Do I have aspergers or any other form of autism? Help!!

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I know this is a very common question here but I will ask you to be patient with me and understand my dilemma. Lately (and I mean, for the last five or six months) I have been quite obsessed about this thing and I have read all the information I can about it. I fit nearly every category, but even then, I feel I need some external confirmation, outside of my family and close friends.

I would be very grateful is you could help me, as an introduction to this forum...
I will list some of my traits.

Things I have:

Social:

Social problems: I have social problems. This doesn´t mean I´m friendless, but is hard for me to interact with regular people. I don´t enjoy parties, I don´t enjoy chit chatting, and i´m quite naive.

Odd facial expressions, odd gait. Yes, I have an odd gait (I sit weird too) and my facial expressions tend to be very strange when I get excited.

Lack of social reciprocity. Yes, I have a very hard time coping with small talk. My favorite form of conversation usually revolves around myself, giving eternal monologues about my interests.

Communication:

Pedantic language and high vocabulary. Excessive formality.

Literal interpretation of language.

Difficulty understanding facial expressions and tone of voice. I was actually shocked when I read that people could convey so much information with their body and/or voice. I can understand more if I make a cognitive effort, though.

My vocal tics, echolialia and palialia. I do them without noticing (my mother had to tell me I repeat words) And, when I was a child, I used to repeat entire commercials, with the same intonation from the original.

Obsessions:

My stimmings. They are very intense and have been with me all my life. I hand flap, rock, tap my fingers, tap my feets, pace, jump... And many more. I do them everyday (over 30 times probably) whenever i´m excited or stressed.

Special interests. I I've had all kind of strange obsessions in my life, and everytime I have them, I can´t stop reading about them, talking about them and recopilating every bit of information I can. This is so intense that I forget to eat, sleep or interact with other people... (Some of my obsessions have been: UFOS, prussian blue, russian women, Andy Warhol & Edie Sedgwick, Mother Teresa, The sopranos, ADHD, economic crisis, and of course, aspergers...)

Motor skills:

Poor balance, poor motricity, clumsiness. I was actually sent to a special school when I was little due to my fine motor difficulties.

Low muscular tone and hypermobility, especially in my fingers.

Sensorial:

Sensorial sensitivity and unusual interest in sensory aspects from the environment. When I as little I had a moderated sensitivity to touch. I couldn´t use jeans because they hurted me and my mom hat to cut the labels of my clothes for the same reason.
I also had a strong desire to smell: People, food and drinks, and even thinks like saliva and urine...
I don´t have touch sensitivity now (not really) but I still smell a lot, and sometimes I put some saliva in my arm and I like to smell it. I know is weird, but I love it.

Others:

Meltdowns and shutdowns. I used to have more shutdowns when I was little and now I have more meltdowns. I don´t become crazy when I have them but I do feel an intense spectrum of emotions I cannot control. I did some head banging (not hard enough to hurt me, though) in those moments.

Synesthesia.

Anxiety. And sometimes, my obsessions can cause me to be even more anxious (if I obsess about something uncomfortable, or if procrastinate due to my obsession)

Things I don´t have:

Routines. In fact, I´m quite messy and disorganized.

Trouble looking people in the eyes. I can look into the eyes fine, although I didn´t when I was younger; I grow out of it by my first teenage years.

I don´t have a special fixation for objects or part of objects.

I don´t have sensory overloads and I don´t think I've had them.

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Sorry for the long post, and sorry for my English, I´m still practicing…

Last edited by Marcotulio on 02 Oct 2011, 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

You will never know for sure until you obtain an official diagnosis from a trained mental health expert.

Will I? A neruologist (a professor of mine) told me he though I have it, but I would like to have more information for myself.
I´m asking for an external opinion because I require more data to decide.
I don´t have a blind fate for psychologists and/or psychiatrists (especially since i´m studying psychology); I have my own mind.

You definitely have autistic traits - people on a forum cannot diagnose you, but I will say that I relate to traits you have mentioned. If they are not caused by something else, like social anxiety, ADHD, OCD, etc, then you would be likely to be at least BAP.

Thank you!! I know you can´t diagnose me - and I don´t want that... I just desire to receive input from people related to this matter.
I have already read about OCD, ADHD, social anxiety, tourette syndrome, NVLD, stereotypic movement disorder, highly sensitive person, BAP etc... And I still feel identified with aspergers, or at least, PDD-NOS.
Oh, and I want to get a diagnosis but is not that easy at this moment...

If he expects you to diagnose yourself, then he's a crappy professor. A clinical diagnosis is required, not an off-hand, now-get-out-of-my-face brushoff from a bored, overpaid academic.


First, consult a clinician to interview your mother about how you were growing up. Then, Ask your mother to speak to the clinician. Only then can an accurate diagnosis be made.


So does Jenny McCarthy, and she believes a lot of crap, based solely on her own feelings. Don't make the same mistake she did, and don't become a poseur.

It sounds like you could be on the spectrum because it looks like you fit enough for the AS criteria.

First point: He didn´t diagnose me and neither told me I should diagnose myself. He told me I should seek a diagnosis with an asperger professional, which, in my country, is not easy to find. And he tried to help me because I was triying to find a reason for my problems.
He offered information - not a diagnosis, information - which you don´t seem good to provide.



Second point: I already asked my mother and other relatives and made an extensive research looking for old videos and pictures. Even then I didn´t made a diagnosis for myself, I asked a question.



Third point: I don´t believe, I think, and I think based mainly on facts, not only feelings. Feelings are there, but I don´t base my assumptions on them, and much less, solely on them. Your insinuation is insulting.

Second point: I´m not a poseur since I didn´t came here saying I have it. I said I might have it but I want more opinions. And even if I could get a positive feedback, I wouldn´t say I´´m diagnosed, because that would be a lie, instead, I would say I think I have it, perhaps more strongly so, which would be the truth.
The reason I said I don´t have a blind fate for mental health professional is because many of them are not familiar with all mental conditions and many, many people who are diagnosed with something are actually misdiagnosed.
Psychologists are not gods; they make assumptions based on their own belief, training, personalities, complex and prejudices.
That´s why I wouldn´t say a formal diagnosis is a definitive answer.
Again, that doesn´t mean I will say I´m diagnosed, and even if I were diagnosed, I probably wouldn´t say I have autism: I would say I am diagnosed and think I have it (because the nature of autism, to be honest, tends to be very subjective and we can´t fully understand it yet)
I hope this is clear.
I am triying to get one of those, but as I said, that´s not easy. Even then I have the audacity to come here and present myself as a non-diagnosed person asking for help to obtain more information.

We really can't say either way because we're not sitting there and evaluating you in person, and most of us don't have the training even if we could meet in person.

What I think we can safely determine is whether it is logical to seek out a professional evaluation; and in your case, I would say, yes, it would make sense. What you're describing are a lot of autistic traits, and even if they weren't autistic traits, would cause enough impairment that it makes sense to get some help to figure out how best to work with these traits.

But some people learn how to cope the hard way before they ever get a diagnosis. In their cases, a diagnosis is more of a matter of self-knowledge and of having it on their record the next time they get into a tough spot and need outside help. These cases are pretty common, because of how recently we discovered the widespread and diverse nature of autism. And in those cases--where there's real impairment but not need for immediate help--people can take their time deciding whether or not to get a professional evaluation. Some people decide they don't need one, and that's a perfectly valid choice to make. If you are compensating fine for your own weaknesses, or getting help from family and friends that fills in the gaps, then the need for a professional isn't really there.