PDD, Asperger, and Geek Syndrome?

brainWaves asks "Recently I found out I have some Pervasive Developmental Disorders, especially Asperger disorder or a 'PDD-Not Otherwise Specified' (PDD-NOS). Doing some research on the web pointed me to some Wired pages, like the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ (where I scored 35, average being about 16). At the end of the test, there is a link to a 6 pages article entitled The Geek Syndrome which basically discusses the Asperger Syndrome, relating it to geeks. The article is somewhat old, but in a recent news, autism in California has increased 100%. Do 'geeks' have a higher tendency toward conditions like PDD/Asperger? I saw a lot of me in the Wired article, and was wondering if others on Slashdot have the same problem in their life, or if they have been diagnosed with a PDD?" Note that Asperger Syndrome is not the same as ADHD but methods useful for coping with one may be useful in coping with the other. Also, please don't take an internet test seriously when attempting to diagnose any kind of mental instability. Instead, if you are worried about such results, share them with your family doctor.

Comments

Took that a while back

[revmoo]

My roomates and I took that test in Wired a while back(I have a subscription). They scored between 20-25, I scored a 32.

I think the test can help show autistic people(or those with asperger's syndrome), but I think it shows too many false positives. I'm a relatively social person, I live a pretty normal life, I'm just known as 'the geek' in my circle of friends.

Re:Took that a while back

[__aatgod8309]

There's an alternate use for the test, that came to light in discussion with others on the autistic spectrum (I have Aspergers myself).

Basically go through the test, and count how many questions you can't answer because they're so ambiguously worded, offer personally inappropriate questions, or lack suitable choices. The higher the total, the more literal, pendatic, or just plain difficult you are. (Hmmm, maybe even autistic!)

For example, Question 2 - I prefer to do things the same way over and over again. What kind of things? There are things i enjoy that i do the same way each time... Others i do differently each time. (Both ways intentionally)

Or Question 9 - I am fascinated by dates. Dates? The dried fruit? Pre-mating social rituals? Or those things on the calendar?

Question 13 - I would rather go to a library than to a party. Um, what if i don't like libraries or parties? (And what kind of library? What time of day - ie, how busy/crowded/noisy is it? What kind of party? Tupperware party? Aromatherapy party? Dinner party?)

Question 16 - I tend to have very strong interests, which I get upset about if I can't pursue. If someone loves, say, Baseball. Or Gridiron and the Superbowl. Or some traditionally non-geeky or social activity... Is that as valid as, say, a fascination with (and encyclopedic knowledge of) doorknobs? (as an example...)

Ok, my post is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but my point is that often autistics use very precise language, and any test that indicates it's designed to detect autistic inclinations (for lack of a better word) should be very precisely (and specifically) worded. And without the cultural bias or preconceptions in this test. (Question 24, for example. I don't like the museum *or* the theatre, but there's not 'None of the above' entry, so that any answer i make will be wrong, and skew my results)

Why am i making such a fuss about this? Why, because i'm autistic myself, and dislike such crass inaccuracies...

Some good reading about the topic

[Mensa Babe]

I personally find A Portrait of J. Random Hacker by Eric Raymond, especially the part entitled Weaknesses of the Hacker Personality, very interesting. A Portrait of the Hacker as a Young Man, from Free as in Freedom by Sam Williams is also certainly worth suggesting. Most of people don't know that, but Richard Stallman, the author of GNU, considers himself afflicted, to some degree, by autism, which makes it difficult for him to interact with people. I can honestly say I understand him.

Re:Don't take it too seriously.

[drivers]

I'm an INTP too. It's like 2% of the population yet I bet 25% of sites like slashdot and k5 are INTPs. So, out of curiosity, do you start new challenging "hobbies" all the time and get into them just far enough to realize that you could do it if you wanted to and... oh, here's another interesting subject... I'll become that master of that instead...

Re:Don't take it too seriously.

[Hallow]

Over the years I've done that, yes. But as I've gotten older I've been following things through more an more.

I've been doing home winemaking for almost a year now. I've done freshwater aquria for about 5 years.

Re:Just took the test...

[Qwaniton]

As the author of one of the writeups in the Asperger's syndrome node at E2 (look at my email and guess which one), I scored a 42.

Going through school was hell, and forced me to learn about how normal people actually work. Like you have, I know when someone's lying through their teeth. Not being able to naturally (dontcha love split infinitives?) "read" people, I learned that skill the hard way, through much trial and error, against my own will.

I've had strong interests. My special interests right now are computers and roads (roadgeeking: take a look at Gribble Nation some time). My first "obsession" was vacuum cleaners. I had to go to the janitor store every Sunday to look in the window at the vacuum cleaners. My fourth birthday cake had a Hoover on it. My next special interest was dead-ends. My dad and grandpa drove me all over town hunting out all the dead-ends. This gave way, naturally, to roadgeeking. When my grandpa got a computer (Pentium MMX 166) in April '97, when I was in fifth grade, I quickly learned everything about that machine, and became a computer nerd.

In my eyes, Asperger's is definitely not a bad thing. In fact, I'm proud I have Asperger's, and I don't want to be normal. You might be interested in this website:

The Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical, a satirical parody of how Asperger's Syndrome is looked down upon by the neurologically typical.