most recently 2 weeks ago with a new psychiatrist....For example, she is highly intelligent solely as a by-product of Aspergers, not vice-versa, or gifted with Aspergers. This is something that was implied by the psychiatrist.
Sorry to say this, but time to find a new psychiatrist. Most people with Asperger's are of average intelligence, not gifted. The intelligence of most people with autism is hard to measure because of their moderate-to-severe language and social communication-impairments.
It is simply NOT TRUE that Asperger's can "cause" people to be gifted.
The gifted ones are a tiny minority; they also compensate better, so they tend to look like borderline cases, even while their struggles are real.
I'd want to get someone who really knows about autism, and has seen the autism+gifted combo, to help you sort this out. The person you're seeing... I'm suspicious that they don't know enough.
Hang in there,
DeeDee
