Does Max Fischer have Asperger's Syndrome?

It is said that a high functioning individual with Asperger's Syndrome "lives in our world, but in their own way." Wes Anderson's 1998 classic Rushmore centers around the character Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) and his experience attending Rushmore Academy. Max is a character that certainly does things "in his own way." The film never specifically identifies Max as having a learning disorder, but an examination of his actions and behaviors suggests he may be affected by Asperger's Syndrome.

Asperger's Syndrome is a mild form of autism that is characterized by restrictive patterns of behavior, thoughts, or interests along with difficulties in social interactions. This means that while those affected by Aspergers may posses high verbal skills and above average intellectual function (hence the term autistic savant), they may take part in activities with abnormally intense or focused effort and have trouble forming and keeping friendships. When we look at Max Fischer's activities and relationships in Rushmore, I believe we can see him display these identifying traits.

Despite Max Fischer's poor grades, he is obviously intellectually above average. His undertakings at school in extracurricular activities show a level of commitment and accomplishment that is above what would be expected from a 15 year old. This is a result of Max's display of a restricted pattern of behavior, thoughts, or interests. At Rushmore Academy, Max is the founder or important member of most of the clubs that he participates in. Once Max takes an interest in something, he goes about it in a very intense and focused way. When Max decides to save Latin from being cut or to build an aquarium on campus, everything else is pushed aside and he commits himself fully to a single new found interest. This leads to him having poor grades in his classes and to have such great accomplishments in the activities he chooses to undertake.

Max Fischer's life is filled with odd social relationships, that would be hard to describe as typical. He doesn't form close relationships with the people in his life. We see this when looking at his relationships with his father and classmates. Anderson never portrays any of Max's relationships as deep and well developed. I would best describe the relationship between Max, his father and classmates as associations. Also, his relationship with Rosemary Cross is effected by the social difficulties that Max has. He has trouble approaching her with his feelings, and understanding her feeling toward him. Max Fischer's social difficulties keep him from developing deep personal relationships with those around him.

So what do you think? Could Max Fisher be afflicted with a learning disorder such as Asperger's Syndrome? How else could you describe this eccentric behaviors?