Do I have AS??

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Hello

This is my first time writing on this site. I am feeling confused about whether I may or may not have Asperger Syndrome. I could do with your thoughts.

Background: I am in my mid 20s and have a younger brother who does have AS (and a variety of other problems). I myself have had depression, anxiety and eating disorders on and off for much of my life. My main issue now is my social anxiety – if that is what it is. However through reading on this site I can relate so much to what people talk about and experience and I can’t help but wonder if I may have a very mild form of AS.

Here are a number of things that seem to fit in with me having an ASD:
I find it really hard to be in ‘social’ situations e.g. sitting with a group of friends who are chatting
I would love to have close friends, but do not seem to have as good as friends as everyone else
I have never been on a date, had a boyfriend, or done anything sexual, despite really wanting to be with someone.
I hate going to pubs/clubs/parties – especially when there is loud music and I can’t hear what is being said and when people are drinking
I find it really difficult to know how to join in with conversations about ‘every day stuff’ e.g. what I’ve watched on TV, who I fancy, etc
I find changes really difficult
I hate going to new places – get really anxious
I have to know what is going to be happening, when and how before I go anywhere
I hate things suddenly being sprung on me – can’t do spontaneity
I get stressed if the day I have planned in my head is changed in some way
I get interested in topics to the extent that I can read about them/research them non stop
I sometimes don’t know how to ‘act’ and ‘be’ in social situations e.g. how to respond if someone offers to but me a drink
I feel very different to everyone else
I feel left out and on the outside of conversations
I get overwhelmed when there is more than one conversation going on
I find it hard to look people directly in the eyes and tend to look at their mouths so as I can follow what they are saying
I enjoy maths puzzles and logic tasks, but find writing an essay really difficult – too much information and no way to know when it is done
I find certain smells, sounds and textures which don’t bother others really uncomfortable
I sometimes don’t know whether to laugh at certain things or what someone means by something
I tend to blurt out all my past and personal information to people I have just met
I don’t like answering the phone
I can’t recognise people’s faces if they are out of context
I sometimes have to ask my fiends what is the appropriate thing to do or say
Many of my family members are ASD and we share some of the same genes

However against my possibly having AS:
As far as I know I was pretty normal as a child – very academic and quiet according to my reports, but I had friends
I can interact normally if I know exactly what my role is and what is expected e.g. at work in meetings I am find – I can join in and know what to say
I think I am very empathetic and am able to sympathise with people especially if they are hurting in some way
I work as a clinical psychologist with people who have mental health problems and various disabilities and so this must involve good social skills
No one has ever told me that I might have AS
As a teenager due to my mental health problems I never went through the normal teenage things and may just be lacking in experience which is now making it harder for me.

So as you can see I have a lot of AS traits, but do not think I would necessarily meet a diagnosis. I’ve always assumed my social difficulties were anxiety related, but the more I look at it the more I see other things which have nothing to do with social anxiety.

So what do you think? Is it possible for me to be AS despite the areas of normality I show?

This whole thing really makes me question the validity of a diagnosis of AS – where does one draw the line? If someone had 99% of the necessary symptoms but not 100% where does that leave them?

Welcome to WP!

Welcome hmm!

While it does appear that you have AS, we are not doctors here, and cannot diagnose you with certainty. I, as I always do when someone posts a thread like this, would suggest you see a neurologist, or other specialist. If you don't know how to find one, ask your doctor (you know, the one you go to checkups and when you're sick) for a recommendation. They'll probably know.

It sounds like the symptoms to me, but the childhood experiences are the ones that tell the most. There are things we do as children that so align with the disorder that it makes it obvious. If you were a really quiet kid and weren't considered strange from the start, it's harder to tell for yourself -- you'd need help from a psychologist and your parents MUST be there to describe those early years, IMHO.

You dont seem aspie to me, i've seen cases like yours, the problem may be that you have lived surrounded by at least one aspie and it has kind of affected you. My sister had this, and when she got married and moved away from us (me and my father were aspies) she changed, she went totally normal. are you unhappy about the way things are in your home?

Welcome to WP.

The aspie test will be best suited to answering your questions;

http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

As for your negatives...

I have friends too who have been with me since school - I suspect that they're all a bit aspie or have other issues though.



I go to work meetings too - don't like em - but I participate.



A lot of aspies can actually be empathetic though it's more common in females than males. Also, I thought I was pretty empathetic until very recently when my son's tutor died. My wife was upset for weeks - still is - but it didn't really affect me.



Possibly, but not necessarily. I know more than one aspie or potential aspie who is in the same field.



That's because most people who have actually heard of it are stuck on the classical extreme definitions.





This is very possible - it may be that you're not aspie but that your environment has created some aspie-like behaviours.

Just took that test, it's strongly agrees with my self-diagnosis but suggested a hell of a lot more! Maybe I should hurry this pro-diagnosis along sooner...

lol ...... according to the test...... i could be Aspie, OCD, schitzo, Bipolar, and ADD.... my little pie chart personality grouping thing was almost completely on the right side of the pie then equally grouped, kinda like a half circle.