missing piece of the puzzle!

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Joined: 18 Nov 2011
Gender: Male
Posts: 16

19 Nov 2011, 1:28 pm

Hi all,

I am new to the group and pretty sure I has aspergers. Reading a lot of the symptoms of asperger's syndrome is like reading my auto-biorgraphy. I am 47 years old, and finally feel as sense of relief at finding the "missing piece."

Just to start off right, I want to explain my other difficulties. I am legally blind since birth, and I also have a hormone problem known as Klinefelter syndrome (very low males hormones and an extra "x" (female) chromosome. I am not gay, but am very much in touch wiht my feminie side. An interesting thing as well is that asperger's ties in with my being legall blind, as many people born with my problem (under-development of the optic nerve) are autistic.

Asperger's really explains so much of my behavior - narrow interests (I have been obsessed with one interest for most of my life), social inability, very few friends among peers, repetitive behavior, etc. For years I had attributed my social inabilities to shyness, and also to past bad experienes (I was always the kid the other's made fun of in school). It's funny, a lot of people (those who I am comfortable enough to talk to) don't consider me shy or to have any social problmes, but I became an expert at masking many of my problems to avoid ridicule.

I had an upsetting situation a few months ago (which turned out to me over-reacting and misunderstanding something), and as I talked to someone about it and mentioned my social awkwardness, they said it sounded like asperger's. I researched it, ans as stated above, reading the sympoms and case studies were like reading my own life. Even reading threads on these forums confirms my suspicians, as I totally can relate to so much of what is discussed here. It's like I finally found the missing piece of the puzzle!

I have told me family and friends about my findings, and everyone has been supportive and sympathetic. One friend, though, thinks I sould probably find out for sure than rely on self-diagnosis, but I am content in my own findings.

Frito

dragonbean
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 15 Nov 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 40

19 Nov 2011, 2:00 pm

Isn't it a great feeling, finding out that there are others like you?

In my opinion, don't bother with an official diagnosis if you don't think it'll help you, especially at 47.

I'm curious- by "legally blind," what do you mean? Can you see at all? If so, how well?

Frito64
Butterfly

Joined: 18 Nov 2011
Gender: Male
Posts: 16

19 Nov 2011, 2:21 pm

dragonbean wrote:

Isn't it a great feeling, finding out that there are others like you?

In my opinion, don't bother with an official diagnosis if you don't think it'll help you, especially at 47.

I'm curious- by "legally blind," what do you mean? Can you see at all? If so, how well?

Yep, it is a great feeling to find out there are others like me, it is amazing how many with Asperger's have lived similar lives.

Yep, at 47, an official diagnosis won't make much of a difference.

Legally blind is vision that is is 20/200 (as opposed to 20/20). I can see, but not at a far distance, I have to use magnifying glasses to read the newspaper, look close at the computer to read text (sometimes i use a magnifying glass for that as well). It's funny, I read that people with Asperger's can have problems with recognizing faces, but for me, that can be due to my poor eyesight as well.

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