How to deal with Stress and my schedule at once?

If a person is awkward with his peers and has obsessions that change about every five years and uses formal language but does not stress over his schedule does he have Asperger's Syndrome?

• Answer:

  It is hard to say, but if he has a hard time socializing and has obsessions then it is probably some form on the autism spectrum. Since he does not stress over his schedule, it might not be an autism spectrum disorder. If he had a condition that makes him feel different, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, he could be awkward with his peers. Although, the changing "obsessions" and formal language are often found in autism spectrum disorders, so it is certainly a possibility. You did not mention his age. There are other relevant questions, too. Does he use formal language in all situations, or does he sometimes use slang and idiomatic expressions? For example, does he use formal language with adults, but less formal language with peers? Do his "obsessions" calm him, or does he view them as obsessions and want to stop them? Is he more comfortable with significantly younger people or adults than with his peers? Does he perhaps not stress over his schedule because he knows it is almost identical every day? Did he ever do anything around his peers that might have caused embarrassment and thus make him feel awkward around them or is he at that age when peer pressure makes many teens and pre-teens feel uncomfortable? If you have discussed with him his relationship with his peers, what did he say about it? It can be important to discuss the situation with him because the information he provides can help support or invalidate diagnoses. I knew a student who was thought to be an underachieving troublemaker, but no one ever asked him any questions about it. When someone finally did, the problem was solved. He would sit at the back of the room where he could not see and hear well enough, because if someone was sitting directly next to him, their movements and noise distracted him, so he tried to distance himself from everyone else as much as possible. I know of another student who was assumed to have a mild form of autism, but someone finally noticed that he seemed to have hearing difficulties and had him treated for that, and then all behavioral problems attributed to autism went away.