AS / HFA / PDD-NOS ???

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i have always known there is something wrong with me, so has everyone around me. it was a few years ago that i started thinking it might be something to do with autism. I mentioned to someone once that i thought i may be "slightly autistic", they just sort of laughed it off and never spoke of it again, to this day i dont know why, maybe just they werent bothered. so after that, i kinda forgot about it, thinking i may have been over-reacting and maybe it just is some low confidence.
However, after my current relationship began, ive been noticing my problems more and more. it was about 7/8 months ago that i went to the doctors asking for counselling or something similar, but i didnt say exactly why. at that time, i started researching into autism and at first thought i had HFA, but then found aspergers and thought that fit better into my personality and symptoms. however, theres still a couple of things that dont quite fit, like i dont really have the intense interests that is a part of autism and aspergers, maybe its just PDD-NOS? ive also thought that theres a possibility that its just social phobia as this is my biggest struggle
does anyone know how to self diagnose properly, or where i can find out what the definative symptoms are that distinguish the different conditions. at the moment, im stuck on AS as it seems to mostly fit, apart from a few symptoms. Im on a waiting list still at the doctors to speak to someone, and ive let them know that i want to talk about autism, but i dont know how much longer im going to have to wait

Welcome to Wrong Planet! I hope you find your stay enjoyable.

None of the official diagnoses are really "cut and dry"; there are blurry lines everywhere. People have modeled autism as a spectrum, a wedge, a ladder, every other conceivable shape you could think of... yet none of the models really account for all of the variables. I don't think we even really know what all of the variables are.

Everything varies from individual to individual, including intensity of symptoms. Where AS leaves off and PDD-NOS / NLD / HFA pick up is currently subject to a high amount of debate. I generally prefer the term "spectrum" because the boundaries are quite confusing.

By the way, if you are on the spectrum, many of us here feel there isn't anything "wrong" with us; we just have some challenges that others don't necessarily have.

Hello and welcome. Without the intense interests, you may have PDD-NOS; however, apparently, the intense interests are not always present in those diagnosed with AS and a few do not have them. The DSM criteria, for instance, do not strictly require them:

Ooh, the social phobia and ASD could be hard to distinguish, especially if you think social phobia ret*d your social development when you were younger. Shyness (not even social phobia!) has completely kept me from normal social interaction since kindergarten, so I always wonder if my social inability is innate... However, if you have no problems with social interaction when you are not feeling anxious, it's probably just social phobia.

If you don't have intense interests and are very verbal, you might want to look into NLD (nonverbal learning disorder), a learning disability. People with this typically (but not always) have problems with nonverbal abstract thinking such as mathematics, social interaction, and coordination (really bad handwriting, for example, as well as being really bad at sports and so on). If you've taken an IQ test and have seen the subscores, abnormally large gaps between verbal, nonverbal, and spatial areas can also help you here: those with Aspergers and/or NLD tend to have verbal > nonverbal and low spatial ability, and those with classic autism tend to have nonverbal > verbal and high spatial ability.