How do I explain my aspergers to family members?

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I have been reading about Aspergers Syndrome for the last two weeks and I am pretty sure it the reason behind my eccentricity. I have'nt been diagnosed with it yet. I am 21 year old woman and I live in Pakistan where there is not much awareness about Autism let alone Aspergers. I frequently get overwhelmed by social demands and my family's ignorance towards my situation. I myself learned about Apsergers two weeks ago and I was so relieved to know that I am not the only one who faces the same issues I do on a daily basis. I want to tell my parents about it so that they would understand what I am going through every day of my life and to support me through it. The problem is I dont know how to tell them. I fear that they will disregard it on the whole saying that there cant be a reason why I behave differently and that I'm just making up stuff to get an excuse from my rude behavior towards everyone. I dont know who to talk to (no one understands if I tell them what I feel) and I have been really miserable for the past few months now. Could you people please advice me as to how I should explain myself to my family members? And if possible how can I get a diagnosis?

I don't really know what advice I can give you, as I don't live in Pakistan and am not overly familiar with the culture or general awareness of autism disorders. But there is an autism group in Pakistan who may be better qualified to give to some advice.

The best you can do is try to find an Autism center in your area. If there is none, trymin centers specialized in kids with learning disorders, they might lead you in the right direction.
About your family, if you suspect they might think you are making it up, then maybe it would be better to get the diagnosis first before talking to them about it. If you think getting the diagnosis is going to be very difficult, then talk to the person that is better listening in your family, and try to explain your concerns to that person. That person may help you inform the rest of your family. It might be a good idea to print some info about Aspergers with links so they research on their own.

Hello,

I also felt the same way finding out that this describes my difficulties. I have not told my parents yet as I have not figured out how.

In another topic on this forum, I did find a reasonable description by the poster Plated Drake. Please let me quote his explanation here:

"One description of AS/Autism i'm thinking of using is this: The average person has a number of filters in their mind so they can absorb the information they need to while ignoring a most of what they dont (ie: talking to someone while not getting too distracted by other people walking about). Those on the spectrum lack many of these filters, and their minds are taking in more information than the brain can handle. Thus they're overwhelmed to the point of social withdrawl. This has less to do with bullying and more to do with environmental discomfort."


I think it is quite good and I hope to use his way of explaining it when I am ready to talk to my parents.
Hope this helps!