Adult Aspies are socially 11 years old?

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I read somewhere that the typical aspie can't pass the Sally Anne task by age 10 and I heard that most children are able to pass the Sally Anne Task when they're 6. Assuming a linear development of ToM (Or, well, directly proportional rates of development in ToM between aspies and neurotypicals) and assuming that ToM effectively maxes out at 18 years old (While the brain has plasticity, I doubt the hippocampus changes all that much fundamentally past the age of 18 and I'm assuming that underlies the ToM construct as it underlies autism), that'd imply that an average aspie would have a ToM on par with an average 11 year old (Since ... (6/10) * 18 = 11).

Does this seem about right?

Does anyone feel they have the social *understanding* or *comprehension* of an 11 year old?

I don't mean like the "social comprehension" test on the WAIS as those questions are nothing like regular social situations where you interact with people and infer what they're thinking based on how they look and what they're saying and, more crucially, how they're saying it.

Assuming that were true, this would seem to imply one would be able to most easily relate to a 11 year old, but of course there are experiences that most adults have had that most children haven't, so there's an "experience gap" there. So, I guess that suggests that an aspie would naturally most easily relate to fellow aspies or people who are "slightly autistic" and younger (Like half-autistic/half-neurotypical 16 year olds.).

Are there better ToM models for ToM development through ones lifespan?

I do not feel like I am 11 socially so I am inclined to disagree.

Funny you should ask this because I just had to coordinate a very complicated social thing (for me) and I was wondering "God, what social age am I?" as this would probably be routine, and not the first time for most people in their 30's.

The answer to that question is, there is no answer. I think it's more accurate to say that people with AS have uneven socially development rather than delayed or stunted social development. As a child, in many ways I socialized more like an adult with respect to the things I liked to talk about and the depth and maturity level at which I could converse about them. I could answer the phone quite professionally as well, though with children my own age I struggled.

As an adult, I've yet to navigate many social situations that others my age have, due to my social deficits at large. I've never organized a party, or even family gathering such as a dinner. I've organized project teams and presentations, which is quite different. With purely social functions, I struggle with determining boundaries, responsibilities, and decoding and navigating formalities.

ToM stands for "Theory of Mind". There's more information from wikipedia on it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind .

I'd have to agree that it's more uneven than stunted. I may pick up on things that no one else seems to (like somebody being left out) but I'll still make comments that have people saying "how old are you?" As far as TOM goes, a lifetime of conditioning gets me somewhere workable. It's like a software patch that isn't perfect and has occasional glitches but does a passing job for the most part.

My husband's therapist said he functions socially as a 13 year old. It is much more apparent when Fior is stressed in social situations.

I tend to agree. Fior is clueless about things like asking if someone needs help, cleaning up messes he makes, and adult social conversations. (small talk).

Tawaki

My husband's therapist said he functions socially as a 13 year old. It is much more apparent when Fior is stressed in social situations.

I tend to agree. Fior is clueless about things like asking if someone needs help, cleaning up messes he makes, and adult social conversations. (small talk).

Tawaki

I would say teenage level, roughly. I'm cynically aware of many possibilities, but I rarely recognize them in people I know. And if I do, I either feel sick or confused.

I am not sure how old I am socially. I would say 15-17 but my husband says I can range from there to a child but I don't know if that is with emotions or social skills.

I'm not sure where generally socially I am, I'd need a description of what falls at each age range to be able to have a chance of identifying where I am.

However, if you read the descriptions of ages and the equivalent idea of friendships (from Complete Guide to Asperger's), then I'm solidly in the pre-teen/young teen range.

Emotional... that I'm all over the board with. There are areas I don't have skills toddlers normally have with matching own facial expressions to emotions, but I'm not overall that "immature".

Actually the brain stops developing by the early to mid 20s. So the maturity of an 18 year old does not resemble the maturity of the general adult population. I'd say we should readjust this linearization to around 23 then (23*.6)= 13.8. I've thought of aspie social maturity like IQ. See aspies are socially challenged. To be officially mentally challenged you must have an IQ of 70. Average IQ is 100. We can think that aspie social IQ would range from 50 to 70. So that would be the adult social maturity ranging from 11.5 to 16.1. That's my theory.

I think my social maturity resembles someone in the later part of high-school, 15-18. Well people think I'm in high-school anyways.

My social development is much slower than average, but I think I'm getting progressively better over time. I'm 30 yrs old, at this age I've learned the skills that I need to get by. I still maintain only one friendship at a time, currently my husband. My relationship with family goes well, most of the time. When conflicts do arise they take a long time to resolve. I prefer to avoid the issue rather than deal with an angry parent/sibling.

I agree with Tuttle, without descriptions I couldn't select an "age" to describe my social functioning. I would guess early 20's.

On first thought I answered in the box, but I thought again, and got it right. My assumption is that we are not technically immature, but rather wired differently. However I would definitely not answer it correctly at age 10...much less age 6