You know, it's really strange…my boyfriend is the one that's social and has plenty of friends and is trying to teach me (the supposed neurotypical) how to socialize. I never got that…I supposedly just have social anxiety. But yeah, I know what you mean about it making you depressed. I'm always lonely and lapse in and out of depression because I'm so lonely. It's also harder to give my boyfriend the space he needs because that means I have to be alone and isolated. He's the only one I really connect with or feel very comfortable around (I'm still anxious around him as well because I'm afraid of doing the wrong thing).

And I'd also agree that Aspergers is high functioning and it's possible to be lower functioning and still verbal. I've worked with special needs kids and I've seen everything from Aspergers to low functioning non verbal. And now that you mention it, it does sound possible that this woman and her son could be a little lower on the spectrum than just Aspergers…but none of us are doctors nor do we know them in real life. I just hope she gets help at least for her son, if not for herself. The more intervention when they are younger, the more functional they are as an adult from what I've seen.