text: do you know someone who has asperger syndrome? i want to know the symptoms and if there is someone who has it describe how it is. i am trying to figure out if someone who i know has this syndrome because i have known that even for a doctor is hard to discover it and give an exact diagnosis. i know a kid with aspergers, he's quite sweet and definitely a bit strange. he can get on your nerves, but he seemed to deal with life in his stride. anyway, i don't believe a layman or a doctor who doesn't know asperger syndrome could diagnose it. i have know quite some weird kids, but weird is a wide field. i think all you'll do if you self-diagnose is fool yourself. it's way too difficult to figure out easily on your own, so don't do the kid a diservice by self-diagnosis.  go look for a qualified doctor,look for a self-help group of parents, they would be the people to talk to. good luck.  here's a short description of asperger kids (for more, check out the link):  they have ..."marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. they often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. they have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with as has difficulty determining proper body space. often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with as may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. it's important to remember that the person with as perceives the world very differently. therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior... by definition, those with as have a normal iq and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. because of their high degree of functionality and their naiveté, those with as are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying. while language development seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with as often have deficits in pragmatics... vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little professors." however, persons with as can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context.