worried i dont have AS

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I can relate to the OP, somewhat. I don't know if I have it, but inside I'm strongly convinced I have it. I am working myself up to mentioning it to my parents to see if they can give any more relevent evidence about my childhood but it's a long road. I fit alot of the criteria, but I could be misinterpreting it.

But the real thing I'm worried about isn't AS, its whether or not I'm a super taster (stick with me here). I had a long discussion about being a super taster with some people. They called BS on me, while I just insisted.

Now, do I buy the super taster test? Because if I am a super taster, it explains my inability to eat vegetables. If I'm not a super taster, then why won't I eat vegetables?

I want to be a super taster because I would like to think that I simply just cannot stomach veggies. But at the same time, I don't want to be a super taster because it would lead me into being more interested in figuring out why theres other things weird about me. I both want and don't want to be a supertaster/aspie. I'm thinking you feel the same way. What I really want is just to understand. Supertaster tests are 5$ for 2, and are black and white clear as day yes or no results. You either are or you arent. And i'm still scared know.

And just to note. Not being an Aspie isn't going to make you a weirdo. Being an aspie isn't going to make you a weirdo. Being an NT doesnt make you not a weirdo. Everybody is weird in some way. If you're not a little weird, you are going to be pretty boring.

I agree. I actually asked someone I interacted with years ago (from college) asking for a good honest answer to a few questions about my social skills. She was a friend of a friend, so we didn't get along, but she her perception of me was far different than my perception of myself. You don't really know how monotonous your voice is until you record your own conversations and play it back.

Agreed. This is painful.

I was told the same thing.

I have to admit, this bothers me a lot less than those times when I'm quite positive that I've come off well and someone really does like me, only to learn later that I was completely off base and in fact they are consequently trying actively to avoid me. Kind of makes me feel like a stupid ass every time that happens. At least you can only be shocked by the tone of your own voice once!

I can understand the second very well, but I don't really understand the first. I mean, I guess I understand the desire to have AS rather than schizophrenia in a mental sense, but in a diagnostic sense, I think it'd be better to have a correct diagnosis, even if it is a more unfavorable one. It'd be a problem if it was untreated schizophrenia, because it could very well get worse without medication, which wouldn't be provided if someone had an incorrect diagnosis. It's why I worry when people go in "wanting" a certain diagnosis, because what if it's something different and needs to be treated in a different way?

Sorry if that made no sense and/or wasn't what you meant by the first point. Three fourths of my brain leave once midnight hits.

Progressiverocker - what's a super taster test? The only thing I can think of is those strips that some people can taste and others cannot, but that's a genetic thing and not related to vegetables as far as I know, so that can't be it. I'm just curious.

And I agree about the recordings. Somehow I managed to not hear any recordings of my own voice until a few years ago, and I was shocked at how I sounded. I had had a few strangers in the past mimic my voice in what I considered to be an unflattering and unrealistic way, but I heard the recordings and realized that no, I really do sound like that. It's still weird to me to hear anything like that, because it sounds like someone completely different than me (to me, anyway).

I understand having comfort in an official diagnosis, but all Aspergers is, is a title. You'll still be the exact same person regardless of whether you fit official criteria. If you're happy with who you are then it shouldn't really matter. Finding out if you have Aspergers may be important, but you should try to be happy with the results and take pride despite whatever the outcome is. I mean, being NT couldn't be so bad could it? Most of us here would have thought of ourselves as NT before learning about AS, right?

Schizophrenia isn't as bad as AS.... Similar level of severity, but one is there from the beginning, whereas one is teenager/adult onset (and it can be treated to some extent). It's a tossup, and ultimately individual based rather than one group being worst than the other.

OP: you'll be lucky if you don't have it.

I don't know about that...Have you ever been friends with a schizophrenic?

The only person I know personally is a relative with the chronic form of such (lived at home her whole life, never dated, worked on the farm..., and etcetera; she's 80 something now, and she's similar to many with AS in outcome).

You need to look at the outcome studies from the two groups, and Schizophrenia as a whole has a better outcome (whether that's saying anything or not is a good question). Granted, severity varies in both conditions, so one person from the other can be worse than the other and vice-versa, but the outcome of Schizophrenia is generally better due to its late onset and treatment.

I have, I would choose AS any day of the week. Schizophrenia is so cruel. Schizophrenia forums would not be filled with threads praising the benefits of having the condition. It is not luxuriously considered a 'lifestyle' like some people consider AS to be. It can be truly crippling.

I'm friends with a schizophrenic person and I'd choose AS any day of the week too, with AS you can modify how you react to things when you know it's probably the AS making you think certain things are happening when they're not and I don't think schizophrenics have the same option.
I'm paranoid but I know the reasons, mainly due to the way I am a dick all the time, so I try to modify my reaction accordingly but my schizophrenic friend is really nice to everyone and everyone's nice to him but he still thinks everyone's out to get him, he knows he has schizophrenia but doesn't connect that fact with how unreasonable his paranoia is he just thinks it's reasonable.

If I had a choice it would be none of the above.

I am in a similar situation as the OP. Is it possible to have AS but not have sensory issues?

i would NOT want to be a schizo. like i said, my uncle has it, and not even bad. he lives his life in fear.

i'm just not sure about the social impairments and sensory issues. i have a bit of all of the criteria, but i dont know if i have them in the right way, you know? like, i greatly dislike loud music, it hurts in some instances, but can go to a loud concert...or i can listen to gunshots, but have to plug my ears in a clapping hall, sunlight stings my eyes more than average, but flourescent lights dont bug me, or some notes really just sting. for example the "s" noises in the song "talk" by Coldplay.

and the social thing. how do you tell if you have AS, and have just learned really well? or are just a social flop who cracks under pressure? i mean, i would definately say my body is not in tune with my mind....i dont really dance (so awkward and stiff if made to) because it just doesnt connect, id really have to put thought into getting the right movements. if i DO, which is always alone, it looks nothing like dancing, its just mindless movement, that looks abnormal. or like, if i am comfortable with people, i have actually made them burst out laughing because my expressions are so outlandish and overegagerated...but usually i just come off as "charismatic and very wierd" this is with close people mind you. i'm always unsure how to act with strangers and acquaintances, because i dont want to overstep the appropriate boundaries. i know sometimes i can say something too revealing. and i am just so awkward. i dont really know how to connect. my family thinks i am distant and dont like being touched (i like being touched by people i respect/like)
i can definately empathize, if i have had it happen to me, or can understand it based off of some similar happening to me, other times, it just isnt there. ill sit and think and think, and nothing comes.
I'd definately say i have an isolated mind. like i think about other people, but i just feel disconnected, it's almost physical, like i can feel the glass. id say i feel self centred, but its not due to lack of care, and i do like making others happy. my fam thinks i'm selfish.
all these symptoms are pretty AS, i think....but like, a lot fo the time i do seem pretty normal, too. i guess ill have to ask my best friend about it for details.....becaus ei cant be too sure.
how does one know if they are a good actor, or normal!! !! D:

sorry if i seem preoccupied with this, i really want to know already. the lack of know fails.

I noticed that you mentioned "charismatic, but very wierd." This is how most of the well-adjusted aspies whom I have met come off (myself included, I think). From what you have said here and elsewhere, I would not feel suprised if it turns out that you are somewhere on the spectrum. Only a psychiatrist can say "for sure." It is unfortunate that your parents are so hostile to the idea. Perhaps you should look into attending a University elsewhere in Europe or North America - which would potentially offer you a bit of space and a chance to seek Dx yourself.

hmm. i have considered college in England. does it offer more space there? i hope i get a dx soon.
thanks for being helpful and informative, by the way.