Criminal Minds - Reid & ASD (Autism/Asperger's)
So...indigoinkheart asked about Reid's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) traits. :D While I'm sure I may have missed some (or explained them better) the following is a list that I have found. I'd like to point out three things about it:
1. I am not saying all or even most are absolute ASD traits that prove without a doubt Reid is autistic, or that he has such traits because of autism. You can agree/disagree/give a different explanation for. I am saying, however, that I have seen all listed as traits (and most, common traits) by real-life people with ASD, parents who have children with ASD, and in articles about ASD.
2. This is not written using DSM-IV terminology. Too hard. Instead, you get to suffer with my non-organized observations in non-professional speech.
3. I mainly used Season 5/6 to emphasize that it's possible the S1 ASD storyline has not been dropped. This does not mean that Seasons 1-4 were bereft of examples. (Edited to re-emphasize this point, as apparently I need to: If I included all the S1-4 references, I'd never finish this - and it's long enough. It wasn't the point anyway, since the point is to show there's ample evidence the show has not dropped the ASD angle that was clear throughout S1-4.)
My favorite stims are when they're contrasting Reid to the rest of the team. They're so stoic and professional, so I love the scenes where they're all standing or sitting so still, and there's Reid wandering around in the background or rocking (once even spinning!) his chair. (In fact, the rocking of the chair is one of the many examples IMO of Reid stimming inappropriately - another sign of ASD. Most people know not to rock their chairs in meetings, but to wait until you return to your desk or something. He'd never do it if say Strauss was in the meeting - which indicates he needs external sources to regulate his stimming, as his internal "reminder" system doesn't work - typical with ASD. On his own, it's not natural for him to remember on his own. He needs that external reminder, like Strauss in the room. But the team lets Reid get away with a lot.) I also think it's possible when he "stared" at the girls and Hotch rebuked him was a stim, but regardless the face rub he did after definitely was. Someone once spec'd Reid keeps his gun where it is for easier access to his pockets for stimming. Dunno if true, but it's an interesting take. It's definitely the reason his Hotch hug in Season 2 was so notable. As someone said, “the boy was seriously overstimulated!”
Regardless, Reid has also shown low skills even when in his comfort zone, mainly due to his mini-professoring, verbosity, excessive reactions, etc etc. It's not unusual for Reid to still get WTF looks from even his own team, let alone other LEOs. Examples that come to mind: his monologues on Halloween, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Illustrated Man, Ellipses vs. Dashes, his remedial FBI training, etc etc. My favorite though is eviler twin. >:D Reid's behavior sticks out like a sore thumb, even when surrounded by like minds.
It's also been increasingly clear this season that Reid relies on his team for companionship outside of work (or at the very least, they've certainly angled this aspect of him). While yes, his interests may be unusual, there are people around who share them. Yet Reid obviously isn't connecting with any of them. He doesn't have nerd friends (not even from Caltech or one of the current universities he's attending) who will go to ComicCon or Phantasmagoria with him? Not to mention, friends will go with you to things they don't like just to show support. I suffered through many sports games, just as my friends suffered through lectures on comets. Yet Reid has “an extra ticket” in the hopes that one of his coworkers will agree to go with him. I find it a bit sad, to be honest. He clearly likes to do things in his off hours. While not canon, it's a common theme in fanfics that Reid not only lives alone, he rarely has visitors - unless they're from his team. Also, one of the defined criteria for ASD is your other symptoms affects your social ability. Reid's pedantic language, verbosity, missed social cues, yada yada would obviously affect his friend-making skills. In fact, someone asked E!Online if they'd ask Matthew this week if Reid is still a virgin. So, the perception that Reid is not social to even *that* degree is still out there.
One of the ways I also try and decide if Reid has ASD is to compare him to similar characters. Take Garcia, who is pretty much the female version of Reid. They certainly overlap characteristics, and Garcia has several ASD traits herself. Yet no one ever suggests Garcia's possibly autistic. Ultimately, I ask myself: which character is the way they are because they choose to be that way, and which character is the way they are because they're trying to live within their limitations? To me, the answer seems clear when you base it on choice. Garcia chooses to be odd, Reid doesn't.
BTW- I'm terrified of the day Reid and Garcia decide to hook up to control the universe; we'd be their slaves in less than a day! I don't think other Unit Chiefs envy Hotch's job. ; )
Personally, between the unusual brain cognition, stimming, intense focus, low social and communication skills, and missed social cues IMO there's no way he wouldn't be labeled ASD. He's pretty much textbook Asperger's. Judging by the few “flashbacks” to when William was still around, it also seems to me these were inherent issues prior to being isolated by his mother's illness, father's abandonment, and intellectual isolation from his peers (and age group).
Lemme just say if I were Reid's kindergarten teacher, at the end of the first day I'd have all the paperwork filled out not only for a learning IEP evaluation, but also for medical, psychological, speech, emotional, and behavioral ones as well (and probably physical). He falls on the high-functioning end because he's able to take care of himself and interact with society - even if he's not all that great at either.
Now having said all of the above, the show will promptly label all of Reid's issues on schizophrenia, stress disorder, or an allergy to grapes instead. Pfffft.
1. I am not saying all or even most are absolute ASD traits that prove without a doubt Reid is autistic, or that he has such traits because of autism. You can agree/disagree/give a different explanation for. I am saying, however, that I have seen all listed as traits (and most, common traits) by real-life people with ASD, parents who have children with ASD, and in articles about ASD.
2. This is not written using DSM-IV terminology. Too hard. Instead, you get to suffer with my non-organized observations in non-professional speech.
3. I mainly used Season 5/6 to emphasize that it's possible the S1 ASD storyline has not been dropped. This does not mean that Seasons 1-4 were bereft of examples. (Edited to re-emphasize this point, as apparently I need to: If I included all the S1-4 references, I'd never finish this - and it's long enough. It wasn't the point anyway, since the point is to show there's ample evidence the show has not dropped the ASD angle that was clear throughout S1-4.)
- Stimming. While everyone stims, people with ASD do it excessively. Reid does it all the time. He even did it in "Uncanny Valley" - inarguably his most "mature" episode (it was mainly pacing). Reid tends to use his hands a lot. He constantly picks things up and/or has something in his hands - handcuffs, pens, paperclips, snowglobes, etc etc. Garcia has been shown to take toys away from him. He also sometimes does a version of flapping or finger-shaking when talking (especially when he's mini-professoring), and touches his face all the time. The list is too numerous to mention them all. Someone did gifs of some of his stims from this season, including some tongue thing and hand-flicking against his leg. (Some examples here.) We've also seen him playing with his shoelaces. Reid stimmed all over the place in "Corazon", and while yes, it's natural to bounce your foot up and down when you're that anxious (especially anxiety due to pain), it's rare to do it as hard or for such a long duration - which is what makes that particular stim abnormal. The rocking and even the staring (that turned into a possible hallucination) are by definition stims. If Reid had only shown stimming behavior in "Corazon" it'd be easy to say it's simple anxiety over his headaches, but since it's been a constant act for him over all 6 seasons, it's merely another pebble in the pebble pile.
My favorite stims are when they're contrasting Reid to the rest of the team. They're so stoic and professional, so I love the scenes where they're all standing or sitting so still, and there's Reid wandering around in the background or rocking (once even spinning!) his chair. (In fact, the rocking of the chair is one of the many examples IMO of Reid stimming inappropriately - another sign of ASD. Most people know not to rock their chairs in meetings, but to wait until you return to your desk or something. He'd never do it if say Strauss was in the meeting - which indicates he needs external sources to regulate his stimming, as his internal "reminder" system doesn't work - typical with ASD. On his own, it's not natural for him to remember on his own. He needs that external reminder, like Strauss in the room. But the team lets Reid get away with a lot.) I also think it's possible when he "stared" at the girls and Hotch rebuked him was a stim, but regardless the face rub he did after definitely was. Someone once spec'd Reid keeps his gun where it is for easier access to his pockets for stimming. Dunno if true, but it's an interesting take. It's definitely the reason his Hotch hug in Season 2 was so notable. As someone said, “the boy was seriously overstimulated!”
- Pattern Thinking. It's clearly established he sees in patterns, rather than linear thinking like everyone else. It's how he was able to figure out the tattoo [and a cut clip from “Coda” showed Reid seeing Sammy's symbols “float” off the page (or the other cut scene where Rossi references them both: "You're watching two of the most fascinating minds I've ever met")]. There are too many examples of this throughout the seasons. There is a reason they make Reid figure out the codes and why he's usually the one to make the connections. Personally, I think the best representation was when he figured out the unsub was unconsciously going after victims who looked like himself, particularly when they showed that “computer” effect as Reid was looking at all the potentials to find the next victim. It's a math thing (which leads to another ASD trait I'll mention in another paragraph).
- Megasavant. The “mega” part is most likely due to his eidetic memory and reading abilities (and possibly his overall obsession - pure numbers and statistics of any subject). This is *not* his IQ. He could have an IQ of 60 and still fall under this category simply because of how his mind works. As someone once noted, Reid is an information hoover, and he remembers everything, making him an expert in several fields. IMO, this trait of Reid is almost identical to megasavant Kim Peek's trait (the inspiration for “Rain Man”). [From Wikipedia: According to Peek's father, Fran Peek, Kim was able to memorize things from the age of 16-20 months. He read books, memorized them, and then placed them upside down on the shelf to show that he had finished reading them, a practice he maintained. He read a book in about an hour, and remembered almost everything he had read, memorizing vast amounts of information in subjects ranging from history and literature, geography, and numbers to sports, music, and dates. It is believed he could recall the content of at least 12,000 books from memory.] While Peek was not autistic himself, it's estimated that at least 50% of savants are autistic (the rest have some other disorder), and that at least 1 in 10 autistic people have a savant-like skill. It's that extreme knowledge of a certain subject (or subjects) that just goes beyond the norm - or even Ph.D norm. Better than Google, it's a knowledge down to the infinitesimal detail. Reid even knows the former owner of Prentiss' brownstone was a gigolo.
- Human computer/calculator (“number-crunching”). Reid can do large mathematical equations in his head. He can even figure out geographic algorithms. He has shown - well, the best I can describe it is an internal clock - that he can tell you down to the minute how long he's worked at his job, or what day of the week April 29, 1982 was. If you fill a jar with jelly beans, he may even be able to give you an exact count of that too. I'm willing to bet that the statistics he's always spouting are not statistics he's heard, but rather the ones he's calculated himself. What distinguishes this as unique for ASD is that he's able to do this all without even pausing or using any memory tricks. “Usually you use a computer for this, but it was just faster for me to do it by hand.”
- Logical (mathematical) and literal thinking. Reid struggles with non-logic. Rhetorical questions, innuendos, and nuances fly over him. It took Prentiss reclassifying her star story 3 times (and to its most accurate description - “a simple story”) before it “made sense”. It's not a needle in a haystack, it's a needle in a needlestack. Reid is a natural at math-based (concrete) subjects, which is why his 3 known Ph.D degrees all involve it in some way: Math, Chemistry, and Engineering, and why music will most likely be simple to pick up. It's also most likely why he finds paper trails so meditative. He probably likes philosophy and psychology because for him, thinking in abstract terms is a challenge (and why he didn't understand the emotional aspect of the art in the Lila Archer episode).
- Mini-professoring and verbosity. This is actually a hallmark trait of those with Asperger's. They're not called “Little Professors” for nothing. How Reid delivers his lectures is also a hallmark trait of this symptom. That Reid knows things is one thing, how he communicates it quite another. The complete missing of social cues, fast talking, rambling, long-winded and excruciatingly detailed explanations (including traveling off-topic), over-exuberance, giggling, yada yada yada. Normal people do NOT explain things this way (especially when explaining something at work - “Where did you find this kid?”), no matter how extensive their knowledge is on a subject. It also takes Reid 3 minutes to say something that Morgan or Rossi usually sum up in 5 words (see “pedantic language” example). This is his natural state.
- Unusual pedantic language. Most people use pedantic language in order to show off their intelligence. It's learned. However, for Reid this is normal speaking. He's unable to naturally recognize when it's not appropriate to use [Fiancee: “She sounded like herself given the circumstances” Reid (really really respectful tone): "You say that her lexical features are consistent with her vernacular?" Fiancee: “Huh?” Rossi (translating): “Are the words hers?”]. He needs outside cues to stop himself. “Dumbing down” his vocabulary is a secondary response (Pause - “yes, I'm a genius” or Pause - “yes, I can read this fast”), when normally it would be a primary one - particularly since Reid shows no motivation for his use of pedantic language in order to show off his intelligence. It's just normal Reid-speak.
- Deep intensity of focus. This is just a hallmark of ASD in general. Reid's so focused, he can sit for hours on a small crate in a 120 degree room filled with humidity and the stench of a rotting corpse, plus people moving all around, and quote Rossi: “it doesn't phase him.” That particular episode even inferred he fails to recognize hunger and hydration issues too. “Reid's in his own world when he reads” - as well as when he's connecting the dots. The show has shown this aspect of his over and over again as well. It's not a normal response for people, even if the person finds the subject beyond fascinating.
- Awkwardness and lack of co-ordination. While we haven't seen much of this lately (I suspect due to his injury last season), we have heard about it when Reid rambled on about all the remedial FBI issues he had ('basically, anything that didn't have to do with books”). Short of natural clumsiness, the only other real reasons for Reid to do so poorly is out of shape or a physical disability. It's not like Reid gives up. He probably needed to be told to stop trying to retake the classes. Yet Reid's in shape. He's certainly in enough shape to at least pass some things the first try (like firearms), and he has no physical disability otherwise. (Personally, if Reid does have ASD, I think it would be a good way to explain how Hotch gets his waivers - by using the Americans with Disabilities Act; ASD is covered.) It's why he was so surprised and happy he caught the ball Morgan threw at him, and JJ's “his co-ordination goes down when he's thinking” comment. Since FBI agents are required to recertify every so often, do the math and decide if you think Reid would still need remedial help. Could he really pass hand-to-hand or the obstacle course? (And this is despite the fact that even since S1 Reid has shown he's a capable agent in the field. He doesn't have to be the one kicking down doors.)
- Lack of eye contact. While this has improved with time (it can be a learned trait, like reading social cues) remnants are still seen. Reid was horrible at it in early seasons, but nowadays we mostly see it when he's emotionally distressed, feels ill, is distracted, or lying (and working for the BAU Reid knows eye contact is crucial for selling a lie). I find it interesting that many times during the roundtable meetings, you see Rossi, Hotch, Morgan, and Prentiss looking up at everyone when contributing their two knuts, but Reid is often looking at his folder when he speaks. The others are looking at their folders/iPads too, but still incorporate eye contact - at least far more than Reid does. IIRC, he had trouble with the stripper this season too, but I don't really remember. It would be interesting to see what Reid's eye contact is in a purely social setting - especially away from his team or work with which he's comfortable (like say, a grocery store) - but we never get those opportunities.
- Classical music. I'm only including this since they mentioned it as a calming influence for Sammy. Reid's mentioned he prefers it too.
- Hypersensitivity in touch (and now light). He rarely initiates contact (again, think how odd it was for him to hug Hotch), unless it's called for professionally or he's in a position where it's inappropriate to refuse. In fact, he usually goes out of his way to put himself in a position where he can't be touched (like the hand-waving or sitting on a desk in the back). Reid is never the one to cuff a suspect (in fact, the one time he did, he had to borrow handcuffs from Morgan). He's also given negatively overkill reactions to touch from people he's not familiar with (one example: Nora Dunn touching his sweater-covered back in "Pleasure is My Business"). Last but not least, he frequently wears his watch over his clothing.
- Low social skills. We don't see Reid often interacting anymore without his team, outside of work, outside his interest zone, or with people he's not used to (even the chess kid in “Uncanny Valley” was someone Reid already knew). Still, it's pretty obvious Reid is not at either the emotional level of his peers, nor his age level. At 30 (and 7 years in an adult job with plenty of models for appropriate behavior), he's still considered a kid. He also still gets the “blank stare” that's a common response to people with ASD when they try and socialize (“I'm sorry I asked”), mainly because Reid talks at you and not with you (Prentiss: "You don't have a percentage?" Reid: "16%. I'm trying to be more conversational." Prentiss: "It's not working.") - another common ASD trait (and one of the reasons I like Rossi as he's one of the few people who listens and converses back when Reid rambles on, albeit in a distracted way - the “Illustrated Man” convo). Reid's version of small talk is not like everyone else's. His uncomfortable responses (and stuttering) to the stripper and madam were also not at a level you'd expect of a 30 year old, let alone an FBI agent with 7 years experience (and in the BAU no less). Reid seems incredibly social (or at least tries to be), which is a common trait with Aspies, but he is just not good at it. It would really be interesting to see how Reid would react to someone randomly chatting him up as he's waiting to buy his coffee.
Regardless, Reid has also shown low skills even when in his comfort zone, mainly due to his mini-professoring, verbosity, excessive reactions, etc etc. It's not unusual for Reid to still get WTF looks from even his own team, let alone other LEOs. Examples that come to mind: his monologues on Halloween, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Illustrated Man, Ellipses vs. Dashes, his remedial FBI training, etc etc. My favorite though is eviler twin. >:D Reid's behavior sticks out like a sore thumb, even when surrounded by like minds.
It's also been increasingly clear this season that Reid relies on his team for companionship outside of work (or at the very least, they've certainly angled this aspect of him). While yes, his interests may be unusual, there are people around who share them. Yet Reid obviously isn't connecting with any of them. He doesn't have nerd friends (not even from Caltech or one of the current universities he's attending) who will go to ComicCon or Phantasmagoria with him? Not to mention, friends will go with you to things they don't like just to show support. I suffered through many sports games, just as my friends suffered through lectures on comets. Yet Reid has “an extra ticket” in the hopes that one of his coworkers will agree to go with him. I find it a bit sad, to be honest. He clearly likes to do things in his off hours. While not canon, it's a common theme in fanfics that Reid not only lives alone, he rarely has visitors - unless they're from his team. Also, one of the defined criteria for ASD is your other symptoms affects your social ability. Reid's pedantic language, verbosity, missed social cues, yada yada would obviously affect his friend-making skills. In fact, someone asked E!Online if they'd ask Matthew this week if Reid is still a virgin. So, the perception that Reid is not social to even *that* degree is still out there.
- Educational degrees. This is another example of how Reid's brain works differently from even other 187 IQ people. Reid had 5 degrees (3 of which were Ph.Ds) pretty much by the age of 20, and none appear to be honorary. That's 8 years after he started (max 10 since he started the BAU when he was 22/23). It's not only the number that's impressive (it's not common), but also the time it took him to do it. Even if Reid had started when he was 18, to have that many degrees by the age of 26-28 is a staggering feat. Ph.Ds are more than book learning (which his savant skills help), they require time spent experimenting, producing, writing, defending, etc etc (which his savant skills *don't* help). They are not easy and incredibly time-consuming. That Reid is able to multitask THAT much to be able to perform all these time-consuming skills at the same time or in significantly crunched time shows his brain processes information in a vastly different way than normal. People with multiple degrees do tend to have ASD. Reid's brain is like a brain on crack - it never, ever stops. “Aren't you always thinking?” What makes this trait of his even more abnormal: Reid shows no desire to do these things because he's driven to succeed and/or become powerful (like say, Walter/Walternate in Fringe), but because it's simply who he is: a knowledge hoover. It's been shown Reid still publishes (and reads even the government reports!), plus mentioned he's still working on more degrees. So again, how he manages to live a 3,984 hour day in 24 hours is just not normal. Reid's only limit seems to be his body. For one, biology dictates that at some point, the guy's gotta sleep.
- Excessive reaction in emotions and towards change. There have been times where Reid has had difficulty moderating his emotions. He'll giggle when discussing ellipses over dashes, or get all excited over catching a ball. And no one shows as visual a response as he does when JJ and (presumably) Prentiss leave. (Common comment theme: “You've just got to hug him, he's like a little boy and so adorable!” - Uh, Reid's a man. We don't say these things about Morgan.) Another instance is his overkill reaction to change. One can argue that in Reid's job inconsistency in his schedule *is* consistency (as his constant is his team). But trying to play every single chess move there is when your mentor leaves? Serious overkill. Hotch frequently redirects Reid when he's stuck on something he's finding difficult to let go. “I need your head in this.” Reid doesn't even want to use the new iPads (teary eyes and wobbly voice: “We're going paperless?” - you just don't act like that).
- Lack of understanding emotions. Reid is constantly shown struggling to understand (and explain) his own emotions. He also usually needs to define/classify motivations using external physical/experimental means rather than internal personal/emotional ones. For example, he had to play umpteen amount of chess games to understand why Gideon left; uses statistics to explain why people do the things they do; etc etc. The Lila Archer episode is probably the most explicit in this though: "I'm trying to figure out if these feelings will ever go away."
- Missing social cues. When not focused on watching specifically for social cues (like watching an unsub's behaviors), Reid is clueless. Hotch in particular is constantly verbally cueing him: “Reid, focus.” “Reid, stop.” “Reid, slow down.” “Reid, stop running.” “What is it, Reid?” Morgan physically shaking his head “no” at him, or (within eyesight of Reid) giving Hotch an obvious look for Hotch to step in. Morgan: “Reid, Reid! Stop now!” Shows learned, not natural knowledge. Staring at the women at the station is one of the few times Hotch rebukes him instead of just cueing him. People with ASD can be capable of learning how to read social cues, and Reid can (and he's exceptional at it when paying attention). But not when he's in his more relaxed - and especially distracted - states (common complaint I've read is that it's too tiring to keep up the skill all the time, so it tends to go during more relaxed moments). Hence why he can tell an unsub is lying based on how he relaxes his hands; that Prentiss is worried since she's picking her fingernails; but not that Seaver is blinking out from his answer to a question *she* asked about Dr. Who. Most people can recognize a long moment of silence and a blank stare as evidence they need to shut up now. Typical Aspie trait though, is that they can't. “Where did you find this kid?” “What kind of doctor are you again?” “I'm taking back the last 5 minutes of my life.” He doesn't even notice when a hooker flirts with him. Also, most people know when not to bring up certain subjects or talk a certain way (like the pedantic language). Not Reid. His inability to control his blurting also probably interferes with his social skills as well.
- Clinical detachment. Of all the characters, Reid has been the one shown to be most interested in the morbid for intellectual purposes rather than pure i-do-this-job-to-save-people motivations. He's often incredibly detached even at the most gruesome of crime scenes. “I love you, Reid, but the stuff you find fascinating is sad.”
- Genetic history of Schizophrenia. There's been shown a link between Schizophrenia and Autism. In fact, many early Autistic people were misdiagnosed as Schizophrenic. Also, they're finding out nowadays that if parents are prone to some of these issues (like say they're shy, super organized, over anxious, uber-focused, etc) they are far more likely to have autistic children. Diana certainly seems to have/has a ton of ASD symptoms herself, even if she isn't ASD.
- Dairy issues. If Reid was telling the truth in “JJ”, anecdotal evidence suggests that dairy and/or gluten rich diets make symptoms worse. Dairy-free and gluten-free diets are a fairly popular treatment used by parents with children diagnosed with ASD.
- Oddly, his clothing could count as a sign too. He frequently wears layers, even in climates that don't call for it. You'll see Morgan in a t-shirt, but Reid in a cardigan or sweater vest. Weight is a known calming method for ASD. It helps to reduce excessive stimming.
- Possible sleep issues. Lightsxmusic speculated: "Reid seems to desire and/or require far less sleep than the rest of the team. He asked Prentiss to go see a 5 hour movie, at night. After they had just gotten back from a grueling case. Also, Morgan’s comment about refusing to sleep with Reid. I took that to mean Reid is a difficult roommate, likely because he doesn’t settle down, and even when he does he won’t sleep for long. That’s very common in people with ASD. Often parents have to seek outside help to supervise their children with ASD late at night or early in the morning, just so they can get enough sleep to function on."
- Last but not least, Matthew's Season Two Interview with About.com: “"He's an eccentric genius, with hints of schizophrenia and minor autism, Asperger's Syndrome. Reid is 24, 25 years old with three PH.D.'s and one can't usually achieve that without some form of autism."
One of the ways I also try and decide if Reid has ASD is to compare him to similar characters. Take Garcia, who is pretty much the female version of Reid. They certainly overlap characteristics, and Garcia has several ASD traits herself. Yet no one ever suggests Garcia's possibly autistic. Ultimately, I ask myself: which character is the way they are because they choose to be that way, and which character is the way they are because they're trying to live within their limitations? To me, the answer seems clear when you base it on choice. Garcia chooses to be odd, Reid doesn't.
BTW- I'm terrified of the day Reid and Garcia decide to hook up to control the universe; we'd be their slaves in less than a day! I don't think other Unit Chiefs envy Hotch's job. ; )
Personally, between the unusual brain cognition, stimming, intense focus, low social and communication skills, and missed social cues IMO there's no way he wouldn't be labeled ASD. He's pretty much textbook Asperger's. Judging by the few “flashbacks” to when William was still around, it also seems to me these were inherent issues prior to being isolated by his mother's illness, father's abandonment, and intellectual isolation from his peers (and age group).
Lemme just say if I were Reid's kindergarten teacher, at the end of the first day I'd have all the paperwork filled out not only for a learning IEP evaluation, but also for medical, psychological, speech, emotional, and behavioral ones as well (and probably physical). He falls on the high-functioning end because he's able to take care of himself and interact with society - even if he's not all that great at either.
Now having said all of the above, the show will promptly label all of Reid's issues on schizophrenia, stress disorder, or an allergy to grapes instead. Pfffft.