Nerd Personality Or Asperger Syndrome?

In the Journal Of Psychological Medicine, dated 1981, Lorna Wing (who introduced Asperger Syndrome in the 1980s) refers to the ambiguity between clinical autism, on the one hand, and, “geeky personality”, on the other. She calls this latter “normal variant of personality”:

“All the features that characterise Asperger’s Syndrome can be found in varying degrees in the normal population. Many who are capable and independent as adults have special interests that they pursue with marked enthusiasm. Collecting objects such as stamps, old glass bottles, or railway engine numbers are socially accepted hobbies.” (Lorna Wing)

Especially since the publication of “Neurotribes” by Steve Silberman in America, there has been a huge tendency to view Asperger Syndrome as a “nerdy” personality type. Nevertheless, Wing seems to have warned that distinctions need to be understood:

“The difference between someone with Asperger’s Syndrome and the normal person who has a complex inner world is that the latter does take part appropriately in two-way social interaction, while the former does not.” (Lorna Wing)

That is a very good way of expressing the distinction. It seems clear to me that Wing had been familiar with the German term “schizoide reaktion”. In this essay, we can expand on Wing’s explanation in more detail. I will try to simplify and clarify the German terminology, familiar to Hans Asperger.

Schizoide reaktion essentially refers to a specific personality variation, typical amongst some people in the population. It is not autism but does often describe the parents, or family members, of the autistic children Asperger (or Leo Kanner) presented as case studies. Dutch psychologist Van Krevelin noted:

“The only similarity with Kanner’s autism is reflected by the fact their parents are strange, formal, lethargic and inwardly rigid”

These are people who appear remote, cold aloof, or possibly odd, yet remain socially integrated, married and functional. I have noticed a lot of film and movie directors fit this classification. Some of them show little facial expression with distant eye contact, though not beyond the range of normal personality variation. Their distinct character traits constitute a “reaction” to the social environment, or family, and are thought to be rooted in genetics, somatotype and even race. The German term used to define them was “schizothymiker” This is not the same as “schizoaffin”,(“шизоид”, in Russian) which can refer to the actual clinical pathology described by Hans Asperger, in the 1940s.
The Moscow based psychologist Grunya E. Suhareva, referring to the personality type above, concluded:

“For the latter group, it is preferable to use a term not conmected to psychiatry, due to their high reactiveness.” G. E. Suhareva

To hopefully make this less confusing we can use an example. Some psychologists in America, not too long ago, claimed to have diagnosed the Russian president Vladimir Putin with Asperger Syndrome. However, despite having a remote personality, Mr. Putin is still typical of someone who “does take part appropriately in two-way social interaction”, as Lorna Wing expressed it. Here, the term “schizothymiker” is appropriate, as well as “schizoide reaktion”. It is absolutely essential to re-examine the diagnostic boundaries between clinical and “normal variant of personality”.

G. E. Suhareva stated:

“A more precise distinction of the schizoid class (i.e. clinically autistic people) is necessary to distinguish from (1), other pathological syndromes and (2), schizoid type of reaction, as a physiological phenomenon within the range of normality.” G.E. Suhareva.”

And again here:

“The fact that both of these conceptions are referred to by one term gives rise to major confusion”.

A very good example of the schizothymiker personality type would have been John Lennon. Lennon was known to be a deep thinker and prone to day-dreaming, as well as his tendency to withdraw and avoid too much publicity. Like Asperger’s autistic children, Lennon was unable to integrate in mainstream school. The difference, however, lies in the fact Lennon was able to socialise and communicate, as well as empathise. If Lennon had suffered clinical autism (schizoaffin), his more introverted personality traits would have manifested beyond a manageable level, giving rise to pathological symptoms and social dysfunction. It should be added, however, that according to early genetics research, people who fit this personality profile (often called “geeky”)more often produce autistic children than the norm. G. E. Suhareva describes one such parent of an autistic boy:

“The father is a musician, withdrawn, finicky, excessively shy and prone to stuttering. He socialises only in a small, familiar circles.” (G. E. Suhareva)

Finally, diagnostic problems can arise where we encounter (1) schizoide reaktion and (2) less severe Asperger Syndrome. Asperger himself distinguished between children who were more severely disconnected from the surrounding world than others. I think the individual with less severe Asperger Syndrome will have experienced a deeper awareness of struggle around adaptation to society than an individual whose introverted, odd personality tends to stand out amongst musicians, movie directors or academics. The psychologist Berze summarised this as follows:

“Berze (quoted by Khan) found that the parents of people who suffer from schizophrenia, themselves manifest schizoid personality traits. He considers them to harbor latent schizophrenia.” (Suhareva)

Here, Berze appears to conclude there’s a genetic link between schizothymiker, schizoaffin, schizophrenia. To give a real-life example. Berze’s perspective could point to scientist Albert Einsten as harboring latent schizophrenia. Einstein himself was odd, absent minded and a little neurotic, though he was healthy, functional and married. Einstein’s son Edvard Einstein suffered severe schizophrenia. The son was clinically autistic but the father was not.

To conclude, it seems the same confusion over diagnostic terminology continues today, due to ignorance of, or indifference towards earlier research. It is clear, however, that Lorna Wing perceived Asperger Syndrome as a clinical condition.

Asperger Syndrome And Schizoid Personality

Lorna Wing Introduces Asperger Syndrome

In the 1980s, Wing and Gould introduced the diagnostic classification , Asperger Syndrome, to English-speaking countries. As we know, it was named after Hans Asperger, an Austrian psychologist who had described a type of autistic condition he referred to as “Autistic Psycopathy”. A few years ago, Wing’s diagnostic classification was removed altogether, while Hans Asperger himself was (questionably) accused of being compromised by pro Nazi sympathies. Nevertheless, what has been missed is the fact that, years before Wing’s autism spectrum analysis, Hans Asperger’s essays had often been quoted by psychologists in the USSR, as well as in some European circles.

The same diagnosis of Autistic Psychopathy, in fact, was often diagnosed in Moscow clinics. Yet, in Moscow, the leading figure in child psychology was not Hans Asperger, but rather Grunya E. Suhareva, a Jewish researcher, unknown in the west.

Schizoid Personality Disorder (Schizoaffin). Why Is It Important?

Decades before Asperger and Leo Kanner, Suhareva had outlined a condition called “schizoid autistic psychopathy”. Later, the term “schizoid disorder” was used. The symptoms are practically the same ones found in A.S.D., or Asperger Syndrome.
The classification “schizoid” comes from “schizoaffin”, in German. For anyone who has a serious interest in A.S.D. or Asperger Syndrome, it is essential to understand the term “schizoid”. In her essay “Asperger Syndrome: A Clinical Account”, dated 1981, Lorna Wing acknowledges that her newly publicised syndrome is derived from schizoid disorder:

“The syndrome can be placed in this group and further work in this field would be of interest, but, at the moment, classification under this heading has no useful, practical implications.” (Lorna Wing)

Looking at the source references for this essay, it seems Wing had not read G.E. Suhareva, who remained obscure. She continues:

“This term (schizoid) as generally used is so vague and ill-defined a concept that it covers a wide range of clinical pictures in addition to Asperger Syndrome.” (Lorna Wing)

If Wing and Gould had read G. E. Suhareva’s research papers, they would have found the latter had mostly addressed and corrected the fundamental lack of definition in the initial term (schizoaffin). In fact, Suharava herself had acknowledged the issue of concrete definition:

“A more precise distinction of the schizoid group is necessary to set it apart from other pathological syndromes.” G. E. Suhareva

As stated, she then proceeds to outline a far narrower diagnosis.

It is very probable that Hans Asperger himself had read the essays “Шизоидные психопатии в детском возрасте” (Schizoid Psychopathologies In Childhood”, published in Moscow, in 1925. Six children are presented (Jewish or Russian ethnicity). The diagnosis added to the clinical summaries of these case-studies are psychopathic personality, schizoid, verschroben. “Verscroben” was the oldest term used.

Why Did German Psychologists Use The Term “Schizoid”?

So, what does “schizoid” mean? The clue lies in another statement made by Wing:

“Furthermore the word ‘schizoid’ was originally chosen to underline the relationship of the abnormal personality to schizophrenia.” (L. Wing)

In fact, Kretschmer and other German psychologists noted that adults with schizophrenia had shown very similar symptoms to Asperger Syndrome, during childhood – the so-called pre-psychotic stage that precedes schizophrenia. These observed traits were:

1) Gemütsruhig (quiet, placid, withdrawn)
2) Gemütskalt (cold, selfish, avoiding people)
3) Gemütstumpf (emotionally flat)

Furthermore, Hans Asperger himself had once diagnosed autism in a child, but later had to acknowledge it was schizophrenia (the initial symptoms had progressed over time). It cannot be stressed enough that, even for highly qualified psychiatrists, it is extremely difficult to distinguish early stages of a schizophrenic process from clinical autism. This is one reason why German psychologists used the term “schizoaffin” i.e. schizoid. People with Asperger Syndrome display very similar symptoms to early-stage schizophrenia, though their condition doesn’t progress to psychosis.

Wing also adds:

“There is no firm evidence of a special link between this syndrome and schizophrenia.”

Extensive research by geneticists has shown that Asperger Syndrome is far more common in familes, where distant aunts, uncles, grandparents had suffered schizophrenia. G. E. Suhareva forwards the following:

“Hoffman (and likewise Rudin) attempted to show some theoretical connection between schizoid disorder and schizophrenia. He concluded that schizoids are heterozygous (genes passed on dominantly) in families with a history of schizophrenia.” (G. E. Suhareva)

Elaborate research, mostly by German geneticists, has shown a certain connection between schizoid disorder and schizophrenia, although they are not the same. Schizoid disorder is passed on by way of dominant genes, whereas schizophrenia is recessive. Schizoid (or, Asperger Syndrome) is a static condition, where the symptoms remain the same throughout. Schizophrenia is a progressive illness that often leads to psychosis or fragmentation of the personality. However, due to convention, psychologists came to use the term “schizoaffin”. Hans Asperger, for that matter, dropped the term, since he didn’t want to portray his case-study children as in any way associated with a psychotic condition. Rather, they were to be portrayed as odd, but gifted and useful to society.

So, the first conclusion: We cannot dismiss the basic fact that much of the research associated with Hans Asperger’s described syndrome, comes under the heading “schizoid”.

E. Kretschmer Lays The Foundation

E. Kretschmer stated:

“A schizoid is a pathological personality type, who, to a far lesser degree, reflects fundamental (minus) symptoms of schizophrenia.” (E. Kretschmer)

Kretschmer had already successfully identified the fundamental basis of schizoid disorder, which he lists as:

(1) Psychästhetische Proportion = this refers to a pattern of mood swings, say, from high sensitivity to apathy.

(2) Autistic, avoidant condition.

(3) Springenden Tempo = abstract, associative thought processes

(4) Clumsy, motor impairment (now called dyspraxia.

Classification Differences?

G. E. Suhareva used Kretschmer’s analysis to develop a more detailed, clinical description of autistic children. Although Wing and Gould (and some other psychologists) felt that Hans Asperger had identified a distinct syndrome from schizoid personality, only one major difference struck me. Some of Suhareva’s autistic children suffered nightmares, wet the bed or were pathologically fearful. As for example, a description of one child as, “shy, fearful, pathologically avoiding contact with other children, suspicious hypochondriac.” Asperger, howevever, stressed that his case-study, Fritz, lacked any symptoms of fearfulness or foreboding, typical in childhood schizophrenia. Despite that, symptoms in both patients are noted to be stable and not progressing towards any psychosis. Possibly environment and race could also have had implications. Suhareva’s children were both Russian and Jewish, often from unstable backgrounds. Asperger’s children were Austrian and seemingly from supportive families.

We end the essay here. It should now be clear that (at the very least) Asperger Syndrome derives from schizoid disorder and that, more probably, it is the same diagnosis

Asperger Syndrome Can Still Be Identified

Asperger Syndrome is no longer included as a formal diagnosis. A few years ago, I had the strong impression a lot of clinical psychologists were unclear as to how to diagnose it. I always suspected a big part of the problem was a tendency to view the said syndrome as part of an “autistic spectrum disorder”.
In my view, when L. Wing and J. Gould introduced this new syndrome in the 1980s, its interpretation as a “spectrum” disorder was accepted, in psychology circles, as a novel discovery. Yet, Hans Asperger himself never referred to an autism spectrum. He named the condition “Autistic Psychopathy” (withdrawn, psychological pathology). Neither was it the case Hans Asperger’s own term was original. Decades earlier, the Soviet psychologist (Jewish/Ukrainian/Moscow-based) Grunya E. Suhareva had already described virtually the same condition as “Schizoid Autistic Psychopathy”.
For many years in the Soviet Union, and before the English-speaking world had embraced Asperger Syndrome (as a diagnosis), the same syndrome was routinely diagnosed in Moscow clinics. Psychiatrists there called it simply “Schizoid Disorder”. Lorna Wing had also evidently covered Schizoid Disorder in her reading, though she dismissed the term as too vague. It may help readers to know that the symptoms of Hans Asperger’s syndrome come very close to the withdrawn, odd behaviour German psychologists had observed in children, who later went on to suffer schizophrenia as adults. In fact, even Asperger himself once diagnosed one patient as essentially autistic, but had to re-diagnose schizophrenia later on. This is partly why the term “schizoid” was used since it means “schizoaffin“, similar to, but not, schizophrenia”. (1) To hopefully simplify this explanation, we can imagine a child aged, say, 10 years, who is withdrawn, behaves oddly and shows weak emotional responsiveness. It could either be Asperger Syndrome or early stages of schizophrenia. Even skilled psychiatrists, in fact, often have to wait a few years to see if the symptoms progress into, and as part of, a schizophrenic process.
To now get to the point of the essay, there is really no reason why we can’t diagnose Asperger Syndrome today, or why I myself (within limitations) couldn’t point to it. However, here, there is one big cause for caution. I no longer believe in associating autistic people too enthusiastically with labels. A psychologist can certainly explain to a patient why a particular syndrome fits his (or her) symptoms, or anamnesis, but this is not an “identity”. Diagnostic labels exist as rough sign-posts, while diagnosis per se is extremely unique and complex. Patients often have a whole heterodyne mix of syndromes, which interact with one another, the unique individual and the environment. Personally, I suspect Hans Asperger would have ridiculed any reference to the patients he described as “Aspies”.(2) As it happens, I myself identified 100 per cent with the original symptoms of the Asperger children but such strong self-identification held my research back for some time. Two people who fit a basic Asperger Syndrome diagnosis can be very distinct from one another. On a final note, for those who prefer to accept the highly suspect (in my view) allegations that Hans Asperger supported Nazi ideology, the good news is there are other sources we can use. The Dutch psychiatrist, for example, Van Krevelin personally studied Asperger’s original patients. Grunya E. Suhareva also describes the same syndrome in detail. Personally, I have never found any indication Asperger supported the Nazi party, going by the overall tone of his essays. In fact, my honest view is Asperger overly exaggerated his patients prospective value to society. He went to great lengths also to try and distance his autism diagnosis from schizophrenia, not referring to earlier genetics research in that field.

(1) One Russian student once stated his view that “Schizoid Disorder” (шизоидное расстройство”) was a purely Russian conception. In reality, ourstanding Soviet psychiatrists drew heavily on German research and so translated “schizoaffin” into Russian.

(2) In fact, one of the four original Asperger children had suffered encephalitis and birth trauma. He was described merely to show the similarity in symptoms. So, only three children fitted the presented diagnostic term.

The Dutch Psychologist Who Studied Asperger’s Patients

Perhaps few people are aware the Dutch psychiatrist Van Krevelin wrote about his personal encounter with Hans Asperger’s patients (in a professional capacity). I have translated his comments and observations below, for those who might be interested. (Has it ever been translated into English?) After his clinical observations of the original Asperger children, Van Krevelin seems to view their prognosis as distinct from Leo Kanner’s Early Childhood Autism, and not as negative in its perspective. Both Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger were Austrian, although Kanner resided in the U.S.A. For years, psychologists argued over distinctions between Kanner’s described E.C.A. and Asperger’s Autistic Psychopathy. Were they the same? These two syndromes were later re-classIfied in the D.S.M. as either H.F.A. (High Functioning Autism), or Asperger Syndrome.
Here are Van Krevelin’s comments:

“If all of this wasn’t complicated enough, then the situation became even more complicated, thanks to Asperger’s description of a completely different category of patients, whom he called “autistic psychopaths”.
I believe Kanner’s comparison of Early Childhood Autism with Asperger’s syndrome was an unacceptable mistake. The condition Asperger described represents “an extreme version of the male character.” (1)The only similarity with Kanner’s Childhood Autism is that their parents are somewhat strange, formal, lethargic, and constrained.
While I know of Kanner’s patients from literature (his descriptions are very clear), I have myself had the opportunity to observe and study Asperger’s own patients firsthand. I’d like to briefly describe this scenario: The first difference is that Autistic Psychopathy, unlike Early Childhood Autism, manifests at age three (as Asperger noted) at the same time as the cortical functions of the brain become more pronounced. Those affected by Autistic Psychopathy experience difficulties around regulation of behavior. This is more or less compensated for within the family (Asperger children are often without siblings), but such problems are particularly evident in school, and the impairments can be extremely complex. A lack of discipline isn’t the biggest problem. They lack childlike qualities. There exists something elderly, or graphic about their entire appearance. Their behavior is mature within the context of their childhood, and their range of interests is broader than normal for their age. They are original in their opinions and distinctive in their behavior. If they are talented, and this is not uncommon, their interests are unique; among them one can find natural philosophers, experimenters, and future inventors. Their personality is deep and lacks the necessary connection to reality.
In everyday life, they are impractical and clumsy. Even by school age, they often can’t tie their shoelaces, or a tie. Their movements are awkward. Playing with peers doesn’t appeal to them and they are forced to entertain themselves, reading a lot. If they play with toys, such play is more mechanical, lacking the usual childlike quality (2). They can have emotional outbursts, not only in class but also during play. Due to their unchildlike interests, refined self-expression and awkwardness, they often find difficulty being accepted in childrens’ company. Often they become targets for ridicule.
Expression of affection is poor. They tend to adhere to their own opinions and approach, disregarding the opinions of elders. Asperger describes the impression of his patients being in a dream world, with weak facial expression, monotonous, “resonating” speech (as if in an empty room), disrespect for adults, dislike of affection, and subsequent sexual disharmony. On the other hand, Asperger noted a tendency towards home-sickness and a a striking attachment towards animals. These children distinguish certain people selectively. Therefore, it would be unfair to speak of an absence of their emotions. They are qualitatively different, and this is what Asperger called autism.” (Van Krevelin)

(1) Asperger probably had in mind an extreme resistance to social adaptation.
(2) It has been asserted in psychology circles that L. Wing and J. Gould first noted an “absence of imaginary play” in these children. However, reference to the same point has been made earlier on by other psychologists.

Explaining The Non-Integrated Personality

On one occasion, I came across a passing reference to a 1940s German psychologist called Jaensch. I briefly referenced his profile and found he apparently had some sympathy for the extremist German political ideology of that period. Still, there was something I found that strongly resonated: Instead of the terms “introvert” or “extrovert”, Jaensch had divided people into “integrated types”, or by contrast, “non integrated types”. I’m not sure if he had intended here to refer to the clinical scope of that definition, or just a vague classification of personality type. However, based on my own experience and research, I made my own purely clinical definition, which differs from Jaensch:

(1) Integrated personality type (I.P.T.): An individual who is connected to (and resonant with) other people and fully functional in a group, team or community. This individual addresses problems or tasks collectively, shares and depends upon feedback and ideas. The said I.T.P. also integrates and instinctively processes emotional communication.

(2) Disintegrated personality type (D.P.T.) This individual is weakly connected to other people and detached, like a foreign body. Functionality in groups or communities is limited. Problem solving remains highly individualistic and tends to ignore external influence, or social collaboration. Ideas are generated from within, not suggested externally. Emotional connection, or the ability to communicate via emotional signals is weak.

Note: This second definition differs slightly from autism, since autism can define detachment from reality, or even cognitive delay. However, here, I define the disintegrated type
as specifically not connected to (or resonant with) other people.
I believe this a better method to describe those affected by Asperger Syndrome, as opposed to “autism”. By the same token, I always thought the terms “neurotypical” and “neurodivergent) have too broad a meaning. Very many people affected by various mental health issues still remain socially functional, with quite normal social interaction skills. I have even noticed how some people with cognitive mental delay (commonly called “simple”) often retain reasonable social interaction skills. “Neurodivergent” , therefore, can potentially refer to people who still remain “connected” to a social organism. If we group people into integrated, or non-integrated types, here we have a much more narrow definition, for those who correspond to that grouping. Either the individual exists as a functional part of a whole organism, or conversely, in the capacity of an isolated, foreign body.
I think the term “autism” applied to Asperger Syndrome has always been problematic, although Asperger himself chose that definition, which he borrowed from its application to schizophrenia. Schizophrenia, for that matter, was viewed by psychologists not primarily as autism per se. In schizophrenia autism is a symptom of a non-unified (split) personality. Autism here is the “effect” of a deeper cause, or disorder. Autistics remain withdrawn because they don’t want to socialise. Schizophrenics want to communicate and be understood but gradually withdraw because such communication creates negative feedback and breakdown. Personally speaking, like Temple Grandin, I fitted the typical picture of “autistic” in childhood. I would be seen walking around with shoe-laces untied and stood out from “normal” children. However, overall, I view myself today mostly as a non-integrated personality type, or affected by a pervasive developmental disorder. Some aspects of childhood autism were caused by non-integration (in family, school or community). On a conclusive note, psychologists have discussed possible distinctions between autism (as a withdrawel from reality) and autism (as an imstinctive, emotional communication barrier towards social interaction).

Autism: A Personal Journey

Note: In this essay I make use of the term “autism”. However, to refer specifically to Asperger Syndrome, for example, I much prefer “pervasive developmental disorder”.Too wide an application of the term “autism” can cause offence to some families with severely handicapped children. By the same token, disorders such as Schizophrenia may affect quite intelligent people, yet the consequences can be quite traumatic. For the sake of clarity, I consider my own experience to fit the definition of a pervasive developmental disorder.)

This written account – concerning the impact and life experience of autistic conditions (Asperger Syndrome) – hopes to explain some key concepts of clinical psychology, within the context of real life experience and challenges. It should be pointed out that, in the 1970s, neither clinical psychology or effective diagnosis and therapy was particularly developed in the United Kingdom. It wasn’t until the late 1980s that psychiatrist Lorna Wing discovered the extensive German language research into autism, namely the essays of Hans Asperger and also the Austrian American psychologist Leo Kanner. Wing (whose daughter suffered an autistic condition) admitted she had been forced to seek out research in other European countries.
My own experience with autism can be summarised by the following core childhood symptoms:
(1) Difficulty following standard classes in school, due to inability to concentrate outwardly and engage. This inability to absorb information in the normal way (with regard to Asperger Syndrome) is not due to lack of intelligence. It is an active communication/connection deficiency. If the communication blockade is not addressed, developmental delay will worsen.
(2) Inability to socially interact or interpret the rules of social interaction. Put simply, doing and saying the wrong thing, and acting in ways that unintentionally create isolation.
(3) Slowness and poor co-ordination, especially noticed in team games at school. In my own case, so-called “motor impairment” was very pronounced.
There were many other symptoms that defined my situation in childhood, and at school. Those listed above, however, are especially fundamental. In clinical psychology, we group some symptoms together as “minus” or “negative” symptomatology. These are symptoms that represent actual disability, or otherwise referring to normal functions (in others) that are missing (in us). Deafness, short-sightedness, dyslexia or limited mobility are (minus) genetic deficiencies. Autism (negative) symptoms also tend to run in family genetic lines, so we can inherit the condition.
More generally, to summarise what I can recall around the everyday life experience of childhood autism, it was a case of not being able to live up to expectations, and not knowing why. That impacted as much on family as much as school. I remained a couple of tiers above the very bottom school class-groupings, slightly compensated by the fact I was at least a very good reader. This inclination to read is very typical amongst some autism-affected children, since reading offers a way to self-isolate and daydream. Probably, teachers suspected I was a lot brighter than appearance suggested but assumed that the cause of poor performance was down to lack of effort or motivation, rather than a pervasive developmental condition. I think that the reality of life in the 1970s was children were considered to be either bright or “slow” and there was no prospect of early diagnosis. In my case, problems were certainly noticed and doctors carried out a blood test and medical checks. They found no physical abnormality and were satisfied with that.
At this point, it’s important to point out the symptoms described above do point towards typical Asperger Syndrome. There were also other Asperger symptoms I experienced such as repetitive obsessive routine, odd behaviour, picky eating, obsessive interests, sensitivity to fabrics and especially motor clumsiness (the latter very typical of Asperger Syndrome). Much later in life, when I finally got to read Hans Asperger’s essays, I very strongly identified with that singular diagnosis, up to the point my research into autism widened and then the overall diagnostic picture became more complex. The problem is that Asperger Syndrome is essentially a static, stable condition, without swings or intensification of symptoms. In my case, however, I finally came to accept I also displayed symptoms of Childhood Schizophrenia, which involves fearfulness, nervousness, nightmares and some sensory hallucinations. Moreover, Childhood Schizophrenia is a progressive condition, with periods of improvement and, conversely, worsening of symptoms. Asperger personally felt the syndrome he described was, as stated, static and didn’t develop into periodic stages, or reflect neurotic fearfulness and nervousness. Over time, I concluded both Asperger Syndrome and Childhood Schizophrenia had affected me simultaneously (which apparently does happen). Mostly for me these were symptoms of acute nervousness, unease, giving rise to chronic O.C.D., which involved ritualistic repetition, touching door knobs repeatedly and being afraid of certain objects. So, childhood for me was full of challenges and, worse still, support, diagnosis and acceptance were all lacking.
After school, it turned out I was unable to hold down any job but the generous and indifferent welfare system of the 1980s prevented any major personal perspective of winding up homeless. Today, the decrease in industrial prosperity and decline of social welfare increases the risk of homelessness for those challenged by mental health. Important to note is that, later in life, I started to discover I actually had the ability to study and absorb information, so long as this didn’t depend upon socially interactive classes, or groups, or structured routine. The reality is people with clinical Asperger Syndrome tend to have weak “active” (external) concentration, but a very strong “passive” (inward) attention span. Sometimes people affected by particular types of autism learn to develop alternative thought processing skills. Quietly reading a book is a far better option than listening to a teacher (the latter requires active, external engagement). To repeat, Asperger Syndrome can be perceived as “autism” but subsequent developmental delay lies in the area of limited connection to the outside world, with irregularities in the emotional, instinctive, empathetic area.
My serious research into autism roughly started around 2015. It was driven by bitter experience of the past and a search for answers. The first time I encountered Asperger’s essays, it came as a huge relief to find a lifetime of struggle hadn’t somehow been my fault, or due to being lazy or a bad attitude. Personal research into autism and related clinical psychology was not always easy since I found being emotionally connected to the subject can hinder objectivity. However, my research, with a strong focus on Schizophrenia, Early Childhood Autism and Asperger Syndrome, has proven to be helpful.
I could say much more about personal experience with autism but that would make for a very long essay. I roughly covered observations around childhood but adult life has equally not been easy. Oddly, my ongoing autism research has been aided by the fact I came to know some people, and families, deeply affected by clinical autism. That gave me a perspective outside my own experience and beyond research essays. In future posts I will share more and offer some effective methods of therapy and self-help.