The theory is that the Asperger's mind doesn't record these experiences implicitly, so they never become internalised; part of our intuitive behaviour. We can recall childhood experiences, and the personalities of our parents, of course, but only as explicit memories. In other words, we recall them the same way we recall everything - on a purely intellectual level.
The soft sciences are wonderful; one can get away with saying just about anything, as long as it sounds good.
Aren't I awful?
Slightly more seriously...I find that there are problems with your friend's theory. The first, and perhaps most important, is that ASD is such a nebulous condition, to speak of an "Asperger's mind" is not something I would be inclined to do; ASD seems to present so differently, and it's such a subjective experience, that a monolithic "mind" seems unlikely. This may not be quite correct, but it's catchy, and more importantly, true (cheeky!): my rule of thumb is that I get wary when someone uses the singular to describe the plural.
Another issue is that the model of our brain, as presented by your friend, strikes me as not so much difference by degrees as difference by type. I could grant that such a way of (not) processing the past could exist. But if it were generally true, it's such a difference that it might indicate that we have been slightly separated from the rest of humanity. Some in the Autism community already believe that to be the case; I don't. Nor do I want to.
I have to point out, what is proposed in the theory is simply not my experience. When around anger and the threat of violence now, I react very powerfully, in a way that's usually beyond my conscious control, based upon things that happened around a half-century ago! That is a stark, vivid (well, to me) example of my very much having internalised experiences which still have a profound effect upon me. Rest assured there are also examples of a warm and comforting variety.
The notion that we are "others", "freaks" who operate solely in the realm of the intellect is not a notion that I find compelling. Again, could it happen? Sure. But, it ain't me! And going by what I have read in the past, and what I read (sometimes between the lines) here on this forum, it ain't all of us...and it probably is next to none of us. Perhaps it's an issue of awareness. I am not just at times blind to your emotions, I am often blind to my own emotions. So, in the past, not having a diagnosis of ASD, I might very well have described myself as an unemotional, highly rational person. All the issues from my youth have been figured out, I am not bothered by them, thank-you muchly.
I'm a little smarter than that, and I vaguely intuited that there was something wrong with my self-description, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it...
If one was to attempt to construct a theory about about those on the spectrum based on their self-reported experiences, that theory is likely to be flawed. For example: I didn't know what the emotions panic or anxiety were until I was fifty. Was my life being affected by those emotions? Oh, yes it was, very much so. But it wasn't until, when in the midst of a conversation with someone who was pretty sharp, I started to have a panic attack. She said, with no hesitation, "you're having a panic attack." I know immediately she was right, and the scales fell from my eyes.
I became more open to the idea that I am not just an emotional creature, I am a
very emotional creature. And sometimes those emotions come from a very deep place, like every other human being. What I find is that those emotions aren't always experienced directly, they often have to be filtered through the intellect so I can not only make sense of them, but so that I can know that I have them. A great deal of trouble in my life has occurred when emotions, dark memories, the unconscious if you will, has acted upon me without going through that intellectual filter. Gee, and not to be repetitive, doesn't that sound like something every other human being goes through!?
