Mild Asperger's?

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How many people out there consider themselves to have "mild" Aspergers? I was diagnosed early in life, and no matter what form I had then, I certainly have a milder form now. I am in college now, and while I still struggle with my peers, I do have meaningful interactions off campus. I also have a pretty technical job my boss respects me for, and I am told my company's clients all think I am wonderful, too.

I also have some traits that aren't as present in me as with other Aspies. I don't mind multitasking, nor interruptions from a task. I'd prefer no interruptions, but the world's too dynamic to ask for that. I can also "read" some people, even to the point of attempting manipulation. My psychiatrist even said most people would not suspect I was autistic, but rather just quirky.

So who else is in that boat?

I can relate to you, even though my symptoms might not match up with yours exactly 100%. Before the recognition of AS, I was diagnosed as autistic by the school psychologist back in the 1980's. However, my parents then took me to another psychologist that undid the diagnosis. But years later, in my early 20's. I was diagnosed as autistic again, but with Asperger's. I figure that I might also be mild because I made a lot of meaningful friendships in college, I don't have any sensory overloads, and it took 2 years of seeing my psychologist in college for every week in order for him to recognise it. Also, I can relate to you in a sense that I'm well respected at work. However, even though I can't multitask nor read other people's intentions and nonverbal cues well, I can still be wise my use of words as long as I'm given enough time to process information.

Though, something I should also mention is that my current psychologist changed the diagnosis to PDD-NOS. When I asked her if I was borderline she didn't give a clear yes/no answer, she just said that a clear yes/no category isn't always possible.

Anyway, from what I've heard, I don't think it's too unusual for adults with AS or PDD-NOS to be unrecognizable, because we are capable of eventually learning social cues.

If I have it I would say I am very mild too

I'm pretty sure I'm somewhere on the spectrum, but my issues are much less severe than they were when I was younger.

Another mild Asperger's thread.

For the newcomers..............yeh, I started off thinking that I was 'mild' because I am able to provide for myself and my family, without handouts from anyone etc........

But there is NOTHING mild about Asperger's and NOTHING mild about the Asperger's that I experience; I just manage to cope with it reasonably well.

Last edited by Blindspot149 on 02 Jun 2010, 6:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

If you have AS, there's going to be something that exceeds your social adaptive functioning compared to your peers.

That's pretty much it. Some have their ability exceeded easily, as they don't have much ability, whereas other can last a bit longer.

Last being the key word.

I guess I would call myself that, though I am not diagnosed (I first suspected that I had AS when I was 54, and there is nothing much to be gained by getting a diagnosis). I am married and have a technical job (IT, number crunching). But I am more comfortable with teenagers or people with psychological conditions than I am with many NT adults, especially those "no nonsense, successful" NT adults. I was depressed and anxious in my teens and early twenties, but fortunately had good intervention and support in my early twenties, and continue to have good support even in my 50s. I had trouble coping emotionally at university, and took many years longer than necessary to finish my degrees, despite having the academic marks to qualify for studying medicine.



Even now, I am not good at multi-tasking, planning, or handling interruptions. I have difficulty understanding my own feelings, or knowing why I have them or what to do about them. I do not understand how to show social affection (like hugs or social kisses - I just don't understand how people know when to spontaneously hug or kiss others in social situations - it is all totally foreign to me, I just don't know what the signs are). On the other hand, I have a very well-paid job and a family, although I spend a lot of time alone in my study in the evenings and on weekends, where it is peaceful and quiet. I have some sensory sensitivity issues, so the solitude helps that as well as providing calmness. I sometimes think my whole life is a search for peace and calm.

I can maintain eye contact, although that really varies. If the other person shows little emotion (e.g. poker face) then I am OK. But if they are emotionally expressive, then it is too overloading to make eye contact for more than fleeting glimpses. I have a mild sensitivity to bright light (I leave the fluorescent lights in my office switched off, preferring the half-light of my windows and the large bright computer screen - 24"), and a sensitivity to sounds (both loud, high-pitched sounds, and especially to eating or drinking sounds), but I don't mind our local shopping mall if I have something to buy. I hate loud cars, motor bikes going past, and loud live music in public places.

But I would call myself mild, because it never even occurred to me that I might have AS, until I did Simon Baron-Cohen's AQ Test on a whim and scored above the cut-off for AS - at the age of 54. That explained a lot of things.

Regardless of my opinion that's what I was told during diagnosis, but like the diagnosis itself it is a spectrum label, and average, so each should be expected to be different.
I for instance, have strong internal symptoms but next to no kinesthetic problems, and in fact was found to be a "natural" in several competitive sports. Part of the reason for a late diagnosis, of course.

My AS is mild and I have a nice circle of friends.
But it doesn't make it any less of a pain in the arse.

I don't know if I'm mild, moderate or severe, as far as AS is concerned. I know of someone here, who has it very mild.

I'm mild in some areas, not mild in others. The main trouble is that I have depression and social anxiety which are by no means mild. The AS, depression, and social anxiety symptoms overlap a lot too. Its hard to make small talk or practice social skills in general when you're depressed and have little interest in interacting with most people.

Exactly. At the same time, social cue reading never comes naturally for us. That's why we will always be on the spectrum.

Sounds a lot like me but I can appear to have to have STRONG Aspie traits from time to time, just depends on external things...internal things too.

Haven't been DX'd so I'm not the greatest source but I do have ADHD, and maybe the reason you are able to multi-task is because you have a lot of ADHD traits present, also? Some aspies have more than others, some seem to have almost none at all, others are all over the place depending on the situation like me.

I force myself to multitask. It doesn't come naturally to me at all.