"I used to have Asperger's"

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I, at least, have become better at 'pretending to be NT,' more or less -- but that doesn't mean I've 'gotten better.' I've just developed better coping mechanisms. OTOH, I don't see being neuro-atypical as something that needs to get better -- I'm wired differently than most, I guess, so I have some unusual challenges living in their world -- but I also have some unusual advantages that you couldn't convince me to exchange for the world.

Like any skill, I've found that my coping mechanisms become more automatic the more I practice them -- so the set of algorithms I use to relate to people, for example, is more quickly accessed and readily applied.

My own disability still shows up, though, in situations that are outside of my existing frame of reference -- I operate in the NT world based on a complex series of context-dependent subroutines, more or less. When I'm in a context I don't know, I come off as less 'high-functioning' than I do in a context for which I have constructed a set of compensations.

I guess this might be the point at which one can differentiate between a set of compensations that is functionally equivalent to being NT and a set of compensations that remains a set of compensations. However, I have no desire to be NT, and I'm satisfied with mine.

Aspergers is a disorder you can "grow out of" in a lot of ways but not all.

well, my brain will always be aspie, but i've reached a good work around for lots of the problems....i've stored all these social lessons in another part of my brain and kept practicing them over time so they feel natural.

you can rewire your brain somewhat if you really want to x

I thought the topic of this thread very interesting, because I used to NOT HAVE AS, and now I do! (before they knew what AS was and before I knew I was one!)

As for learning social skills, I think that we learn them better than someone that doesn't have AS, simply because we must. I work with the public (on the telephone) all day long. When someone calls, I 'take a reading' of them and figuritively find that 'musical pitch' on my social pitchpipe and just blow across that note while talking to them. It works great!

but as for growing out of AS, sadly, no. I am almost 60 years old and I see no time soon that I am going to 'grow out' of AS.

Merle

I think symptoms can get worse with stress, so if you are in a place in your life where things are very easy, you may be experiencing your symptoms with less intensity.

You can also learn to work around your issues, which makes things easier.

I remember reading in the Tony Atwood book that Aspie girls can sometimes blend in and appear to be NT so it can be hard to diagnose them. If no one else can tell you're an Aspie, and you're not feeling defective (maybe you've improved your self-esteem through achievements, for example), and you're not feeling stressed because you've got a comfortable setup, I can see how you might not feel like an Aspie anymore.

I also believe the brain *can* be rewired throughout life, to some extent. Neural pathways can be changed through new experiences (for better or for worse, as in the case of PTSD). Diets, environment, and external stimuli can change throughout life, and those things may affect your neurology, which affects your Asperger's.

That reminded me of Jill Bolte-Taylor - the neuro-anatomist who had a stroke in her left hemisphere. Her entire sense of self was wiped out, including all her memories, and she had to start from scratch. After 9 years she is a normal person again, but a different person. I don't think stroke is the only way to affect the brain profoundly.

u cant not hav aspergers. its genetic. it was there wen u were born and it will be there till the day u die.

uve just learned so much in life. i like to day "out grow" the effects of us.

I spent about 96% of my life having AS and not knowing it. I can do ok, but I have to do a lot of things consciously that most NT's do instinctively.

Basically, I feel like a part of my brain doesn't function properly, or even at all (the social part, I guess) so my brain kind of re-routed itself and I therefore think differently.

It's totally physical, so there's no way you can outgrow it.

To the person who said they used to have Asperger's... it is totally possible. There are now studies that say that Asperger's can resolve itself in adulthood. I know that I had something that resembles Asperger's. I didn't know how to behave with other people and didn't understand how they talked to each other and how people developed the friendships I had such problem developing. I was literal and deeply mathematical. I have a brother and he and I were not raised together... he has shared this experience and neither my friends nor his friends believe we could have been autistic as children. It is a spectrum of disorders, we don't know enough about them for someone to say that it is not possible. I would say that it is quite likely that because of how we are wired some of us simply develop social skills at different times and even in different ways than most kids. It might also be more difficult for us to learn these skills with taunting cruel children around us than with adults. I certainly still shut down socially in some circumstances.

No study I know of says you can lose or recover from Autism. They say the traits have diminished in a few cases enough that people have lost thier diagnosis. These studies have had very small samples and they all note much further study is needed.

You might learn ways to cope with your difficulties, but that doesn't mean you rewired your brain.

I often feel I have outgrown it until I get a moment again. That is what my husband calls them.