What exactly IS Asperger's Syndrome?

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I'm 48. I've been working for the US federal government for 19 years. I transfered to a job with the Department of Defense last year, and, for reasons that I REALLY cannot figure out, my supervisor has been going to enormous effort to have me removed from federal service.

Two PhD psychologist coworkers had me pegged as having Asperger's syndrome. I went to a psychologist, and this seems to have checked out. I've hired a lawyer to help me file for a disability retirement (which is a lot better than just getting fired at my age).

I watched the movie "Mozart and the Whale", and my family was just like that, and I find that I am somewhat like that. My father was 55 when I was born. He was almost completely deaf, and would explode angrily in public, which embarrassed me greatly. My mother was a complete slob. And, while I have a comparatively high level of education (two master's degrees), I recognize that I am not at all perfect.

So, what does this really mean, that I have Asperger's syndrome? Does it only mean that I am a little weird, and don't want to get involved with social conventions and other people? Is there some part of my brain that doesn't work right? Is there something that I am missing out on, other than the social stuff? For example, if you are color blind, you can't see certain colors. But you probably wouldn't know that these colors existed if no-one had ever told you. Is there anything similar that I might be missing out on that I don't know about?

Its Social dyslexia.

Just like people who have difficulty reading the written word, people with Asperger's have difficulty reading people.

I personally believe it is because of the following; There are two main domains of intelligence in a human mind. One designed to understand logical systems and the other optimized of socia/emotional reasoning.

People with Asperger have very well developed logical reasoning but less developed social/emotional reasoning, and as a result we utilize only logic to understand people, who are by nature not logical at all. Ever tried to weigh a smile, find the Ph of anger or measure the electrical conductivity of jealousy? That's what it is like when trying to understand people.

For this reason, up until a few years ago, I was utterly unaware that other people experienced emotions outside of the times they were visibly angry or laughing etc. I was also unaware of my unawareness, a kind of emotional anosognosia.

For example, a few weeks ago I was looking over my old emails. I read an email I sent to a female friend 4 years ago. She just told that she had broken up with her boyfriend, that he had dumped her on New Years Eve. They were very close, they even bought a house together. So what did I say? I told her how happy I was because I now have a girlfriend. I now understand that what I said was very wrong, that I upset her. But at the time, I had no idea, because I could only think logically.

Read up on the Golden Rule, that is what I did.

Well is it possible to have Aspergers but still be able to help people with their emotional problems? I seem to have many of the symptoms of Aspergers but I have this weird ability to logically figure out almost immediately just the right thing to say to help people who are having emotional problems even though I have never even been close to experiencing the same thing they have. Its pretty weird actually lol.

It is really hard for me to understand--maybe because my thought patterns are overly logical.

I applied desperately for jobs over the past year. I prepared what I thought was a very good seminar to present at interviews, and never got the job.

In one case, the selecting official told me that she felt that I would be unable to explain statistics to non-statisticians.

In other cases, I could not figure out what the reasoning was.

Was I missing something that a normal person would have picked up on immediately? Am I somehow emitting signals that I am abnormal, and that others should stay away?

Since I still have some job applications out there, I've been telling prospective employers that they wouldn't want to hire me because I have a disability, and that I'm applying for a disability retirement. They seem somewhat intrigued when I tell them what it is. Some employers may want to create the impression that they are fostering "diversity" by giving a freak a chance.

pandabear,

WOW, you haven't analyzed your life against this site and the DSM?

Actually, AS IS, to use the technical term, "pervasive". It is hard to say HOW it affects you. For me, logic, observation, knowledge, honesty, and a desire to help led to a lot of problems! FUNNY, HUH? Well, that means I may not get certain jokes, others get. I may get jokes others don't! I see disparities and get upset over what seems to others to be very simple things. I used to be, and sometimes still may be blunt. I work too hard, and may seem egotistical. In the extreme, ESPECIALLY with idiots that want to seem smart, or are scared, people may hate our guts! The innate naivete certainly doesn't help. That has given way to cynicism.

And YEAH, this may be part of the problem that causes social problems.

HECK, I should have thought more about all this. I have lived my life figuring that sometime around 7-8 I had isolated myself, with my "hobbies" etc... and it slowed my social development, in part, because I was shy. I also thought the interest and intelligence was chance, and started about the time I was three.

NOW, I find that the psychiatrist I saw in 1969(before I was 7) was because of my lack of social interaction. I saw a psychologist before that! SHE claimed that my FATHER was to blame! I guess she didn't know my father. He certainly didn't do much with me when he had custody of me. I first showed signs of being different practically as a baby, and certainly before 11 months. So both were clearly INNATE!

Oh I forgot to mention my earlier post refers only to online... if people tell me emotional problems face-to-face than I have no idea what to say to them... I am just blank.. but if I see a problem in writing, I can immediately know what to say.

MAYBE, ***BUT***....



Actually, most jobs I have applied for, or heard about, have IDIOTS doing the advertising, interviewing, and hiring... In my industry(computers), it is a running joke! A product called MYLANY(I made this name up) 1.2 just came out last month. The FIRST version came out only a year ago. It looks almost EXACTLY like ORLANX(made up), that MANY know, and it has been around 20 years . A SMART person would look for a person knowing ORLANX with some MYLANY experience. What do many of the IDIOTS do????? They won't hire anyone with less than 5 years experience in MYLANY 1.2! So you have to LIE to get the job!

BTW I am not making up the idea, OR the 5 years. 5 years is like the minimum experience most want REGARDLESS of the fact NOBODY has that much experience. I once got turned down because I only had 3 years experience on a product out for about 2 years. I started with the BETA, when it FIRST came out! I ALSO had like 6 years experience with the product line. I was even CERTIFIED with HIGH GRADES, and LOTS of related experience. I started in the industry before some of the other applicants were even born! They INSISTED they needed 5 years on that specific version. I walked out LAUGHING at the stupidity!

I have NEVER lied on an interview, or my resume. That is HARD in todays climate, where everyone is LYING!

Anyway, look at the book store. Some of the "best" IDIOTS further display their stupidity by writing books with questions for other idiots to ask you. THEY will give you an idea of the types of questions they ask, and how they think, so you can consider them earlier, and be better prepared. DON'T give them a "seminar". It will really be a turn off. Even if you seemed the PERFECT candidate, that could kill your chances.

Bear in mind this comes from a guy that has been interviewed dozens of times(With approximately an 85% full hire success rate), and that has interviewed THOUSANDS(and only fully accepted about .7%) BTW I don't use those stupid books. I don't even care what the resume says! HECK, I have seen people hired with supposedly DOZENS of years of experience that have done well in OTHER interviews and have been HORRIBLE! I hired one guy, and a customer asked me if I was SURE!! !! ! They said "He only has two years of experience?!?!?". He hadn't even been in the industry much. Well, that was like 4 years ago. EVERYONE loved him and asked for him back, etc....

BTW HIS biggest problem? He is TOO HONEST! He will accentuate his weaknesses EVEN if they have little to do with the contract. This is even sillier because, if it WAS important, he would learn it very well and fast. He has done that several times.



As stated, with no assumptions, this is a non-sequitor. Can you explain it better?



Try to relax, prepare, listen, and respond rather than volunteer. You can digress a bit, but make it relevant, mildly flatering to you, etc...



DO not EVER disclose this like that in an interview. If they DID happen to hire you, this will always stay in the back of their mind, and color their judgement.

I wonder if there is a Dummies guide to Asperger's Syndrome, that explains in simple terms what this is all about.

OK, this may not be relevant as a post, but that is such a good description of AS. If someone asks me at work what it is, I just say my brain isn't 'wired up' quite the same as theirs and therefore I appear a little eccentric / rude at times.

I do not understand perhaps your trying to confirm your diagnosis in your own minds eye. But assuming those psychologist diagnosed you correctly you already know the ramification of having aspergers because your living it. In general people with aspergers do not get diagnosed as adults and find it surprising they usually intuitively know there has always been something very different about themselves and the people around them.

I think that in a way I do try and confirm the DX in my own mind, because the AS criteria is based pimarily on the observations of an NT society, and its merely a curiosity to see how their observations and classifications fit in with my own experiance. It's a constant source of entertainment for me in one way or another

Yes, indeed. Even when I was about three, I knew I was different. It didn't seem a bad thing then - it was only when other kids and adults started acting negatively towards some of the differences that I began to get low self esteem over it.

What is "social-emotional reasoning?" Aren't things on the social-emotional level outside of the scope of reasoning?

*Click here*
it's not from the dummies guide series but Tony attwood is one of the most knowledgeable.

AS is different for everyone...

what you should be focusing on is what behaviors are your bosses unhappy with? you can't specifically be fired because you have AS... how are you not doing your job?