This is an odd question, but...

Post Reply New Topic

I guess I'll try my best to tell you what I can about having AS (Asperger's Syndrome for short):

I was diagnosed by the age of 9, and I'm a Junior in high school now. Before being diagnosed, I knew that I was a little different because I spent incredible amounts of time being alone, and I preferred playing games by myself than with other people. That was mainly because I got (and get sometimes) annoyed with people just talking to me a lot, and I'm more introverted than extroverted (although at times I could be quite extroverted, which is sort of weird). In my first years of elementary school, I already learned some 'big' words that my classmates didn't know (like 'suffocate' and 'oppurtunity'); I also know lots of factual information and words that almost no one in my classes I have no know, so I freak them out at times. If you’re curious on how we learn, we learn basically through pictures; I could never just take a complicated problem and do it completely in my head. I always learned by pictures and visual preferences; I also learn best when things are quiet (since I can't think on complicated things hardly at all in loud environments), and sometimes I get this thing that some AS experts call a learning 'tide'. This 'tide' that some aspies (people with Asperger's) get are time periods where we can't learn well, we are extremely introverted, and we can't think clearly (at least for me). Tony Attwood's book "Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals" is an excellent source for this so called 'tide' (I used it to write my research paper my sophomore year in my English class, in case you want to know). Anyways, when these 'tides' go out, I'm not at my best, I feel horrible because instead of taking things in like a sponge, I take it in like a block of wood takes water; it takes lots of tries. To reach another subject, for stress, I tend to get stressed over some small things because most aspies are extreme perfectionists, and I'm one of those in that population. I tend to stress over things that other people would merely look over and walk away; I'm sort of obsessive over things, and at times it can be extremely annoying when trying to get things done. I also tend to get stressed about being isolated, even though I don't do it on purpose at times; I just don't like it when I'm stuck alone and everyone else is having fun, and I'm stuck by myself. Don't confuse that with not liking to be alone all the time; there are times when I really enjoy being in solitude. Lately I've been observing how much aspies really need other people in order to keep going, and to be less stressed; I guess our internal wiring is slightly different than that of most people. As for bullying, I was never physically bullied (like punching/kicking type things); I was (and a little am) verbally bullied. My clothes were and are different, and sometimes I tend to look like a guy because of my short hair; I dress a lot different than what NT girls wear. I tend to wear clothes that have a little baggier, comfortable, tomboy look and feel, with lots of blue because I like to wear blue. So, our clothing could be different based on our personality differences and interests. Another fact about being an aspie is that we score average to above average on the intelligence scale. Even though I don’t do well at times on tests and quizzes, I excel in classwork. According to some professionals, most aspies have bad handwriting, and so some people may judge that as being not as intellectual; so, I enjoy typing essays and reports rather than written by hand. Anyways, I too can go into infinity explaining the life of an aspie; I could recommend some books for further study, however:

- “Pretending to Be Normal” by Liane Holiday Wiley.

- “Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals” by Tony Attwood

I hope that this helps!

huh? I thought HFA and LFA couldt both have high IQs? mental retardation = low IQ?



not ALL people with AS learn in pictures, and some LOVE to blast some metal while doing their homework:D



...but I have very pretty handwriting...

So not everyone fit's the stereotype autistic loner person, but most do I guess. I'm not sure exactly what we all have in common exept for the diagnosis, the wiering of course or whatever, but you could meet alot of people and not see that they were autistic at all. coz we are normal people and there isnt just one thing that makes a person autistic there are lot's of different stuff. what i mean to say is there are alot of so called "symptoms" and some might have one of them, some might have all etc. so its hard to tel who's who. and some NTs could be extremely AS-like.

by the way: i dont consider there to be anything wrong with me at all, to me autism is everything and NOTHING.

It's like a different way of experiencing the world. Well, it is a different way of experiencing the world.

Many times I have been told I have a "unique" or "special" way of viewing things. I can be fascinated by the smallest things, as an example, light reflecting off of water. Simple things can also overwhelm me, like loud noises, or large groups of people.

At the same time there is a separateness, distance between myself and others, because of this. Social interaction is very much of a "bridging the gap" between myself and others. A bit like being on a boat that drifts around an island but never quite comes to shore. You can shout across to the people on land, but a lot of what you say is misunderstood, and a lot of what they say is hard to understand, as well.

High Functioning Autism is distinct from AS in that it involves developmental retardation. Since it's otherwise similar, I would guess that people with HFA may have high IQs.

I have never met anybody diagnosed with Kanner's who was able to communicate. From my experience, people tend to use people with Kanner's as menials. And without being able to speak, I don't see how we could tell IQs.

I suppose that we could test this by putting a neurotypical person, someone with AS, and someone with KS out in the woods and seeing who survives (obviously would require several trials). Without such an experiment in social Darwinism though, I don't know how we could determine the precise intelligence of somebody with Kanner's Syndrome.

I'd been assuming intelligence as memory, creativity, and learning capacity, areas in which people with AS generally excel. I suppose that somebody with Kanner's might have those(certainly have the last), but without communicating it they might as well not.

I would say that most aspergers feel as though the world is arranged in a manner wholy counterintuitive to basic thought. That is their basic thought which usually cannot infer the things from social context that NT's can infer.

The degree to which aspies feel that the world is counterintuitive, and that subtle social nuances, which NT's claim are obvious, are totally incomprehensible varies.

As we come to understand more and more about the brain and human mind, i believe we are getting closer and closer to the concept that all mental conditions exist in continuous spectrums.

Aspergers is another attempt at a category. Scientists like cut and dry answers. People who are diagnosed with aspergers may have behaviors which have nothing to do with the criteria for having aspergers. So what it means to have aspergers has a very complicated and conditional answer.

If you'd like us to start ranting about our difficulties with the world and why we think we have these difficulties, we could.

I think that you're absolutely correct on both these points.

I don't think the isolation of Aspergers feels any difference than that of a 'loner'; I have lived with AS all my life, so I can hardly compare it to life without Aspergers, so essentially my experiences of exclusion and lonliness are the same as any one elses, with the exception being a difference in cause.

There is a difference - Angelman Syndrome (...different AS) is characterised by no speech but they can participate in many activities so it seems there's some non-verbal aspect of intelligence that isn't affected.

of course AS and HFA have the same IQ, what are you talking about?

I think I've met somebody with this syndrome in middle school.
His para claimed that he had AS, but I thought that he had Kanner's or PPD-NOS because he was unable to speak.

berta: I wasn't saying that they didn't.
I was saying that AS is distinct from Autism.

You do realize there are quite a few people on WP who are HFA, right??? They DO speak, you know. And someone LFA can have a high IQ. IQ is not the only basis for the label of HFA or LFA. It is OVERALL FUNCTIONING. Note the documentary Autism As a World for an example.

HFA is an amorphous and poorly defined blob supposedly at the high end of the Autistic Disorder spectrum. Usually, one of the main uses of "HFA" is to describe someone with Autistic Disorder who isn't mentally ret*d. But then there are plenty of HFAers who would definitely not classify themselves as HFA, because other areas of functioning are impaired. Even many Aspies classify themselves not as high-functioning.

And, when it comes down to it, there aren't clear lines between Aspergers and Autistic Disorder. And over in Europe the distinction is held even less. There are so many who are in that borderline area. And unless someone takes the etiology of the person, it can be very difficult to tell the difference between HFA and AS.

Now, as for the post question. The main points I would hit to describe AS/Autism in its entirety-- despite that we don't have all the symptoms nor to the same extent-- would be:

1. social interaction difficulties/oddities

2. nonverbal communication deficits

3. verbal communication deficits

4. sensory issues (including Sensory Processing Disorder as well as Vestibular and Proprioceptive problems; stimming included)

5. narrow/repetitive/extreme interests

6. difficulties with "change"

7. symptoms of Executive Dysfunction

8. common comorbid disorders with the Autistic Spectrum (i.e., ADHD, Bipolar, OCD...)

9. family history of Autistic Spectrum Disorder or other common comorbid disorders

These are usually the main points I look for. Not every person, as I said, has them or to the same degree. But by and large, these are the symptoms.

Sorry, don't feel like doing all the size tags for multi-quoting some I'm removing your style.
Anywhen.
I said "developmental retardation" as in they develop more slowly at first. People with AS take an apparently normal course, until it becomes clear that we're different.
As far as I'm aware, otherwise the two are almost identical.

And If you can't function, it's sort of hard to take an IQ test. I recall that my most recent IQ test was about 2/3 verbal and the first one (in elementary school) almost entirely verbal. No matter how well you do on the blocks and copying, if you can't communicate it your IQ is going to be lower. Human society didn't develop until we deveolped voice boxes to communicate our inventions.


Yes, precisely.
Which is why I think that AS and Autism should be considered seperate. A range in both.


Again, Autism is an early developmental impairment, AS is only clear once we've developed to the point of communication.


Except for 9, generally parents only seem to have "traits" in my experience, yeah, I'd say that your analisis seems about right.

I assumed since MR in itself is a developmental disorder...

But as for the higher-functioning of Autistic Disorder and Aspergers, I still don't think there's much difference. So many people are in the borderline category of ALMOST talking too late but not technically talking late enough.

I suspect it's the same behavioral disorder with just variations in the amount of damage to the language centers. But of course, these are likely caused by different things. But in the end, the same or similar areas/functions of the brain are damaged so that you get either what Psychiatry/Neurology calls Aspergers or High-Functioning Autistic Disorder. Or Low-Functioning Autistic Disorder complicated by even further damage resulting in either behavioral MR (like you mentioned with actually being able to test someone and that this isn't necessarily an accurate IQ nor a true MR) or actual MR, which nobody can seem to figure out which it is-- if even both.

As for the "damage hypothesis"-- I know I would not be a popular person for proposing such a notion especially amongst circles of neurodiversity, since so many people equate "damage" with "defect". But note the numerous individual lesion studies on certain types of brain damage. Many of these are perfect representations of individual Autistic Symptoms. I suspect (for whatever that's worth) that people along the Spectrum have incurred pervasive brain damage. That this vulnerability to damage in very early life-- even in utero-- for many people is due to a genetic vulnerability to, say, infections or susceptibility to obstetric complications, etc. And depending on how vast the damage and what areas or functions of the brain are "hit", this accounts for the diversity amongst us and our symptoms-- aside from individual personality-- but as for comorbid disorders or deficits in various areas where others are not lacking.

But I don't spout that on WP too much. I doubt it would be too a popular notion.

For me, Lexie, I have always tried to be social, and wanted to be social, but have been so akward in social settings that I end up not making any friends. I questioned the reasons for that for many years until I found out about Aspergers. It makes sense now. I have always had a problem with making eye contact when Im talking to people. Someone at somepoint in my youth said that I acted dishonest because I didnt meet anyones eyes when I talked to them. Sometime after that, I began to force myself to make eyecontact. It still feels uncomfortable, and unless I know the person, its a concious effort.
The sensory stuff is kinda weird too. I have problems with Sensory Intergration, that means my body doesnt process the "data" from my senses correctly. This means things that might not bother a person, like a tap on the shoulder, startle me or make me feel uncomfortable. I also have an unnaturally high pain tolarance (or so the Dr said ). I have sustained injuries at work (I am a firefighter by the way) that should have had me in tears, like getting hit in the face with a hose cuppling such that my face was swolen and brused. I felt it, but it wasnt as bad as everyone said it should have been. Or the dr removing a toenail with out deading the area first. It just didnt hurt that bad. And the sensory stuff is even weirder than that! Some things I cant STAND to touch. Microfiber (that they make jackets and blankets out of) literally makes me want to throw up. I cant touch polyester either. weird huh? I also have an acute sense of smell and taste. I can smell things that no one else can detect. Thats great sometimes. I was told that had to do with the sensory stuff. I am also figitey, I move around a lot. Some flashing lights make me sick too. Strobe lights, like the ones we used to have at my Vol. Fire station, (thats why we dont use them anymore) make me throw up. Strobes are notorious for causing problems in normal folks too (like seizures).
I also have Developmental dyspraxia. That has to do with fine and motor skills mostly. I am clumsy and have poor ballance. Its like beingthe ball in a pin ball machine. I seem to bounce off of things all the time. I wind up with bruses that I cant remember how I got (I probly didnt notice running into what ever it was). My fine motor skills arent what I'd like them to be. My handwriting is messy, and I cant draw or paint. And cutting with sissors? not a pretty sight!

Unlike most aspies, (or so im to understand it) I talk alot. I never seem to know when Im supposed to hush...

I have had problems with this stuff all my 28 years. I felt rejected by peers, and always wanted to do things with ease as my sisters had. I have a high IQ and was in the gifted program in school, but the kids had problems accepting me because they couldnt understand how I could be "smart as they were" but they "couldnt read my hand writing" and I "couldnt jump rope".

As an adult, I have found ways to cope. I know my limitations in regaurds to my clumsyness. I do not ventilate roofs for example. If I think an injury should be more serious than it feels, I ask another EMT to look at it for me. I practice hands on skills more so that my movements are smooth and correct when I have to prefrom those tasks (like know tying). My little "aspergeran obsessions" right now are helpful in my job. I have a thing for maps. And I can list lots of very important data we need on HAZ-Mat calls, Medical calls, or what ever from memory. Im accurate, and it impresses my coworkers, most days. My social skills are still bad though. I dont have many friends, and those that I have are all work related.
The thing I notice the most, is the social difficulies. People are ignore lots of things, but most dont know what to do with those that are "socially weird". So, I am a loner by default.
Thats what it FEELS like to be inside ME. My viewpoint is not the only one, and its different for lots of other folks. I hope this is of some help.

When I was little I had no desire to interact with other children most of the time. I even went off to play alone much of the time, but I did play with boys/girls off and on sometimes.

I prefer reading about or enjoying my "hobbies".