How can some people not see that you have AS?

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This really threw me for a loop today. My dr who diagnosed me with AS has told me all along that I am a "bad, bad Aspie" as she calls it. She clarified that she "sees right through me" and that its "obvious I have learned to fake everything very well". Well geez I thought that was the whole idea ...that to survive in this world AS people need to learn to fake it to where they can appear NT in various situations.

I tried to get undiagnosed also from a neurologist who instead gave me a 2nd confirming diagnosis of having Aspergers plus she added in PTSD. So here I've gone all along thinking I am a badly autistic, albeit high functioning enough to work and have a few friends here and there and plenty of failed relationships. So I mentioned AS in conversation today to my physical therapist and she was shocked that I am autistic. Yes, she knew what Aspergers is. She insisted she was well informed on the subject. She said I give good eye contact, socialize, smile and laugh so she couldn't believe I'm autistic. Now I'm confused. Mind you I am a perfectionist of sorts and do like to try my best to fake it. But from all accounts from ex's, friends and a few co-workers I don't behave correctly and am a weird little bird, a dork and anti-social. So how can my physical therapist not notice? I mean she is NOT new to knowing me. I've had physical therapy for my knee, hand & ankle plus light therapy for neuropathy with her for the past two years. So she knows me fairly well.

When I first started PT I did put Aspergers on the health history questionnaire, so I just assumed she read it. Plus I had a meltdown in the lockerroom one time because the usual structure of my PT visits became unstructured that day and I got in a tizzy over it. Plus she has called me down a few times for like playing with the kid's water toys when I am suppose to do exercises in the pool. So how can she think I'm normal?? I'm confused now whether two drs could be wrong in their diagnosis, plus the drs from my childhood who said I had a "developmental disorder of some kind" before AS or PDD was invented. Or have I just finally perfected "faking it"?

The psychiatric sciences are not the easiest medical field to follow. If I go to the doctor with symptoms of one testicle higher than the other and lower abdominal pain then he will examine me and then say "Ed, you have a hernia". I know this because I have had four

Diagnosis of mental problems are much more difficult because the doctor/psychiatrist cannot see inside your mind and often there are no external symptoms. They therefore have to depend on what you say and how you act and then make a best guess. This can sometimes be even more difficult because you might not understand what's going on in your mind. When I was treated for depression in the 1980's AS was not as well known so they missed it. Sure, what they did for me was a terrific help, but it was another twenty years before I found out what was really wrong.

Ed Almos

I'm very good at faking things. I use to do it at school to get out of assembly I use to say I can't handle crowds it did work for a bit.

AS is generally considered "mild autism". You can go your whole life without you or anyone else knowing you have it to the other extreme where it skirts the barrier of "classic autism" in severe cases.

Last edited by Danielismyname on 30 Aug 2007, 5:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

A PT is trained to look after the body and movement. A PT is not trained in the diagnosis of conditions such as Autism or Asperger's.

I am a physiotherapist in Australia (we're called Physical Therapists in USA) and very few physios have even heard of Asperger's. Those that profess to have a knowledge usually have a very shallow knowledge.

I have much more knowledge than the average physio because I have 2 sons with Asperger's. My sons smile, socialise and give eye contact when they are happy and relaxed (usually in a very small group of people). Does this PT think everyone who is autistic/Aspie should be like Rainman??

Even with the extra knowledge I have because of my sons, I would not ever try to diagnose someone because it is outside my skill set.

Listen to the opinion of the health professionals who are trained in this area - not from a PT!

Regards
Helen

There's not much to AS to notice, you see? I think in disabilities or disorders people look for some key features, like shaking in tourette's x:

AS does not put us in wheelchairs, it does not make our voices slow(at least not for me), and it does not really stop us from functioning to a normal degree. People are going to care less if you can't socialize because few would assume there's a disorder to being an outcast and an oddball, IMO

Put that puts us at advantage because you don't have to explain to everyone about what problem you have if you don't want to. I really wouldn't want to go to everyone I know and say that I am bad at being social because I have AS because they can't figure it out for themselves. It's a stealthy syndrome x:

aspergers, and autism in general does affect the voice but not always for everyone,it can make it slower,louder,quieter etc and often the person does not know any different unless someone tells them.
sometimes it's sensory related-people might shout because they are hypo sensitive to certain pitches.

Aspergers does have a severe end which never gets talked about on here as much as the most succesful do ,the aspergans who are on the severe end of aspergers,who have poor life skills and sensory problems tend to live in residential or group homes,because they are unable to look after themselves and/or might need watching very often because of severe meltdowns,some aspergans are even unable to speak unless someone has asked them a question first,it's not always the social retardedness for aspergans that is the main problem.
aspergers can be very visible but it depends on whether people really know about aspergers otherwise they end up being classed as mentally ill by the ignorant.

ticker,she probably has a stereotype of what an aspergan acts like,like many ignorant people,and they cannot see anyone who isn't exactly the same as the stereotype as having aspergers,if they had any experience in the autism spectrum they would not be judging it like that.

I've also had this problem.

When I was very little my motor skills were HORRIBLE. My mother spent a lot of time caring for my needs and I was very fortunate to have been loved that much. My family often played games and some sports with me and it took so long but I over came it. My motor skills are above average and so I've learned to hide a lot.

You're not alone... -_-

not all people classify people by using medical labels.
also, it is not like you have a tattoo on your forehead.
hope that helps

There are people without AS for whom you could say that, though. I suspect that's the problem. There are genuine eccentrics in this world, and loners, who don't have AS, and most people will just assume you're one of those, especially if you can fake conversation well.

I don't think it's faking it because you have learned to cope and learned the NT skills. Even NT kids learn skills too as they grow up, does that mean they are faking?
I get so sick and tired of hearing people saying they are faking this they are faking that. It's called skills people and we learn them just like NT kids learn.
We are people too, not animals or different creatures. Even I look normal and appear normal to everyone. If they don't see the symptoms from us, of course they're not going to see it.

Last edited by likedcalico on 30 Aug 2007, 1:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I agree 100%.

Tim

I refer to myself as "faking it" because how I act around people in public isn't how I act when I'm alone or when I'm with my family. In public, I make a conscious effort to look people in the eyes as much as possible, appear friendly, pretend that I'm social, and I try not to act as tired as I feel. When I get home, I am exhausted from my acting job and can be myself again. I doubt I'm really pulling it off as well as I'd like to think though. In spite of my best efforts, I still get strange looks. Oh well, at least I'm trying.

sometimes it isn't obvious that you are an aspie. those that i have told at my old job where like "Oh really? Well what does that mean? You seem fine to me."

i do think to myself, god...isn't it obvious????

guess not. Theory of Mind thingee, i suppose.

i know that many ppl do think i am "just very immature". that's all they do see.

well thats terrible. whats the doctors name? if its any doctor at the guidance center i belive it, ESPECIALLY the psychiatrists/ there horrible when i went to dr. stewart he acted like a complete jerkoff and kept telling me to speek up, and excuse me? like if i was mumbling. or not clearly enough for him to hear me/ the only doctor i went to that was a complete professional was dr. cady, i also went to another psychiatrist there named dr. malone who talked way to fast and acted like i wasnt intrested in helping myself so what was i doing seeing her? she had no clue and i doubt shes still working there.

thank heavens im not going back to that terrible place

I know it is offensive to use the term faking it to some AS. But honestly that is what it feels like to me. Sure it is skills learned. But I am faking it by appearing to be NT and interested for instance in small talk and all this drama crap that some NT's go on about that I could care less about. Know what I mean?

I respected what my PT had to say because yes she does encounter a fair amount of autistics in her line of work. To be honest I feel a little jealous of those autistics. Well they are much lower functioning than I so maybe they deserve treatment. But I think how I struggled since childhood, even when I was a toddler I didn't learn to walk till much later. Even today I have coordination problems and that may be why I have fallen so much and broken bones and had head injuries. I think I would have benefitted greatly to get some of the physical therapy they are now giving to the really obviously autistic. And I could have learned from the interaction skills the PT's are teaching the little kids. Instead I had to learn it the hard way and who knows if what I learned is even the correct way to interact. But then again even though my PT said she knew what Aspergers is maybe she really doesn't. All of the autistics I have seen at the clinic are quite a bit lower functioning than I am.

So perhaps I did something positive for us by letting her know yes this is me- and I AM autistic and yes this is what autism looks like. Or at least one of the ways it looks as there is so much difference between us all.