Certainly, when diagnosed by a doctor.

I'm talking about the "I've never been formally diagnosed but..." and "I think I'm a little on the spectrum" sort of comments that often wind up in threads about programmers being socially awkward.

Side note: having Aspergers doesn't make you an asshole.

> " having Aspergers doesn't make you an asshole."

My experience of people (medically diagnosed) with Asperger's does not support that statement.

Having difficulty with social interaction due to a medical condition, IMO, doesn't make one an "asshole", any more than a cancer patient who lies in bed all day is "lazy".

It's the people who are aware of and excuse being an asshole by a self-diagnosed "oh I'm probably on the spectrum" statement I've issues with.

Sorry to be a pedant but the diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome was eliminated from the DSM in 2013. It was replaced with "autism spectrum disorder".

Not any more.

https://www.autismspeaks.org/dsm-5/faq#asperger

You are assuming that because something can be diagnosed it must exist in fact.

But it does exist. Diagnosing it wasn't the issue, it was labeling it as an illness that was. Of course, this opens the big question as to what is or isn't an illness, especially when you begin to look at things given hypothetical accepting societies that may not currently exist.

> But it does exist.

Sure it doesn't, but the context was diagnosing it. As in recognizing it as a disease.

Can you diagnose an atypical characteristic without considering it a disease?

Definition of diagnosis is literally:

    the identification of the nature of an    
    illness or other problem by examination
    of the symptoms.

Unless you are suggesting that any atypical characteristics is a problem, and that for example someone can diagnose you for having green colored eyes.