Are aspies typically intelligent and smart?

[Salmongirl17]

So, I'm just wondering if aspies are typically, well, not necessarily smart, but more or less what your grades typically are/were. I've heard that people with ADD and ADHD tend to not be able to focus, and that therefore drops their grades.
Yet I am a little confused by this, as I have ADD/ADHD, but I've never failed a test in my life and have always been a top student.
I'll see what y'all say about this topic, which I have shortened into a poll, as it can be uncomfortable to share personal details

 

[Salmongirl17]

Most of the Aspies I know are quite smart. My problem is I have a Nonverbal Learning Disorder. Prior to Junior High (middle school nowadays) they thought I was a child prodigy. When I hit Junior High and High School, I became a moron. However, the people with whom I work think I'm a genius. My IQ has been tested and rated as above average, but I can't do math to save my life. Being smart and being intelligent are not the same, as I have learned from experience. As I like to say, "It's an Aspie thing."

Yes, I will agree with all of that

 

[Salmongirl17]

It scares me when someone agrees with something I've said.

That's scary that you think it's scary

 

[Ereth]

To be honest, there's really nothing "typical" about ASD. It's true that one of the markers of it is often high intelligence, but high intelligence doesn't necessarily translate into academic success at school, or success at work. There's a theory that there are multiple types of intelligence, and each person, regardless of his or her position on the autism spectrum, possesses different aptitudes for them.

"Intelligence" isn't defined by a single attribute, so it's possible to answer this question in a number of ways.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Looking at the Aspies I've known in real life...there seemed to be as much variation in their levels of intelligence (not that it's possible, I think to truly know how intelligent someone is) as there seems to be among non-Aspies

 

[King_Oni]

I don't know if it's typical. Like others pointed out, there is a lot of variation...

Besides, intelligence is tricky to define I think. I performed rather poorly in school for large parts in my life, yet people still think I have above average intelligence. If you add in "thinking outside the box" and such, it's not defined by grades. Perhaps that's part of the aspie mindset as well. Thinking atypical and having a different way of problem solving.

 

[Salmongirl17]

Ok, now I get that intellect is not the same as being smart. I was just wondering that because I go to this camp for Aspergers/autism and almost all of the other aspies said that they're failing school...

 

[Ste11aeres]

I didn't really study in highschool, but now, taking some college classes at the age of almost 30, I do well. Nice avatar picture, by the way.

 

[King_Oni]

Ok, now I get that intellect is not the same as being smart. I was just wondering that because I go to this camp for Aspergers/autism and almost all of the other aspies said that they're failing school...

You could also wonder why they're failing school.

For me it was partially because I couldn't deal with the way it was taught and the fact that I felt restricted by the structure school offered. A few years later I got a high school diploma on a higher level by attending only for exams and thus I studied at home how I wanted to and didn't have to deal with the structure. That actually went a lot better.

 

[Nolan1971]

You could also wonder why they're failing school.

For me it was partially because I couldn't deal with the way it was taught and the fact that I felt restricted by the structure school offered. A few years later I got a high school diploma on a higher level by attending only for exams and thus I studied at home how I wanted to and didn't have to deal with the structure. That actually went a lot better.

I firmly agree! My skills only took off after they realized I needed to learn differently. I was failing 5th grade but when tested scored
college level on all subjects.

 

[Turk]

Yep, I performed miserably at school, as well. Had a lot of social issues at school, to provide distraction. It wasnt until I found a trade I was able to focus my mind

 

[Nolan1971]

That sounds like me. However, when I was in school their response was, "You're not applying yourself," or "You're lazy," etc. Still, I scored incredibly high on tests, but I could not seem to learn or apply what I learned. I tried to articulate what was going on in my head, but they wouldn't listen. I finally gave up, dropped out, and joined the Army. I got my GED without studying. They placed the tests in front of me and I passed. Math had the lowest score, but I've never been able to do math. Back then there was no such thing as Asperger's, Non Verbal Learning Disorders, etc. You were either retarded or lazy. There was no logical explanation for learning difficulties.

Yes in my day it was all lumped as learning disabilities but I was blessed to be in a school far ahead of its time which even without labels
understood how to help. An aspie friendly school before they knew what it was. Math was my least favorite also! I still got A's and B's
in it but hated it!

 

[grapesicles]

Without sounding like a pompous arse, I have a higher IQ than most people I know, yet found most of secondary school boring since I didn't enjoy a lot of the subjects - I'd take a magazine in to read & get told off. I think it was a mistake for me to choose a creative degree, since it's difficult to understand what's expected of me most of the time.

I did get straight A*s at primary school, but when I had to do sciences/history/geography which I have very little interest in, I found school so boring. I didn't go for the whole of Year 10 because of bullying/hating it, then moved schools and completed all my GCSEs with mostly As after only 6 weeks of revision from notes that my teachers compiled. Quite pleased with that!

I'd be really interested to try doing an academic degree, like English or French, & see how I do.

 

[Nolan1971]

Without sounding like a pompous arse, I have a higher IQ than most people I know, yet found most of secondary school boring since I didn't enjoy a lot of the subjects - I'd take a magazine in to read & get told off. I think it was a mistake for me to choose a creative degree, since it's difficult to understand what's expected of me most of the time.

I did get straight A*s at primary school, but when I had to do sciences/history/geography which I have very little interest in, I found school so boring. I didn't go for the whole of Year 10 because of bullying/hating it, then moved schools and completed all my GCSEs with mostly As after only 6 weeks of revision from notes that my teachers compiled. Quite pleased with that!

I'd be really interested to try doing an academic degree, like English or French, & see how I do.

Ah! Reading , English, Sciences and such are my strongest skills and interests. These are the skills that I have always been at a college level
but unchallenged since 5th grade so i am real excited to see how far I can take them at Santa Fe

 

[Salmongirl17]

Man, but I wish they'd had an "Aspie friendly" school when I was a kid; but then I'm sure most of us here that are in our 50's and 60's wish the same thing. I still recall how I struggled, but didn't know how to explain it. The teachers would get frustrated and either mock me or would not even waste their time.

As for math, I'd love to understand it. I've bought books, taken remedial courses, tried everything, but it's like I'm looking at hieroglyphics. I can do enough to get by, but in my line of work math often plays an important role. I look at the problems and it never makes any sense. I can't quite explain it, but I'm sure there are others here who share the same problem.

I just go to a regular public school in the suburbs. Yes, most of my aspie friends do go to Aspergers schools though

 

[tlc]

On a dating site back in the early 2000s there was an IQ test and I don't remember the number but they said only the top 5% scored like I did and I was in some exceptional category. Which I had a hard time believing. I can do math or anything with solid rules but anything fictional you might as well forget it. Many people tell me I am the smartest person they know. Yes I can design, build, and fix so many things. But I always say if I am so smart, why am I a slave to a time clock, and not off somewhere warm and dry, letting big money work for me? There are different kinds of smart.

What I found odd is that for my engineering degree, I had to take more English classes than math classes. Even for college physics, trig wasn't a prerequisite so we couldn't do anything that required trig. Thankfully I had a good solid physics class in high school.

 

[Spinosaurus kin]

To be honest, there's really nothing "typical" about ASD. It's true that one of the markers of it is often high intelligence, but high intelligence doesn't necessarily translate into academic success at school, or success at work. There's a theory that there are multiple types of intelligence, and each person, regardless of his or her position on the autism spectrum, possesses different aptitudes for them.

"Intelligence" isn't defined by a single attribute, so it's possible to answer this question in a number of ways.

Exactly! I have been called genius on multiple occasions, normally understand the concepts in lessons in the first five minutes while the rest of the class takes the whole fifty to understand the same thing.
When it comes to exams though...
Let's just say my written explanation has never been my strong suit, and when there is some kind of "exam technique" that EVERYONE ELSE seems to have magically learnt, I end up being in the lower bracket of the grades in that very same class.

It's even worse when I'm on a low period. I mean, I fit the bill for clinical depression but am still expected to concentrate easily?
So when I have to go into a test like that... I just fail even worse.

But in terms of intelligence, I seem to be at a high level. Some people say that it would be impossible to beat me in a philosophical argument. At least in person.

 

[ab0698]

Ah! Reading , English, Sciences and such are my strongest skills and interests. These are the skills that I have always been at a college level
but unchallenged since 5th grade so i am real excited to see how far I can take them at Santa Fe

Yes, somone who read at a college level when they were in fifth grade! I knew I wasn't the only one.