The part of the nyt article that discussed the possibility of autism being a case of "extreme male brain" -- and that the so-called male brian is characterized by a lack of empathy and a fondness for systematized thinking -- was negated by the vast, vast majority of the article. The story mentioned the difficulty many of us Aspie women have with math, our capacity for forming deep friendships that, as one researcher admitted, she didn't often see in neurotypical teenage girls, and even girls with a penchant for fashion.

I am tired of these stereotypes of people with Asperger's, and I am tired of their being furthered by people who can't be bothered to look beyond facile labels to the complex, flesh-and-blood human beings to which they are being applied. We do not lack empathy. What often appears to be a lack of empathy is simply a lack of understanding of the often-baffling behavior of neurotypicals, because we are wired in a fundamentally different way. We experience the world differently than you do. People from different cultures often have difficulty understanding each other's behavior and values, and because of this often deem each other to be, as the saying goes, "rude, crude, and socially unacceptable." The relationship between Aspies and NT's mirrors this dynamic. People may find us to be lacking in empathy, but I can assure you that what you experience is NOTHING compared to the staggering lack of empathy experienced throughout the lives of every Aspie I have ever met.

Furthermore, Aspies, both male and female, have also been, on the whole, the most sensitive, thoughtful, and original thinkers I've ever met. And, honestly, I often find the behavior of neurotypicals to be "rigidly systematized" -- so many unwritten social rules, and oh my god how people freak out if you inadvertently break one!

For a taste of how it feels to be pathologized for being who we are, I highly, ighly recommend you read the following article, "Understanding Neurotypicality":

http://home.att.net/~ascaris1/neurotypicality.html

As I was reading the article, I was thinking (amongst other things), "WOW Cary! Way to pre-empt the flames! Let's hope it works." Sure enough, I just read all 58 letters, and for *once* there wasn't a single nasty one in the bunch. Yes, there were a few who had a problem with LW's involvement with a married man, but everybody was civil, and most importantly, nobody was cruel. And you did it subtly and elegantly. Wonderful work, Cary.

Okay, first of all -- this article uses the terms "SSRI" and "antidepressant" interchangeably. They are not. SSRI's are a class of antidepressant. At this point, they're probably not even the most widely used class of antidepressant. So ... is it antidepressants as a whole that supposedly inhibit one's ability to feel love, or just SSRI's? Given that the decision to go on antidepressants might be a life-or-death one, I think a little more precision is called for.

Secondly -- enough with the "autism = extreme male brain = good at math, bad at empathy" crap! The "scientist" attached to that theory, Simon Baron-Cohen, is reviled throughout the spectrum community. He really doesn't understand a thing about the condition. I have Asperger's. I am female. My ring and index fingers are precisely equal on one hand, and on the other hand the ring finger is slightly longer. There is a difference of thirty-six points (more than two standard deviations) between my verbal and performance IQ's, with the verbal score being higher. I am competitive. I am driven. I am compassionate. I am empathic. I am extremely good at some types of math and extremely bad at others, depending on how they are taught. I have no musical or spatial ability whatsoever. I am not what the "professionals" assume me to be.

How these people maintain any sort of professional respect while spreading this pseudoscientific tripe is beyond me.