I may have Aspergers? Please voice your opinion

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Hello Everyone,

I am a 23 year old college student who thinks he may have Aspergers syndrome.
When I was about 20 years old I went to the doctor because I found social situations to be extremely difficult and awkward, and the doctor told me (without giving me any kind of diagnostic test) that I probably was suffering from Social Anxiety. He gave me a prescription for Sertraline, but I have stopped using Sertraline since then.

I believe I may have a mild type of Aspergers if thats even possible.

Here are some reasons why I think I have Aspergers:

- Whenever I interact with people I am unfamiliar with (especially strangers or friends I haven't seen in a while) it feels extremely uncomfortable, like I want to dig a hole and sit in it.

-Sometimes, while in public my eyes can get very wide (unwillingly) and I look frightened, I've had people ask me "Are you okay?" or "Is something wrong?" without knowing what they meant by it.

- Eye contact is very very hard for me, even around my parents. Whenever I do make eye contact, it feels like I'm struggling to do it, and whenever eye contact is broken, it's a bit like a relief

-Sometimes when I am in social situations, it can feel as if all the people in front of me are on a big TV screen. In other words, I can see them but can't really interact with them.

-In college, whenever someone tells a sexual joke, I don't really know what to say back or what to do.

-Sometimes it's hard for me to tell what a person is feeling based on how they look or gestures. (Example: Once I had a girl that was interested in me, she would "flirt" by touching my arms and pushing me in a playful manner, and I didn't respond at all/ or know what to do)

- I have pretty intense interests in different subjects, some subjects will fade over time, but some stick around. For instance, I have been studying Orthodox Christianity and Christian history for about 2 years now, I buy all the books I can and sometimes don't even finish them. My other interest right now is the actor Bill Murray (random I know) and learning all I can about him buying all his movies, and buying posters related to him.

- I also love professional boxing. And I love keeping up with the records of professional boxers. I also know the records of many boxers offhand without having to look them up.

- I love to spend time alone listening to music or reading

-Finally, I have "on" and "off" days. Some days I feel worse than other days.

Thank you for reading everyone , and please tell me your thoughts.

What started me on the road to my diagnosis was the famous aspie test

http://rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

take that test i scored 181 -200 lmk how u go

Very well from your description, you could be one of us.

Your Aspie score: 86 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 97 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

These are the results of my test, although I don't understand what neurotypical means.

Neurotypical means someone who is normal, more specifically someone who is not autistic. This test then would seem to indicate that you do not have Asperger's or another form of autism but rather that you might be considered to be on what is called "The Broad Autism Phenotype", or BAP for short. However, I will warn you that these tests at best only tell you whether the autism hypothesis is plausible. They are not a substitute for a professional diagnosis. There are other tests as well, many of which are linked in a sticky at the top of the page. For comparison, my scores are listed in my signature. I am self-diagnosed and uncertain that I have it, but it would appear from the test you took that you have far less traits than I do. Perhaps you should also consider Social Anxiety Disorder as it mimics some traits of high functioning forms of autism as well, but comes at it from a different perspective.

One final thought: What matters for an autistic spectrum diagnosis the most is your childhood. You need to figure out how you were with other children at an early age as well as when you met certain milestones. Since it is a disorder of how the brain is "wired", the traits will be present from a very early age. In fact, this is critical to a proper diagnosis as many autistic traits can be present in a person's life due to how they adapt to their environment.

I just took this social anxiety test.
Your score: 47 (fear) + 48 (avoidance)=95
You have very severe social anxiety

Test
So I would be SAD, AS, AvPD, major depressive. That pretty much says it all in a nutshell.

Your symptoms do sound a lot like social anxiety but on the otherhand I was thought to have social anxiety and extreme shyness all my life but in reality I had Aspergers. Either way, you are very anxiety prone like I am. Like someone said earlier, try reflecting back to how you were as a child. If you had trouble fitting in then, aspergers is more probably. If you really want to know, find an autism specialist and seek a diagnosis. Dont just go to any psych that might not be educated properly on autism.

I personally think that you do have Asperger's Syndrome. The OP sounds almost like an exact description of me, albeit with slightly less severe symptoms.

If you decide to pursue an official diagnosis, be sure to find a PROFESSIONAL and COMPETENT psychologist. I have read so many stories on this site about incompetent psychologists dishing out misleading advice!

Thanks for all the input everyone. I may find a professional sometime. By the way, does anyone have any tips on finding a good professional?

Why, yes, I do!
Psychology Today

From the link above you can see professionals by state and specialty. I found the clinical psychologist that diagnosed me from there. Nice thing is they also list their fees.

Wasn't he in that film where everything kept repeating itself?

Yes Walrus, that would be Groundhog Day.

Wasn't he in that film where everything kept repeating itself?

:p

thanks for that link. it's helped me realize i should more seriously consider getting a formal diagnosis.

Your Aspie score: 171 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 30 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

Have you considered trying the Autism Quotient test too? It's more official than the aspie quiz and is used for screening, although the aspie quiz probably gets to the root of things more.

http://www.aspergerstestsite.com/75/aut ... GOD1vmNMxI

i just completed an aq test from this site http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html and scored 44. i'll take that test you link next, out of curiosity.