Wasn't there a recent Korean study that found a much higher than expected incidence of ASD (over 2%) and that 12% (!) of kids on the spectrum are gifted? ASD seems to push the middle of the bell curve outward on both ends.
Part of the "over representation" of AS among the gifted and of the gifted among AS is a statistical artifact that results from the the fact that part of the definition of AS is that intellectual functioning is average or above, so you are really only looking at a population sample from the right half of the bell curve. Just from this, one would expect that the incidence of AS among the gifted (and vice-versa) would be about twice the rate in the general population. If the definition of "gifted" that is being used in the study is "top 5% of the general population IQ", then 12% being gifted is not that far off from what you might expect (around 10%)and a rate of AS near 2% is not so shocking, as many estimates put the rate in the general population at 1 in 150 (about .7%), and it is not hard to imagine that a gifted parent is more likely to 1) recognize that there may be an issue, and 2) have the resources to get appropriate evaluation and testing, which adds in identification bias.
