Not sure if I have it or not.

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Hey everyone,

Not too long ago my interest in Asperger's Syndrome grew after reading an article about it. It struck me at the time that some of my traits were similar to those who have been diagnosed with it, but I dismissed it as a mere coincidence and didn't really think much of it. I took a few online tests just to play around with the possibility, and I either scored right above the diagnosis level, or under it. It appears to me that I usually sat on the fence when it came to these tests. I didn't try to think much of it.

However, I have recently done some further research out of curiosity and I found out that Asperger's Syndrome wasn't officially recognized until 1994 or so. My problem is that I was diagnosed with a learning disability, probably either Dyscalculia or Dyspraxia, when I was relatively young. I think this was before 1994. Reading about the syndrome has revealed that people with it usually also have problems in terms of these areas, especially with motor skill delay, which I had for a while. I was born in 1989, so I feel there was possibly a gap between my first diagnosis and the recognition of Asperger's in 1994. I need to go back to my records and make sure though.

Here are some of the traits I feel match the syndrome -

1) I have problems making eye contact - I realize that most of the time when I speak in front of a group, I eye stare blankly into some random area without really making prolonged eye contact. When speaking to one person or small group, I try and make a conscious effort to make eye contact on a regular basis, but even then, sometimes I end up not doing it.

2) My "humor" is often misunderstood or flies over the head of my friends. I figured I had a unique sense of humor, but I realize that my use of metaphors sometimes throws people off.

3) Sometimes, not a lot though, I don't really acknowledge strangers. One particular incident this year in college occurred when I was in a elevator on my way to my dorm and someone said "have a good day", I didn't respond and walked out. The same person said "What a douche" as I headed out. I smiled, but I kind of asked myself why I didn't bother responding. I wasn't in a bad mood or anything.

4) It is often easy to point out myself in pictures that involve three or more people as I often have a weird or out of place body expression or stance. It is nothing significant, but it still "different" in context to everything else. It could be that I just don't like pictures in general. When I was younger, I was often questioned by my teachers and parents about my weak posture and tendency to tilt my head to one way or another. I don't smile in pictures either, and this also brought me attention from my parents when I was younger. I try to now though, although I avoid full smiles.

5) I developed a strong interest in history from an early age. I absolutely absorbed everything about it, especially European history, and was considered a "walking encyclopedia" in middle and high school. Although I never really found myself "lecturing" about it endlessly when talking to someone else unless the topic is brought up. Even then, I try to limit myself. I also had the tendency to collect information about birds and reptiles, but I have outgrown that.

6) I always had difficulty in making friends. I am usually not the one to approach people, and most of my closer friendships and relationships have developed from people who have approached me. I am introverted in nature, so this could be the reason for this. But I was always targeted as the "outcast" from the group, and was picked on by my peers up until high school, where I blended in more easily due to the size of the school. At one point in, in 7th grade, I completely dismissed everyone and went into one of those isolation modes, but broke out of it by 8th grade. I did struggle with stuttering and other slight speech impairments, especially making certain letter sounds, although the correlation between this and Asperger's appears to minimal. Perhaps you guys can clarify this issue?

I also found that I have a better time relating with older people than younger ones.

7) When it comes to women and small talk, I absolutely have no game! Haha.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'll add more as they come back to my head. All of this could really be an issue with my personality. As I mentioned, I consider myself an introvert and I generally avoid large amounts of interaction. I have recently moved to a regular doctor from my childhood/teenage pediatrician, so I plan I on asking him about the possibility of an early misdiagnosis when I go back in this summer. Should I really be interested in this topic, or have I fell into the "internet self-diagnosis" trap and should just move on without worrying about it anymore?

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

Hi and Welcome to Wrong Planet

Its up to you if you want to think that you have AS or not. A lot of people on here are self diagnosed including myself. You might be HFA (High Function Autism) so your symptoms might not be as severe or noticeable to other people.

Your free to have look around the forums, ask questions and participate regardless. You might find some help

Do not take this the wrong way, but you should stay away from asking other people if you have AS or to confirm it. Its hard to come to a official diagnosis of AS, let alone try to diagnosis someone based on what they post in the forum. Besides chaos would rule the forums if we started telling each other they have AS or not.

Again welcome to Wrong Planet and hope to see you around on the forums

Yeah, I try avoid to internet diagnosis as well. I figured I would entertain opinion before pursuing it though.

To WrongPlanet!! !

Welcome to WP!

I'm also interested in history. Ever read Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery?

Sounds like AS to me, except for the metaphors and stuttering which may be unrelated.

Dyspraxia causes motor skills problems, which some people with AS have and others don't. Personally I think it might just be a common comorbid, so it wouldn't really be a misdiagnosis then would it?

When it comes to official diagnosis, you shold decide for yourself whether you want it in your files or not. There are pros and cons for both options.

Reading up on body language could help you make up your mind. And maybe help your "game" a bit. There are books about common facial expressions and such.

Thanks for the help. I guess having it on record may be risky...do we know if there is any bad connotations associated with the concept?

Do you have anything in particular you suggest I should read about body language?

People may see "autism" and assume you're psychotic, mentally ret*d, or who knows what else. It may have effects on employment, health insurance, gun ownership, etc

On the other hand you might get discriminated against no matter what, just because you're "weird", and your employment and school situation might be likewise affected by any social difficulties.

A diagnosis could help get accomodations at work/school, some protection from (overt) discrimination, and in some places even quality for disability benefits. None of which matters much if you're already successful.

Some opt to just tell select individuals around them, rather than have people read their file and make assumptions.



I saw somewhere online a "nonverbal dictionary", that might be interesting.

The wikipedia page about "body language" has some good stuff on it.

Also Paul Ekman is supposed to be some kind of expert. The TV show "Lie to Me" is based on him.

I generally do poorly on facial expression "tests"....should those be considered?

Welkome to WrongPlanet.

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