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Tim_Tex
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03 Feb 2010, 10:47 am

Mild AS here.


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MathGirl
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03 Feb 2010, 1:33 pm

pensieve wrote:
MathGirl wrote:
They can't hold down a job, and they cannot talk about anything other than their special interest. Unless their special interest is Asperger's, there's no way you would be able to get them to post on this site.

yeaah...don't work. Never have worked. Done work experience which was a stressful. So if I do one day work I think I'll be one of those that couldn't hold down a job.
I don't talk to people other than greet and make a few comments, then I'll just sit and stare for about 4 hours.
There are different levels of success that could depend on your level of functioning as well as personal character traits which might influence the symptoms of Asperger's that you already have. For example, introversion and a tendency to gravitate towards certain types of activities over others would affect the path you choose to take and the way other people perceive you. I still don't think you're severe, but moderate, because I've read your blog. You at least have a few friends and seem way more social than I've ever been able to be. There are some pictures of people being in close proximity to you. I would never be able to let people get that close to me - even one person hugging me from the side bothers me. I've been drunk before and still wouldn't tolerate such proximity, because all of my sensory integration problems were still there. I guess everyone's symptoms are of different severity, and that's why it's so difficult to divide that spectrum into distinct "mild, moderate, severe" categories.


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Almandite
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03 Feb 2010, 1:59 pm

I am a moderate-severe Aspie, but I'm going to be re-d'xed as HFA (or least severely affected, or whatever the new term is going to be) when the new DSM comes out.

I am heavily medicated, use lists to remind me how to take showers and perform other routines, and have difficulty speaking in non-academic groups of people. I stim and have pretty pronounced sensory issues. I have motor delays, mood/self-regulation problems, etc.

But my prospects are pretty good. I'm going to college--we'll see how long it lasts--and might have a job in a few years. Maybe. I can work well with one or two people for brief periods of time and can even connect with a couple of them. I have few difficulties with pragmatics and semantics. But this is the result of years of hard work and support, and if I go off my meds or lose the supports or have to make any sort of change or adjustment, it all falls apart.

Which is to say that I don't think you can judge the level of AS by whether or not someone can work or go to college or even have friends. And abilities are never stagnate, and just because I can't do something now doesn't mean I won't be able to later, and vice-versa. I think that if you are going to judge the level of AS, you need to look at developmental history and cognitive characteristics, rather than obsessing over some arbitrary list of "life skills" that some nonautistics can't even master half of.



ursaminor
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03 Feb 2010, 2:40 pm

I am not very rigid (except in my thinking), which is why I got the diagnosis PDD-NOS in stead of Asperger's Syndrome. My GAF score is 50, which according to Wikipedia means "Severe symptoms or very limited socially, at work and / or school." I did have a lot of problems when I was at school. The was an enormous gap between my social-emotional capabilities and cognitive capabilities. I had one friend when I was 12. We always talked about my special interest. My mother says he was obviously autistic. I think our subject of conversation was his special interest too, fun times.



pensieve
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03 Feb 2010, 6:09 pm

MathGirl wrote:
pensieve wrote:
MathGirl wrote:
They can't hold down a job, and they cannot talk about anything other than their special interest. Unless their special interest is Asperger's, there's no way you would be able to get them to post on this site.

yeaah...don't work. Never have worked. Done work experience which was a stressful. So if I do one day work I think I'll be one of those that couldn't hold down a job.
I don't talk to people other than greet and make a few comments, then I'll just sit and stare for about 4 hours.
There are different levels of success that could depend on your level of functioning as well as personal character traits which might influence the symptoms of Asperger's that you already have. For example, introversion and a tendency to gravitate towards certain types of activities over others would affect the path you choose to take and the way other people perceive you. I still don't think you're severe, but moderate, because I've read your blog. You at least have a few friends and seem way more social than I've ever been able to be. There are some pictures of people being in close proximity to you. I would never be able to let people get that close to me - even one person hugging me from the side bothers me. I've been drunk before and still wouldn't tolerate such proximity, because all of my sensory integration problems were still there. I guess everyone's symptoms are of different severity, and that's why it's so difficult to divide that spectrum into distinct "mild, moderate, severe" categories.

Yes but being drunk with You Am I is a whole other kind of being drunk. The hangovers are unbearable.
So maybe I am moderate, but I think when the PMDD hits I can get severe because of short tempers and self doubt. I also snap at my friends and avoid them until the PMDD has passed. So I think my co-morbid disorders are creating the difficulties in my life. I'm also wanting to get diagnosed with ADHD to see if that helps when I do finally get a job.


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