I don't think I have aspergers

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because I don't have these things:

hypersenstive to sound or whatever.
poor social skills.
don't have any abnormal interests.
don't have an above-average IQ.

First of all, not every Aspie has hypersensitivity to sound or whatever. Secondly, some of us are better at social skills than others. As far as abnormal interests, what may be abnormal seeming to you might not to someone else and vice versa. And lastly not all Aspies have an above-average IQ. Some Aspies just have an average IQ.

Sensory issues: people on the spectrum tend to be hyper or hypo sensitive to various senses such as sound, vision, touch, smell, vestibular. We all have different hyper/hyposensitivities, I don't think any two people are exactly alike in this.

"Abnormal" interests: who says what is abnormal? And interests don't have to be abnormal or even obsessive. Do you find that when something is interesting to you, that you don't like to be distracted from it?

IQ: The current DSM says "normal to above-normal intelligence" (I think that's pretty close to quoting it) - so you don't have to have above-average IQ to be OTS.

If you don't think you have it, that's up to you. I just thought I'd point out the inconsistencies.

Woah - Mish - that gave me chilly bumps that we basically posted the exact same thing at the exact same time!

I see Asperger,s as a sliding scale. All aspie stuff is also human stuff. Aspies just do a lot of the specifically listed stuff, and to a great extent.

Question is how many of the aspie traits actually define you? I found it easy to self dx 'cause I am pretty extremely AS. Others who are not so may have a more difficult task in coming to understanding.


However, if AS is a gray area - as I think it is; and if you have some AS traits then you may find WP useful. Careful that you do not go out of your way to fit in though. Just be you and use whatever you can to make your life better.

Have you been diagnosed by a doctor as having AS or some other ASD? Your profile says "other autistic spectrum condition."

I was diagnosed as a child with borderline autism. I don't have meltdowns or really bad sensory overload like some people on the spectrum. My I.Q. is around the average (110 at the last check). I do, however, have some very aspie characteristics, though. My social skills are quite poor, I'm quite sensitive to sound and I used to get obsessed with some obscure things. Every aspie differs from the stereotypical perception of asperger's syndrome.

Uh no, my mom told me I was autistic a few years ago.

Hmmm - I sort of couldn't decide either ... most of 'my traits' don't seem serious enough to classified to be anything other than a 'preference' in an NT world... eg. eating coco pops cuase you like the pop.

I read the parents discussion are, where I notice that they have 'real' issues with thier AS child.

I think my parents just 'whacked the NT into' me..... I really believe that if my parents hadn't of 'taught' me ... I would have serious sensory afflictions which would surmout to 'meltdowns' .... really all I have done though is 'bottle it up' ....it''s strange that now that I belive that I have, or had AS sysmptoms ,that some of the symptoms are now prominent and 'visible' to me...and are now bothering me, when before I just surpressed them, which I think caused my depressive state ... I now 'feel' my symptoms ,yet I am happier.

While they could whack you into not expressing your meltdowns, they can't whack sensory sensitivities out of you. I got whacked plenty and all it did was make me hide things.

Does this mean that guys like me are "deeper" in the scale...? I always thought I was extremely High Functioning!! ! That would explain why the Dx letters say "AS/HFA"

I have sensorial issues (hypersensitive to light and certain sounds; hyposensitive vestibular; hyperactive; hate unexpected soft touch)

My social skills are quite "professionally fine tuned", I can work without a problem after many years of practicing and with my grandfather's support and coaching; but when coming out of the door... I don't know how to react to an open environment; and sometimes, for example, I believe someone is being friendly when in reality is sarcasm.
Meltdowns? None in the last 10 years...

Abnormal interests? You mean like... the origin of the RC and Masons; Secret societies; H.P. Lovecraft and followers; the war between egyptian priests for Gods Amon and Aton... or the Vedas; german spies during WWII or do you mean like playing chess for 3 or 4 hours without realizing it... reading a whole book in few hours? Or would that be more like... losing the plane because I don't remember if I closed properly the front door (or is that just OC...well!)

Above average IQ? if you don't mind me saying it... 137 according to the last test, during evaluation and diagnosis. That was Oct'06.

Anyway... I have been way happier since I found out what is going on than in the previous 38 years of my life; and as Erlyrisa said, I am more conscious of the "symptoms" now than before, but that's OK.

Last edited by Feibel on 05 Mar 2007, 10:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Which is sort of what I was saying - I hide the disgust/discumfort/total inabilty to cope with sensory issues - and I thought this was a normal thing todo .eg like not eating chees cake or not going to public places or not being able to cope with 'whacking' sounds. --or not being able to cope with social environments.... I just thought I was week or had spioled preference (the chees cake)..

...but my parents MADE me eat things i couldn't, yet still won't to this dday.
made me socialise
made me wear or sleep in textures that made my skin crawl and my heart race and make me feel like fainting (yes I had tantrums, funnily enough once you have to wear or sleep in the texture because you have no choice, slowly your heart beat becomes accustomed, and after a while you only 'feel' disgusted by the texture, but your able to control your ability to cope with it. you still hate it, your skin still crawls, but at least your only light headed and not fainting)
-social situations ;; I had a birthday party at 8 - the most memorable hated experience of my life time.... I still hate b'day parties , especially my own,, I will usually leave and go into a corner... but am still technically socialising ,because I was their however breif a moment. - I am still incomfortable and feel like throwing a fit in most social circumstances ... but at least my meltdowns over time are less frequent and a 'state'of nirvana had been reached where I can just say - I don't care. --any time I am around people , my mind is just racing over and over again " I don't care" "don't care" "don't care" "don't care" "don't care". .. which calms me down. The don't care is silent now, and I look like I am in my own world when in social situations.
-Language - because I learnt my second language first , and my parents just disregarded the fact that the only reason I said things strangley was because I was living in a country oustide my parents origin.... amazingly enough the fact thay I had to learn my primary language from my school (I couldn't speak english untill at school) , probably masked any defienciencies as being related to anything other than being disadvantaged as being ethnic. (In the ifrst year though I got class honours for English - being the best speller)
-hobbies , while I had social problems at school, I could learn to cope by immersing myself in my hobbies, which my parents supported very very well.