Yes, we are all very different. I don't like or dislike all children any more than I like or dislike all human beings whatever their age. For me, some kids are obnoxious and unlikeable just as some adults are and I tend to blame the parents when they allow their children to behave obnoxiously around other people. A baby who cries in a restaurant, for example, isn't being inconsiderate but the parents who keep it there to the disruption of everyone else are imo. But then I don't like dogs (though they don't bother me on tv! :wink: ) and maybe that isn't any different.

Are there any good theories about what the whole carpet thing was about? Yes, there was the joy House took in battling against Cuddy - but I don't believe he'd be this stubborn about an issue that he didn't care about. I've seen the episode maybe five times, and while I disagree that the subplot was pointless, I'm not sure what the larger meaning was. Was House merely fighting desperately against change in the wake of a traumatic experience?

I don't think so. I, myself, get very irritated with unexpected change--especially after having had the chance to get used to or attached to something, even for a very short period of time. Even though I am an adult and will not outwardly protest these changes as vehemently as I did when I was a child, they still bother me for quite a long time. Eventually, I manage to live with it, but--especially if it is following a traumatic event such as the one House experienced--this process takes a lot longer. Cuddy waited until House was back at his job and the so-called 'biological hazard' was no longer one to replace House's bloodstained carpet. She did not consult him on the matter, even if it was just to tell him that she was going to have it done. It may not seem like a big deal to most people but those who haven't had the freedom to make many choices throughout their early lives (and I can hardly believe John House let Greg weigh in on anything, even when it only impacted Greg and not John, himself) value the smallest choices that others will take for granted. Not to mention, and I can speak as a diagnosed autistic person, even if he had been given those freedoms of self, it still would have been hard to take, if Wilson was right about what he told Cuddy about House being an Aspie. I won't go into detail, but I believe Wilson was lying to House when he said he didn't think House had Asperger's syndrome. He lies far too easily, especially to House, for me to ever take him seriously on anything so personal as that. *sighs* But back to the point. I completely understand his inwardly distraught reaction to Cuddy's sudden decision and why he reacted the way he did, even if Cuddy, herself, couldn't.

on was right about what he told Cuddy about House being an Aspie. I won't go into detail, but I believe Wilson was lying to House when he said he didn't think House had Asperger's syndrome. My only experience is having just read John Robison's book, which is essentially half his autobiography as a sufferer/informational guidebook about Asperger's. But it seems to me that House contradicts the essential tenet of Asperger's, namely the social interaction issue. House is excellent at social interaction. He doesn't like it, but that's different from not being able to understand it. He understands emotions, people's vocal inflections, their games, etc. all too well (whereas the lack of understanding those things I've always read are the central impairment of Asperger's). House looks people in the eye and, when it suits him, plays complex emotional and manipulative games which are beyond the reach of someone with Asperger's. But what clinched it for me was Robison's description of how his wife has to explain jokes to him. He wrote (paraphrasing) that because "Aspies" don't grasp vocal inflection and the subtleties of social interaction and conversation, there have an extremely difficult - if not impossible - time understanding when someone is being saracastic or insincere.

That's not entirely true, though largely accurate. And, man, I can't wait to get that book! Of course, I need to finish his brother's memoir first. Anyway, if you go to the main Asperger's community over at LJ, there are plenty of Aspies House's age who learned how to interact in the NT world so well that most people don't believe them when they say they're autistic. The difference is that we have to learn how to be social, like other people have to learn...higher mathematics. I am still figuring it all out, myself, but I'm a lot further along than I was even a few years ago. There's also the fact that there is no set standard for profoundity of autism. There are levels, known as high-functioning to low-functioning, and the various types (there are at least five that I know of) all correspond to different levels of innate knowledge of how other people's minds work, as well as abilities to communicate. Every Aspie is just as different as every NT. Note: the only time I've ever had a problem with eye contact is when I'm in some sort of emotional turmoil. Otherwise, it doesn't bother me terribly. Being touched, on the other hand, is a horrible feeling. I can't begin to describe it.

I think Robison mentioning learning social interaction as well. But I don't think it's something House learned: I think he innately has an insane social radar. An interesting thing about the character is that, if he chose, I have no doubt House could be the most charming person in any room. He can read people in minutes, if not seconds, and could easily pick up on what they want and tell them what they want to hear. The thing is that he doesn't - I'd like to think because he really does believe in truth and honesty. He'll manipulate for the greater good (like to save a life) but he doesn't like doing it for the hell of it. He actually could be a killer ladies' man - he could go into any bar in Princeton, find a drunk or vulnerable woman and suss out exactly her desires and say the exact right thing to get her to give him what he wants. But I think what stops him is that he's not a sociopath: he doesn't want to hurt people for fun. It's easier to stick with hookers, where at least the sexual gratification and interaction is honest. Anyway, back to the carpet: in musing on this, I think the carpet itself obviously wasn't the issue, it was the blood. If it was just the issue of change, they could've gotten a carpet in the exact same color as before and the office would've looked exactly as it had before the shooting. But House wanted the carpet that had changed. The office didn't look the same as had, it now had a large blood stain on it. House wanted to keep that change, while Cuddy with the new carpet was trying to make the office back to the way it was. Anyway, the portrayal of the autistic kid was good in that episode, reminded me of when I used to care for an autistic kid in college (well, I was in college, he was eight).

Hm. Interesting thoughts. I do remember reading a fic where it was discussed that House wanted to use the bloodstain like his father's tattoos. To remember. As if they could forget...

Sort of OT but since we're talking about Asperger's, I'm wondering how realistic are Jerry Espenson's (Boston Legal) problems? He's a brilliant lawyer who has Asperger's and he has all kinds of odd quirks.

I do not believe and highly doubt anyone will ever convince me that House has Asperger's or any other form of autism. That, to me, goes along with the canon question over in the Q&A thread -- canon says he doesn't have Asperger's, so therefore he doesn't have Asperger's. (And, for that matter, House says he doesn't believe that there's a God -- so I take him at his word in that too, rather than trying to force him into some level of agnosticism that I may think fits him better.) So why did he want the carpet back? Because it was about him. It was his blood, his former patient that did the shooting, it was something he was still (and maybe still is) processing. Because fighting with Cuddy about the carpet was a fight he could still win, whereas he can't will his pain to go away. Because, as Wilson said, it was a battle he needed to win.

*points* What Nameste said. And so much word on the agnosticism issue. I'm irked at the occasional insistence that he must believe in something but just won't allow himself to do so openly (which, quite frankly, I think is an insult to Atheists and persons of faith everywhere). He's an Atheist in canon - not an alleged Atheist. It's a valid position even if we don't agree with it. But I digress. I think his 'the carpet, my kingdom for the carpet' stance is tied to the search for meaning that began in No Reason. The carpet is a link to the shooting and consequently to the hallucinations and subsequent personal realisations. I think he's well aware why he wants the carpet back but I'm not sure he's quite aware of how deeply affected he is in Lines in the Sand by the fallout from the shooting.

I just happen to have an Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale in my hands right now. Okay, not exactly. I'm typing. But I have one that I had picked up to take to a school. House is too old to be diagnosed. The scale is normed for ages 2-18. In fact, Aspergers has to be diagnosed prior to the age of 18 anyway. FYI about 1 in every 150 children are being diagnosed with some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder now, anything from the very general Pervasive Developmental Disorder (in other words, we don't know what the hell it is) to Autism. House probably would have been diagnosed with the syndrome as a child. There are some things on the scale that fit him even as an adult, especially in the social and maladaptive subscales. *Has difficulty in relating to others that cannot be explained by shyness, attention, or lack of experience. *Has little or no ability to make or keep friends. *Does not change behavior to match the environment (yelling inappropriate things in the hallway) *Exhibits a strong reaction to a change in his or her routine (carpet) *Appears depressed or has suicidal tendencies (we've seen an overdose and the light socket in less than a year's time, that counts as suicidal) *Displays behaviors that are immature *Excellent rote memory *Appears to be aware that he is different from others *Frequently stiffens, flinches, or pulls away when hugged There are some other things listed that say "difficulty understanding...." about social cues. But I don't think that House doesn't understand social rules, he just opts to not follow them. Can he be called "Aspergers"? No. He's too old to be diagnosed because the scales aren't normed for his age group. Does he have it? Possibly. Can you have it and learn to compensate? Absolutely. There are very high functioning people with the syndrome and extremely high intelligence can go hand and hand with it. There's one Aspy woman whose name I can't think of off the top of my head who has an IQ that surpasses what can be measured with an IQ test. She knows 7 or 8 languages and has even made up her own. When she was little, they called her Severe-Profound Mentally Retarded because her social skills were so limited that she couldn't take an IQ test. She's gone on to learn more socialization, get married, and have kids. I would say it's possible, even probable that House is a high functioning Aspy.

Here's my thing: House says he doesn't have it (or at least doesn't deny his lack of having it and even speaks longingly that he wished he had something like it. House is a medical genius. If House says he doesn't have Aspergers or something like it, who are we mere mortals to second guess him?