I suppose that I am not on the spectrum despite AS diagnosis

Post Reply New Topic

I have diagnosis od Asperger's syndrome since 2008 despite the fact that I have not many of autistic traits (like prosopagnosia, sensory overloads, shutdowns, meltdowns (but I can have tantrums ), need of sameness and predictability, speech delay). So I suppose that in fact I am not on the autistic spectrum and should not be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. I am 26 years old, have no friends since about 10 years (earlier I might also do not have true friends). I have never had a girlfriend, I have not wife and offspring.

On IQ test I scored 104 on performance part and 126 on verbal part. I scored very good on Arithmetic (18), Block Design was high (14), but I suppose that I have NVLD because my verbal abilities are about 95th percentile (my Verbal Comprehension Index might be 125). I remember that I did not think about looking at faces of people during conversations when I was younger.

I had low birth weight (2150 g) and hypotrophy because weight was significantly too low for length (53 cm, in fact I might measured about 48 cm). I think that perinatal issues could have influence on my mental development.

I am rather poor in visual thinking. I have no eidetic memory, my 3D imaginative abilities appear to be not so good. I currently have disability level 2 (moderate, total incapability of work without inability of independent existence), maybe because of my diagnosis of schizotypal disorder (F21 from ICD-10). I have also diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

It depends on how inclusive you want to make the spectrum.
Autistics can be highly verbal

Actually, I don't think any of the things you mentioned are required for ASD/Asperger's. If you go by DSM-4 criteria for Asperger's (assuming ICD-10 is the same), my understanding is that none of the things you mentioned are part of the diagnostic criteria at all - they are just issues that Aspies tend to have.

In the DSM-5, where Asperger's was folded into the Autism Spectrum, need for routines and sensory issues are now mentioned, but as electives - neither are mandatory. They also don't have to be severe; they could be quite subtle. Sensory issues could be things like finding tags on clothing annoying - it doesn't have to be blinking lights causing meltdowns. Need for routines could be just liking to certain things things the same way most of the time, not necessarily having a meltdown because someone made you skip desert.

I'm on the Spectrum.

I work. I'm married. I drive.

But I'm definitely on the Spectrum.

I do not have problems with tags on clothes and I do not remember having them when I was younger. However, getting a shower can be problematic for me because of the temperature of the water (too hot or too cold). It can be really unpleasant because of it.

I do not like doing things the same way. I might have routines associated with reading about geography, weather statistics or chemistry (and still can have them), but there was no need of the sameness in it. I might wonder if I meet DSM-V criteria of ASD. I stimmed quite severely when I was about 23 years old. It was loud and quite complex, there was also pleasant feeling of excitation during it. Last time I do not have excitation waves with stims.

I am above 26 years old. I do not have a job (but I had it for some weeks last autumn, it was job offer for a person with disability certificate). I do not have a wife or even girlfriend (and have never had her). I have never drived a car, if I remember good. I have no driving licence and even did not try to make it. I read about women with AS who had driving licence when they were younger than I now.

You have diagnosis. You are ASD. Just find out your difficulties and ways to ease them.

Krafty how does the marriage thing work out for you?

Not too well, really.

My wife is grateful for some things that I did for her.

But she finds the relationship with me unsatisfactory in many ways. And she did lots of things for me, too. We're good friends.

She thinks I have "no common sense," and that I "always have my face in [my tablet]"

And she doesn't like it that I'm not a social being. She's always worried about what I'm going to say to people.

I am diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, which is a pervasive developmental disorder (in SDM-V there is no PDD category, only ASD is mentioned). I suppose that in USA or Canada I would be diagnosed with nonverbal learning disability (NLD, NVLD). I was not so interested in contact with peers when I was about 6 years old. My eye contact was rather poor (I do not remember even thonking about it when I was a child). I had quite strange interest in road signs since being about 4 years old. I am not (so) interested in them now. The most serious stimming in my life was when I was about 23 years old.

I also think that I have intuitive theory of mind. I lied when I was a child (it was bad). I do not have the need of doing things the same way. NVLD fits me better than ASD. I think that NVLD with deficits of social skills and eventually emotional problems or anomalies should be placed with one category with ASD and not among "standard" learning disabilities like dyslexia and dyscalculia. I have NVLD-like IQ profile.

Maybe I have rather personality disorder(s) than ASD? I did MMPI test at spring 2016 and it suggested mixed personality disorder (interestingly, it was cluster B personality disorder (antisocial, narcissistic, histrionic), its suggested also passive-aggresive PD and obsessive-compulsive PD). But I suppose that I might be diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder. I am diagnosed with schizotypal disorder, which is in one group with schizophrenia in ICD-10 and not with personality disorders.

I do not feel loved or unloved. I rather do not see the need of being loved in me. I also rather do not remember need of being accepted when I was a child (even by parents). I (might) read that children with NVLD need to be accepted, need to be loved. I rather lived in own "social bubble" and might still live. Maybe I have "schizoid disorder of childhood or adolescence"? But I rather have pleasure from social contact. I also had and have need(?) of having "second half".

I think you just have very high functioning Aspergers.
We can survive, even better when we know our deficites, then we can mitigate them a thrive in this world.

Actually I am not so high functioning. I am above 26 years old and I have never had a girlfriend, live with my parents and siblings, now I am jobless and had a job only for some weeks. I managed to finish MSc studies (they were somewhat related to my interests). I have social pension and moderate level of disability. I have the diagnoses of F84.5 in ICD-10 (Asperger's syndrome) and F42.2 (mixed obsessive-compulsive disorder) and F21 (schizophrenia-type disorder).

I have rather intuitive theory of mind. I knew since childhood that other people have different thoughts than I. I do not have the need of doing things the same way. I have never experienced sensory overload. I am rather good in remembering people, their names and appearance. My disorder is probably not related to early infantile autism. I started to talk early (when I was just 7 months old?), so there was no speech delay in my case. I am not unable to pretend and lie (and lying is evil). But ones who diagnosed me with Asperger's have not so much doubts about my condition (that I have AS).

What do you think about this article: http://paulcooijmans.com/asperger/strai ... erger.html ?

The part that said that all geniuses have been aspergers seems interesting

Here is another article from the same site: http://paulcooijmans.com/asperger/spati ... utism.html which states: