diagnosed with asperger's but not sure if i have it

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I am 22, female, and was diagnosed when I was 19. At first, I was relieved. "Oh finally I understand why I have felt so out of place my whole life and why I get so overstimulated and why I am such a 'nerd' and why I pay such attention to detail etc." But then I started to be afraid that maybe the diagnosis was wrong, because on the surface I actually do pretty well in social situations.

People who meet me generally think I'm just extremely straightforward and maybe a little odd, and whenever I tell anyone I was diagnosed with AS, they invariably laugh or say something like, "you don't have Asperger's that's ridiculous."

I mean, I know who I am in terms of my personality and my interests and tastes, so I'm not having an identity crisis or anything but I studied cognitive science in college (just graduated!) so these things are important to me.

Confused!! Anyone else in this boat?

This is likely to be the reason why Aspergers is under-diagnosed in females--in our society it isn't quite as important for women to pick up social clues as much as men, because women often call the shots in social encounters. The guys do the asking and the girls say yes/no. Or, guys are expect to pick up on social clues and not make jerks of themselves.

I agree with Marcia. Women, as a rule, are far more social than men. I've read that the language center of the normal female brain is more highly developed than that of a normal male.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

I felt the same for a while after my dx. I think it's a denial phase lots of us go through.
I am terrible at seeing expressions but freaky good at recognizing speech and language patterns.
That skill let's me seem "normal" for a short while before sensory overload kicks in and I freeze up like windows 95
We all adapt to the nt world in different ways.
As for the people who laugh. How do their credentials compare to the pro who gave your diagnosis? If they have more experience and education than the person who diagnosed then go with their second opinion. Otherwise tell them to go get a license before denying the dx. I have had people deny my dx but their credintials just did not stand up to scrutiny. Seeing a few episodes of Dr. Phill does not a therapist make. Sometimes the people who know the least make the most noise. They might think your diagnosis will look bad on them. If they have any sense they will accept what you say about yourself and support you otherwise move on to people who will not laugh.
Side note I don't hide my dx but it's on a need to know basis. Often there is no reason to bring it up. Most people I meet I don't care if they know or not. If someone ask about me I tell them or if they are a healthcare provider I tell them.

Welkome to WP

Mick