My dd11 is very introverted. She does not have any of the characteristics listed in your list below except for obsessive interests. She has been a marine biology/mammology fanatic since about age 2-3. I was learning info from her such as how the tails of marine mammals move in a different direction than the tails of fish when she was probably 3 yrs old. She makes eye contact, though, and talks quite a bit in one on one settings or small groups with people she knows. She just gets tired out from too much social interaction and needs some alone time to recharge.
Here are some traits D has that match up with Aspergers:
- Problems with eye contact
- Almost no ability to make small talk, she will be completely silent all the way through a dinner or get together with others. She is a little better with extended family, and does okay (not great) with her small group of friends or immediate family. Not just shy, literally NO IDEA how to make appropriate conversation.
- A lot of difficulty with social cues. She just can't read people - - she is often not aware if she has made them angry or frustrated. I think it has made her more introverted, as she can't easily predict how people will react.
- Obsessive interests when younger (Harry Potter and LOTR). We would meet other kids, and their parents would say, "Oh, my junior loves HP, too". But... they could not list every textbook, spell, etc., and D was usually disappointed at their lack of depth and detail. (This is one that could just be "gifted", not Aspie).
- Parallel play until about 3rd grade, when she made her first friend with some help from adults around her. (Could be true for some gifted kids who just have different interest from their peers. But I think that was not D's real issue... she really didn't have much interest in other people, nor any idea how to go about the reciprocal acts required to start and maintain a friendship.).
We saw Dr. Temple Grandin speak locally recently, and she ided the eye contact thing as being a very typical ASD thing. She did also state that she felt that SPD was not a stand-alone dx, though, and dd11 was dx with SPD at 7.5. Dr. Grandin felt that SPD was either part of an ASD or another disorder such as a learning disability, which dd also does not have. She could, of course, be incorrect or perhaps the other dx that is comorbid with SPD for dd is simply "gifted."
