If you cured yourself of Asperger's Syndrome, you never had it, or you are doing a good job of imagining you are cured (which is not uncommon I have found). Ultimately, people with Asperger's do themselves a dis-service by thinking they must become "normal." Trying to be "normal" will result in very chronic levels of high anxiety and breakdowns. Best to learn how to socially interact as best you can, and accept one's limitations in a healthy way--that ultimately means accepting that for people with Asperger's, long periods of solitude are healthy because it gives the brain time to rest. When Asperger' personalities become convinced that the need for solitude is bad, they are headed down the wrong path.

John, Cedar Falls, Iowa

When, oh when are all these 'experts' going to see that there are MANY more people on the spectrum than they'd like to think (i.e. currently poorly under estimated at c. 1:160-200).

What if many young anorexic women are actually on the spectrum but are mis-assessed? Just as I was misdiagnosed with whatever flavour of neurosis was in fashion for the first five decades of my life. We now know that I am simply another Aspie- one who doesn't have eating disorders but who can lose weight sensibly and, thanks to Aspie determination, at the flick of a switch!

I am so fed up with all these 'experts' pontifications. I am even more sorry for all my fellow Aspies - assessed and those unrecognised - for having to put up with such poor and even abusive medical opinion (and make no mistake, much of it is simply opinion).

Dr Quirk, Frome, England

Very interesting - as a child I suffered Asperger's Syndrome, although now (as a woman in my mid-20s) I'm virtually cured of it I still harbour traits of the syndrome, though nobody would know I have it as I 'cured' myself through sheer determination in my early teens. I've never suffered an eating disorder but have often noticed the similarities between myself and a bulimic friend; I strongly feel it is only my acute awareness of my syndrome and of what behaviours I have to look out for in myself in order to stop myself doing them that has stopped me developing mild eating disorders in the past. I've suffered various behavioural quirks and severe, crippling, all-encompassing panic attacks in the past - that this theory has been put forward is of no surprise to me at all!!

Sarah Humphreys, West Sussex,

I found this article very interesting also as I suffered from anorexia from the age of 17 to around 22 (I am now 29) and thankfully have put those days behind me. My father suffers from aspergers as well as my older brother and another brother has OCD and is somewhat of a perfectionist. I struggled for a long time to understand why I became this way in the first place -although I do tick the boxes for intelligent, middle-class, perfectionism etc, it is intersing to know that I may have been genetically 'programmed' to be this way...

Lorna, Edinburgh,

it is interesting to read this article as i had an eating disorder many years ago and this link may help me understand why my son aged 6 has aspergers, as this is a genetic condition and was passed onto him, and from the research it may have been passed on from me to him. i do feel not enough help is out there as people dont belive in this link. so it is nice to see that people are begining to take notice. i often wonder whether i show signs of aspergers. so there may be the mental imbalnce in the brain that shows the trait of them both. so would welcome more research on this

karen jones, shrewsbury, england

Andy and Andrew P, Gerda Fitz-Saltmarsh;
Your points don't make any sense; yes, there are plenty of male sufferers, but they too could be Autistic Spectrum....the point therefore would be that less male AS sufferers become anorexic than female AS sufferers. It is totally obvious that alot of anorexia is anti-social, rigid, obsessional...to call anorexia in females a form of AS is not in any way a ''crass generalisation''. If we step away from always seeing eating disorders in their own category, seperate from other anxiety/mental health problems, we can gain more insight into what sufferers are actually experiencing. People seem to have some irrational fear of making these connections....especially judging by your replies. Read the replies on here by female sufferers.....they speak volumes.

Phoebe, Beverly,

I have struggled with anorexia in varying degrees of severity for the past 10 years. A few years ago I began to notice how many similarities the illness has with autism/aspergers and was so struck by the sheer number that I actually wrote down a list of them (I still have it somewhere...). To know that this link is gradually being recognised by professionals has given me a wonderful sense of relief and hope.

Rachel, Sheffield,

Thank goodness someone has finally made this connection....nonsense? You must be joking! This couldn't be more spot on. I myself have suffered from severe forms of anorexia and bulimia from early adolescence onwards. I had severe OCD as a child and was seen at the Maudsley. I spent four years in residential units and therefore met what must have been a good range of sufferers. I cannot express strongly enough the blatant Asperger traits in a great many of the girls (and boys). The more chronic ones were usually the ones with relationship/social problems, ocd and general AS tendencies. Some did not fit that description ofcourse...but an overwhelming number did, myself very much included. I feel that societie's general understanding of eating problems, especially that which is cycled through the media, is very limited. A trajectory of rigidty and anxiety has existed in human behaviour long before Heat magazine....

Mary, London,

I strongly agree with Andy P and Andrew P.
I witnessed several men and women (family and friends) with ASD who became anorexic. Most were not even aware of their weight losses (and gains).
Maybe a sensory and proprioceptive system issue?
"Anorexia a female form of Aspergers"? What utter nonsense!

Gerda Fitz-Saltmarsh, Cairns, Australia QLD

My son aged 13 has had Anorexia since he was 11. When he was first diagnosed I read through a list of the typical personality traits of an eating disordered person and was immediately struck by the similarity between Anorexic traits and Autistic traits. I had concerns long before my son became Anorexic that he had many of the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome. My youngest son was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome some years ago and I always felt that both boys were very similar. However, my eating disordered son doesn't quite tick enough boxes to qualify for a diagnosis. I searched the Internet many times looking for any literature on a possible link between Autism and Anorexia and could never find anything. This is the first time I've actually found something that verifies what I've been saying for the last two years! Unfortunately I think it's a case of very few clinicians who have expert knowledge in both fields.

Jane Watson, Basingstoke, UK

While it may be true that images in the media cause a reduction in "body-related self esteem" it is entirely unclear what this has to do with the development of an eating disorder. The fact of the matter is we do not know what "causes" an eating disorder. What is clear from clinical evidence (e.g. twin studies) is that ED have an heritability rate of approx. 70% (the rate for height is 90%), so there is a role for environmental factors, though this may just as readily turn out to be a virus, not the media. Personally I think the media hypothesis suffers from the co-mingling of science and politics (i.e. anorexics are victims of a patriarchal society rather than victims of a disease, much like diabetes). After all, would you believe one could develop type 2 diabetes from looking at pictures of cheese burgers? Would anyone?

Morgan O'Toole, Portland, Oregon

I am male & had Anorexia in my teens. I am now 38 & have left this experience far behind. I take issue with the view Anorexia is a female Asbergers, as it ignores people such as myself. I may be statistically inconvenient, but I know I'm not unique, so I & those like me seem to disprove such a crass generalisation of a complex condition which affects both male & female.

Andrew Potter, Dereham, Norfolk

I have Asperger's myself. At the age of 14, I developed panic attacks. The fear I put up with cannot be described, it pervaded every moment of my thoughts for years (I finally got over my panic attacks in 1998 at the age of 26). I am sure that if I was female, I would have had an ideal body image obsession rather then the "male" obsessive fear of losing strength and appearing weak. I could have been severely anorexic. So I agree with the connection between autism in women and eating disorders, it seem obvious to me as I believe I had the male equivalent. I have just finished a PhD myself.

David, Dublin, Ireland

Very interesting article and accurate from own personal experiences. Both my daughter and my sister have experienced eating disorders. Before I realized my sister had an eating disorder I always thought she was slightly autistic. Although my daughter's ED is very different she also displays the characteristics described in the article. What I would like to know is how to help my daughter?

tina dhillon, Vancouver, bc canada

My daughter develpoed anorexia around 12years old and in spite of being seriously ill managed to get a degree from Oxford and start a Phd. After this she got much worse and had hospital admissions. Now at age 29 she has beendiagnosed with Asperger's. As a carer it is hard to know what to do to help her. I would like to help in research in anyway possible to find answers, I live in London and she now lives in Devon managing a life of sorts independatly.
Anyhelp I can give you I will.
Sue Barker

sue barker, london, uk

If Anorexia is the female Asbergers, where does this leave the male suffers of Anorexia? I suffered from it in my early teens & I was male last time I looked!

Andy P, Dereham, Norfolk

Anorexia and other eating disorders are probably unlikely governed by a set of "genes", per se - but it is known that these disorders are often clustered in families with certain personality disorders - such as OCD, high anxiety, and addictions. Gender plays a role in the type of disorder which precipitates. Women's reward circuitry is very highly linked with both food and anxiety - which is confirmed in the gender disparity seen in eating disorders. It is also known that a relatively high percentage of anorexics were exposed to sexual abuse at some at critical times of psychological development., and these behaviors are adopted to relieve anxiety built around control issues.

Shirin Kalyan, Vancouver, Canada