home, most of my friends had already had that for years and the novelty had worn off for them, so I fell behind and ending up looking like some OCD computer nerd in stark contrast. (well, at least much more than I actually do/did care for using the internet, lol)

Have you ever had a girlfriend/sex?

I'd change it in a heartbeat.

My greatest strength in life has been reading people's eyes/body language and being sensitive to situations. Socially I figure out everything way before it happens. If I were to lose these gifts then life would be empty.

I see 30% of people voted they wouldn't change it. I think they're just saying that to make you feel better.

Just being honest here.

I have the Crohn's disease. I was diagnosed this year.

http://www.aspergerstestsite.com/

I scored a 12/50 so I guess I don't have to worry!