symptoms of asperger syndrome really defined

Post Reply New Topic

Sorry to burst the bubble, but no diagnostic traits are well defined short of a true biological test. There a very few of those for Neurodevelopmental conditions, basically exclusively genetic markers, where they are available which is rare. There have been one size fit all eye test claimed for both ADHD and ASD but have yet to been proven to be the case, and have gone awful quiet since. Arbitrary checklist are the domain of psychiatry (pseudo-science). You only have look at a diagnostic manual and apply some critical thinking to realise it is never going to cut it. My view is you should approach the task by measuring the propensity of a range of different traits, rather than a set checklist which is wishful thinking at best. You can view conditions with trait not bolted together totally free moving, multidimensional in nature. In fact you could describe the whole condition as simply a set of traits, and there is absolutely nothing to loose by doing that be cause if they were bolted together and more fixed, not that I think that it is likely, that would still reveal itself through analysis. Where as the opposite way round automatically assumes those traits are fixed.

In fact "Asperger's" is not that well defined, it is only one idea of higher functioning ASD.

^
A valid point - but I don't see any bubble bursting. I don't think anybody here believes that answering these questions will prove anything in absolute terms. Me, I'm answering them to deepen my understanding of myself, and to prepare myself for my forthcoming DX - I'm hopelessly slow at answering questions in realtime and when under the stress of a clinical interview, unless it's a thing I've thought about before.

Of 12 I (concerning my ASD symptoms only) fit 2 1/2.

No, it's my preference. I want space because it feels more comfortable to me. I can't stand to be physically close to someone. Of course that itself might indicate that I have problems with my personal space on the other end of the proxomity scale.

Sure, but the question is about judging their preference for space, not your own. If you always keep a good distance from them, it's impossible to know whether you're good at judging their preferences, because you'd never put it to the test by approaching people who are approachable.

I was told by a mental health professional (without autism expertise) that I have difficulty judging my personal space in public places. I take up far less than is generally considered the norm. They would notice this when they saw my behavior in public.

1-difficulty in accepting criticism or correction, this symptom is usually mild to moderate

Can depend on the person and/or subject, otherwise I accept it fairly well, mostly because I don't want to end up snapping at people and getting in arguments etc.


2- difficulty in offering correction or criticism without appearing harsh, pendantic, or insensitive...this symptom is usually moderate to severe

I may come off as ruder than I intend, then again that might be because no one seems to listen to me most of the time, thus I usually try to keep quiet. When the people that I am talking to don't listen to me, I can get quite insulted later on as it's usually the best thing that will be said all day... or something along those lines


3-pouting, ruminating, fixating on bad experiences with people or events for an INORDINATE length of time........this symptom is moderate to severe

Yeah, this is a problem, I can't let go of the past, and it can help build up to something bad when I'm down in the dumps, which is quite often these days too, having been dumped by my, now, ex-fiancé a lot of my bad past experiences are often on my mind and good memories are practically non-existent even when I'm not feeling so low... I just don't know what's affecting me more, the break up of the relationship or the fact that she took advantage of me so much, stole some of my stuff AND hates me when not only have I done nothing wrong but was also one of the nicest people she's ever met in her life...
These thoughts coupled with other times of the past really aren't helping me right now


4-abrupt and STRONG expressions of likes and dislikes......mild to moderate symptom

I can like and dislike people a great amount, but without anyone knowing what I truly think about them, as I will try to keep my thoughts of people to myself, whether I like or dislike them... unless under certain circumstances maybe...


5- difficulty with adopting social masks to obscure real feelings and emotions...moderate to severe symptom

I've adopted a kind of neutral way of life, calm is how I like things, nothing to be frustrated with, and nothing to be enthusiastic about - which often seems to lead to disappointment - I often try to look as if I don't care whether things are good or bad when I'm around people, never truly works, gotta laugh at something funny after all, and when things aren't looking too good I generally start looking a bit unfocused, but still take everything on-board

Funny how the good feelings can become the worst ones...
This also explains why I like or dislike people without anyone knowing what I truly think, just getting along regardless of what I think just helps with the keeping of the calm.


6- low to medium level of paranoia.......mild to moderate symptom

I've always had a type of 'matrix' phobia, always thinking that I'm being watched, moniterd or something... I find the best way for getting past this is actually to ignore this paranoia altogether... could go insane otherwise... just don't ask how I ignore such a thing


7-failure to distinguish between private and public personal care
habits: i.e., brushing, public attention to skin problems, nose picking, teeth picking, ear canal cleaning, (lol) clothing arangement..........mild to moderate symptom

mmh... sort of - in some of those cases... I'd say I just don't care, others don't apply. On the subject of clothes though... I can't believe how many people complain about what I wear... It's just black trousers, white shirts, black coat and black trainers... this is what I'm comfortable in, so why should I dress differently? Colour makes me feel awkward and patterns, pictures, text and logos just make me feel like a prat, is this truly a problem? Or is it everyone else's problem? oh well... doesn't matter, life goes on either way


8- RIGID adherence to rules and social conventions where flexibility is desirable................mild to moderate symptom

I generally wont do something if I truly don't want to - joining in is one thing, but making a prat of myself is something I prefer to avoid
This is also bit of a problem when it comes to driving... I prefer to drive how you're supposed to drive (not that I drive exactly how, but well enough I say), and I'd highly like it if everyone else did the same. How most people have their license is beyond me.
Being competitive and uncaring when I'm in that kind of mood also makes this HIGHLY dangerous - not that this has made me cause an accident, but someone else did decide to crash into me for their own moronic reasons... what a bad day that was, even though my car did come out of it unscratched and they needed a new bonnet, he did what he did, just because I cut him up when he had already cut up a dozen other people, including myself, he only bowed down to me as being right when he confronted me and realised that I could financially do him big time if that was what I so wished, and now I wish I did


9-social isolation and intense concern for privacy.....symptom moderate to severe

I prefer to be alone and have spent much of my life alone, the only company I truly like is the people I'm close too or the people I like. If I'm with people I don't know I tend to be EXTREMLY withdrawn, as I may try to take part but at the same time try to keep to myself.
An example would be the other morning when I went to a breakfast club at where I live, I didn't know the residents so I kept to myself, didn't have anything to eat and I felt like I was making some of the other people uncomfortable at the same time just because I wasn't doing anything, but I did talk to people when spoken to, however brief the conversation was... and that was about it.
If I went there more often and got to know the people that go there often, I'd be more in the crowd, eating something, but I'd still likely only talk when spoken to


10- flash temper....symptom mild to moderate

This is the bane of my life... maybe...
School was hell, some teachers mistreated me - maybe because they didn't understand me, but when a teacher doesn't see the fear in the eyes of someone who's being chased by a gang of people and does nothing but delay my capture for an unprovoked beating, I'd say the teacher just didn't care about what was going on - so after being chased around the school a couple times doing several laps around and through the buildings, I'd imagine it was pretty obvious that I was going to be a 'tad' angry at people.

Pounding someone who you don't like 6 feet under sounds like a fun way of stress relief, unfortunately for one person, at a Pupil Referral Unit, the teacher did understand, and I was even given permission to retaliate (“If he goes to hit you, I wont stop him” was roughly the words used), as this person was souly trying to wind me up, but in doing so, was winding everyone in the unit up.

4 hours or so of torture, and the unit was almost on my side, the only problem was, just a moment after being given this 'privilege' of being freely able to express myself, I finally exploded, more so than usual, I was out for the kill, half a dozen people had to drag me off with my hands round his neck, with him up against the wall an inch off the ground, I have no regret for what I did, people at the unit treated me a lot more respectfully there after, and I don't think matey even had a first thought about winding me up again, let alone a second - thus I discovered that bringing a person an inch to their death will change their perspective of things

Thankfully that incident was about 7 years ago and people since haven't pushed me that far, or at least 1 other incident, which was avoided by taking me home P.R.O.N.T.O.

Over the years of trying to be calm and neutral has left me with a fairly longer fuse than many and it's harder to wind me up now, although the explosions aren't gone and aren't exactly pretty - now I restrain myself, so it looks like I'm having a seizure on the floor or something, I can't exactly say, it's not easy recording yourself have such a fit of rage...

The people that know me I belive only fear for if I'm ever pushed to the point where I can't hold back and I have to let it out, even I fear for if it happens, as I doubt I'll be myself again if it does...


11- difficulty judging other peoples space..symptom moderate to severe

I'm very aware of the people around me, walking through the shopping centre is more like dancing, twirling around all the people that think I'm a ghost and that they'll just walk straight through me, or leaping ahead majestically to get past the hoards of slow coaches... and stuff like that... I prefer the idea of getting to where I'm going to so I can get out of the big crowds, so I walk faster than a lot of the people around me in the shopping centre.
The only other thing I consider here is personal space, I can't help but think that my invisible ring of happiness is a bit bigger than everyone else's around me as I'd prefer people didn't get so close, especially behind me


12- limited by intensley pursued interests.....symptom mild to moderate

I'm a gamer, I can't take much more interest in anything else, it's what I've been good at since before I was even 2 (the master system was pretty easy to pick up and play, bubble bobble any one?), other than games I do alot of research on what ever takes my fancy at the time, often to do with games series' for better understanding of a more full story (e.g. Legend of Zelda, Resident Evil) or companies for progress on games, technology, events and other things (Nintendo, Microsoft) or sometimes I research into things that concern me like AS

My imagination is very weak - it's easier to improve on what is already made than making it in the first place, so games are my imagination, the story is already there, the characters already exist and have their names and roles, and the action is there visually, none of this is genrated in mind, so my mind only has to deal with utilising strategy and logic meaning maximum fun in my case.

As fun as Lego was, I'd generally make the same things, and it would always be symmetrical, and end up being broken down rather than played with as I wouldn't be able to make up a story or plot or anything of the sorts that would give meaning to this creation.

But when it comes to editing, I can usually point out what's needed, what's missing to make it better... and this is where my interest in games comes in so well, as playing games is just too easy these days, playing a game and remembering some good times of the challenges involved in developing the game and pointing out the areas that are there because of me sounds more interesting than playing the game itself... almost, and seeing my name run through the credits at the of a game sounds almost magical to me, mostly because it would mean that something is going right in my life at last.



Apologies for some life story moments and excessive amount of text.

If anyone would like to comment about what I've said about myself, it would be appreciated - it would be nice to get some thoughts from other people about me as I'm trying to get a diagnosis of my mental state sorted out, at long last - life's sort of taken some bad turns in a fairly short space of time, to a point where a true diagnosis would benefit me no matter what the answer. A number of people have suggested that AS is the case which means I'm more prepared for a yes than anything as I've grown up believing in it.

Thanks for reading.

hi foamy, welcome to the forum

my quick observations to your post

- your a brilliant young man, continue your education all your life

-love hurts so bad!! !.............it is best this girl reveal herself to you now.you will be so much smarter the next time around, lol...............you are lucky to have had a girlfriend relationship......so many more to come your way ...tread carefully

-don't be like me and live with hate to those who have injured you.............forgive all who have injured you, and ask forgiveness for those you have injured...............im almost 50, i never realized how powerful forgiving was until i was 35.....don't be an idiot like me and wait that long.........................trust me, those that have injured you will teach you lifes important lessons, call it tuition by being used, lol........... i like you young man

hi everyone, i was gone last week

social symptoms of asperger's disorder

13-Limited clothing preference;discomfort with formal attire or uniforms.....symptom is moderate to severe.............i perspire easily and insist on cotton shirts, cotton cotton cotton.....wool or rayon, forget it...........i also have a favorite shirt or pants i wear frequently

14-Preference for bland or bare envioronments in living arrangements...symptom moderate to severe..........i prefer nuetral surroundings and not anything loud or bright.........in my youth i could care less about my living surroundings, as i got older it has changed a little bit

i am terrible with matching colors and lack any kind of fashion sense in furniture(unless it is antiques) and in clothing......trendy people are so shallow and plastic

mild, used to be moderate. I hate anything tight or sweaty, I hate things digging in my neck, back or arms. I don't like stiff fabrics, or tight hard shoes. It does limit my preferences and if a top is even slightly too tight I won't wear it, end of.



Not me at all, I like loud colours and patterns, and I like a bit of clutter.

Yep, that's me. I try hard not to look stupid but all I really want is comfort and convenience - can't stand dressing to other people's specifications, even my own optimised choice of clothes is bad enough. Don't get me started on collars and ties. I like the idea of wearing nice-looking clothes, but it's a thing I always put off as something to do "one of these days" when I get round to it. I guess I want to look snazzy but the practicalities of it all seem to escape me - most of what I see other people wearing I don't like, but occasionally (particularly in films and photos) I see stuff I'd love to emulate....not mainstream, but clothes from past eras and the kind of stuff artistic bohemians will strut about in. Somehow I just don't now how it's done though.

Hmmm.......in principle I like a nice artistic decor, but in practice I don't seem able to achieve any kind of good visual effect. Much like clothes, I've seen alternativist rooms that I admire greatly, but I don't have a clue how to emulate it. The practicalities get in the way, I need my stuff to be at my fingertips and what it looks like takes second place. And the piles of stuff build up into a mess. I guess the idea of living in beauty is just a dream for me. Every step I take to achieve it ends up compromising my practical needs. It's really depressing.

Is there anybody that didn't fit in this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmIAd8LG ... re=related

drill instructors have a tendency to give harsh criticism as well.

social symptoms of AS cont..

15- excessive talk...moderate to severe symptom.....lmao...i can either chatter unendlessley or be as quiet as a rock on the beach....especially up to about age 30.........i ask a ton of questions usually in my conversation

16-tantrums.....mild to moderate symptom.....OMG. in youth had a very VERY short fuse.....would destroy things somewhat, but i always knew thatv living organisms would not be the wrath of my destructions...........tantrums somewhat severe but sporadic thank heavens.........i still have mini-tantrums, lol, but not in public view, lol

Extremely guilty.... I depends almost completely on the listener to stop me. Sometimes when I really focus carefully on avoiding this trait, I get some way towards it, but the moment I take my eye off the ball, back it comes. It's like I have to get every associated idea out of my mind once I start, as if I'm a walking encyclopaedia or something. It would seem to be hard-wired.


Not guilty. Though I have a hazy recollection of my mother beating me and shouting that I was NOT going to have tantrums She was like that, any show of defiance from me and it was clobbering time. How many times I was subjected to that Pavlovian conditioning I don't know, the memory is very hazy. I must have been very young. The schools I went to were pretty srtict about kids going ape as well. I used to bite my toys when I was feeling frustrated, and deliberately broke a few of them in anger.

I possibly had some kind of a small meltdown at school, around 1968, somebody was bullying me and I kind of lost control and yelled and screamed at everybody in sight. It must have scared him because he stopped, and never bothered me again. At the time I felt that I was just putting on an act to confuse him - once I'd stopped, I looked at one of my classmates and I grinned and said "I like a bit of a laugh" - but I don't know whether I'd really been in control or not.

My one and only outburst of violence was in 1981 when I pushed the woman I was living with down the stairs. Mitigating circumstances - I'd just caught her in bed with another guy; even then it would never have happened if she hadn't been so indignant about it. Luckily she wasn't badly hurt. One or two people congratulated me on finally rebelling against her nasty ways. We made up after a brief separation, but when I found her in bed with the same guy again a few months later, I wasn't violent at all - I just calmly moved her stuff out of my room, and moved my stuff out of her room and into mine (we lived together in a shared house and had a room each), and ended the relationship for good.

As an adult I'm sometimes admired for my self-control and calmness. I'm capable of raising my voice sometimes, and if I'm angry and confident then my words can be vitreolic and cutting, but I almost never do anything materially destructive. The nearest thing in recent years has been to throw water at a couple of people. I'm not totally repressed - I'm well able to be immediate and raise my voice appropriately at moderate frustrations, though it's only likely to happen when I'm feeling safe with the people around me, when I feel they can cope with it (it's surprising how many people can't handle it though). I might cuss, but not usually at a person, just at the situation.

I let out my aggression through music - I love singing blues and rock very loudly, and can do it quite well, so I get to perform in public sometimes. Not everything I sing is aggressive though...just hitting my high notes loud and clear is very cathartic. I don't really need to go ape. Not a lot happens to seriously upset me these days, and I have a sense of ease that many people don't seem to have.

Mostly I'm pretty appropriate, more on the quiet side. Except if someone directly asks me a question regarding my special interest... uh-oh. And recently I've noticed that I can't NOT join a discussion in class if I feel I have something to say, even if I would prefer taking a backseat for a change. Though my speech is appropriate in topic and length, the fact that it doesn't seem to be an option not to speak is disturbing.



When I do lose my temper, it's pretty bad. It only happens a couple of times a year, but I yell and insult the other person. I've gotten more restrained about the insults, but not enough. I no longer throw things or hit or kick objects, but there's still a ways to go before I'm happy with my anger control.