Be careful. I was wrongly diagnosed with AS as a kid.

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I'm good with sarcasm nowadays (deadpan, though? That's another story...) But when I was a kid, I was constantly in trouble for "sarcasm", "having an attitude", or "smartass remarks", even though I was being completely serious and had no idea what I was in trouble for. Turns out that should've been another big AS red flag- I couldn't tell when someone was asking a rhetorical question and I was unaware that the way I spoke sounded sarcastic/confrontational. I also responded to things using logic, which some adults take as a calculated, smart-mouth remark. (One classic example involved how I tend to sit in odd positions. My mom once told me to "Sit like a lady." Since I didn't know what that meant, I figured logically, "Well, I'm a lady, and this is the way I like to sit... so I already AM sitting like a lady!"... Needless to say, that answer was not appreciated...)

I was diagnosed as brilliant, slightly autistic - but "she'll grow out of it" in other words they thought my constant meltdowns was just attention seeking and they put me in all the top classes so i got target by bullies more....

Wish AS was diagnosable more in Girls in the 90's than 2004 and onwards...

I'm already diagnosed with ADHD, not AS, but I fit the criteria for not only the DSM-IV criteria for Aspergers, but even for that in the DSM-V for ASDs that's soon to come. Yet, it's really hard for me to get a diagnosis currently because last year, I spent all my money getting diagnosed for ADHD, and it wasn't until I started looking more into ADHD support sites and stumbling across the closely-related Autism Spectrum community, in addition to scoring fairly high on online Autism Spectrum tests that I really began to consider the notion that I could have Autism as well. Even now, I have trouble saying I am autistic or that I am an "Aspie", simply because I'm not yet diagnosed. I can't really bring myself to "self-diagnose" either, as they call it. I have to know for sure. Still, I am rather certain at this point that I have both ADHD and AS, and I can tell the symptoms of the two apart rather easily. If anything, I could just say AS is my personality and the way I process information while my ADHD is simply a pain in the ass to have. God forbid I tell anyone about the two either. The amount of misinformation on ADHD and AS in the media is so ridiculous, I'd have trouble getting certain people to believe I have either of the two to start with, much less expect to gain support by actually telling them I have them. The fact that I don't have the more stereotypical hyperactive/combined variant of ADHD and am simply just inattentive does not help matters in the least.

diamorphone. I'm still somewhat torn because I keep hearing from both sides. ADD from my father, and AS from research, and a diagnosticians opinion (didn't actually interview me, but knew some of my symptoms)

There are a number of symptoms that fit both bills. But there are some classic red flags I do have, on the other hand, there are some common AS things that I DON'T HAVE

What I do have:
little sociability
speech deficiency (stutter)
no eye contact
social anxiety/depression
isolation
focus on single life subject (no hobbies otherwise)
ability to memorize tons of facts about aforementioned subject
high intelligence
hair twirling - since childhood -red flag
walking on tips of my toes - since I started walking - red flag
vocalizing my thoughts - redflag
I also have a...slight tendency to steer conversation my way. but anxiety and nervousness can cause this too
subject obsession
repeating patterns in life
separating my food on my plate from other food

but there is two CORE things that I have NO problem with:
reading peoples facial expressions
picking up on metaphors in conversation, something i'm actually VERY good at

so I don't know. Maybe i'm just somewhere imbetween. falling in another diagnosis hole like I do with everything else

There's thousands of mental/personality disorders out there. If ADHD and autism don't sound right then they probably aren't. Go to a doctor if you're curious what actually is wrong.

No doubt here, I'm autistic. I've also been tested for ADHD, which I do not have. I still deal with how glaring some of my deficits are, which took me almost thirty years to be aware of.

yeah my sister was diagnosed with ADHD and Aspergers. Me and my parents are sure the aspergers is a misdiagnosis, shes incredibly social. She's never had problems reading social cues. I would guess that all her social problems stem from ADHD.

I have no real idea, of course, but one possible reason you were diagnosed with ADHD is because, quite frankly, there is money to be made off the condition. Diagnosis is made, medication is prescribed, the pharmacy takes their cut, the big drug companies make their billions, and that's just the way the game is played. I am new to this scene, so let me ask the question, Is there any medication designed just for Aspergers?

Sweetleaf wrote:

I was diagnosed with outcast: make sure to bully and alienate....at least that is the impression I get.

Unfortunately, outcast does not require a diagnosis. (It's also contagious, a fact that simply exacerbates its symptoms.)


As to diagnoses, I had it the other way around. When I was 14 I was diagnosed with ADHD, which didn't make any sense to me. I wasn't hyperactive in the least. My oldest brother had ADHD for sure (which perhaps was mentioned to my therapist and influenced her, in much the same way someone mentioned AS to yours.) But my oldest brother was a classic case, and he still exhibits some symptoms as an adult now (like pointing out random things and switching topic conversations out of nowhere.) I do those two things, but hyperactive? No way. My brother used to jump on the bed while holding my baby brother (which was actually the incident that caused my parents to get him diagnosed.) I never had a problem sitting still in class, though. I never had a problem sitting still at home, either (heck, I'd spend hours just sitting on my bed with my nose in a book!)

Luckily, though, when the therapist suggested that, I argued with my mom as to why I didn't think I had it, and she agreed with me. I shortly after stopped going to that therapist (I only went for about two months anyway, spending most of the time sitting in silence, giving one-word answers when a question was asked, since I didn't want to talk to a complete stranger. How in the world she thought I had a hyperactive attention disorder, I don't know. It was in the height of the "every kid has ADHD!" craze, though, so maybe there were other forces at work...)

I have since heavily researched both ADHD and AS, and looking at the list of ADHD symptoms and what is needed for a diagnosis, I'm even more baffled that anyone could ever have thought I had it. Similarly, I'm baffled as to how the therapist never guessed that I had AS. I never looked her in the eye, I was incredibly shy, and I'm sure my mom had told her how I didn't have many friends, but that I also got very good grades. Anyway, moral of the story is... Yes, make sure you get the right diagnosis! Research the associated traits, and if it sounds fishy or feels odd, get a second or third opinion (especially if the diagnosis leads to medication.)

The truth of the matter is, or at least seems to be, that they really don't know what to do with a lot of the people on this forum. Twenty years from now, they will know a lot more, but until then we may be pretty much on our own.