If Asperger suppose to be mild how come....

Post Reply New Topic

Just a thought after doing a bit of reading from the National Autistic Society that Asperger is mild and that children can be undetected and people can have ordinary lives.

How come then when I was at school in the 90’s I was being closely monitored because of my behaviour and also the way I interacted with the others in my class. That in 1997 I was diagnosed with AS and then put into a Communication Provision which is for people with Autism.

As an adult have a lot of daily struggles with most of everyday life mainly by the concept more than practical. Have extreme anxiety a lot of times especially when it comes to everyday life.

People always notice my irregular behaviour as if it is not masked up very well. Is it the case that I have AS exclusively or could there be something else on top that may have not been detected or has not even been considered as well.

Well, you see... sometimes even though it appears mild, the symptoms can be very clear. It depends on the person, how school staff and teachers watched you, etc. You can probably tell you have it, if you have made some research on the matter.
Regarding irregular behavior, that is a very general term. Can you be more specific?
What I think of as irregular, could be the complete opposite to someone else.

For me to be more specific I would have to go through my entire schooling so I am going to give it brief.

I can only go by UK school class system. So in the infants which is 4-7 years old. I used to run around the playground and run into people in the class knocking them over. There was the issue of hand-flapping which stopped around aged 7. Also in the classroom I would get up randomly and walk around the classroom for no particular reason.

When I got to juniors 7-11. I did change a bit in my behaviour. In my first year in the juniors they got a teacher in who would sit with me to make sure I’d not walk around the classroom and make sure my work was completed which was something I did struggle with.

I used to get a lot of emotional outbursts quite frequently in the juniors especially when there were raised voices. It wasn’t until my final year in the juniors that I got a diagnosis and they decided I had AS if that I fit the criteria.

Exactly the same with me. Apparently I literally showed no peculiar behaviour at all as a toddler; I was sociable, made eye contact, expressed my feelings, was affectionate, interacted and played well with other children at nursery, etc etc etc.
Then, all of a sudden, on my first day at school at age 4 years and 5 months, something....snapped. As soon as I first got into the classroom, I turned into a textbook autistic child; wouldn't make eye contact, flapped my hands, wouldn't play with anyone, hid under the desks, tried to attack the teacher, and ran into other children in the playground. I mean, what the f**k? No wonder my parents were so shocked, because I was so ready to start school just like the other children.
At first the school thought my behaviour was caused by abuse at home, so my mum and dad were asked lots of questions, and I had to be examined all over my body. My parents were frightened at the thought of having me and my brother taken away from them even though they weren't abusive parents at all. Then the school got me statemented and a support worker had to sit with me in class to help me. It only took about 2 weeks for me to settle in and I was no longer showing the textbook autistic traits, although my behaviour was closely monitored.
In year 1 I kept having tantrums that involved screaming, if I didn't want to do something. But I quickly grew out of it by the time I started year 2. When I went up to Junior school, there was a lovely support worker there who was willing to make sure I got all the support I needed. My social skills and behaviour improved a lot, but I was a bug under a microscope, then I received a diagnosis of Asperger's at the age of 8.

As an adult I have been diagnosed with ADHD too, and I've figured my Asperger's is primarily about anxiety more than anything else. I don't know why I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD as a child because I was very hyperactive at home, and in the playground at school, and in the classroom I daydreamed excessively and found it hard to sit still and listen. But I suppose my shyness masked it to teachers and support workers, as they were only focusing on looking for autism traits. Back then I think ADHD had a stereotype where only extroverted kids could get a diagnosis of ADHD.

So, yeah, that's my story.

Another thing I do remember was the amount of times I was sent to the hospital for hearing tests because someone thought I might’ve been deaf. Chances are I probably didn’t always respond to my name being called.

Also remember endless appointments with a paediatrician.

I really had problems with my ears, the doctor discovered my ears were completely stuffed up and so it caused slight deafness and I kept getting lots of ear infections. I can't remember if I responded to my name or not, I think I did.

I remember having about 3 different operations on my ear. First one I was 4 and I remember I had to stay in hospital over 2 nights. I remember telling my mum to go home when I saw all the other parents going home at the end of visiting hours. I didn’t know she was suppose to be staying overnight but she went home anyway on my insistence. I didn’t know what was to come the next day. The operation!

The second I was 6 and I knew what was coming and had a complete Meltdown in the car all the way into the Hospital ward.

The third time. I was 9 and I had to stay in overnight as I was stranded due to snow.