Super annoyed!

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I'm really pissed off that so many vague and random things are classified as being traits of ASD.
For example:
Who doesn't have an obsession about something. Most people I know do. There are many reasons to be obsessed by something or someone.
Imitating others on how to behave. Isn't that how everyone learns. If you hang around someone long enough, you tend to pick up some of their traits.
Dislike of change. So what... tons of people dislike change.
Shy and reserved. That is just a trait of be human. Half the personality types are introverts...meaning they need alone time to recharge. Shyness is way to common to be ASD.
Girls being tomboys is a symptom of ASD. Really?
Have OCD/anxiety disorder, ADHD, maladaptive daydreaming, hypochondria, etc. is a symptom? Don't these things occur independently as well?
Sensory issues. Everyone I know has something that bothers them, like certain sounds, sights, smells, etc.
Living in a fantasy world/escapism/spacing out. People do that all the time.
Remember specific facts and details about people, like birthdays. Then every old person I know has ASD.
Always feeling different/out of place. Every person I know feels that way. Why do you think life is so hard?
Listening to the same song over and over again. People do that all the time, it's normal thing people do.....so on and so forth.

I'm not trying to say that ASD isn't real, because it is a real problem people face. However, I find that online sites to be very vague and unhelpful. I brother has it, and ever since in moved back in, I've been bombarded with it everyday to the point that it's all I think about.

I just feel that some of the traits listed are not a sign of any disorder, but traits of the normal human experience and personalities. The thing is people are weird...every single one of us. ASD seems to broad that I can see autism in everyone, and that makes me think about the creditability of diagnoses.

Well there is more to it than that but I think sometimes its starting to get overdiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

Before my ASD diagnosis, I mentioned that I had issues with light. I was told that many people have issues with light; but there's nothing medically wrong with them. (she was just talking about eye conditions; but her point still stands) I know quite a few people who have problems with noise - for some, it's noise trauma, for some, it's sight impairment and for some like me, it's damage to the ear as a result of ear syringing.

It seems now if you act what can be perceived as unusual, you've got something wrong with you. I know someone who has an interest in maths. Apparently, this means he's Autistic. But unlike the other people I know with an interest in maths, he shows no other obvious symptoms of being on the spectrum.

There's also a trend of nerds claiming to be Autistic so they can explain away their social shortcomings.

Some of the diagnosing (professional and non-professional) is probably overdone, but, for many of the things on your list, what makes them important to an ASD diagnosis is the severity of the characteristic, not merely having a certain characteristic. For example, lots of people may have problems with lights, but getting migraines from them wherever you go is very different.

This is what I fear that I may be subconsciously doing (though the original idea that I may have Autistic traits has been implanted by my Doctor, not by my choice).

I disagree that the general population has all of those traits you have listed occuring all at once to a substantial and life-limiting degree. There is absolute difference between people on the spectrum and those not on it. That doesn't mean NT people can't have similar problems for different reasons.

Take sensory issues for example; I literally go crazy if my senses are over-stressed, I start hitting myself over the head, for example. I can hardly cope with being spoken to unexpectedly, or having people anywhere near me, or brushing past me. Too much noise has made me literally physically sick in the past. If I am socially overloaded for too long, my eyes stop focusing properly.
I could go on.

The level of my sensory sensitivity really does make it impossible for me to do certain things.

I do not observe this in the general population.

Autism is a real thing that affects the brain and nervous system.

Everyone has their quirks, that's true. But autism is a unique and specific variation on all of that.

Hmm, maybe I haven't interacted with enough people, hence I dare conclude that many (perhaps 7 or 8 out of 10) non-Aspies whom I know DON'T exhibit any of those abovementioned traits.

What I'm merely saying in that I see these different traits among the general population, not all the things I listed above for one person. Many NT's do have a lot of aspie traits, but not have the disorder. I'm annoyed at all the contradicting information about AS that is out there, and where is the line drawn from going on normal into AS? I believe the diagnostic criteria is way too broad making it hard to get a correct diagnose.....and if a person really has it how can they still fall through the diagnostic crack?

The reason those are symptoms of a possible ASD is because of how many of those that one person has all at once. They go by not only the symptoms, but also by how often a person suffors from each, and whether or not it's been noted in other cases, especially with autism. That's how they diagnose people.

Sure, individually, these symptoms are things that many people have, but not everyone has a majority of them all at once, and that's what speciallists look for.

Wouldn't it also be possible to have a lot of AS traits, but be mild enough to not actually be AS? Wouldn't some of the symptoms be caused by other things besides AS?

Threads and posts like this make me wonder if I am even correctly diagnosed. What if my symptoms were just normal traits and not ASD. What if I was incorrectly labeled with it and I am sure even professionals and autism specialists can make mistakes in diagnosing autism. What if I am just normal but yet I just have to try harder than everyone because I am one of those unlucky people out there. What if I have been incorrectly diagnosed with sensory processing disorder as a kid or dyspraxia.

I remember being told as a child "that happens to everyone" and I took it as what happens to me is normal and my parents would tell me I am normal and that lot of kids get picked on and bullied but I would wonder if I am normal, then why is it so hard to be normal and why am I treated different. Why do I not see kids get picked on every day all the time like I do.


Yes lot of people have sensory issues but I think the difference is some people have so many of them, it actually impairs them and makes life very hard for them. Like let's say someone has issues with texture of clothes, they have so many issues with it, it makes shopping for clothes hard for them because it's very difficult to find what they can get. But if someone only can't stand scratchy things, then it's hardly anything and doesn't cause them an impairment because lot of clothes are not scratchy. You can easily avoid wool and that other stuff that is prickly and scratchy. Unless you were forced to wear one because it was part of your play or part of your work uniform, then maybe the label ets tossed at you because it gave you an impairment and impacted your life.

I never has many sensory issues as a kid but I was still diagnosed with it. I liked to wear soft things like knit and I wouldn't wear jeans. That made it an impairment just because it gave kids another reason to tease me and bully me about because I didn't dress in style so oh no, what an impairment because of bullies.

I don't like people touching me, oh no what an impairment, oh no i don't want to be hugged oh no, I am so impaired. Really I do not see why these are impairments and how they would impact your life. Unless it makes people sad and upset and makes them think you don't want them so they make it an impairment for you and it doesn't matter how little sensory issues you have, if it causes an impairment somehow, you still get the SPD label or make it be part of your ASD.


I do have something. Sometimes I wonder what if I was just a brat growing up and I was actually normal and just a kid who acted out and just a brat. What if I just had very strong obsessions and an obsessive personality. I grew up going to doctors and then it stopped after the AS label. I still saw a shrink of course but even normal people see shrinks. You can still see one and not have any disability or illness.

Symptom do over lap so yes there are other things out there that can cause AS like symptoms.

It's possible to have many traits of AS and not have AS because it doesn't impair you. It has to impair you to get the diagnoses. If I see someone say they have many traits of AS but not enough for the diagnoses, I would assume they were either close to meeting the AS criteria or their symptoms are not strong enough to cause them an impairment. Or they are being too literal about it and think they have to have every single trait to have it so they think they don't have it. Someone once told me on another website she has all the symptoms of it except the social part because she can read peoples intentions. or they could mean they lack one main core of it so they don't have it. I know someone online whose father has every AS trait but he doesn't lack the social skills part so he doesn't have it. Someone could mean they have the social issues part and the narrow obsessive interests but they lack the need for routine and dislike of change and repetitive behavior so they think they don't have it and they don't have sensory issues either. "Many traits" is subjective.

I know what you mean

You have to look at the extent to which a person is unable to live a 'normal' life in order to get an accurate assessment of
how debilitating their condition is (whatever the diagnosis)

If they can do what all the so-called normal people do I'd say there's not that much wrong with them as it's not having a major impact on their day to day functionality

Last edited by nessa238 on 17 Mar 2013, 9:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Its an interesting thing, i really would consider the creditability of the shrinks doing the diagnosis as it seems sometimes to vary on what the psychologist thinks and possibly what knowledge (how much or how little) the person diagnosing knows of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
OMG tomboys as a symptom in girls for ASD is so ridiculous!




I have noticed this trend as well, especially with the internet being a means to connect nowadays. Never before have i seen a diagnosis where it has turned into a trend. It would be bizarre if the Schitzophrenics tried it. I was trying to make a joke using Schizophrenics for example however, really even bi-polars do not have certain trends that are almost stereotypical (i don't know what to call it, what the word is) Yet say attire, attitude, actions.

It's possible that some "nerds" are claiming they are Aspergers (i've not heard of any claiming regular Autism, it's specifically "Aspergers" they claim.

Yet even to claim to be an Asperger and a Nerd, i don't see how it would help the nerd. Nerds, Geeks, Dorks, etc are all categories given by verbally abusive insecure others.

Does claiming to have Aspergers help Nerds?
I don't know i'm not a nerd and i'm HFA and then some.
It has not gone unnoticed though.




Sniv, to admit that is very brave of you. I always wonder if many start thinking "oh this sounds like me" yet despite having themselves labeled nerds, etc, they almost start to hypocondriac the symptoms and think they are having more ASD symptoms after reading about it.
Your honesty is appreciated, it helps to understand others on here =)

I had an excellent therapist once who said not to read up on too many things seriously or i could end up thinking that i have them (symptoms). This can be very true dependingly.

The only thing i could see helping sort this whole issue of Aspergers/Dianosed vs Aspergers/Selfdiagnosed or confused via Nerd is
DSM-TR coming out.
If the doctors (if only they were all top notch) could actually discern who is on the spectrum and who isn't, maybe it would help people.
Aspergers will no longer be a dianosis. Some will join in HFA or in the new commication disorder or many neither...

Could it come down to a self esteem issue of shy introverted people casting away the "Nerd" label for a more professional sounding diagnosis? I don't know...

Yes, and I imagine diagnosticians do take that into account when dealing with a diagnosis (a specialist deals only with these cases, so it stands to reason they'd know the difference 9 times out of 10, between just common symptoms and possible ASD). It's more a matter of "the sum of their parts", not so much the individual symptom. And then there's also whether or not social anxiety (above normal) is present which is a big indicator, especially when these other symptoms are present.