catatonix wrote:
Hi, I'm 15 and have always felt like something was different about me. I have never wanted to let go of things and was awkward, I presumed I simply had Social Phobia and was insecure. However after having been able to relate with a person with Aspergers syndrome more than I had with anyone else in my life I decided to do some research.
I am fine around my close friends (two of them) but to everyone else I can't look them in the eye. I usually played by myself as a young child but I dislike the idea of being alone forever (I still need my own space - a lot).
Symptoms:
- Prefer doing things on my own.
- Have things I put a lot of effort into (Programming) and end up ignoring others (School, Social life).
- Irregular Sleeping Pattern.
- Dislike unfamiliar things (When I was younger this was mainly seen in food - I was a very fussy eater).
- Bad with people, always say the wrong thing, don't know what to say, don't know when to talk.
- When I do talk about something I like I rarely stop.
- Getting extremely frustrated when my interest is interrupted.
- *there are more but this is enough for now?
I don't get along with either of my parents (we fight a lot). Does anyone have any advice on weather it's worth getting a diagnosis and if so, how to do so without involving my parents (I live in the UK). I don't want to tell them and find out it is something else as my dad ridicules me enough as it is.
Michael H-F, 15, England
Michael, I'm 49 and didn't know I had AS until two years ago. I went to see a lot of shrinks in the early nineties, but that was before there was any such diagnosis as AS.
FWIW, I had myself pretty much put together before I knew I had AS; I had learned my strengths and weaknesses--all any of us can do. My diagnosis consisted of a psychiatrist telling me in an off-hand way that I had AS when I asked what her diagnosis was--as if it weren't at all important. When I actually read up on AS about a year later, it was the happiest day of my life; I knew I wasn't some kind of unique freak of nature. It also helped me understand myself better.
To me it sounds as if you have AS, though I'm certainly not qualified to be offering definitive diagnoses. Getting a diagnosis in the US would be very expensive and time-consuming, and probably no more fun in Britain, even if it costs you nothing out of pocket. The only reason I would suggest you obtain an official diagnosis is if you think you might be suffering from serious comorbidities that can be difficult to untangle, or if you are trying to get government handouts or special accommodations. If you don't care to receive any of these things, I wouldn't bother if I were you; it's really nobody else's business.
As far as parents go, I never got along with mine (they are both dead now) or the rest of my family. I haven't talked to any of them in years. I've been on my own since I was sixteen. It wasn't easy, but I'd do the same thing again as I didn't deserve the abuse I got at "home".
I got started by going into the Navy when I was seventeen. If you are considering a similar path, it's a good reason NOT to get a diagnosis; it is likely a disqualification.
My life wasn't good until I was in my late thirties. Since you know what your problem is, it may not take you that long. Hang in there.
04 Jan 2012, 4:36 pm
