Some people, including some people diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, argue that Asperger's syndrome is a social construct. Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Centre has written a book arguing that Asperger's syndrome is an extreme version of the way in which men's brains differ from women's. He says that, in general, men are better at systematizing than women, and that women are better at empathizing than men. Hans Asperger himself is quoted as saying that his patients have 'an extreme version of the male form of intelligence'.

One objection which has been put forward to this view is that, although AS is more common among males than females, females with AS do not necessarily come across as particularly masculine personalities, and some of them can show an exceptional interest in activities such as dancing.

Yet again, what is perceived as a "masculine personality" may not be what Baron-Cohen had in mind by male intelligence, and dancing may be considered feminine only by certain social conventions. That dancing is considered a feminine pursuit clearly does not mean that a patient's interest in it must be motivated or directed by a non-systematic (presumably "female" in Baron-Cohen's work) brain structure.

Affectionate terms:

"Aspy" or "aspie" is an affectionate term used by some with Asperger's syndrome to describe themselves. Others prefer "Aspergian", "Asperger's Autistic" or no name at all. Many who feel there is no significant difference between Asperger's syndrome and autism due to the spectrum analogous variances in autism may prefer the term "autie" or just "autistic" as a more general term.