# How Violent Are High-Functioning Aspergers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666 "2011-02-17T04:01:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/21 "2011-02-18T07:15:24Z")
I worked with a kid with Asperger’s who used to hit the other kids pretty often. But he was four, and not the only one who hit despite being the only one with Asperger’s. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/22 "2011-02-18T14:02:08Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Questions: > > Aspergers & Employment? Hard to get jobs? > > Discrimination against Aspergers? Not that I’m aware of. People with Asperger’s may need to find jobs that require less socialization and more structure (for example, working alone on a tedious project), but each person’s experience will be different. Mrs. Homie, FTR, worked in childcare for 20 years before deciding to give it up and stay home to be an artist. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/23 "2011-02-18T14:15:01Z")
I once took a internet self diagnose test for asperger, And part of the questions went a bit like this: [ul] [li]Do you stay angry with people even if they do not remember wronging you?[/li][li]Do you fantasise a lot about getting revenge on people who did you wrong in the past?[/li][li]Do you enjoy sneaking and being unseen?[/li][li]Do you have a fascination with Traps?[/li][/ul] I was on the other end of the spectrum, but I made note never to anger a asperger ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/24 "2011-02-18T15:14:44Z")
It can be correlated, since the syndrome is likely to increase frustration when dealing with a confusing world and not knowing appropriate ways of reacting to it. Plus, if a child is being violent at school, they’re much more likely to be investigated to find out the underlying cause than a child who’s got problems that don’t affect other people as much. So no, not a symptom, but not completely unconnected either. > [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > I once took a internet self diagnose test for asperger, > And part of the questions went a bit like this: > [ul] > [li]Do you stay angry with people even if they do not remember wronging you?[/li][li]Do you fantasise a lot about getting revenge on people who did you wrong in the past?[/li][li]Do you enjoy sneaking and being unseen?[/li][li]Do you have a fascination with Traps?[/li][/ul] > I was on the other end of the spectrum, but I made note never to anger a asperger That sounds more like ‘which Scooby Doo character are you?’ test with the answer being Fred. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/25 "2011-02-18T15:43:56Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > It can be correlated, since the syndrome is likely to increase frustration when dealing with a confusing world and not knowing appropriate ways of reacting to it. Plus, if a child is being violent at school, they’re much more likely to be investigated to find out the underlying cause than a child who’s got problems that don’t affect other people as much. > > So no, not a symptom, but not completely unconnected either. It’s like if they checked all left-handed kids for Asperger’s. They might find a number of kids with the syndrome that way, but it wouldn’t indicate that left-handedness was symptom. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/26 "2011-02-18T16:13:15Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > It can be correlated, since the syndrome is likely to increase frustration when dealing with a confusing world and not knowing appropriate ways of reacting to it. Plus, if a child is being violent at school, they’re much more likely to be investigated to find out the underlying cause than a child who’s got problems that don’t affect other people as much. > > So no, not a symptom, but not completely unconnected either. That sounds reasonable to me, but restricting this to people who are “high functioning” - I doubt someone who is repeatedly violent is going to be called high functioning. My younger brother has worked with some autistic teens who became violent when they were frustrated, but these were severely autistic kids who needed a full-time aide. Some were nonverbal. I don’t think you would see very much of that in someone with Aspergers’ who has been deemed high functioning, particularly when they’re old enough to have learned some coping skills. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/27 "2011-02-18T17:50:37Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That sounds reasonable to me, but restricting this to people who are “high functioning” - I doubt someone who is repeatedly violent is going to be called high functioning. My younger brother has worked with some autistic teens who became violent when they were frustrated, but these were severely autistic kids who needed a full-time aide. Some were nonverbal. I don’t think you would see very much of that in someone with Aspergers’ who has been deemed high functioning, particularly when they’re old enough to have learned some coping skills. I’d say it goes for kids who are high-functioning too, at least young kids. After all, as some of the responses show, acting out physically on the odd occasion is pretty common little kid behaviour anyway - it’s only when it’s too much, or of a different kind to the usual, that it’s a matter of concern. My daughter (who has high-functioning autism) isn’t violent, but did sometimes kind of hit out at teachers (pushing them away, not trying to hurt them) and once hit a teacher properly, which is the kind of violence you don’t see in most kids. She’d never seen any violence at home to teach her this and she’s definitely high-functioning - she just hadn’t learnt proper coping strategies at that point. But I’m talking about when she was 6, not 16 - that’s different, I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/28 "2011-02-18T17:55:58Z")
Right, I assumed we were talking about people around the age of the OP. I’m no expert on development but I assume by that point someone who is high functioning will have picked up those kinds of coping skills. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/29 "2011-02-18T18:01:54Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Right, I assumed we were talking about people around the age of the OP. I’m no expert on development but I assume by that point someone who is high functioning will have picked up those kinds of coping skills. Ah, OK. I thought he was asking about younger kids for the violence part, and kids his own age for the swearing - though I think teenagers swearing is totally ordinary. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/30 "2011-02-18T19:54:54Z")
Only Asperger’s person I ever knew only smelled violently. (didn’t bathe regularly). He was an awkward, weird guy who lived in my dorm whose heart was in the right place, even if he didn’t really know how to act in social situations, or bathe much. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/31 "2011-02-18T21:19:21Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > I once took a internet self diagnose test for asperger, > And part of the questions went a bit like this: > [ul] > [li]Do you stay angry with people even if they do not remember wronging you?[/li][li]Do you fantasise a lot about getting revenge on people who did you wrong in the past?[/li][li]Do you enjoy sneaking and being unseen?[/li][li]Do you have a fascination with Traps?[/li][/ul] > I was on the other end of the spectrum, but I made note never to anger a asperger I’m always very skeptical of people who have self-diagnosed themselves with Asperger’s syndrome. It seems like there are a lot of nerdy people on the internet who find the idea of having a developmental disorder more exotic and appealing than simply thinking of themselves as a nerd. I’m certain there are cases of adults with undiagnosed Asperger’s syndrome, but a lot of people seem to have distorted perceptions of what Asperger’s syndrome is (as that test writer seems to have). Asperger’s syndrome is not just a matter of being socially awkward or having nerdy interests, and there is nothing in the diagnostic criteria about holding grudges or wanting to get revenge on people. :smack: It’s sort of like how, after my friend broke up with his girlfriend, he somehow convinced himself that she had Antisocial Personality Disorder (even though, as someone who has worked on a psych unit where we had real antisocials, I did not perceive her as fitting the diagnostic criteria for it at all). ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/32 "2011-02-18T22:23:45Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > That sounds more like ‘which Scooby Doo character are you?’ test with the answer being Fred. I even found the test > **[Aspie Quiz](http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php)** not sure how valid it is thou… ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/33 "2011-02-18T23:39:32Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Fuck me, I never even knew I had a problem. This explains a few things. Your fuckin’ nationality for one. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/34 "2011-02-19T02:13:25Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Kids without Asperger’s lash out occasionally, too. Where did you get the idea that violence was a symptom? Well there was another kid I knew who was in Special Ed and worked with me and others and while normally he’d while a bit awkward would act “normally” but over fairly trivial matters would literally “explode” and cry and hit people in rage. > [@Marley23](#): > > That sounds reasonable to me, but restricting this to people who are “high functioning” - I doubt someone who is repeatedly violent is going to be called high functioning. My younger brother has worked with some autistic teens who became violent when they were frustrated, but these were severely autistic kids who needed a full-time aide. Some were nonverbal. I don’t think you would see very much of that in someone with Aspergers’ who has been deemed high functioning, particularly when they’re old enough to have learned some coping skills. > [@SciFiSam](#): > > Ah, OK. I thought he was asking about younger kids for the violence part, and kids his own age for the swearing - though I think teenagers swearing is totally ordinary. Yeah pretty much. The unfortunate part about myself is that while I wasn’t particularly violent in school until I was 10 or 11 I would often strike at my parents and other family members (not violently but in a simple, infantlike tantrum) but they out of great and excessive kindness would give little more than verbal lashing. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/35 "2011-02-19T22:47:27Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Well there was another kid I knew who was in Special Ed and worked with me and others and while normally he’d while a bit awkward would act “normally” but over fairly trivial matters would literally “explode” and cry and hit people in rage. I’ve been known to get violent when I see people misuse the word “literally” like this. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bcr1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@bcr1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcr1)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/36 "2011-12-30T04:55:30Z")
I’ve never met anyone with Aspergers that was violent. It’s kind of illogical, funny to poke fun at when people get mad, or irritated though. I guess physical violence and aggression just doesn’t make any sense. Writing a bad letter, or a nasty email is worse, and at least the Aspie people I’ve met do stuff like that. At worse, they just will ignore you and never talk, look, or wish to be around you ever again, that’s what I do. But violent as in physical violent, even in a melt down, no, I’ve never heard an Aspie do that. I think they would be too scared to break a rule, or get a germ, or break routine. Just sounds off and illogical. Personally I fear being labelled violent, namely because I’m an aspie and eccentric. I guess it’s the stigma of mental health, but Aspie is more like akin to being like Steve Jobs, although it’s treated like oh my God, that person is a psycho. That’s just weird. Generally these things are worse for the Aspie that has tics. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/37 "2011-12-30T05:14:37Z")
Don’t discard the possibility that you were just an angry violent little prick! ---
**Author:** ![Kasper1014](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c89c15/32.png) [@Kasper1014](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kasper1014)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666/38 "2011-12-30T05:16:59Z")
I work in this field. I have met a very aspies with violent tendencies. While one aspie may have some diagnostic symptoms…another aspie will have a whole different set of symptoms. Many different pieces of a puzzle. My son is an aspie. I can say he is not violent. He will be frustrated at himself, hit his head against the wall…but he hasn’t lashed out at people…though he has half jokingly, verbally threatened to kill his brother. Brotherly bonding. Lol [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-violent-are-high-functioning-aspergers/571666.md?page=1)