So my roommates, Giordi and Anna, were reading my previous blog entry and asked me about Asperger Syndrome. I thought the simplest explanation was just to read them some of the symptoms.
"Abnormalities of social interaction and communication that pervade the individual's functioning, and by restricted and repetitive interests and behavior..." They both said the same thing: "What?"
I continued... "The lack of demonstrated empathy..." They looked at me strangely. "Although children with Asperger syndrome acquire language skills without significant general delay, and the speech of those with AS typically lacks significant abnormalities, language acquisition and use is often atypical." Anna looked at Giordi and chucked evilly.
I continued... "Abnormalities include verbosity; abrupt transitions; literal interpretations and miscomprehension of nuance; use of metaphor meaningful only to the speaker; auditory perception deficits; unusually pedantic, formal or idiosyncratic speech; and oddities in loudness, pitch, intonation, prosody, and rhythm."
Anna said to Giordi, "Are you thinking..."
To which he replied, "Wait for it..."
So I continued a bit longer, summarizing an adult AS patient's obsession with machinery and lack of social "normalcy". Finally, Giordi and Anna burst into laughter, much to my chagrin.
"What?!?!?"
Anna: "We don't know anyone like that, do we?"
Giordi: "Nope, no one at all!"
This is sarcasm... I've seen this before... I thought hard... "You mean, like, Jean?"
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