Is Wife autistic?

When I wrote a few days ago about Wife's inability to catch emotions from other people, Janeway asked me if she might be autistic. Interestingly enough, D had suggested something very similar when I told her about the same event. I have only a moment or two right now, but here is the relevant section from her e-mail:

"Is Wife is autistic in any way?... if she is, it might explain a good deal. Autistic Disorder is diagnosed if a patient fulfills a total of at least six criteria from three lists. (1) Impaired social interaction: Lack of peer relationships and absence of social or emotional reciprocity would seem to fit. (2) Impaired communication: language that is repetitive, stereotyped, or idiosyncratic fits some of what you and I have heard for years. (3) Activities that are repetitive, restricted, and stereotyped: Rigid performance or routines and rituals that don't appear to have a function or abnormal (in focus or intensity) preoccupation with interests that are restricted or stereotyped. Her activities with Boyfriend 5 and Friend and all of that crowd might fit this category. Autistic spectrum disorders are absolutely devastating, both to the person and to the family, and they certainly cause behavior that seems out of touch with other people's emotions.There is also a condition known as atypical autism, which is a label used for disturbances that don't meet criteria for Autistic Disorder because of too few symptoms, or atypical symptoms. It is used to diagnose adults who may have some of these symptoms, as autism is usually diagnosed as a child. I hope this helps you understand the condition better; you might want to seek further information and support if you think it might be helpful for the family to understand autism better.

"She says she doesn't enjoy Son 1's baseball games, but that's not true. Wife thinks that sports are beneath her interest as a highly intelligent person, but again, that's false on many levels. She has certainly been excited at the games I've attended, ...."

Gotta run. But it is food for thought.