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Howdy. My name's Porter, I'm a 21 year old college student, and for the past several years, I've been feeling more and more...detached I guess I could say. I'm not sure if I have AS or not, but I'm not socially normal. Could it be possible for AS to crop up later in life, or am I just strange?

No, autism is life-long... The symptoms can appear to get worse due to increased expectations or stress, though.

Thought so....but I don't know what to do. I don't fit in with either the normal crowd or the Aspie crowd, though I like Aspies better.

I know that with me, there are certain autistic characteristics that have become more pronounced over time, like my stimming... and then other things i've learned to deal with better, like sensory issues.

What symptoms do you have, other than feeling detached from people? Do you have obsessive interests, repetitive motor mannerisms, rituals, inability to make friends, don't know how to "hang out" with people, talk about the same thing too much, etc.?

If you mean "detached" in general, and not just from people and social situations, have you considered the possibility of Depersonalization? I get that feeling a lot, and it can be a symptom of another issue, or a stand-alone issue.

As you've gotten older your social needs have changed. It may be that your AS, if you have AS, didn't really pose a problem before but now that more is expected of you it's interfering. Get a work up with a psychologist. You may find you have AS or something else. If you've gotten this far without major problems it's probably something that you can either treat or learn to cope with. Knowing what it is is the first step, though.

Good luck!

I'm glad you asked! Well, yes, I do have some obsessions - history for one (it's my major), technology, all things military (military history is my emphasis), music (I get hooked on a song or album, and just keep listening to it over and over), roleplaying games (D&D and the like, I'm a nerd, what can I say?) and some random things, trivial facts and so on and so forth. I'm most comfortable in one-on-one situations; more than two other people makes it very awkward, unless I know all of them. In meeting other people, it's very hard for me to not talk about myself and my interests. As far as being detached...it's not that I can't feel emotion or be empathetic, it's just that some of the time, I don't want to be social.

This forum is a nice place, people can be very accepting here. Welcome Wespe.

Thanks. I appreciate the welcome.

Welcome to WrongPlanet.

Thanks!