I am married, 47 years old, bald, and an accountant. I have an 11 year old son and a daughter who will be 15 in a few days.
I was diagnosed with Aspergers or hig functioning Autism or whatever earlier this year. We suspected I had it when my daughter was diagnosed about 5 years ago. It was the first time I had ever heard of it.
When my daughter was diagnosed they told us that ususally one of the parents shows signs of Aspergers as well. My wife and I both knew. My daughter who I love very much became a mirror thru which I started seeing my own aspergers. On top of that I got more and more responsibility at work and my stress from my job increased exponentially. Last fall I was having tons of trouble coping with the stress, so I went to see a therapist without a diagnosis ? big frustrating mistake. Also my doctor, who was a resident, prescribed lexipro which worsened my anxiety and feelings of worthlessness instead of helping.
So I got of lexipro and started looking for a new therapist and got a diagnosis. I think my current therapist is great and I am making progress, but I still have really, really bad days.
If I could get one thing out of this website I would like to understand how my aspergers compares to other people. I know each Aspie is unique, but I am also sure we have very much in common. I read lots of books and there are some common themes, but even the experts seem to differ on what an aspie is. I know I don?t deal with it nearly the same way my daughter does.
I have always been timid and shy, a doormat as my loving wife would say. I read once that women are diagnosed less often than men. The writer said he thought this was due to underdiagnosing because women tend to keep things in and not make as much of a fuss because they are taught to be good girls. I think that my nature is similar, I fit in because I don?t want to raise a fuss.
I definitely have poor social perception. I have had good experiences which have given me a deep well of experiences to be able to fake it a lot. But I don?t really know what I am doing and if I had to figure out what someone else is feeling to get out of a wet paper bag I would still be there years from now. Many times my lack of the skill of reading others along with my timidity has kept me from asking questions when I don?t understand and led to embarrassing mistakes.
I of course could not look someone in the eye to save my life (without looking really creepy). My dungeons and dragons character is a ranger who ?can shoot you between the eyes from 300 feet but can?t look you in the eye.
I have lots of trouble making decisions ? the worst torture in the world when my wife wants me to pick a restaurant.
Some of my most embarrassing times are when I make the wrong decision or assumption or interpretation of a social situation and act on it or open my mouth and speak. My wife always tells me they are not that big a deal, but it sure seems like a big deal to me.
I am very sloppy, disorganized looking perfectionist, good at math and excel/Microsoft access. People tell me I am very smart and funny, but you can?t really trust people.
I am interested to hear how your Aspergers differs from mine or if there are any major symptoms that I have left out.
03 Oct 2014, 2:51 pm
I am a people pleaser also, unless someone crosses a serious line. I don't have a math aptitude, but I can be a perfectionist. Aspergers/autism may bring many commonalities, but there's a vast array of personality, temperate, and experience differences. That said, by posting your own, you're sure to find some like-minded individuals. 
