Hey there, from a bit of a newbie

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This is interesting...I've never discussed Asperger's syndrome with anyone else who actually had it.
I have a lot of questions, really... particularly about some of my symptoms.
I was diagnosed...hmm, 9 years ago? I'm 21 now and I believe I was twelve at the time.
I had the usual social phobias, narrow fixed interest, abnormally high reading level, hyper sensitive hearing, smell, and sense of touch, mild synesthesia, dislike of changes of plan, the whole 'page 12' bit, eidetic memory, and extreme agitation in reaction to sensory overload (particularly in concerts or noisy classrooms).
When I was 16 I was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, and started on birth control as a treatment for it. Surprisingly, a lot of my social anxieties and body image problems improved, and I was entered into an already extant study of the effect of hormone treatment on people with Asperger's syndrome.
It didn't clear up a number of my less normal symptoms...
Now, whenever I mention these to my mother she insists they're typical of Aspies, but I've never personally been able to find any reference suggesting them (plus she blames EVERYTHING about me on Asperger's...down to my hyper-flexible shoulders and hips). For one, I have always had hallucinations... Primarily visual, though occasionally auditory or olfactory. Sometimes they are quick and fleeting, more of a corner-of-the-eye thing. Sometimes they are so real and solid I have to convince myself I'm not seeing them, based on the unreality of the subject matter.
They have included multitudes of tiny, waving orange tentacles seething up beneath boardwalks, groups of mostly formless blue men standing upon hillsides, rabbit-sized millbug creatures and sourceless human shadows.
I also happen to have very frequent, vivid and detailed dreams but I believe this is unrelated.

So I've just written a great deal. Kudos to anyone who manages to wade through it, and even further kudos to anybody with suggestions or knowledge of related phenomena.
I'm pretty excited to have found this board, and I hope to hear from some of you guys soon.

Hi, welcome to WP I only joined a few days ago so I'm new too
I have terrible social phobia as well. I don't get hallucinations though, not visual ones anyway, sometimes I think I hear things that aren't there but that may just be because I'm hypersensitive to certain noises.
Sorry I can't help you with those other symptoms then! Someone else here might have the same thing though

I find it a lot easier to be myself posting on here, it's nice to speak to other people with Asperger's

Welcome to WP!

Tim

Thanks!

Sopho_soph: it's cool, thankee for talking to me!
One thing I would like to ask you about: do you remember any distinct point in your childhood where the social phobia began? If that's not a sensitive question...
I know I was a pretty gregarious child up to the point where I moved to America, and then all the children were mean to me so I started reading instead. I totally fell out of the pool where it came to understanding how to communicate with them.

Anything like that?

The person who diagnosed me with it said it was probably caused directly by my Aspergers
I always liked reading from an early age as well. But when I was very young I seem to remember being quite talkative (definitely more so than now anyway) I never got properly bullied in primary school which might be why - people noticed I was different but, apart from one or to who were a bit weird with me, the majority of my class just thought I was a bit eccentric really, in an entertaining way sometimes
It was until I was about 12 or 13 when I really started to get quite bad social anxiety. I'd had problems speaking in front of large groups before but until now I'd been unaware that I had communication problems. I'm shocked that I didn't realise until then but it was only when I got older and the noticed that the people I thought were my friends weren't inviting me when they went out and didn't seem to talk to me as much as other people that I realised I had problems communicating with other people. People had mentioned things before, like that I always wanted to talk about the same things, but I never thought anything of it. I think it was mainly that, I started becoming more withdrawn then and depressed.
I didn't like most of the people in my school either, they all thought I was stupid because I never answered questions when I was asked (not because I didn't know the answer though, just because I didn't know what exactly to say) High school wasn't really very nice
That was a long way of explaining that it was probably caused by trying to adapt to realising I was different and had problems with people in school, I've just never been able to stop it since

Hi. I'm pretty new here too. I'll list off the ones i share with you.

social phobias, narrow fixed interest, abnormally high reading level, hyper sensitive hearing and touch(I have sensitive sight too to the point bright lights give me headaches.),dislike of changes of plan, extreme agitation in reaction to sensory overload, no visual hallucinations but a lot of the time I do tend to here quick fleeting things like my name being called that no one else says they heard.

What's this "page 12" bit?

I've ready plenty of books and articles about AS but it's crazy talking to so many people who know exactly what I'm talking about.

Yeah, highschool was not a good time. Though I guess elementary school was ultimately worse for me... it was before I was diagnosed, and I had a number of teachers who condemned my 'abnormalities' and tried forcing me into uncomfortable situations rather than trying to help.
Isn't it weird, though? I feel like I somehow missed some kind of lesson or instruction manual, and now everybody around me is communicating with all of these non-verbal social cues I have no idea about. And I'm not sure where or when exactly that all occurred.

And by page 12...I guess this is relevant to both. You know when you're in a conversation, and your brain suddenly skips through several cognitive hoops and you start speaking about something that, to you, makes perfect sense in the framework of the conversation but no sense to anyone around you (unless they happen to somehow be privy to your brainworks). Then everyone pauses and stares at you. Or else ignores you completely, and you get dropped out of the conversation.
I think a lot of people do this occasionally, but I've been told that Aspies do it a lot more often than normal, because our brains function more laterally.
(And more visually...that's another one I forgot to mention, thinking entirely in pictures and sensations rather than words or whatever NTs think in).

Wow. I do both of those and never even realized they were symptoms.

I only found out about Aspergers last August so high school was worse for me
I always thought everybody thought in pictures and sensations. I can't imagine thinking in words...

Welcome to WP!

Welcome to WP Li,

just thought I would mention those are pretty strong and clear evidence of AS.

As for hallucinations, I sometimes think someone is watching me or behind me listening to music and stuff *shrugs*. Not sure symptoms are so typical of AS.

Take care
JJ

{fleeting member who comes and goes}

Does anybody tend to repeat parts of what they just said in there head or under there breath. I do this and was wondering if it was AS even tho I've never seen it mentioned anywhere.

Enjoy WP!

I don't do that, but I've read about it somewhere so I think it probably is AS

The Dx is only an NT point of view, which is very limited. Somewhat comical.

They do not even have a concept of thinking in pictures.

Normal people think in words, never see any imabes, perhaps a black and white wireframe.

They dream in black and white. Normal is very borng and I have pity on them.

Hallucinations should not be mentioned, as they are related to another Dx, Save for Members Only.

There is something there, our brain tries to give it an image, I have seen what you speak of and more.

Carlos Castanada wrote about it, I think it is in "The Eagle's Gift". The same visuals, deeper meaning.

The Dx says we are not of the world, that is as far as it can go, thinking in words and all.

Thousands of us live in "A Seperate Reality", C. Castanada.

Mass Hallucination does not cover our common view of the Universe.

I see we need to self define, for we are the only picture thinkers, the only Seers,

There are reasons why we are as we are, and it not because we are defective NTs.

We have a very different relationship with the Universe. I want to explore.