Do I have Asperger’s or not? [NVLD diagnosed person]

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Hi all

I am a Dutch 23 year old man and I have some questions whether I fit the Asperger’s category or not. In my mid-teens I was diagnosed with NVLD (nonverbal learning disability) mainly based on a major discrepancy in my WAIS IQ score and also some behavioural problems (rebellious etc.) – my VIQ was in the gifted range while my PIQ was in the low average range. I was forced to take the neuropsychological evaluation because of troubles at school (mainly with teachers and staff).

The psychologist at the time wanted to also give me a PDD-NOS diagnosis, but was hesitant to do so because I do have basic social skills (e.g. even though I dislike eye contact I can force myself to maintain it and I respond relatively ‘normally’ to people). However, I absolutely dislike socializing in general and it gives me anxiety and major headaches. Also, crowded or sensory intensive places can make me mentally and physically ill if I spend too much time there. This seems very Asperger-like to me, but I am not sure if I completely fit the bill due to my ability to fake neurotypical behaviour when forced to, dislike for routines (I am very random in my behaviour and require frequent change), and I am bit doubtful whether I have social anxiety or Asperger’s as it is difficult to tell the difference between the two.

I realise that you can’t get a proper diagnosis from a forum, but perhaps some of you who are more knowledgeable on Asperger’s can help me out here.

By your OP, I did not see any reference to special interests (and, if they are not strong enough for you to talk about them in the first post of the thread, probably they are not string enough also for a diagnosis), then I go for NVLD (or PDD-NOS; afaik, NVLD is not an "official" diagnosis).

I am very much like you, and it was eventually determined that I had NLD without an ASD, even though I still have my Asperger's diagnosis and am not convinced it's totally incorrect.

Anyway, having special interests but not being able to talk about them with normal people sounds very much like me, as is the requirement for constant change, and the social anxiety.

I think it's likely that in my case, I either have mild Asperger's, just NLD, or NLD that causes me to meet the criteria for Asperger's (which means the criteria are flawed). I think the DSM does everyone a disservice by not including NLD.

I bet you could get diagnosed with Asperger's under some circumstances, depending on the doctor. Do you want to? If it's just your NLD causing you to meet the criteria, what's the point? Your country doesn't have the same issue with private insurance like we do, so I would imagine getting a "correct" diagnosis is not that important.

Based on what you wrote, you sound like an introvert with social anxiety; however, we cannot diagnose from a post. By adulthood many aspies have developed coping skills for socializing. What were you like as a child? Any specific interests? Do you pick up social cues?

Does an Aspie ALWAYS have to manifest a "special interest"? Or will a "special interest" always manifest in what NTs might see as a bizarre way? (Knowing all the occurences of uniform changes throughout the entire history of a particular baseball team, or the number of screws found in a particular type of rail road train engine.)

With my quasi-Aspie indicators (and no history of verbal delay or loss), if any form of Autism I've likely got Asperger's, but I can't think of anything in my history that'd constitute an "excessive special interest".

I mentioned yesterday in another thread that if I take note of a song (as in like it), I can go thru YouTube and find as many different versions of that song as possible and play them over and over for as long as two hours, and then sometimes do it later in the same day. I'd say there's some element of the "special interest" mentality in that, but no subject I can think of that I ever devoured and became an expert on.

Does it ALWAYS happen that diagnosed Aspies will have such noteable, extreme interests/knowledge in/of a subject?

I mean, there were a couple areas of scifi that I loved as a kid and just ate up, but in my teens more important things came up and needed attention, and sacrifices had to be made where time and focus were concerned. (I still have knowledge in those areas that was gathered back then, tho', stuff that'd mean nothing to someone without an interest in such things.)

Is it possible that my "half-Aspie" traits could have allowed the "special interest" thing to be overcome more easily, tho the tendency may still be there?

It's hard to even put this into words, let alone try to gather info.

Anyone understand what I'm getting at and willing/able to answer?

(My apologies if this comes across as thread-hijacking. This struck me as sort of fitting into the existing discussion, and I wasn't sure if starting a new thread was warranted.)

I think, for me anyway, no-one else even realizes my special interests unless I tell them. I was obsessed with greek and roman myths in my teens. Who would know what I was reading unless I told them? Then, if you don't socialize much, who are you going to tell?

Nowadays, I don't have much time to do what I want, and I am miserable because of it. But when I hear a song on the radio I used to know, I feel compelled to find the lyrics and memorize them. This is only if I never knew the correct lyrics in the first place. If I ever knew them, I still remember them. Now, with the internet, I don't have to rely on my ears. But it disappoints me that the wrong lyrics are frequently presented on the net. Even my ears can tell that!

See, someone might not realize such a behaviour was an obsession, if they had it. Or maybe, constantly monitoring a particular website, or playing a game. The point is, if you are trying to discount that you have any obsessions, that's OK, but be sure you are not hiding them from yourself.

I believe you don't have to have any encyclopedic knowledge about anything in particular, but you would pursue an interest in a less than average manner.

For example (and apologies for it being about a child with AS):
My son loves playing the Wii like many children. BUT he will basically play the same game for a year or more with little variation.
My son likes sport. BUT he actually only likes golf, and even then not playing it but getting the info on different golf courses.
My son likes cars. BUT he likes to discuss different makes at length when I am clearly not interested and will talk to me rather than other children.

They are all examples of pretty average interests but the way he goes about them is a bit different.

I won't share what I am interested in as I am not diagnosed with anything, but I think if someone were to ask you what you do with your time and you either give a monologue about your current interest or you keep silent as you know it is not socially acceptable to spend your time that way then it may be a clue...

The main things that distinguish NVLD from NVLD and ASD together are in the latter case you have more severe social impairment and you have repetitive behaviours. Repetitive behaviours include rigid routines, rigid need for sameness, stimming and special interests. You only have to have one of these (2 in the upcoming DSM) but you have to have it to a point that it impairs your ability to do other things. The upcoming DSM allows that you may have had a history of repetitive behaviors but not show them as an adult. Still repetitive behaviours are the main thing that distinguishes NVLD from ASD (given that it's hard to quantify exactly how much more severe the social impairment should be for ASD). These two disorders have a lot of features in common.

NOTE: To distinguish NVLD from ASD spatial/visual problems have to be present in NVLD but you can have NVLD (spatial problems) and ASD (severe social impairment and repetitive behaviours ) together which is why I said to "distinguish NVLD from NVLD and ASD together". I have both diagnoses.