It is estimated that 1 in 88 children are born with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and 75% of those ASD's are considered Asperger's or PDD/NOS (Myles). My little brother happens to be one of those children with Asperger's. With that said, it should be no surprise that I have had the pleasure of meeting several people with this disorder. Over the years I have noticed a pattern in their personalities and have come to the conclusion that there are three main Asperger's personality types: loud, quiet, and alternately too loud or too quiet at the wrong times. I have also noticed that each person with Asperger's will evolve from one personality type to another over the course of his or her lifetime.
Before reading this paper in its entirety, one must have an idea of what Asperger's is. According to the Asperger's Network for Support, Well-being, Education, and Research, Asperger's Disorder is one of the five Pervasive Development Disorders, which includes Autism (History and Traits). Asperger's is a disorder in which people have problems with communication and social skills but have normal or gifted intelligence (History and Traits). Many people consider Asperger's to be a "high-functioning autism" (History and Traits). People with Asperger's Disorder struggle to fit in, and they also have specific interests that can become obsessive (History and Traits). People with Asperger's Disorder struggle to understand things like sarcasm and common metaphors (History and Traits).

Loud personalities need one thing: a listener. Not only will a loud personality type talk, but they will talk all day on subjects that interest them (usually science, math, or trivial facts). These subjects, however, may not interest the listener. The loud Asperger's personality has not yet learned how to pick up on the "shut up" signals people give them and will talk regardless of the listener's boredom. However, a fair amount of people are so fascinated by the amount of information the loud personality knows and can recite that they entertain them by asking questions and giving their input wherever they can get a word in. The loud personality will get, well, loud. They get excited about what they are saying and will be yelling in the listener's ear before they know it. Most people struggle to decide whether to ask them to quiet down or to just bear the glares of passersby. What they do not realize is a loud personality will gladly talk softer if given a friendly reminder that they are getting too loud. Loud personalities do not meet a stranger. They will talk to anyone who is willing to stop and listen.

A quiet personality type is just that, quiet. Quiet personality types are usually older people who have known about their disorder for a long time. Sadly, these include high school students who are tired of getting bullied because of their social downfalls. Quiet personalities do not trust people. They will, however, observe people. They often sit in the back of the room and when approached by someone they know they can talk to freely, they reveal all the information they have gathered. They notice things that "normal" people would never take the time to see. Quiet personalities do not have many friends, which is fine with them. They like to have a few close, trustworthy people to talk to. Quiet personalities are interested in trying to understand "normal" people.

A quiet/loud personality type has, typically, just learned of his or her disorder and is trying to control their socially unacceptable behaviors. Unfortunately, they have yet to master things such as when they should talk or when they should not talk. The quiet/loud personality tries his or her hardest to be "normal". I consider this the transitional stage in the life of a person with Asperger's syndrome. I think the transitional stage is the most important. This is the time when people with Asperger's syndrome "find themselves." They decide who they are going to be in life. They decide whether they will be a loud personality or a quiet personality. This is the time in their lives when they come to terms with their disorder and decide how they personally will make the best of it. This is also the stage in their lives when they discover they will never be "normal". This is an extremely hard realization for not only the person with Asperger's syndrome but also the family of the person with Asperger's syndrome. Everyone involved in this person's life has to come to terms with the disorder, and this is when they typically do so.

People with Asperger's syndrome have turned out to be some of the most brilliant and productive parts of our society. Before they can do that, however, they have to evolve. Typically they evolve from the loud personality to the quiet/loud personality, then from the quiet/loud personality to the quiet personality, and finally, to either the loud or quiet personality. It is amazing to see a child with Asperger's syndrome grow from a social reject into an adult with a good job and a loving family of his or her own.

Works Cited
"History and Traits." Answer-Asperger's Network Support. Asperger's Network for Support,
Well-being, Education, and Research. N.d. Web. 6 Nov 2012.
Myles, Brenda Smith. "Statistics." Answer-Asperger's Network Support. Asperger's Network for
Support, Well-being, Education, and Research. N.d. Web. 6 Nov 2012.