Talk:Asperger syndrome

Is there a link between this illness and people who are gay and lesbian (LGBT)?

I've read somewhere that this illness sometimes (not always) is slightly linked (in some cases) to people having this are sometimes attracted to the same sex. Is there any link? Are there alot of LGBT people with this illness? 10:39, 9 January 2010 (UTC) Some people who had or have been thought to had the illness are gay, ie. Daniel Tammet, Michaelangelo 24.188.204.121 (talk) 07:55, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Again, diagnosing anyone dead is pure speculation. Similarly, diagnosing someone outside of a clinical setting (without meeting them) is speculation. As to the supposed "link": Yes, there are people who are LGBT and aspies. There are also people who are LGBT and have the flu. There are people with broken arms who are aspies. Are any of those "links"? - SummerPhD (talk) 01:40, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

I think what we're seeing here is simply the fact that gay people and people with Asperger's share some stereotypical personality characteristics in common (such as being intellectually inclined, "clumsy" or unusual mannerisms, less "macho" in the case of men, etc.) When we're talking about dead people for whom only anecdotal evidence is available, this could potentially lead some people who were gay (but didn't have AS) to be misidentified as having AS. This kind of "stereotype overlap" (different groups sharing a lot of the same qualities in stereotypes) is also found elsewhere (for example, people with Asperger's also share some of the stereotypical qualities historically ascribed to Asians, Jews, the British, among others). Some of these stereotype overlaps may have a basis in fact (for example, Asperger's is more common in Japan than in most other countries); most of them probably do not, however. Stonemason89 (talk) 04:50, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Kizcat (talk) 08:15, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Excuse me! As a mother of a daughter with Asperger's Disorder I have NEVER heard of there being any connection between having A.D. and being a homosexual. What does your sexual orientation have to do with A.D.? This is my opinion only, I think that the gay & lesbian lifestyle is caused by a sexual brokenness. I don't believe that you are born gay. I believe that it comes from a brokenness (sexually) caused by sexual abuse at a young age, or relationships that were not nurtured by the mother or father. Something caused this brokenness in your life. kizcatKizcat (talk) 08:15, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

There are some studies that indicate that people with Asperger's are more likely to be asexual, but no study that I'm aware of has turned up a statistically significant surplus of homosexuals. -- Soap ^Talk/_{Contributions} 15:34, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Just to stay on the safe side, I'm crossing out the first part of what I wrote because I cant find the study I read that in and cant be sure it's a reliable source. Someone else may be able to help here. -- Soap ^Talk/_{Contributions} 15:38, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

From what I have read, males with Asperger's syndrome may actually be less likely to be gay; there was a study I read about in which they "randomly" selected 100 or so men with it for a study, and mentioned specifically that none of them were gay; this is interesting given that between 5-10% of the general male population is believed to be gay. Of course the results of that study could just have been a coincidence; nonetheless, it strongly implies that there is not a positive correlation between Asperger's syndrome and being gay. If there is any correlation at all (and there might not be), it is likely a negative correlation (men with AS less likely to be gay). I am not sure about women with AS, in any event. They have not been studied as extensively. As far as the asexual thing goes, I have AS and I strongly doubt it. I think they may be perceived by the outside world to be asexual due to their social difficulties (which would make any form of dating or romance extremely difficult, since those relationships are far more difficult to maintain than simple friendships, and even simple friendships are often hard for people with AS to maintain.) This difficulty with dating (some people with AS have been known to become frustrated and give up altogether) could be misconstrued by "well-meaning" psychologists as a lack of interest in romance or sexuality altogether. Hence the "asexual" rumor. People with Asperger's are, unfortunately, widely misunderstood according to what I have observed.

I also happen to believe that the "people with Asperger's syndrome lack empathy" thing is a myth; it is my experience that people with AS do have empathic feelings, but usually do not know how to express them "properly" and so keep them bottled up inside. Or they may feel empathy for some people, but not others; I myself am like this. Mostly I feel empathy for people I get along with or who are nice to me, but I have a very difficult time having empathy for people who are mean to me (or who are racist, bigoted, etc.), since it seems, after all, that these people don't deserve empathy from me! Stonemason89 (talk) 04:39, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Article fails to address the following

• What are the parts of Asperger syndrome?
• What things are not compared to Asperger syndrome?
• What things are not connected to Asperger syndrome?
• What things do not affect Asperger syndrome?
• What forms are not of Asperger syndrome?
• What things do not qualify to substitute Asperger syndrome?
• What things do not require Asperger syndrome? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.212.249.50 (talk) 03:38, 3 January 2010 (UTC)

Excellent points, all. --Nerd42 (talk) 15:24, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

I do not understand any of the above points. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 15:36, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Regarding points 2, 3 and 4, I've never heard of cheese and bacon sandwiches ever being compared or linked to Asperger syndrome in any way. However, I don't have a source for that, it's just a personal observation. Tim Vickers (talk) 18:23, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

I at least think I understand most. A lot is in the article but embedded in deeper areas as they should be. This is Wikipedia and not a Q&A... I guess one could spinoff an article on "public misunderstanding of AS" since it's been coming up more as of late in the media and those are all oft-confused bits, but is likely still a stretch. "Not connected" might be indirect possible medical complications caused from having AS but not a part of it proper? Depression and bi-polar disorder would be my guess on the editor's questions. "Do not qualify" would I think relate to social problems. "Do not affect" is already covered on the most assumed answer of medication as there is no chemical treatment. ...I'm at a loss about "do not require", though. Are there things one does not qualify for if they have, or special prizes in some kind of lottery? I'd feel bad if I've been missing out. ♪ daTheisen(talk) 14:18, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

New article in need of attention

I've created a new article (stub) for Yale's Ami Klin, a fairly high-profile autism/Asperger's researcher. As this is rather out of my field, I'm looking for any assistance in expanding the article. Thanks. - SummerPhD (talk) 21:09, 8 January 2010 (UTC)

Add Link Asperger Czech Republic

Hello, my Name is david, I tried add a link about the single organization in Czech about the Asperger Syndrome, that is the link: Organization Asperger Czech Republic but the Wikipedia Robbot delete this links, can you something explain me please what I can do for register this link in this topic: Asperger Syndrome Thank You —Preceding unsigned comment added by Davidcz1989 (talk • contribs) 04:52, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

It was me not a robot... Anyway, please check your talk page there is a link there to the external links policy. Dbrodbeck (talk) 04:55, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

Genetic contribution

If there is a genetic contribution to AS does that means that children from parent(s) with AS will also have some form of ASD ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.55.135.211 (talk) 05:41, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

Things are not that simple. Please see Heritability of autism. Eubulides (talk) 07:01, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

Genetic issues never are. However I seem to remember that Simon Baron-Cohen's group had recently identified something like 34 genes involved in the autistic spectrum. Soarhead77 (talk) 12:25, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

DSM V will be deleting Asperger's

Released proposed changes for DSM V include deleting Asperger's and continuing to classify afflicted people as part of the autism spectrum. As such this article will need to be redirected to autism or have the language changed to a more historical tone referring to a previous disorder once the DSM V is officially released.