Do you think I have AS?

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Hello I would love to know what your opinions are as it would hopefully put a rest to my mind so any help is appreciated...

I actually came here through browsing wikipedia and coming across AS on there, as remembering a few years ago my mother mentioning as a child she thought I may have had mild autism or AS (she is a psyiotherapist)
Im 21 now but in school was very very shy and clumsy, not exceptionally clumsy but not very good at any sports except running which i excelled at...in my younger years aged 10/11 we took alot of holidays and i became obsessed with aeroplanes, drawing them for hours on a night time, collecting them etc... in these years i only ever had 1 close friend and pretty much just talked to that person, when i turned 13 i became interested in music, again obsessively by now, i had a small set of friends, kind of losers and i didnt really gel with them too much, i wanted to hang out with the cooler kids but was too shy to do so and didnt have the social skills, i had been somewhat an ugly duckling in school (alkward teeth, skinny frame, goofy and my social skills didnt help) but over the next couple of years up until about 16 girls became interested in me but i didnt kiss a girl until i was 16! mainly because i was shy and never really hung around with them too much...went to college at 16 (im from the UK so basically the equivalent of the last 2 years of high school) and despite being one of the bes academically in school descovered alcholol etc and my studies suffered...

i shut off from my parents at around 13 when i got into music, i was very upset at being a loner and didnt want them to know i was a loser, even though in hindsight they will have known, so my relationship with them faded

i am now 21, have a large set of friends and a great social life although secrectly feel the old depression about once a week to differing extents, and i can always blame this on my schooldays...my main problem now lies with 2 things, one being an extreme procasinator and i do not know how to break this habit, secondly with me never being in a relationship...ive kissed alot of girls and slept with maybe more than i should have but im scared of relationships, im scared of getting with a girl i like and somebody i went to school with telling her i was a loser, most of my friends i made today i made around the ages of 18-20 and while im sure they know this i never bring it up, im open and very close with them in all aspects apart from my schooldays, days i cant help but revisit even though at the time i was near suicidal

i feel i should add a little more after reading the symptoms etc....i could always make people laugh, and though i was shy when forced into social situations had the group laughing...obviously was quite clumsy especially with co-ordination, learned to tie laces later than everyone else and never leanred to ride a bmx, even though i always follwed a similar routine i dont think if it had been changed i would have been majorly upset, always did well in interviews although they came along when i was staring to come out my shell more, never had a problem reading peoples emotions altough i do find it very hard comforting people or making them feel better unless im close

Welcome, do you have difficulty with eye contact when talking to others? this is one of the major traits of AS.

when i was younger i never used to look people in the eye id look to the side of them or around when i was talking, if they looked my in the eye i couldnt hold their gaze, i find it alot easier now but have to remind myself to do it, if i let my eyes drift i watch their mouths

The thing I hate about the notion of a label such as AS is there is no quantitative way to compare two officially diagnosed person with it. You sound atypical of many of the males here based on your level of social skills, number of friends and dating history at your age. So that clearly puts you in the milder AS group if at all. If your missing one
criteria for AS it may imply a PDD diagnosis. Your motor skills issues maybe explained
by dyspraxia. And the procrastination issue might be explained by ADHD and/or dyspraxia.

Remember though, it is a spectrum. It's possible that you are fairly far along it, without actually crossing some arbitrary line.

PB; Personally, I think you're fine.
Maybe you're just a little shy. Remember, not everyone who is shy, or clumsy, or nervous, have AS.

I'm no expert, but you sound as though you may have had PDD-NOS and grew out of most of it, with maybe just the dyspraxia still hanging on currently. You just don't seem to be AS to me, mainly because of your socal skills and apparent lack of significant sensory sensitivity. I noticed something else about your post. I for one have been told that I'm very "high-functioning" AS and that I've come a very long way in my social development; however, it's never occurred to me to be embarrassed by how low-functioning I was as a child and teenager. I don't have any feelings about those days one way or another; I'm basically neutral about them. The fact that you are somewhat embarrassed by your younger days seems kind of "non-aspie" to me, but I may be completely off base here. Here's something for you to investigate: do other people see you as a good communicator?? You sound fine to me from reading your post, but how do family, friends, and acquaintances rate your communication skills face-to-face? Do you ever get accused of being rude, blunt, inconsiderate, spacy, etc. when trying to communicate with other people? That's usually the first thing others notice in aspie adults. If you don't have "misunderstandings" with other people on a regular basis, then there's a good chance you don't have AS. Try asking some trusted friends, teachers, etc. about your communication skills. That should give you some valuable information to work with. Good luck!

PB~

Your story is a lot like mine, and I'm fairly NT. You sound as if you had a pretty normal childhood. Although, I get the feeling you may have some self esteem issues. I think a good majority of people have issues with self esteem in their early years, and even into their 20s. As we age and mature we become more sure of ourselves. Some of us are late bloomers and don't really become comfortable with ourselves until later.

I think you do!

no , u r not aspie or very very very mild aspie or mostly just a shy person because you have a lot of friends and girls and u slept with them ...this isn't aspie/autistic at all

as for me i only had 4 good friends and i never had a girlf and i am 25 now ...besides i didn't talk at all till age 5 coz i am HFA and other obvious things