Unaware of your AS symptoms

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Absolutely. Even with my wife pointing out how there were many odd behaviors that I engaged in, I either decided that they weren't odd or that I didn't do them at all (that it was her misperception). It was VERY strange reading the AS list of symptoms for the first time and seeing such a clear description of myself. Then I began noticing many further things such as gaze aversion which I had been totally unaware of. My career in academia may have made it easier for me to remain unaware of many AS features. There are lots of odd ducks in the academic world so quirky behaviors are not pointed out so often.

I agree with someone's oomment above that the DX has allowed me to be a little less harsh in my judgements of my interactions with others. I can focus much more clearly on what I am good at.

LOL

I had the same problem with the "mock job interviews", and now I know why they've all been failures(edit: the real interviews, that is). Been trying to correct those problems since, and have had more failed job interviews in the meantime.

Last edited by scumsuckingdouchebag on 29 Feb 2008, 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I did an experiment on myself a few years ago where I put a video camera on myself then watched myself, and what I saw totally surprised me.

My wife Dx'ed me prior to my knowing. She had the help of a few friends from a medical school.

One day I heard Temple Grandin speaking on NPR as part of a program regarding the spectrum. I wandered across our office lobby (my wife and I work together), and I announced I might have this thing called "Aspergers." She smiled and said, "I knew you would figure it out."

As with a few other posters in this thread, this discovery was liberating. And while it came in my late 40's and Aspergers had left a calling card on my prior professional and personal life, it made things a lot less stressful by not being such a mystery to myself. I am especially glad the topic is getting so much coverage now. I hate the thought of children wandering through their school years as people my age did. (I'm 53.)

21 years here. I can't believe I'd never even heard of AS.

I thought it was my fault for not trying hard enough socially... or maybe because we moved so much when I was a child and I had to go to 12 schools before I finally graduated high-school.. I thought it was something I would just get better at if I really worked hard at it.. I took alot of acting classes, tried to expose myself to social situations (even very difficult social situations that were painful) in hopes of learning to interact better. I worked so hard at it for decades and finally got the diagnosis that the problem is neurobiological and there doesn't seem to be much I can do for it... ?? I'm still looking for ways to better myself.. I'm finally getting to the point where I realize just how deficient my social skills are -- because there is SO much I don't even pick up on or even see... I've finally realized that no matter how hard I try, I will never be "sophisticated".

That's almost exactly how I felt. My oddities had somewhat isolated me in childhood among kids my own age (although they didn't bother younger kids, so I would hang out w/my siblings and their friends), then I gradually began realizing that everyone doesn't DO these things I do. I thought everyone did that stuff. It wasn't until my mom would yell at me, or a boyfriend would say, "What are you DOING? That is so ANNOYING!" that I'd think, "Wait a minute...you don't do this too?" Once I realized that all the things that made me not fit with others fit me into the AS spectrum, it was almost freeing.

I guess not. I was diagnosed at age 5.

*sees name*

Sweet. I'm from Liberty Lake.

I felt i was unique when i was small. it is so natural for me to think about that i'm quite different from others. sometimes i would question myself do i have paranoia, imaging that i'm superior to others around me. when my friends talk about something emotional, sharing what they feel about an event, my tongue seems to get stuck and no response was made but just laugh like an idiot or pretend to know what they mean and show the 'correct' facial expressions to them which make me look even more weird.

what i really concern about is just the 'fact' and the background of that event. therefore, i love reading news, knowing about the fact happened everyday in my city, but ironically, i'm not a junkie of social science.

and now i'm 23, i have studied in university twice. the first subject is Earth Sciences and the second one is Mechanical Engineering. none of them are completed which means i have quitted U twice! Because i'm not so certain what i want. i think i get lost in the middle of my way.

i'm not sure if i have asperger or not, since i do not have a strong interest or desire on any specific subjects. what i'm sure is that my social skills is really bad and i'm eager to act like normal people and makes friends with others sharing enjoyment and frustration with them in a proper manner, not like an immature adult.

Several things seemed normal to me until I noticed patterns of people pointing out certain things over and over (with or without them realizing it). By nature I'm completely oblivious to how I present myself to people, it's just like me to live my life inside my head not worrying about pleasing other people or acting "appropriately". People start mentioning things enough though, and eventually I started realizing that most people seem to be thinking "Hey, she's weird".

I remember reading one of those humorous 'You might be an aspie if...' pages, and it said something like, "...if you can't remember to take the trash out, even though you pass by it multiple times, because it's not on your mental agenda of things to do." And I was like, "Yes, guilty as charged..." I always just thought I was lazy, but I don't think lazy people experience stress from carrying a trash bag down the hallway to the dumpster.

Most people probably just think I'm shy or introverted, but my family has to remind me to 'hug back' every time they give me one. Otherwise, most of my knowledge is from observation or from reading.

As an addendum:

An example with me back in high school; I used to flap my left hand whilst walking between campuses, and each day the same person would tease me for such as I passed him. I never thought anything of it, I never understood why that'd be something worth pointing out, nor did I see it as something that made me "different", I just liked the feeling. Kinda like if someone was chewing gum or something, it made me comfortable.

Nor did I think anything when people would walk up to me and ask me, 'Why don't you talk?' I kinda thought I was communicating with them, not "talking", but "feeling" their presence when they sat near me, that's communication to me....

It was a confusing, but interesting time.

I became aware I had AS in 1997, but have never been formally diagnosed. I was reading a book in the library about various disorders, and everything about AS fit me: unusual interests, high verbal intelligence and social awkwardness.

I'm 'guilty' of the same thing... my step mom thinks it's peculiar that I always want to shower after taking the trash out.