Is this Asperger's?

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I think I might have Asperger's, but I really am not sure. I don't have meltdowns or shutdowns.

I am not skilled at recognising social cues but I have several friends. I can offer emotional support but I automatically offer solutions to problems if somebody is upset. I have on occasion given somebody criticism via social media describing part of their behaviour, after which they reported me to the school (I am thirteen years old).

I pretended to understand and apologised, which would seem very different from autism as people with autism generally find lying difficult. But I am mostly honest. And also confused. Because I am nothing like my peers. All of my interactions with them seem superficial and fake. I wish they were more like Sherlock Holmes from BBC's Sherlock and Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory.

I state facts and statistics when they seem relevant, which people find strange. But I get on extremely well with my teachers and other adults. My parents would completely dismiss me if I were to suggest that I have Asperger's, but I really think I might.

My father often tells me that I need to learn how to read people. But I usually detect sarcasm, though among peers I take comments literally as taking a joke literally would be less humiliating as taking a serious comment as a joke. However, I often use sarcasm. I am confused when somebody is upset, but social convention dictates that I comfort them. I don't do this effectively, but I try.

I do not have a routine because if I developed one it would only be disturbed. I like to be on my own, but my father accuses me of 'hiding away'. I am doing well in school, but my classmates all hate me.

I am extremely interested in Psychology, Harry Potter and The Big Bang Theory, though they aren't my only interests. I would say that my interests are not narrow, as I also enjoy Doctor Who, Science and Sherlock, as well as, to a lesser extent, Music.

But I am fascinated by Autism, and spend the vast majority of my evenings watching documentaries and reading about it. This began when I was nine.

But I was a happy and normal developing baby, though I was a slightly late speaker and walker. I am very poor in sports, though that probably is not relevant. I am also told that I have a strange way of speaking.

I was very confident and talkative as a small girl, but when I entered year five (UK aged nine) I was teased because I spent all of my break times reading on my own. Harry Potter. I read all of the Harry Potter series, then repeated. I stopped doing this in year seven, but I still read them frequently.

I learnt how to play the The Big Bang Theory theme tune on piano recently, and I play it through on keyboard, then change the piano settings to another instrument and repeat. Today I spent about one hour doing this in the morning and once in the afternoon for the same amount of time.

But I seem functional in daily life, though I am disturbed by not knowing whether I have Asperger's or not. I am too afraid to ask my parents. This may not be relevant, but I am a thirteen year old girl. I am sorry if I rambled a little. So what do you think?

I apologise if I posted this in the wrong section.

Edit: My friends have told me, when I asked, that I do not show as many facial expressions as my peers, but nothing excessive as such. I just have neutral expressions.

If any more information is required, I'll be happy to supply it.

I know I cannot be diagnosed here, but as most users on this website have autism, I would be grateful for your feedback and opinions. If I ask my friends (fellow fangirls) they just offer emotional support, whereas I'd like useful feedback. So thank you for reading.

Hi.

Well, some of what you state sounds autistic, but of course, nobody on the internet can tell you for sure. Since you're a minor, I am sure you could get an assessment somehow. I don't know how insurance works in the UK (sorry, don't mean to sound dense there) but does your family have insurance? If not, can you ask your parents to find out whether an assessment can be initiated through the school?

The reason I feel an assessment could benefit you is that you obviously feel something is "different" and are wondering about it, hence, it's possible SOMETHING'S up, whether ASD or not. At the very least, you have questions about yourself that you seem to want answers to, and that warrants further investigation, IMO. The adults in your life should see about finding out how to look into this further for you, take you to a doctor or speak to the school, etc., especially if you feel your "differences" are impacting your life. But either way, self-knowledge, IMO, can only be a good thing, so that's where I'd start - with finding out if you can see a doctor or the school, and talk about all the things you just talked about with us.

Good luck!

Okay. Thank you.

You don't need insurance in the UK since we have free healthcare. To get referred on for assessment you go through your GP. For more information see the NAS site on diagnosis for under 18s:

http://www.autism.org.uk/childdiagnosis

Thank you. So is there no way to be assessed without your parents' knowledge, for example, at school? I just don't think my parents would allow me to, and they will just think I'm overreacting or something of the like. Is diagnosis done using ISD-10 or DSM-5 as well?

Mine was using the ICD 10.

And I don't believe there's any way of them not knowing. There's a lot of questions about developmental history. They need to know how you were under 3. I could be wrong, though, but my diagnosis occurred with my parents so I have no idea.

I thought the same thing when I was 15 (when I joined WP). But it turned out I was wrong and I hope you are too in that your parents don't actually have a problem with you getting assessed.

Okay. Thanks again.

No problem. If you have any more questions feel free to ask and I'll try my best to answer. I hope things do work out for you though.

Okay. I have a question. Do you know when symptoms have to become apparent? Because I remember lining and cataloguing my pet minifigures from age seven, but I didn't act strangely socially before I was about six as far as I remember. Does one have to be 'different' at nursery school level too?

It is possible that you did have signs but they were subtle, or it's on something you hadn't considered. Your parents may remember some details you've forgotten.

I'm not sure if it is needed that young.

Okay. I know I've said this a lot, but thanks again.

Actually you seem normal to me. Your hobbies are very common and I'm certain you will find others who accept you.

Some of it could seem like autism but it could also be a range of other things such as how you hide away. It could be general introversion. Being interested in autism could make you think you have more of the traits. When your interested in something, you notice things that relate to that interest more.

Responding to your post appropriately and with the best possible advise is...difficult, to say the least, chiefly because a lot of how ASD manifests itself is behavioral as well as mental, and merely describing these behaviors isn't quite as "revealing" as actually demonstrating them visually (at least in my experience), so I'll try not to jump to any hasty conclusions that would be to your detriment. That being said, given the information you've already provided, it sounds to me that are, in fact, autistic - to a certain extent. Asperger's (which is a term really only used informally outside of clinical use these days) often "appears" to me like the behaviors and mannerisms that you've described so far, but, like everyone else has already stated on this thread, consult with a doctor about it, because they'll have more reliable information on it.

You sound like an exceptionally bright young girl, and in case you ever feel ashamed of that, I have a bit of advise: don't feel that way. I've been there and done that at your age, and now, nine years later, I can honestly say that my feeling ashamed of who I was really held me back. I've had a history of very poor grades (or marks, as I suppose they say in the UK/Europe) since I was fifteen, and now I can't even afford to attend university right now because of tutiont debt that I owe. And I think it's because I knew I was different than others and felt ashamed about it, so I stopped caring about school and my grades, and cared about social activities; but, because of my social ineptness, it didn't go very well, so I was left with poor grades in school and very few friends who eventually ended up parting ways with me, some out of deliberate malice, others simply because they had their lives to live, and I had mine. Basically, always be proud of who and what you are, and if you're as intelligent as you sound, hold on to it - it's a very valuable thing that's in short supply these days.

I see your point Firefox. Wanting to hide away could easily be introversion. However, my family members and close family friends (the adults, anyway) would not believe me to be introverted, as I can talk for hours about some topics such as Harry Potter and know many, many details about the books and films. Also, I know that the term Asperger's Syndrome is no longer used for diagnosis in countries using DSM 5, but the UK still uses Asperger's Syndrome to my knowledge. And the reason Firefox stated is also a reason I think it may be silly for me to consider this, as perhaps I am only seeing these details because I am interested in Autism. Also, although my sources may not be particularly reliable, I thought that interests are often, though not necessarily, unusual, and that girls with autism tend to have more mainstream interests than boys with autism,unusual in intensity and depth rather than type. Thank you to all who have replied so far.

Thank you DeafGhost.