Opinions please

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I'm aware that expecting complete strangers to provide a conclusive diagnosis would be naive in the extreme, but would you WP denizens see any similarities between my behaviours/traits and your behaviours and traits. I hate writing about myself, so I'll be as brief as possible.


Ok: I was rather affectionate as a young child, often finding it hard to be parted from my parents. Especially when starting school (had a bit of a crying fit). I apparently used to like being in physical contact with my parents, otherwise I'd cry or feel anxious.

At school I became an obsessive reader and quickly mastered the art of reading. I have also had an excellent vocabulary for as long as I can remember (verbally articulate). I was also seen as being rather more polite (with adults) than other kids of my age.


I went to a good school until I was 11, and was never really bullied, though apparently when I started I didn't seem to laugh or socialise as much as others (first year or so). Though I was able to build up friendships (some that have endured for many years) with a number of other children, often through common interests.

At that school teachers seemed to note that I taught the class at times, and that I had a bit of a "head" for facts which I often used to share with others.

I also found myself correcting the teachers if they got something wrong.

Though I was very well behaved in general, I did get pretty mad sometimes, or expressed emotions in strange ways.

I was also described as "obstinate", "single minded", "eccentric" and struggled with co-ordination.

I used my ability to read to enthrall other classmates.

I was bullied at secondary school, and that made me somewhat more shy and unsure of myself. I found some subjects were beneath me, as my knowledge in those areas was somewhat above my peers, hence my level of effort dropped.

From the age of 12-16 I barely socialised with my peers outside school in group situations. I sometimes played with one or two friends outside school, but never large groups.

Nowadays I socialise more with my friends (I have less friends than most people I know), but dislike partying (I have to be drunk to enjoy it and hence sometimes I drink too much alcohol).

I have obsessive interests that I pursue for anywhere between a month to many years. Sometimes when I was younger these interests would be pretty much all I ever talked about outside school. I often want to share my knowledge, often not in appropriate situations (such as sharing knowledge on serial killers for example). These interests can clog up my mind every waking hour.

I have various physical tics that I can't (or don't want to) seem to overcome.

I often find it very difficult to choose words appropriately, and often forget them mid-conversation.


I'm not that literal nowadays, I understand sarcasm and irony, though I'm not always aware if I'm the subject of a joke.

I don't like unanticiapted physical contact with those I don't know very well. It can make me uncomfortable.


I'm rather light sensitive. Some sounds also flat out hurt me. I can't get to sleep if there is any intrusive noise or light.

My humour is often seen as odd. Very word based and also often pretty dark and morbid.

I often make up my mind about whether or not I like a person within a short time of meeting them.

I find it difficult understanding why people feel the way they do, and find it difficult to comfort people. I can participate in banter with my friends, but often find it hard to see if I've gone too far when teasing people.

I dislike vapid chit-chat and prefer deep conversations, often involving interests of mine. I have difficulty figuring out whether such conversations are boring to others.

I have a very pedantic way of talking that can be quite monotone. I've been told I have a "different" way of talking.


I get attached to objects and can hoard stuff, finding it hard to get rid of them.

I find it difficult to tell anyone my emotions and when I do try and tell people I find it difficult to articulate my feelings.


I tend to over analyse and play out possible conversations in my head.

I frequently day dream and find myself "spacing out".


I find it very difficult to connect with new people, as I don't know their likes or dislikes or their common reactions to topics of conversation. I often find myself literally twiddling my fingers rather than talk to new people!

I've not had any contact with psychiatrists, counsellors or their like.

I took several of the online tests.

The Simon Baron-Cohen tests:

AQ: 38
SQ: 48
EQ: 8

Rdos test:

Aspie: 136

NT: 55


Geek Syndrome test: 28


I tried to answer as honestly as possible, but I'm not sure if my knowledge and preconceptions guided me at all!

Thanks for putting up with this mammoth post. I'd appreciate your views on how closely what I've written matches up with the experiences of other WP forumites. I'd appreciate any feedback and opinions. So please help me get to the bottom of this, people. Thanks.

I seriously never meant to write that much.

Im no professional or anything, but I thin you may have HFA/AS, im pretty much the same way. I always end up talking about my interests/obsessions or having weird conversation about other things. They can be all I think about sometimes.

If you really want to learn more about it look up Tony Attwood's "The complete guide to aspergers", Its really thorough and describes it very well.

You sound like an aspie to me.

Welcome to WP!

Thanks people. I guess whether I have AS or not I'm still the same person, it just explains a lot. I don't think I'd go for a diagnosis at this time, but in a year or two I might give it a go. I'm still a f*****g oddball, but that's just who I am.

Nothing wrong with being an oddball.

I agree. Finding out you have AS doesn't change who you are, just gives you an idea why you are who you are.

You sound AS to me also! When I was younger, I acted much the same.

Steve

When I figured out I was Aspie, it pulled a lot of things together for me. It didn't change who I was, but it helped me to know myself better. However, knowing whether you're Aspie can be tricky; even the so-called professionals disagree, some don't even believe in it, and the DSM-IV criteria are on the vague side. Anyway, you sound like you're right at home here in WP, don't worry over-much about being Aspie to be accepted here, as we do get a fair number of curious and sympathetic neuro-typicals (non-Aspies) as well.

If you aren't an aspie, you at least have some strong AS-like traits. I think the advice about reading Tony Attwood's book is great. I know it helped me. You might want to check out personal stories written by people with AS, like Mozart and the Whale, too, since that can help vague clinical descriptions of AS feel more concrete and tangible. Welcome to WP, too, by the way!

It's funny, I have experienced life in much the same way as you describe, except that as a child I did not seek out physical comfort from my family. I had no problem being hugged, but was quite content to be ignored. My parents had to watch me very carefully or I had a tendency to wander.

Anyway, whatever's going on, poke around on here. It helps me just to read other people's thoughts and stories. I identify with them more often than not, and it's been tremendously helpful to my mental health. =)

I have a daily limit on the number of sentences which start with I which i read.
Have you tried any Narcisistic Personality Disorder tests?
Welcome to WP.

Welcome to the planet.

Most intelligent people regard themselves quite highly, but I'm honestly not very narcissistic. Those sentences only started with "I" because I couldn't think of a better way to construct my post. I don't make a habit of writing about myself (I hate it, in fact). Maybe you'd have preferred a few mixed up pronouns? I'm a walking dictionary, not a thesaurus.

I guess kosmo has a sense of humor. Or something. Mannanan (as in Mannasas, Virginia?) I thought your post was very insightfully done and well written, and welcome you to the forum. I hope you will find a sense of community amongst us. You might find the 'You might be an aspie if..." thread interesting, to start.

I think you're very likely to have AS

I found your well-written post very interesting Manannan,as I identified with most of your experiences.
It was ages 12-16 that I became conscious of a complete shift in the way my mind
was working.Up till then,I reckon I was much the same as the other kids.I liked going out
to play football,being part of a group and took an interest in my appearance.Then something
must have triggered what I'm now sure is AS and I began to feel like I was on the wrong
planet. It wasn't just normal problems of adolescence,it went much deeper.
It took until I was 46 last year for me to inadvertenly discover AS.Others have mentioned
Tony Attwood's book and that's also what showed me where I'm coming from.