We're getting ready to do a screening for Aspergers (HFA) in my 6-year-old son, and I've long thought (and am now quite certain) that DH has AS also. But now, after reading an article, I'm looking at myself and wondering if *I* actually have AS also and, if so, what that would mean for our 4-year-old daughter who appears to be NT. Here are things that make me wonder. Any thoughts?
- I have no close friends. When I'm around others, I never know what to say or when to try to enter a conversation, I'm fidgety with my hands, twirling my hair or fiddling with something around me. When I notice I'm doing this, I can stop, though it may unconsciously start up again. I can do quite well one-on-one if I'm with the right person, and I can sometimes fake good social skills within a group for a short amount of time. But being very introverted, I prefer being by myself.
- Eye contact has always made me uncomfortable, but I make an effort.
- My voice becomes child-like/soft-spoken when I'm around anyone other than my immediate family. I notice this, but I don't have control over it. I was often made fun of for this in high school.
- I have great trouble with too much noise or movement, places that are crowded. I find myself moving to the perimeters of crowded places or taking deep breaths. In high school, I seemed to be the only one who was overwhelmed at dances by the bass and the strobelights. I did cope with it, though.
-Windows being rolled down just a bit while driving on the freeway produce a noise that physically HURTS my ears.
- I can't sleep if my blankets aren't heavy enough, even in the heat of summer. I can't sleep with clothes on (blush) because I don't like how they feel when I roll over.
- I'm very sensitive to heat. My heart starts pounding too hard, and I feel faint.
- I cry VERY easily - commercials on TV, "Kodak moments" I witness (even if I don't know the people)
- I get so hyper-focused on what I'm doing sometimes that I forget to eat.
- I have bouts of being obsessed with my interests - baby names and classic literature.
- I remember all my classmates birthday (and I graduated 15 years ago).
- I rehearse what I'm going to say while doing things like standing in line so that I won't sound awkward.
- I'm not very good at communicating verbally on the spot. I would much rather type someone a message.
- I chose to be a stay-home-mom and wife because I'm so uncomfortable around others in a work environment.
- Conflict with others makes me so uncomfortable that it affects my health.
- I constantly feel people are looking at me and judging me, and I want to disappear.
- I've never been able to assert myself.
- I collect classic literature and classic lit t-shirts (one of my obsessions, as mentioned).
As a Baby and Preschooler....
- My mom said I was difficult baby. I cried a lot. I wanted to be held all the time. I wasn't a good sleeper - I wanted just the tip of the pacifier in my mouth at all times.
- I was an early talker. Spoke my first word at 5 months and began speaking in sentences at 18 months.
- I was always drawn to words. My mind would zone in on certain words in nursery rhymes, songs, and such. These words seemed to have a magic quality to me.
- I had a long, drawn out "good night" quote that I had made up (and it was very odd) that I had to say the same way every single night.
- I had (and still do) a very vivid imagination. I've always lived in my own little world.
- I was obsessed with Patsy Cline. I knew her songs by heart at the age of 3, I watched Sweet Dreams over and over, and I asked for a Patsy Cline tape for my 4th birthday.
- I read at a young age.
Grade School-High School-College...
-Became a lot more shy around age 10 and have gotten shyer as years went by
- Use to grind my teeth at night
- I was obsessed with writing poetry and songs. I had written over 500 poems before I graduated high school.
(The rest of my observances from this time have already been recorded.)
23 Jan 2015, 3:27 pm
