Though some speak of those with language as having high-functioning autism, people with extreme social deficits are not always helped by having a large vocabulary. While many autistic people may seem disengaged, individuals with Asperger syndrome may seem hyperengaged; they may stand too close and talk incessantly about obscure subjects. One researcher described interviewing someone with Asperger’s who seemed to her to be just fine—they had a lovely conversation. The following week, they had the same conversation. A week later, they had the conversation again. One clinician told me about a patient who at age ten ran into the street in the middle of traffic, nearly getting run over and causing an accident. His mother said, “But I told you to look both ways before you step into the street!” He said, “I did look both ways.” A psychiatrist I met described a patient who was a math genius, IQ 140, fully verbal, but socially disabled. When the pretty woman at the counter at McDonald’s asked what he’d like today, he said, “I’d like to touch your crotch, please.” He was completely befuddled when the police were called; he had answered her question and said “please.”

Andrew Solomon, Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity (2012)