Aspergers or INFJ? | INFJ Forum

Aspergers or INFJ?

~jet

~jet

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watch this: http://storycorps.org/animation/q-and-a/

actually, watch them all... but that one, especially. Did aspergers sound like it had a lot in common with INFJitude? Is there a possible crossing of paths in terms of testing and [mis?]diagnosis? It made me think, anyways... I've been told I might have a mild case of the aspergers (nothing official) but, frankly, that kind sounds more communicative than I!
 
There is an occasional poster here who is both INFJ and has an Aspergers diagnosis. Perhaps they can comment.

My grandfather has Aspergers, and I don't think he is very "INFJ"-like by appearances on the OUTSIDE. Mostly, in brain scans it could be shown that he didn't always register what other people said to the level of conscious consideration. His brain was busy with other things. Thus, it was hard for him to exhibit what we would recognize as typical Fe. That doesn't mean he didn't utilize Fe. But it didn't always benefit from the full range of input. In his case, this often meant that he was trying to force people to do things that were inappropriate. Or he would do things entirely inappropriate on his own because he didn't have the contextual processing necessary. On the other hand, he is quite bright and well studied.

Awesome video by the way. A great mom and a great kid.
 
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My son has Aspergers.
It's more than just being quiet and reserved.
A lack of empathy is one of the biggest aspects, and they often don't pick up on subtle social cues that most of us take for granted.
They aren't very perceptive of what is going on around them, since they tend to fixate on one thing.
He has grown out of some of this as he has aged. The traits are still there, but not as severe as they once were.
 
Aspergers is a developmental disorder characterized by a slew of social and emotional impairments, such as difficulty connecting with peers through a lack of empathy, ritualistic behavior, and a difficulty recognizing non-verbal cues. They are often quiet people.

INFJs are quiet, introverted people because it is their personality, not because they have a disorder that makes socializing a challenge.

There is no similarity other than perhaps their outward demeanor.
 
that is REALLY interesting. i was just thinking about that today, actually. a couple of weeks ago i stumbled across a book on asperger's and was amazed at how many of their characteristics i had. so although i am not a psychologist and do not understand this disorder thoroughly, i definitely understand why you began to compare the two.
 
Appreciate the replies... I will have to get a pair of you a nod, since INFJs, if anything, have too much empathy... not limited or none
 
j e s s i e said:
Aspergers is a developmental disorder characterized by a slew of social and emotional impairments, such as difficulty connecting with peers through a lack of empathy, ritualistic behavior, and a difficulty recognizing non-verbal cues. They are often quiet people.

INFJs are quiet, introverted people because it is their personality, not because they have a disorder that makes socializing a challenge.

There is no similarity other than perhaps their outward demeanor.
Click to expand...
To add to this, an INFJ who is at least somewhat developed has a fair ability in figuring out people's motives or at least knowing how they are feeling. Pretty disparate from any diagnostic criteria for aspergers. You can be both, but if you are just an INFJ, this is a good litmus test to determine if you are not aspie.
 
Hmm... I'm an ENTP with PDD-NOS, my mother has Aspergers (ESFJ) and my younger brother (INFP) has a severe case of low functioning autism. Most of my siblings have either PDD-NOS or Aspergers.
No INFJ's in my family, the closest are INFP, INTJ and ENFJ, all of them with autism.

Very cute interview, those were very much the same questions I had when I was 12. Although that kid was lucky, when I was 12 I had no friends.
I had it pretty rough socially in my younger days.

Autism can affect all personality types, there is no pick and choose when it comes to genetics and brain function.
 
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Someone with Asperger's could be an INFJ, but it's quite possible the test would realy confuse them. We have two of them at a local self-help group I help facilitate, and they are both very warm people. They are polite and intelligent, but social cues, even the simplist ones give them fits. I can't say a single bad thing about either of them. This is a tragic syndrome that very few have even heard of, let alone understand.
 
This is interesting. To me, I've always thought of the thinking behind someone with asperger's to be very different from my own. I know 3-4 people with asperger's. One of them I know a lot better than the others because his family is family friends with mine, and I've done some traveling with him as well (and have had time to observe his behavior). The most clear trait that I've observed in people with asperger's is the clear "lack" of empathy. They are often unaware of subtle social cues, as [MENTION=1355]MindYourHead[/MENTION] mentioned. An example of this, as with the family friend mentioned above, is when sometimes while I am talking to him, he will laugh and say to me "Haha, you crack me up" when I haven't make a joke or (to me) say anything remotely funny. He doesn't ever seem gauge my reaction to what he says, as in the case when he thinks I made a joke. He probably doesn't realize that I had a puzzled look on my face.

In terms of MBTI, I believe a characteristic is a very strong S and T, a weak N, with almost non-existant F. I've also read that they are usually unable to read body language which most of us will read unconsciously, and take for granted.

So yeah. Compared with how I see myself, I feel that someone with asperger's is very much internally focused in a purely logical and stimulus based way. I feel as if my friend has little idea as to how I might feel/think. To be honest being with someone with asperger's can feel awkward to me, but it could just be because I am very sensitive to other people's actions/feelings. The moment I first met this friend I KNEW there was something socially awkward about him, realized myself it was probably asperger's, then had it confirmed to me that it was indeed the case. My sister has met this same person and she did not pick up on any social awkwardnesses.
 
My grandfather doesn't pick up on social queues, either. He's not going to know how you feel when he has snuck up on you to try to put acne cream on your face. He just assumes that it is a good idea, because you have acne and are 13 years old.

But he has a heart of gold and really cares about his family. He has strong feelings and emotions, and I've seen him get in a lot of arguments. He can get very frustrated now not knowing what is going on around him and why, when there is so much he wants to accomplish. And in retrospect, he really has done a lot.
 
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Ecton said:
My grandfather doesn't pick up on social queues, either. He's not going to know how you feel when he has snuck up on you to try to put acne cream on your face. He just assumes that it is a good idea, because you have acne and are 13 years old.

He doesn't understand why he is being fired from the the warfield park, because he knows ALL the facts about the Revolutionary War artifacts, and just because he made the tour an hour longer than it was supposed to be, and some people complained that he wouldn't take them back to the park station. Honestly, how could they be so bored with trivia about the Revolutionary War?

And he doesn't understand why the police are upset that he snuck into the graveyard again to do rubbings. I mean, he is a Historian and there are Facts to record. And the police were very nice to him (actually they were threatening him.)

But my grandfather really means well. And he has a heart of gold. I don't know what his MBTI type would be. But he was a very successful electrician, mailman, and crossing guard. He fought in World War 2, got married, and took care of his family as best he could, all while just being
"sort of queer", which was his diagnosis for the first 75 years of his life.
Click to expand...

Your Grandfather is epic. :m155:

Yes, I have done similar things to that too.
 
Is it possible that people with Asperger's don't notice or pick up on people's feelings/emotions because they themselves do not subjectively experience many emotions/feelings besides those caused by their own thoughts?

It is hard to empathise with anger, when one seldom experiences it, for example.

Perhaps a TV character, which would be typical of Asperger's would be Lt Commander Data, the android crew member on the series Star Trek: The Next Generation?
 
I am both INFJ and have Asperger's.

It is not that I don't ever want to talk to others (although I am quiet by nature and need lots of time to recover socially) but rather that people don't like to talk to ME. They try once and something in me (usually the expression of my special interests, if you're interested, I've read The Lord of the Rings 97 times to date... and I started only 12 years ago) turns them away from socializing with me.

Empathy and personal relationships (other than those who are like me in a lot of ways or try very hard to connect with me is almost impossible for me.) As far as friends and close relationships, I have my husband (an E/INFP with Aspergers) and nobody else.
 
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I don't what to say except I love you.
I don't even know who I'm saying it to... I love you for being different. I love you for helping to remind me who I am, and who I want to be. I love your research. I love your grandpa. I love that you've read The Lord of the Rings nearly a hundred times through. I love our brains. I love humanity.

definitely going to dig further into this storycorps project.
thanks ~jet
 
Well now I'm confused, but that's okay! I feel a little bad having brought it up, now, since there doth seem to be a sharp distinction in certain spots. It's gotta be particularly rough being INFJ and Aspergers... though some might claim I am the same. I don't quite think I believe it, though, as I seem to have my polarity reversed on a couple of the aspergers descriptors.

Though, I did meet up with an online friend (writing peer and fan of the same young comic artist) once I'd reached Colorado during a cross-country trip. We had a two hour lunch out in back of this small organic deli thingie, and it turned out we had many of the same (but satisfyingly different) ideas for stories and plots and such.

Later on she sent me an email telling me that she had Aspergers (I have no idea what she'd type as, but odds are there's an I at the beginning of it) and that I had made her unusually comfortable and thanked me for it. I think I might have to bronze that email, but still... why am I telling you all this?

=P
 
I spent like half an hour reading about aspergers after I saw this thread. It appears that there are a variety of traits that may be placed along a continuum, and the INFJ temparment may tend toward aspergers on that continuum for some traits.

I will say though that generally, especially for myself, INFJs are very drawn to subtle social cues, often to the point that it becomes distressing. INFJs are also very typically good with metaphor and metaphorical thinking, particularly those with relatively strong Ni, and that is something that people with Aspergers struggle with. These are only two examples of all the things you could go through and look at.

I was shocked and somewhat disturbed by how many of the traits I had in myself, especially things like taking people literally when I shouldn't or making contextual references that nobody else can understand. I actually do this often. The difference, though, is that I can realize the mistake I made or even avoid it because I have the capacity not to act that way even if it is my first inclination.

This makes me wonder if there is a continuum that can be drawn where being INFJ either tends towards Aspergers, makes you more likely to have it, or imitates it in some way. That is an extremely complex question though.


My official answer is that if you aren't having any problems, don't worry about it. If you are having problems, address them on an issue by issue basis.
 
From what I've learned, it seems like someone with aspergers and INFJ typing is rather an oxymoron. There is no way any F function would be dominant or secondary.
 
The problem with Aspergers and INFJ typing is that we feel. We feel deeply and can't do a damn thing about it. We feel, we empathize, but we have no way of actually expressing it at all.

I have strong empathy for those I hardly even know sometimes. So bad it makes me physically ill. But I can't release it by actually talking with the person. I just know they have a problem going on, but I can't do anything about it.


But like I said, I mostly have the Asperger's diagnosis because of my crazy obsessions (I talk to squirrels too, and sometimes they talk back.) Also my social ineptitude, and wooden speech if you heard me talk in person.
 
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