Asperger autism: a mystery? Why it is so often misunderstood

• Social communication and interaction: Subtext, small talk, eye contact, facial expressions and unwritten rules don’t come naturally and often have to be decoded consciously.
• Routines and fixed patterns: Predictability gives security. Changes cost energy. This also includes repetitive movements (stimming) and intense special interests.
• Sensory processing: Sounds, light, smells, touch or textures often come in stronger or less filtered. Sometimes it’s the other way round: you feel some things less, such as pain, hunger or tiredness.

The term goes back to the Viennese paediatrician Hans Asperger. For a long time, “Asperger syndrome” was a diagnosis of its own in the diagnostic systems. Since the DSM-5 (2013) and the ICD-11 (2022), there is no longer a separate category: everything falls under autism spectrum disorder.

On top of that, historical research has shown that Asperger collaborated with the regime under National Socialism. That is why many autistic people prefer to simply say “autistic”. Others still use “Asperger” as a familiar way to describe themselves. Both are fine – this page uses the term because many people search for it.

Depending on the study, about 1 to 2 percent of people are autistic. Among people without an intellectual disability in particular, autism is often only recognised in adulthood. Women and girls are especially likely to be overlooked or misdiagnosed, because they often adapt a great deal (see “masking” below).

Anyone who only learns as an adult that they are autistic has usually been masking for decades: copying facial expressions, gestures and conversation patterns, practising them and using them automatically so as not to stand out. After the diagnosis, the question often comes up: who am I without all this adapting? Taking the mask off is called unmasking.

In detail: Masking and unmasking.

This is rarely a clear, linear process. Typical difficulties:

• Mixed feelings after the diagnosis: Relief (“There’s an explanation”), grief for lost years and anger about past misunderstandings, all at the same time.
• Unclear identity: What is real, what is learned? Often you don’t know right away yourself.
• More sensory sensitivity and exhaustion: When the adapting eases off, sensory input and needs become more noticeable – at first it often feels worse, not better.
• Reactions from the people around you: “You never used to act like this” or “You managed fine before.” Relationships and work have to be renegotiated.
• Not right everywhere: At work or in some situations, a bit of adapting still makes sense. The point is not to drop everything, but to decide consciously when and where.
• High burnout risk: Many experience the time around the diagnosis as a crisis, often linked to autistic burnout.

Asperger autism is one part of the spectrum: people with good language skills and average or high intelligence, who are nonetheless significantly challenged in social situations and in sensory processing. The ICD-11 handles this by recording, for autism, whether an intellectual disability is present and how well functional language has developed.

Other parts of the spectrum: people who speak very little or not at all and need support around the clock in daily life. And everything in between.

Someone who seems “mildly autistic” can be under enormous pressure inside. Someone whose struggles are barely visible is more likely to be overlooked and to get less support. And someone who hardly speaks can have very clever thoughts. You can’t tell by looking. That is why many people prefer to talk about different support needs, which can even change from day to day.

Neurotypical and autistic people process the world differently. Researchers call this the “double empathy problem”: misunderstandings go both ways. Autistic people often don’t understand neurotypical signals right away – and neurotypical people understand autistic signals just as little. Between autistic people, communication often works surprisingly well.

• An eye for detail.Errors, inconsistencies and patterns stand out quickly.
• Deep knowledge through special interests.When something fascinates you, you often become an expert in it.
• Strong focus on what interests you.Hours of uninterrupted work on one thing (“hyperfocus”).
• Logical, systematic thinking.Connections, rules and structures are grasped quickly.
• Original solutions.A way of seeing that doesn’t follow the usual path.
• Honesty and directness.You know where you stand. No games.
• Reliability.Agreements are taken seriously and kept.
• A strong sense of justice.Rules should apply to everyone, and injustice isn’t simply brushed aside.
• Loyalty in a few deep friendships.A few real relationships rather than many superficial ones.
• A good memory for facts and details.
• Independent judgement.Less susceptible to peer pressure and fads.
• Intense experience of beauty.Music, nature, patterns or art can be deeply moving.
• Conversations with depth.Real interest in topics instead of empty phrases.
• Strong inner compassion.Many feel for others very intensely, even if it doesn’t show.
• Working independently.Works well when the goal and the framework are clear.
• Easy with repetition.Repetitive tasks get done steadily and accurately, without tiring or getting bored.
• Dry humour full of wordplay.
• High standards of quality.Things are done thoroughly.

• Sensory overload.Noise, light, smells, touch or crowds cost a lot of energy. More on this: Sensory sensitivity and hyperacusis.
• Quickly exhausted after social situations.Conversations with several people drain the battery much faster.
• Unwritten social rules and small talk.What people “just do” often has to be worked out consciously.
• Taking things literally.Irony, hints and “could you maybe…” requests don’t always land.
• Reading facial expressions and body language.Your own often comes across differently from how you meant it, too.
• Difficulty with change.Sudden changes of plan and the unpredictable are unsettling.
• Meltdowns and shutdowns.Under overload, self-control breaks down – outwards or inwards.
• Autistic burnout.Long-lasting overload leads to deep exhaustion.
• Masking and constant adapting.Having to seem “normal” all the time costs energy and sometimes your sense of who you are.
• Unmasking after a late diagnosis.Taking the mask off is a long, often unsettling process with questions about identity.
• Naming and making sense of feelings (alexithymia).You feel that something is going on, but not right away what.
• Group conversations.Quickly changing topics, people talking over each other and timing are hard to follow.
• Rumination and thought loops.
• Sleep problems.
• Clumsiness in motor skills.For some: coordination, handwriting, balance.
• Loneliness, exclusion, experiences of bullying.
• Asking for help and naming needs.
• The work environment.Open-plan offices, constant interruptions, unclear expectations and office politics.
• Anxiety and depression more common alongside.Mostly as a result of ongoing overload, not as part of autism itself.
• Late or wrong diagnosis.Especially in women and in people who adapt well.