Hi, I'm Meagan. Do I have AS?

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I am a Personal Assistant for a girl who has autisim, and I really didn't know much about it, so when a TV program about a mother and her autistic child came on, I had to watch it. I had no idea about all of the different types of autism. Then I head about aspergurs... I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It sounded just like me. I've always stuggled to find an explanation for how I seem to be "different" from the rest of the world...

So I guess I need your help, does this diagnosis really apply to me?

I'll tell a little about myself.

I learned to read at age 3, I've always loved reading and I can read at an apparently quick pace, in school I always sped though reading assignemnts. Not to say Iwas good at school, I often read the books but had trouble completing any homework invovled. I never got along well with other kids, I was socially awkward (one girl told me "I HATE talking to you, you never ask how I am, you just start talking about freaking horses!") I just stopped talking to her...
I never "dressed right", and I always seemed too have one friend, and thats about it.
When I was in the 6th grade I was "tested" and was told I had too high of an IQ for regular classes and was placed in the "gifted" classes. I dont really know if they helped or not, but we moved across the country and I was placed back in "normal" classes. I failed almost immediatly. I got through school by changing my grades in my permanent record (I've always been good at sneaking around...) but in high school something clicked, and I started to finally do atleast somewhat well in school. I am an artist and I love art, the outdoors, and animals. Almost exclusivly. I focus on what friends I have, and I have a hard time with dating. Recently things with my boyfriend of 4 years ended, we just wern't happy together. We didn't understand each other. Since then I havn't met anyone to hold my interest excpet one guy who has the same obbsession with the outdoors as I do, but he is hiking the appalachain trail and wont be back for 5 months and doesn't want a "real relationship" while he's on the trail. As usual I'm focused in on him whether its good for me or not.
I am VERY clumsy, I fall, trip, stub, bruise myself on atleast a daily basis. I've never really grown into my skin I feel like. I also have trouble with words. I make perfect sense to myself of course, but people often tell me I'm talking too loud, mumbleing, or my words run together or end up backwards. I feel like I am very intellegant, and I just cant represent myself properly. I also have a hard time spelling (and typing). I can focus on mundane tasks really well, I used to work at the post office and I could sit there stamping letters for 6 hours as long as I had a good rythm. Infact, stamping was probably my favorite part of the job. When I am painting, reading, or even sometimes thinking, I dont notice the world around me. There have been times when I'm painting and people are practically yelling my name and I don't notice. when I do I usually snap and yell. After that I can't get "back in the groove". I have had a couple instances where I am basuically visually overloaded and have to go to sleep to escape from it. It gets to where the clolor, light, everything is coming at me at one and I almost freak out.

Sorry its so long, but what do you guys think?

Welcome to WrongPlanet, and welcome to my time warp.

Big aspie symptom.



Aspies/Autistic do not like change in routine/environment.



Aspies/Autistic definately have trouble properly advocating for themselves, communication, their needs... and often terribly misunderstood.



Quiet and repetitive. Sometimes mistaken for OCD symptoms? When its not OCD... its that the Aspie likes (constructive) routine. True "OCD" are meaningless, purposeless repetitive or even bizarre repetitive behaviors. I certainly would rather doing something repetitive without interruption (like the job you are describing) and I have a cousin who is on the low functioning end of the Autism spectrum who rolls newspapers for recycling... and he does that every day, a very mundane, repetitive job. He does not like being watched or disturbed...

Anyway, welcome

Welcome to WP!

thanks for the quick replies! I'm actually kind of excited to hear about all this. As far as I've always known I've just been weird. I've seen a shrink, but I've just stumbled through a couple possibilities like OCD and bipolar disorder... I have felt like there must be some explanation for the way I seem to just be naturally different.

Yes, those two (bipolar / ocd) diagnosis are often _erroneously_ slapped on ® and ™ while Aspergers is overlooked. Namely because the "expert" at hand is ignorant of Autism spectrum disorder.

OCD-like behaviors may be mistaken for Autistic repetitive behaviors... (and the written description of both, are misleading to one not experienced with understanding what distinguishes them). Where Autistic repetitive behavior usually has some kind of meaning / reason, OCD does not. i.e., OCD washing hands 100 times a day, or repetitively checking the locks on the doors, or compulsively storing junk in a home... leading to a dangerous health hazard. OCD can become self-endangering. Autistic repetitive behaviors are normally not, to my knowledge. For instance, I might listen to a song 100x in a row, because I enjoy the song... its familiar.... or, I might check my stats on my sites 100 times in a day, to see if hackers are coming in, seeing where people are coming from, seeing what's going on in general. But a third party observer might be un-nerved seeing what I do -- doing that over and over and over. My mother was confused by my behavior at age 13. I would sit in my room, repetitively writing computer programs in BASIC, and when the TRS-80 hit "OM ERROR" I would erase the program and start over again from scratch. I love computers.
My daughter too. She is interested in cartooning, and repetitively draws one favorite character, over and over and over.
But she is not OCD, neither am I. Those repetitive behaviors, relate strongly to our area of interest/work, have meaning, are not self-endangering and as they say, "practice makes perfect".

holy cow this sounds just like me. I'll draw the same tree 200 times, meanwhile everyone around me amazed by my "patience" (btw, I am NOT reall patience. waiting on things/people about kills me)


If I am interested in something (someone, whatever) , I have boundless energy and attention for it. If I'm not it WILL get ignored. It's that simple. And people dont get it.

To WrongPlanet!! !

Welcome greetings to the Wrong Planet community, chickadee289.

I'm dying of curiosity, WHY a tree?

haha sorry. I draw trees? In school we had to pick a concentration. So I've spent a lot of time drawing trees. I just like tress.

Hello Meagan, welcome, enjoy your stay on the Wrong Planet!

Hello and Welcome!! !