<p>As I made very clear, the OP only provided information related to section I of DSM IV; therefore I suggested that it would be a good idea for him to discuss his situation with a therapist, and there is no need for us to speculate on the other 4 sections, which may or may not apply. He mentioned having had a bad experience with a therapist when he was younger, but didn’t say why his parents thought therapy was needed at that time. Perhaps it was because of behaviors that fit the other criteria.</p>
<p>Hans Asperger described a pattern based on 4 case studies: "The pattern included a lack of empathy, little ability to form friendships, one-sided conversation, intense absorption in a special interest, and clumsy movements. The OP didn’t mention if he is physically clumsy. All the rest seems pretty clearly to apply.</p>
<p>Another note:</p>
<p>
Source: [Aspergers</a> Syndrome and Bullying: Teaching Aspie Children to Identify Teasing and Intimidation | Suite101.com](<a href=“http://michaelmcgrath.suite101.com/aspergers_syndrome_and_bullying-a66366]Aspergers”>http://michaelmcgrath.suite101.com/aspergers_syndrome_and_bullying-a66366)</p>
<p>When you are dealing with a teenager or young adult who may possibly have Asperger’s, it is pretty safe to assume a high likelihood that the kid was a victim of bullying at a younger age. Some people who are mistreated develop an aversion to the situations where the mistreatment occurred. Because of their poor social skills, such as inability to read body language or correctly discern intent from facial expressions or voice tones, an Asperger’s kid would have a hard time figuring out which kids were likely to bully him. Logically, the safest thing to do might be to avoid everyone. A socially inept kid who very much wanted friendships at age 9 or 10 could figure out by the time he was 14 that it simply wasn’t worth the risk. To me, a young adult’s statement that he “never” had friends suggests pretty strongly that there was some major unpleasantness going on when he was younger. </p>
<p>I don’t see how you can draw conclusions one way or another about someone without knowing more about their background & history. Certainly not by inventing a new criteria of exclusion because you happen to like a theory put forth in a research article better than the published diagnostic criteria. That’s why I think the OP should see a competent therapist and explore the matter further.</p>