Talk about yourself for a bit

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Hello everyone. I just thought I would take a moment to introduce myself here as I have just registered. I'm 17 years old, and I reside in the Chicagoland area. All my life I have felt different, and didn't get the social interaction everybody else got. I always had so much trouble talking to people and interacting with people... you know, the usual.

Recently a teacher of mine was talking about Autism and aspergers, and then it clicked, and I realized something was up. I began looking it up and researching on it, and it all made sense.

I'm glad to be here, and hope you guys think the same.

i'm adam. i am 5'8 with short brown hair and brown hair. i have asperger. i grew up and lived in portland most of my life. i now live in a small town in Orgeon now. i am sinlge and looking for a gf. I have an older brother and a younger sister. my bother has been married twice and my younger sister is going to be get married soon.

Hi

before posting here, i thought i introduce myself.

I'm 20 years old, live in germany, born in romania.
Randomly read an article about autism on wikipedia the other day and knew that the symptoms fit me. However im not really interested to get an official diagnosis.
Im primarily looking for a discussion board to beat boredom and read people's opinion about any topic.. Not because im an autist, since i dislike the idea of being here because i have some sort of disorder or whatever.
Btw, i love the smileys here. My favorites.

Now about me...my primary interest is doing nothing productive. I just think 24/7. I like philosophy, music, history and language. I (almost) never read, just collect a narrow selection of books (since i rarely buy or otherwise get one). I never practise the piano, i just improvise. I deeply love a small selected number of bach fugues which i listen to hundreds of times; - and some hiphop. I also like some works from composers such as scriabin, liszt and gibbons.
I was born right handed, but am now ambidextrous and learned mirror writing.
I'm looking forward to mostly read and sometimes write here.

greets

Hi Everyone -

Just wanted to take a few moments to introduce myself. Normally I lurk for a while when I arrive at a new forum, but I'm seeing so many people here that are like me that I feel comfortable enough to step forward and actually say something.

My name is Jillian and I'm a 40yr old graphics designer, work for one of the largest media groups in the world and yet I hate my stupid job. It's not what I do that I hate (I adore graphics design), it's that I can't seem to get along with anyone there. It's not that I don't try, it's because they branded me a weirdo one the first day I set foot in the office. I work in a schmoozy business, and to get ahead, you have to be able to make small-talk and read innuendo, which I am incapable of doing.

This wasn't the first job where this happened to me. Ever since I was in kindergarten, I've been picked on for being the 'weird kid,' accused of being a 'know-it-all' and as years went on, I gave up on trying to interract with my peers. It seemed pointless. I didn't know it then, but the way I looked at life, other people and the world in general was so different that I never had a chance to successfully 'blend in.' I parroted behavior of the type-A personality people I admired, but the same words coming from me always came out sounding false and fell flat. For a long, long time, I thought I was insane. I thought everyone in the world hated me, so I lowered my head and plodded through life, hoping to stay out of people's way. People thought I was strange because I couldn't look them in the eye and chose to mumble rather than speak clearly and with the right amount of enthusiasm. I can't tell you the number of self-confidence courses and assertiveness training courses I've been to. They never worked.

In '01, I was diagnosed with ADD and Asperger Syndrome, but I didn't realize what that meant until a couple of years ago when my brother and my son were diagnosed with it as well. I'm convinced my mother has it also, but she refuses to see anyone about it. As for me, the only reason I even went to see someone about my inability to socialize (originally diagnosed as 'social anxiety disorder') was because I began to realize how strange I sounded even to myself when I couldn't get interested in all the usual chit-chat women do while gathered together. They'd talk about all the cute stuff their kids did and about hair-dos and fashion, while I thought it was the most boring crap in the world. I wanted to talk about mesocyclonic supercells with tornadic vortex signatures, or maybe have a spirited debate on quantum physics and string theory. No wonder they looked at me like I was nuts.

But, as it turns out, I'm not nuts, I'm just different. Mom once called me and my brother (the brother with AS; the other is an NT or a 'Normie,' as I and my son call it) her 'Indigo Children.' I had no idea what that meant and still really don't. I've been looking for other people who think like I do for years now. Looking around here has brightened my spirits considerably. I might prefer computers and machines over people, but though machines can be great listeners, they seldom talk back. That's why I'm here.

Edits: typos drive me crazy.

Have a great day!

Hello all -

Just joined and wanted to do some virtual introduction. That's a picture of me on my foster grandmother's couch when I was three. I'm not comfortable saying my first name but my nickname Zonder means "without" in Dutch.

My parents were migratory Fundamentalist Baptists. They were disciplinarians and did not allow any kind of bad or obviously unusual behavior. Mom and Dad were music educators and I've been singing in public since kindergarten. I grew up in three different states and mostly attended very small private Baptist/Bible schools through the 8th grade. Being in such an enclosed environment, I didn't fully realize how different I was from most other kids until I began attending a large public school in the 9th grade. I was bullied and overheard that I was "the weirdest boy in school." At the time I was emotionally immature, my style of clothes was haphazard, I enjoyed reading the encyclopedia, and I was the school expert on Egyptian embalming practices. One girl took pity on me and said that some day women would find me attractive because of how smart I was. For me, smart was mostly a friend repellent and (because I recently found that I have a deficiency in working memory) did not equal good grades.

I became very angry but managed to make my anger constructive. I realized that I was not looking at people's eyes, but at their mouths so I practiced looking at eyes even though it was uncomfortable. I realized that I needed to change myself so I started exercising, lost 60 pounds (I had been 225), bought a book on grooming, mimicked the clothing that popular kids wore, wouldn't let my mom cut my hair anymore, and saved up for contact lenses. By my senior year in high school I was acceptable enough to be elected a student council alderman.

I almost got kicked out of college because I fell apart junior year when I couldn't decide on a major, couldn't finish assignments, and couldn't finish classes. A counselor helped me to write my own major and attend an off-campus program and internship. I graduated a year late and eventually attended a graduate school in my field. It was only there that I could use my special interest in history and succeed. I had a 4.0 GPA and wrote a thesis paper that was subsequently published. I found a job right out of school and have been there ever since.

I've been promoted to managing the entire institution - something that I didn't want to do. Some days my job takes far more than I feel I can emotionally give. I often spend the weekends doing very little and avoiding people. I've started dating seriously for the first time in my life but I don't think it is going well. I hadn't realized that women I'm attracted to might also have relationship phobia.

I've not yet been evaluated for Asperger Syndrome but am scheduled to be later this summer. There are so many things / traits / differences I've read about AS that are like myself that some days I KNOW I'm in that category. Other days I'm not so sure, particularly when I see others on Wrong Planet who struggle more than I ever have struggled. But they say autism is a continuum and as much as I've been able to compensate, change my appearance, and learn to emulate behaviors, an underlying difficulty is still there.

It's been good to virtually meet you all.

Nice to meet you, Zonder.

Hi, I'm Nic.

I'm 22 years old, born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had a lonely childhood, even though I had a few friends at school and in the neighborhood. It's very difficult for me to get close to anyone, or remain friends with them. I stayed at home in my room a lot, usually reading. I always had my nose in a book, even while eating dinner. My favourite authors are Neil Gaiman, Jerry Spinelli, Douglas Adams, J.K. Rowling, and Louis Sachar. Although I love to read more than just about anything, I'm picky about my choices and would make a very harsh literary critic. I absolutely love historical fiction, and many of my favourite books are about people who live in different countries, or immigrants. I would love to be a cultural anthropologist when I grow up, if I wasn't already grown up.

My grades in high school were awful even though I have a moderately high IQ, which I can blame on lack of trying. I never did my homework. Even if I had, I would probably still be in high school failing algebra and gym class over and over, if i hadn't switched to alternative school halfway through senior year. I never went to college, and won't. I look forward to being a housewife and mother.

I am engaged (or married, if you read this after March 16 '09) to a young man named Bee who is currently serving in the US Navy. I am living with my parents until I get married, working as assistant manager at a Papa Murphy's store. Sometimes I feel I am even too socially awkward to fit in here, since I don't seem to be as good with expressing my thoughts or experiences as some on this forum, and my posts rarely elicit response. I still feel like this is my home, however, and I'm eternally grateful that such a place exists.

Oh yeah, I also like: cats, cheese, Kpop, embroidering, coffee, Asian food (especially Korean and Vietnamese), catalogs, pandas, and the Travel Channel. I'm not particularly into computers, video games or anime, but my fiance is. I have pretty bad scoliosis.

Welcome Cameo!

I like cats and cheese too. Do you have any cats?

Nice to meet you, Nic.

Hi, I'm Bob. I'm 73 years old and recently self-diagnosed. I have one friend (although I'm sure some of my collegues, fellow congregants, neighbors, acquaintances and family regard me as a friend). That friend is my wife who I accept as a friend because she tells me she is. I have no intuitive skills (or course) and almost no "common sense." Relationships are my number one problem and I need all the help I can get. My diagnosis has helped me understand myself a little and think I can avoid any more really disastrous social blunders (at least any that might wreck my marriage. I am interested in the soul, the mind, and the planet (that other one, earth). Right now I'm into helping NTs understand adult Aspie significant others and I don' have any idea where to start. I also work in a homeless shelter and I am starting to see Asperger's syndrome symtoms in some of our guests. Can I make my own situation useful to them?

I'm 34...and was listening to Technorama (podcast...anyone else here like that podcast?) at work one day...when they talked about a test they added to their Wiki... took the test...and scored off the charts as a Aspie. Nice...Good! An explanation! Gave husband test...he didn't score as high, but definately in the range. Our best friend? Scored higher than me. My kid? NT.
I've been lucky, I guess...sorta? I'm the overly chatty obsessive one who can't shut up. Husband finds keeping up with current obscession 'exhausting but fun'. I'm working on not getting too hyper in public and trying to control eye contact and not blurting out too much. I always had a couple close friends growing up...shyer types that nudge me in the back to talk for them. I'm now married to a shy guy, and our best friend tends to be shy too...I try not to embarrass them but sometimes I don't know when I'm over hyper.
I have a tendency to be the worst friend ever...usually quite self absorbed...working on this one too.
Nic, I also have scoliosis, and have 2 cats, three rabbits, and I LOVE cheese, historical fiction too, other fiction makes me want to scream.
My house is a definate obsessive spot..joint collection of 90 marmot things, tons of books and postcards records, vw models (his)
Egyptian stuff, minatures, jewelry, perfumes, (mine)
Kid is 14, normal. Described as 'mature for her age' We didn't get along when she was younger, but she has picked up that mom is odd, and if I am explaning something to that much detail it must be important...really wierd, when I was a kid, I was teased A LOT for missing social cues. Now her friends come to me to ask for advice because I can 'explain' it to them.
Sigh LOL