16 Nov 2010, 11:54 pm
What is your first name? Adrian
Age: 34
Location: eastern U.S.
Current perseverations: Judging by others' responses, I'm guessing this has nothing to do with the dictionary definition. I hope I'm on the right track when I say ancient history/Persia, digital painting, and (regrettably) Facebook games. I also have a celebrity obsession which has lasted about 20 years, but I'm embarrassed to say. Anyone who knows me is aware of it though.
When did you discover AS? I've been aware of it for several years, but didn't pay much attention to it or take it very seriously until I learned that it applied to me.
Do you have other psych diagnoses? No
Do you have a degree? I've been to a few schools, but never graduated from any of them.
Kids? 2 cats
Favorite music, other than NIN Traditional Gypsy music, Gypsy punk, punk, new wave, classic rock, etc. My standard response is "good music". There's stuff that I like in any genre.
Job? Self-employed Flash / web developer
Relationship with significant other, past or present? Living with partner of... many years. Guys never remember, right?
Plans for the future? Keep on keeping on.
Anything else you feel is pertinent: I think my cats are AS. 
amaris74
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 22 Oct 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 72
Location: New Zealand
27 Nov 2010, 4:26 pm
nuckingfuts
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: 12 Sep 2010
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 36
Location: I come from the land of ice and snow
01 Dec 2010, 11:10 am
JSchoolboy
Blue Jay
Joined: 10 Nov 2009
Age: 60
Gender: Male
Posts: 93
Location: Southern California, USA
04 Dec 2010, 9:01 pm
What is your first name?
I'll go by Schoolboy - an old nickname.
Age: 45
Location: Los Angeles, CA area, USA
Current perseverations: I have music playing in my head most of the time, often some particular song on "repeat". Current subjects I'm interested in are evolution and atheism.
When did you discover AS? Fall 2009. A relative's young son was diagnosed as HFA, and as I began to read about autism/AS, I recognized many of my own traits. I am undiagnosed, and I'm not sure I would "qualify" as AS, but I feel I have a lot in common with folks here.
Do you have other psych diagnoses? N/A
Do you have a degree? BA in Psychology; MS in Computer Science
Kids? No
Favorite music, other than NIN:
I love music and often listen with headphones at work. Classical, Big Band era Jazz, Reggae, Rock, Pop, Disco, Country, Punk, Blues, etc. etc. etc. I like some types of music more than others, but I have pretty eclectic taste, so I'll listen to anything once. Tried NIN and didn't really care for them, though. However, check out Johnny Cash doing "Hurt" sometime. Simply awesome.
Job? My title is "Software Developer", although I prefer to say "Computer Programmer" because people know what that means.
Relationship with significant other, past or present? Married 10+ years.
Plans for the future? Keep learning.
Anything else you feel is pertinent:
I posted a self-intro in the Getting to Know Each Other forum last year, before I discovered this thread. I decided to finally introduce myself here, and to add a couple of reflections on the past year.
When I first realized that I had many AS traits, my initial reaction was to literally weep with relief. I had finally found an explanation for the things I've struggled with for so long. Since then, understanding these things about myself has mostly led to positive experiences. For example, I'm much less hard on myself than I used to be.
On the other hand, I'm sometimes more self-concious than I used to be, when I find myself in a situation like a meeting at work, or a party, where I know I may struggle. Being more aware of my limitations is generally a good thing, though. As Dirty Harry said, "a good man always knows his limitations." 
JSB
22 Dec 2010, 7:10 pm
22 Dec 2010, 9:09 pm
What is your first name? Carolina
Age: 23
Location: Chile
Current perseverations: Doctor Who, Torchwood, House (more like a dying perseverance), Rubik's Cube, and as of the past 2 weeks, Pirates of the Caribbean 
When did you discover AS? A year and a half ago in a class at Uni. It's sort of rang many many bells.
Do you have other psych diagnoses? No, not really.
Do you have a degree? Mmmm, master of TV watchers? no?
Kids? No
Favorite music, other than NIN Silverchair, Hans Zimmer, Placebo, Morecheeba, AC/DC....
Job? No. Except the odd helping to my dad in his job (who usually pays me in clothes and food instead of money)
Relationship with significant other, past or present? Yes, present. Very pleased about it 
Plans for the future? Finishing school, getting a job, keeping job, be good at it.
27 Dec 2010, 5:33 pm
04 Jan 2011, 11:02 pm
Age: 50ish
Location: Arizona
Current perseverations: Hiking, Central Asian Languages
Do you have a degree? A few, yes
Kids? None, no
Favorite music, other than NIN: Portishead, Radiohead, Eraserhead , Sia Furler at times, Aimee Mann at times... Certain Pandora channels...
Job?So far, so good. Going on 5 years in one spot.
Relationship with significant other, past or present?Yes, past (19 years) and present (5 years).
Plans for the future?Keep things together. Don't blow it.
17 Jan 2011, 1:31 am
What is your first name? Scott
Age: 43 (and getting younger each day)
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Current perseverations: Getting through life each day 
When did you discover AS? In 2007, after it discovered me.
Do you have other psych diagnoses? Nothing that the boogyman would want to know.
Do you have a degree? AAS, BS, MS, and yes, my anti-persperant/deodorant.
Kids? None, but I like to kid around.
Favorite music, other than NIN Laughing Smooth Jazz and SKY.fm (internet radio station out of London, England)
Job? Work full-time as a cost estimator in the construction industry
Relationship with significant other, past or present? I've had past relationships, but nothing in the present (unless she's been gift wrapped for me.. better wait until my birthday or Xmas or sometime).
Plans for the future? Too many to mention here.
Anything else you feel is pertinent: Yeah, I'm starting up a support group/social group for fellow Aspies in my community in early March. Support group will meet monthly. Social group yet to be determined. Depending on how many people will be part of the social group, and the ages of everyone in the group. Could be once a month for everyone, to at least once a month for different age groups. This will be a support/social group for adults only. There's a parent group for kids who have AS in the city here. So, my focus will be on adults only. If you <1> live within hour's radius of Chattanooga, <2> have been officially or self diagnosed with AS, and <3> are 25 years of age or older, please email me from here and I'll email you back when the time is closer to tell you more about the group. Anyone who is interested in the group will need to go through an interview process with me, so I can know if you're a good fit for the group, number one, and number two, how I and the group can best serve you.
23 Jan 2011, 1:55 am
What is your first name? Donkeydonkdonk (I fear people's Google skills...)
Age: 35.
Location: Somewhere in Central Washington.
Current perseverations: My employment (i.e. the computer programs I use in doing my job, laws and policies that regulate it, system management, etc.), literature written by Cormac McCarthy (especially Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West), hip-hop music, Peak Oil theory, among others.
When did you discover AS? I have been aware of AS since 2002 (or so) as an indirect result of my perpetual quest to determine what was "wrong" with me. Initially I had dismissed the similarity of my own symptoms to those considered as "having" or "being" AS. However, as time went on I had become increasingly more aware of the subject, and thus becoming more convinced I "have" AS. My son's AS diagnosis last December confirmed (at least in my own mind) my self-diagnosis.
Do you have other psych diagnoses? I have many diagnoses per the DSM IV (for what it's worth--not much) such as ADHD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, reactive attachment disorder, in addition other diagnoses I have "earned" over twenty years of off-and-on psychotherapy.
Do you have a degree? Yes: B.A.
Kids? Yes. I am a full-time single parent to a seven year old boy who has been recently diagnosed with AS.
Favorite music, other than NIN. I have never liked NIN. I find their music and iconography are too...eh...moody, self-indulgent. My main musical interest centers around hip-hop--especially the history of the evolution and integration of turntables as a musical instrument, samples, and sampling techniques. I have never liked the style and content of rapping and prefer to listen to the instrumental version of a song. I love James Brown and any other similar jazz/funk/soul music having its primordial roots based in the West African call-and-response tradition.
Job? I have a job that I really enjoy and look forward to going to most of time. As I am a public servant, I don't get paid a whole heck of a lot for what I would do in the private sector, but I am confident my salary will get better as time progresses. Now if I could get the whole dealing-with-people-and-talking-about-what-happened-the-night-before-on-Facebook sort of thing down, I'd be set. 
Relationship with significant other, past or present? I am in a long-term and long-distance relationship for over four years now. She is a wonderful, loving, and kind person who has (more or less) been tolerant of my quirks. It is helpful we have similar personalities and enjoy quiet, low-key, sort of activities. As difficult as it is at times, we try to see each other as much as logistically/financially possible. We plan to marry (and hopefully share a home) sometime this year.
Plans for the future? To do the best I can in helping my son have a good start in life. To be the best husband I can be to my future wife. Climbing all of the volcanoes in the Cascade Range in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. To be able to run a 5k race in under nineteen minutes. Perhaps going back to school; maybe for a JD or a "marketable" master's degree and attaining employment commiserate with my intelligence and abilities.
Anything else you feel is pertinent: After many failures, false starts, missed opportunities, and the like, I feel like I have recently, in the past year or so, "turned the corner" and have started to get my life in order. My biggest problem lies in my inability to make and maintain friendships. As with many people with AS, I am terrible at initiating casual conversation, have difficulties maintaining appropriate eye contact, and have been told I have a flat and monotone voice and that I seem angry, aloof, arrogant, snobbish, cold, distant, tactless, curt, rude, as well as being an obnoxious know-it-all. I have overheard on many occasions I am "creepy" and I notice that whenever I approach others--job-related or otherwise--people seem to become visibly more tense and "formal" when they are speaking to me. I feel like saying, "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. You don't have to talk to me like this is a job interview." (Or something like that.) Although much of my free time away from work is spent caring for my son, I am becoming increasingly depressed that I am never invited by coworkers to any after-work activities. I'm very lonely and I want to connect to people but do not know how and lack a good "roadmap" for appropriate NT-related social interactions. My learning to make friends and connect emotionally to others is, by far, is the most difficult challenge in my life. I have hope for the future but am currently in a funk of sorts trying to be a successful in this regard.
06 Feb 2011, 5:35 am
What is your first name? I prefer to go by Kay, or just KB.
Age: 33
Location: A very small west European country as yet to be named.
Current perseverations:Currently listless and restless but normally: Gathering pointless trivia, computer gaming and it's design, Star Trek and Star Wars, comic books with preference to the US styles over Asian or European, World of Warcraft, all kinds of sci-fi shows and movies, RPGs - PnP and C, mythology, anything involving computers (but not networking because of anger issues and smashing desires not mixing well with troubleshooting network driver/protocol issues and most routers not being made out of materials that shock resistant), logic puzzles and quizzes, trying to get back into reading regularly with limited success. Oh and shooting zombies in the head, I'm a big fan of that. When the NTs finally fall to their inevitable zombiedom all those computer games will pay off I tell you! So y'know, typical girly interests.
When did you discover AS? I got diagnosed at the age of hm, 14? 15? with some BS catch-all diagnosis no one was really happy with including the person doing the diagnosis - but they had no idea where to place me. Few years later there was an article, I forget who came across it, but I read it and for the first time in my life in the real world I instinctively 'got' it. Got the AS diagnosis at 19 after that.
Do you have other psych diagnoses? Well, for depression. Although I've found more articles and there's a couple of things I suspect based on observation, if I turn out to be right there's gonna be a lot of gloating. /shrug hey, they're the ones with the PhD's, shouldn't it be their job to spot stuff?
Do you have a degree? My education was evaluated by the national university as being equivalent to an Associate's degree in Network Administration.
Kids? No thanks, I just ate.
Favorite music, other than NIN While I particularly enjoy The Becoming and Happiness in Slavery I generally prefer Vrenna's solo work. Yeah, I know everyone's always about Reznor, hey I'm weird. For music, what I listen to changes with my mood, so I'm a mood omnivore as far as music is concerned. If you could hear what I was listening to and had the cypher you'd never be in doubt what I was feeling. I do have a strong preference for soundtracks, to games tv shows or movies, doesn't matter so long as they're good. If I'm listening to Bowie I'm probably calm and mellow. Metal generally means anger or trying to keep from exploding. Tyr/Warp 11/Bloodhound Gang: psyching up to kick ass at something!
Job? Offering or asking? Yes, pay me!/Sure, need a partner in crime to take over the world! None, I've tried so many times, it always ends poorly and they end up screwing me on both my benefits and taxes from last paycheck to a point where it's not worth trying solely from a monetary standpoint, let alone the soulcrushing morale loss. The last time my doc told me that my tenacity was admirable but if I didn't quit I'd probably end up killing myself, he was that worried. He wasn't wrong. Turns out you can be bored to death. He did tell me after the whole ordeal I should go play my favorite computer game at the time for a few weeks to try to get back some emotional equilibrium, so Best. Doctor. Ever! (Except for Dr Who obviously)
Relationship with significant other, past or present? Never had. Unless we count computers, in which case I'm currently in a stable polygamous relationship and about to add a new beauty to my harem. Her chipset brings all the boys to the yard.
Plans for the future? Survive. But as the song says "All I want in life is to be happy", I'd love to be able to work at something I'm actually good at and valued at and be able to have my own place and support myself fully. I can't do it at the cost of my health/life though. But if I could learn to drive a car, build a computer and read spreadsheets for greater gains in computer games it would make sense that I at least have the capacity to be able to drive a career, build a life and read people with some help. Right?
Anything else you feel is pertinent: People I am new to say I talk and write like a robot, a rambling drunk robot who ate a thesaurus. While I'm tempted to take that as the compliment it usually is not, it's just how I am when I'm uncertain or in new situations. Once I'm relaxed I find it easier to go back to my informal writing/speaking style. Which tends to be more "Dude, seriously? That was awesome! Dude that so totally rocks!" and less like the next paragraph.
Secondly I somehow became my country's go-to Individual With Asperger's as far as giving lectures and helping get the Rain Man image replaced with something a bit more realistic. I've had people try to pressure me into things I really didn't want to do for the sake of The Cause. It's one thing to be an Aspie in society doing limited exposures to only teachers and health care professionals and able to mostly pass as awkward geek. But it's another to go on your national TV in a tiny country where the favorite pastimes are petty bickering, gossiping and character assassinations. In addition to all this I sometimes feel this pressure to be the Aspie posterchild in my country. It's just too much and totally unrealistic expectations by the NTs who sort of try to cajole me into this. Using my name and country is just too identifying for comfort. So as far as anyone is concerned I'm from Middleofnowhereland in Europe and I answer to my older internet handle of Kay or KB.
Also if my grammar and spelling sucks, sorry, English is my third language. I do try though. And while I am a chronic smart alec and continually need to clarify to friends when I am not being sarcastic I generally mean well and do try to get better at, well at being a decent human being. Also if I didn't try really hard to maintain a sense of humor, no matter how dark, sardonic or at points downright twisted, I'd probably have checked out a long time ago.
11 Feb 2011, 1:14 am
13 Feb 2011, 7:29 am
15 Feb 2011, 5:56 pm
21 Feb 2011, 12:06 am
09 Mar 2011, 10:16 pm
Im going to leave out the ones that I dont understand ( english not being my first language)
What is your first name? That I'll just keep private
Age:32
Location:Europe
When did you discover AS?2005
Do you have other psych diagnoses?No
Do you have a degree? No, just half of 3 *lol*
Kids? Yes, 2.
Favorite music, other than NIN Laughing:No favorite
Job?Self employed.
Relationship with significant other, past or present? A bunch of dating experiences and 2 what I guess I would call some sort of relationships.
Plans for the future? Fulfilling my dreams, travel more.Learn more about myself and others.Personal growth in general.
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