Do you think I'm an Aspie?

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It probably doesn't matter and I do not need a label to find my way, but I have come to this board not only to find answers for son but also for myself. I have always been "different" and never quite fit in, and have often joked that I am from another planet. Of course I know I am not, but sometimes people are just....different.
I find that other people hide behind emotions and don't always say what they mean. This is greatly annoying to me as I prefer to be frank and to the point. I get annoyed when others take three forevers to say the obvious in fewer words.
I prefer not to lie because it is pointless, and do not completely understand it. If the truth offends someone, they should not ask for it. I have learned not to always volunteer what others may not want to hear, but if they ask me they will get a direct response. And then they are upset with what they hear.
I learned about sex by reading about it in an encyclopedia. I was not the child who read fiction and still do not. I prefer non-fiction and almost have an obsession to keep learning constantly. I scored high enough to enter Mensa but found them dull and stuffy.
When people discuss their emotions I also become annoyed. This does not always work out in my marriage since my husband is fairly sensitive emotionally. I have learned what he needs and often say what I know he wants to hear. I do love him quite a bit, but I have no need to discuss it twenty times a day. Love to me is an intellectual conversation. I work hard to control my facial expressions from looking disgusted when the "sappy talk" exceeds my threshhold.
If someone touches me lightly, especially a poke, I want to punch them.
I loved to spin for hours as a child to make myself dizzy, and then lie down to watch the sky spin around me. I would also lie on my back with arms extended and pretend to float around the house which was "upside down".
Loud noises at night really bother me. During the day it is not bothering at all, but at night it can be quite irritating.
When people talk to me, I see what they are saying like a giant movie rolling through my head. I can make good eye contact but prefer not to keep it because I would rather stare off at nothing to better see the pictures. To stare at someone's face the entire time is just....creepy. What's the point? The story is in my mind, not on their face. Oddly enough, I cannot see numbers or letters in my mind as hard as I try.
I have no sense of direction so I got around prior to the days of GPS by memorizing maps. I'd get lost, see the map in my head, and then know exactly where to go.
I have no problem interpreting body language or social cues, and I do not feel socially awkward. I would just rather spend time on the computer or reading something educational to spending time in the crowd.
I often offend people with my frank manner of speaking, and that I still do not understand. I prefer someone to be frank and to the point when speaking with me and I assume others would appreciate that as well. I'm not going to waste a lot of time on a long story when I can quickly get to the point. An example is I saw an attorney I work with that I hadn't seen in about a month. He had lost considerable weight on a diet. I asked him jokingly if it was HIV or Anorexia. He did not find it humorous. This happens to me quite often.
I do not like numbers or have an affinity for math. Words are beautiful and I love to write. My ideal job would be as a researcher, specifically in quantum physics. As it turns out, I am an investigator but I spent a short stint in cryptology.
I must have things orderly in my life or I get very stressed out. I plan to be spontaneous.
I am the planner among my friends and work out the finer details in advance for anything we plan to do. I can find numerous solutions to various problems and think outside the box.
I have always cut the tags out of my clothes and I hate silk because I can feel my skin scratch on it, and wool drives me nuts.
I love books, and not just to read. I love to smell them. I can recall the smell of most of my favorite memories. My favorite book smell is a new yearbook. I do not care for used book smells at all.
If I had a special interest it would be learning, both through books and computers. I am mechanically inclined and also build computers and love to fix them.
The friends closest to me are less emotional intellectual types. The rest would drive me absolutely nuts with their drama.
My father is obviously an Aspie. He is very socially awkward genius and lives almost like a hermit, but always has a million projects going on at once that he never finishes (ADHD as well, I presume). He is one of the few people that "gets me".
That's enough because now I have bored even myself and I wonder why I even asked this question.
Does anybody else count the holes in the ceiling at bars?

I think you might be on the spectrum. Some of what you said sounds very familiar: always being "different" (I had no other word for it for years), disliking emotional smokescreens, "planning to be spontaneous" (that REALLY sounds like me!), no sense of direction and loving learning for its own sake.

I also can't stand drama. Most of my friends growing up were male--the girls in my K-12 seemed to thrive on drama (and were also more likely to bully me than the guys were).

I think I counted the holes in ceiling tiles once or twice at doctor's offices when I was waiting for a long time.

Anyway, welcome to WP!

A lot of what you wrote sounds like AS behaviour, and it probably runs in your family. Most likely you are on the spectrum somewhere; you could have a broad autism phenotype/subclinical autism or you could have an ASD. I lack the P.h.D. and the full knowledge of you to tell.

Have you done any of the tests?

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

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

Welcome to WP, I don't know whether you are an AS or not but we have a lot in common and I am really thinking on seeking a diagnosis for AS when I'll find specialists. (Already diagnosed as dyspraxic but at 20 so... yeah, all of those thing can be unnoticed).

Have you taken the Aspie Quizz or the AQ ? It will not give you a diagnosis and many diagnosed aspies have proven they had a high Aspie score as well as a high NT score but it seems to be somewhat reliable as long as one is honest and objective.
The PDF is great because it shows you in which areas you did the best so if you only have an area of difficulty, you may have the disorder which fit the category and not AS (but I assume you would have an high AS score). I took this test some years ago (it was different) because I suspected dyslexia and dyscalculia (seems that there are both mild and a consequence of my dyspraxia) and that is when I learnt about Asperger Syndrome (I was highly disappointed to have an Autistic result by the way) and dyspraxia.
Turns out to be true about dyspraxia (and I still have 0.2/10 on the dyspraxia category so it's reliable).

The AQ seems to be reliable as well but assumes every aspies like numbers (I do prefer letters).

Thank you all. Funny I just took the test on rdos.net and returned to find the comments. I got Aspie Score: 112/200, NT Score 105 of 200, "You seem to have both Aspie and NT traits". That was a neat test!
I suspect my father would test even higher than I do. My oldest dd has the flat, rapid monotone speech and is extremely socially awkward, bookworm, wants to be a physicist. My youngest daughter has many sensory issues and melt downs and I believe she has been incorrectly diagnosed with "mood disorder". AND, we just adopted a little boy with autism. He fits in well around here. That's when I began to study about autism and something in all of those books sounded very familiar. I was thinking mild Aspie, so the scores seem about right.
I live in both worlds, but am not completely in either.

Ditto--my scores were in that general area too.

On the other one, however, I scored a 37--

from what you describe, it does sound like aspergers. Your score on the quiz suggests that you show mildersymptoms, but still symptoms.
its still worth looking into.
I got- aspie score- 154/200, neurotypical score- 39/200- that very nearly confirmed my suspicians. I got diagnostic relations to Social Phobia, ADD/ADHD, OCD, and dyscalculia/dyslexia. I suspected just as much. On the empathy quotient, i only scored 8! (under 20 can indicate aspergers/HFA) And on the shorter AQ test, I got 44 (over 32 is an an indicative... well you get the idea lol) I took the Mind to eyes test and got 14 (under 20 is the 'aspie line') and the systemizing quotient test (revised) too, and I got 93 (in the aspie range again.) Even with all these scores, my mum still doesnt think its even possible that I have it!
The quizzes are really useful!

The question of whether you are an Aspie or not is something you should be asking from a professional. You would not seriously ask on a forum of non-experts whether you had cancer (God Forbid!) or not. You would go to a doctor and be properly diagnosed.

ruveyn

Welcome to WrongPlanet.

Yes, same here. I hate people touching me.


I used to to the same thing, too. And I used to take a mirror, with my head facing the floor, so I would look at the ceiling through the mirror. Yes, I pretended to walk in an upside-down house!!


I have no sense of direction either. I still get lost in the school I have been in for a year!



Yes, same here.



Oh! I love the smell of a new book!! !!


Hey, were all unique, like it says in my quote!

Thank you all, and Ruveyn, you are absolutely correct. I may one day getting around to asking a professional if I can justify a reason to go through the trouble. For now it's just a simple curiosity on my part. I do procrastinate.
It is nice to feel "not so different" by hearing how all of you have similar things in common. My oldest daughter (14) took the quiz last night and she scored higher than I did with it likely that she is an Aspie. For her, I think I will get her in for official testing because she seems to be more affected socially/physically and I can see where her different way of seeing the world makes her feel like she doesn't belong. Knowledge is power, and I would like to empower her. You guys are great.