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aging
Tufted Titmouse
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20 Mar 2012, 3:28 pm

I'm sorry that this is a repetitive question, I just would like to have others' opinions on this. Also I understand that it is not possible to diagnose over the internet, but it is not possible for me to see a professional.
I am almost 16 years old and I have never understood any of the social things. I always felt left out of the loop and so tried to teach myself how to behave by copying others. I have been very prone to obsession in the past, I collect things, and I have special hobbies. In the past I have been called out for being rude without understanding why. I am not very social and I don't have the natural urge to socialize. Often I find it difficult to relate with people my age who act very differently. I am immune to peer pressure, such as drugs and alcohol.
I could list many things in addition to the aforementioned. I have taken quizzes that have agreed with me, labeling me as "very likely Aspie" and "exteme systemizer" (which statistically 0% of females are).
Is it possible I have Asperger's, or am I just peculiar? Also, what could draw the line between Aspie and NT? Thank you for your help.



psychegots
Deinonychus
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20 Mar 2012, 3:50 pm

aging wrote:
Is it possible I have Asperger's,


Of course it is! Rarely when this question pops up do people write very specific relevant things, but I think you actually did. It is to bad that you do not have the possibility to seek an diagnosis if you feel the need for that.

Now, I do not know how much you have read about AS but I find one thing pretty describing. Imagine that you are in a group of 4+ people like someone from your class or work. They may be sitting around a table or standing in a circle waiting for something. They are all talking together, but it is not a set topic it's just small talk. How do you typically behave in this situation? How does it feel? How much are you able to contribute?



aging
Tufted Titmouse
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20 Mar 2012, 3:59 pm

psychegots wrote:
Now, I do not know how much you have read about AS but I find one thing pretty describing. Imagine that you are in a group of 4+ people like someone from your class or work. They may be sitting around a table or standing in a circle waiting for something. They are all talking together, but it is not a set topic it's just small talk. How do you typically behave in this situation? How does it feel? How much are you able to contribute?


I would probably feel a bit anxious and I might try but I wouldn't be able to contribute. I'm not particularly skilled in small talk, especially around many people.



psychegots
Deinonychus
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20 Mar 2012, 4:12 pm

aging wrote:
psychegots wrote:
Now, I do not know how much you have read about AS but I find one thing pretty describing. Imagine that you are in a group of 4+ people like someone from your class or work. They may be sitting around a table or standing in a circle waiting for something. They are all talking together, but it is not a set topic it's just small talk. How do you typically behave in this situation? How does it feel? How much are you able to contribute?


I would probably feel a bit anxious and I might try but I wouldn't be able to contribute. I'm not particularly skilled in small talk, especially around many people.


Yeah that is VERY common for ASD. By all means you can have trouble with groups without having an ASD but still I find it very describing for us!Like Tony says with ASD it is like all the difficulties with socializing is exponentially increased with the number of people in the group. I read someone here describing it very well. The person said that it felt like an electrical current instantly jumping between the other people making the conversation flow naturally without any effort or breaks.



aging
Tufted Titmouse
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20 Mar 2012, 4:24 pm

psychegots wrote:
Yeah that is VERY common for ASD. By all means you can have trouble with groups without having an ASD but still I find it very describing for us!Like Tony says with ASD it is like all the difficulties with socializing is exponentially increased with the number of people in the group. I read someone here describing it very well. The person said that it felt like an electrical current instantly jumping between the other people making the conversation flow naturally without any effort or breaks.


Exactly! I always thought I was the only one confused about how to act in these situations where others seem to know what to do... the more I learn about AS the more I think I have it. Everything makes more sense now.



dorfin
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
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20 Mar 2012, 4:54 pm

aging wrote:
I'm sorry that this is a repetitive question, I just would like to have others' opinions on this. Also I understand that it is not possible to diagnose over the internet, but it is not possible for me to see a professional.
I am almost 16 years old and I have never understood any of the social things. I always felt left out of the loop and so tried to teach myself how to behave by copying others. I have been very prone to obsession in the past, I collect things, and I have special hobbies. In the past I have been called out for being rude without understanding why. I am not very social and I don't have the natural urge to socialize. Often I find it difficult to relate with people my age who act very differently. I am immune to peer pressure, such as drugs and alcohol.
I could list many things in addition to the aforementioned. I have taken quizzes that have agreed with me, labeling me as "very likely Aspie" and "exteme systemizer" (which statistically 0% of females are).
Is it possible I have Asperger's, or am I just peculiar? Also, what could draw the line between Aspie and NT? Thank you for your help.


I could have written the exact same thing about myself as you have put here, with the exception that I am quite a bit older than you. I also got extreme systemiser as a female, so those statistics can't be accurate. My answer to the group situation would also be similar. Usually in this situation ( assuming I couldn't run away and hide and actually had to be there) I would stay quiet and hope the others wouldn't notice me or try to include me in the conversation. If possible I flick through my phone or something to look distracted and also so I have an excuse that I wasn't listening if I did get asked a question. Also a good excuse to ask them to repeat if I didn't understand or need extra time to think about the reply, although my responses are usually limited to yes/no/ok/me too/ thats nice/ type of remarks.

You say seeing a professional is not possible- why is that? (you don't have to say if you don't want to) I am putting off seeing a doctor about it due to anxiety but I really think that I should. Even though I have read all about it and agree I likely do have AS, my mind refuses to believe that self-diagnosis of myself is possible. The rules are that the doctors do the diagnosing not the patients, otherwise we wouldn't have so many of them.

Anyway this probably isn't that useful to you except to let you know you are not alone, even if you might feel that way sometimes.



Scum
Tufted Titmouse
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20 Mar 2012, 5:55 pm

aging wrote:
I'm sorry that this is a repetitive question, I just would like to have others' opinions on this. Also I understand that it is not possible to diagnose over the internet, but it is not possible for me to see a professional.
I am almost 16 years old and I have never understood any of the social things. I always felt left out of the loop and so tried to teach myself how to behave by copying others. I have been very prone to obsession in the past, I collect things, and I have special hobbies. In the past I have been called out for being rude without understanding why. I am not very social and I don't have the natural urge to socialize. Often I find it difficult to relate with people my age who act very differently. I am immune to peer pressure, such as drugs and alcohol.
I could list many things in addition to the aforementioned. I have taken quizzes that have agreed with me, labeling me as "very likely Aspie" and "exteme systemizer" (which statistically 0% of females are).
Is it possible I have Asperger's, or am I just peculiar? Also, what could draw the line between Aspie and NT? Thank you for your help.


Statistically 0% of females are systemizers? That seems inaccurate. I'm a female who defies this statistic. Also, it's a cultural thing. As a kid, my parents hardly ever helped me develop my more technical skills, even when I took an interest. For example, if I asked my dad if I could help him work on his car and if he could teach me (I'm not saying that these sorts of things encompass the whole definition of systemizing, but it plays a part), he said "Nahh, this a man's instinct! Women don't do this stuff." They said "That's boy stuff, one day you'll have a husband who can take care of all that for you. That's a man's job. Who cares about that stuff, it's so boring anyway." Much of my childhood felt unnatural to me because I did not fit into the gender norms, and people were always trying to make me do "girlier" things (even though I usually didn't do them anyway). So although I have the innate ability to systemize, I was conditioned to work more on my other skills instead, because I'm a girl. I'm not saying the gender normative pressure is felt equally by all girls, or even bothers all girls, or that it doesn't effect boys as well. But it's definitely an annoying issue in many people's lives.

But anyway, good luck on figuring everything out.



aging
Tufted Titmouse
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20 Mar 2012, 8:20 pm

dorfin wrote:
I could have written the exact same thing about myself as you have put here, with the exception that I am quite a bit older than you. I also got extreme systemiser as a female, so those statistics can't be accurate. My answer to the group situation would also be similar. Usually in this situation ( assuming I couldn't run away and hide and actually had to be there) I would stay quiet and hope the others wouldn't notice me or try to include me in the conversation. If possible I flick through my phone or something to look distracted and also so I have an excuse that I wasn't listening if I did get asked a question. Also a good excuse to ask them to repeat if I didn't understand or need extra time to think about the reply, although my responses are usually limited to yes/no/ok/me too/ thats nice/ type of remarks.

You say seeing a professional is not possible- why is that? (you don't have to say if you don't want to) I am putting off seeing a doctor about it due to anxiety but I really think that I should. Even though I have read all about it and agree I likely do have AS, my mind refuses to believe that self-diagnosis of myself is possible. The rules are that the doctors do the diagnosing not the patients, otherwise we wouldn't have so many of them.

Anyway this probably isn't that useful to you except to let you know you are not alone, even if you might feel that way sometimes.


I appreciate your reply. The reason I cannot consult a professional is because I don't really talk to my parents and there is no way to meet one behind their backs. So I suppose it is similar to your reason, that my mind refuses to believe self-diagnosis is possible, and I don't want them to ridicule me. Even though I'm quite sure that I am not "normal".



aging
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

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20 Mar 2012, 8:36 pm

Scum wrote:
Statistically 0% of females are systemizers? That seems inaccurate. I'm a female who defies this statistic. Also, it's a cultural thing. As a kid, my parents hardly ever helped me develop my more technical skills, even when I took an interest. For example, if I asked my dad if I could help him work on his car and if he could teach me (I'm not saying that these sorts of things encompass the whole definition of systemizing, but it plays a part), he said "Nahh, this a man's instinct! Women don't do this stuff." They said "That's boy stuff, one day you'll have a husband who can take care of all that for you. That's a man's job. Who cares about that stuff, it's so boring anyway." Much of my childhood felt unnatural to me because I did not fit into the gender norms, and people were always trying to make me do "girlier" things (even though I usually didn't do them anyway). So although I have the innate ability to systemize, I was conditioned to work more on my other skills instead, because I'm a girl. I'm not saying the gender normative pressure is felt equally by all girls, or even bothers all girls, or that it doesn't effect boys as well. But it's definitely an annoying issue in many people's lives.

But anyway, good luck on figuring everything out.


The statistic is from the website esqs and accounts for females who are on the extreme end. There are also 14% of females who are (unextreme) systemizers. Also, I understand your struggle with gender roles, one of the most irritating things in society... I am not that stereotypical girl either.