aspie

Really a term pointing out the personality type of people who may or may not be diagnosed with the Asperger's syndrome diagnosis. It is NOT "a nickname for someone with that diagnosis", the aspie term points to the personality type as such, not to the clinical diagnosis. Many aspies function too well in life to ever get the clinical diagnosis, since the criteria includes "the disturbance causes clinically significant impairments in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning." Within the aspie community, the aspie term is for all of the people with the aspie personality style. Many with Asperger's syndrome (or next of kin to people with the diagnosis) shun the concept of "being your diagnosis" and therefore don't consider themselves aspies, but very literally just "a person with Asperger's syndrome". So, an "aspie" is a person with an aspie personality who believes in the aspie concept and considers himself/herself an aspie. Many who have Asperger's syndrome are not aspies, and many who don't have the clinical diagnosis and won't ever get one may be aspies.