New to WP, feeling worried

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Hi All,

Another newbie.

Not formally diagnosed (with no intention of getting a formal diagnosis), but best friend of 12 years just informed me that after my aunt and cousin came out as Aspies last month, she assumed I knew I was one too and therefore never felt the need to bring it up. I was in shock and disbelief for a couple of days, but since my friend works with special needs kids and was a case manager for several years, I thought I would look into her comment and read up a bit on it. After about 300 hours of reading blogs, forum posts, DSM criteria, and retaking online Asperger tests (surely the first one I took was a fluke, the next one will show my NT-ness), I feel stupid for not realizing my brain was wired differently.

I had always assumed that I was essentially NT with some social anxiety, control, and depression issues. Now I am paranoid that everyone I meet will pigeonhole me as being autistic. Is this how other Aspies feel, or am I just being immature about the whole thing?

So glad this community exists!!

In my opinion, many people in the US don't have enough knowledge about Asperger's to be able to pigeonhole you as autistic.

Autism, to most people, involve rocking and spinning, a lack of speech, and an extreme disinclination towards socializing with others (in other words, severe "classic" autism).

Most of the time, people think people like us are "weird," "eccentric," "odd," "nerdy," etc.---both in a positive and a negative sense.

Asperger's is not an official diagnosis in the US any more, anyway. People who were Aspergian in 2012 are now frequently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level One

Welcome to the Forum. I've never been to Tennessee--but I've seen nice pictures of your state.

Hey WannaBeNT welcome.

Thanks for the welcome! Still feeling worried--or maybe resigned?--but also know I'm in great company based on all of the posts I've read.

Wish people could just wear badges with our mental health profiles on them so I could find other like minds! Not good to feel alone in the world.

And, yes, Tennessee is most beautiful--especially at this time of year.

Welcome to WP! It can be hard to accept that you're an Aspie, but you're among friends here. I hope you are able to come to terms with it.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hello and welcome! It's nice to meet you

Welcome to WP! Glad you've finally found us.

Welcome to WP! Hope you can come to terms with, and lose, the worry.

It's by no means immature or unreasonable to worry - but I do believe it's unnecessary. I know little about how ASD is seen in the US and in fact not much about how it's seen in Britain, but I do know that lots of us aspies see it as a positive thing. There's even a consulting firm in Germany that specialising in hiring AS staff because of the strengths in analytical work and spotting patterns.

Hullo and welcome