Does my friend have Aspergers/Autism?

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I have a friend that I think may have Aspergers/Autism.
He had clearly somewhat concideted the idea himself.
According to himself, he gets extremely absorbed and focused on things that are of interest to him.
And he reads a lot of non-fiction books.
At school he got really good grades, without even having to try very hard.
He also mentioned that he has had a hard time knowing what he felt.
Still, he seems very outgoing on the outside. He has very many aquaintances.
But, he shared with me that despite all that, he was a big introvert. And that he needed a lot of time alone to sort out all of the impressions around him.
He also told me that he didn’t always seem so outgoing or likable as he is now. He said he used to lock himself in his room to be alone most of the time while he was going to boarding school, a few years ago,
But then he read a book called «how to win friends and gain influence», and things changed after that.
Is it likely that he has Aspergers?

I don't know. I can't say for sure, but it seems to me that a person with Asperger's generally wouldn't be able to fit in socially easily just by reading a book. He could just be an introverted intellectual.

It could be strong introversion or Autism.

Not knowing your emotions is a sign.

It is important why it was so difficult for him to socialize. If it was because of just did not like socializing or because he has difficulting understanding others motives, or just does not have the innate social skills most others have?

Does he not like socializing because he finds the noise or the lights, or the smells exhausting?

Does he have some sort of unusually intense interest or repetitive behaviors?

Most people have a few of these traits to some degree. Many other conditions share traits with Autism. If you are autistic you have most of the traits to a degree that is life inhibiting or at least makes life very and constantly exhausting.

Is he having trouble with nonverbal communication (eye contact, gestures, facial expressions...)? If not, then it's probably not ASD.

If he can't understand social cues/norms (like what is socially appropriate or not). Then he definitely has it

Short answer: I don't know.

Long answer: No member of this website is qualified to render a valid diagnosis of any Autism Spectrum Disorder, especially from subjective observations by a non-professional third party. Ignore an amateur diagnosis, especially those that include the word "definately".