Hello,
I'm 35, a married man with two children and have recently been referred by my GP for a test for Asperger or another form of high functioning autism.
I am very new to all this and may not even be diagnosed with autism. Although i suspect i probably will be.
my only understanding of autism is from the TV, it seems to feature quite a lot recently in reality TV programs and documentaries.
This came about because my wife has said to me on a number of times that my behavior is not normal and there has been some friction between us on certain things, for example when i start to do something i like to do it properly and to completion. this has made things like maintaining my motorcycle difficult as she will interrupt me, or writing music as when i start to write a song i need to be left alone until it is finished. this may take a day or two and with two young children that just isn't possible to achieve without interruption. I am also apparently very judgmental and suspicious of people and once i have formed a negative opinion of a person it takes a long time and considerable effort on their part to make me change my mind. There are many many other examples of things i do that seem perfectly normal to me but are perhaps unusual to someone else.
I do know that i have always felt different from my friends and colleagues, although its hard to put a finger on what and why exactly. i do think that if i were to be diagnosed with a form of autism it would explain a lot. particularly in my childhood. i found school incredibly difficult, classrooms were very overwhelming and i would be disruptive, often being the class joker, arguing with teachers or fighting other students. i found myself kicked out of several mainstream schools and put into an offsite center for kids with behavioral difficulties. Eventually i dropped out.
While i am waiting for my appointment to meet with a psychiatrist, over the last two or three days i have been doing a little research (ok a lot of research) i came across this forum and a website: aspietests.org
i have done all the tests on there and had a mixed bag of results, some of which have been very surprising.
I understand that tehse tests will not be as good as a DISCO assessment but took them to try and gague how likely it would be that i would get diagnosed.
So i was hoping to get some input from those of you who will know infinitely more about this than myself.
i have scored exceptionally high in language, faces and voices and "reading minds in movies" which would seem to be in contradiction to the tests in empathy, friendships and general tests such as the RITVO to suggest i may have Aspergers.
is it possible to have Aspergers but score very highly in these areas? have any of you had similar results?
many thanks for your time and input, i know its a long post
09 Nov 2015, 5:30 pm
