Questions about HFA/Asperger's

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Hello,


I'm a 30 year old male who just a couple months ago learned that there was such a thing as a high functioning autist. Never in my life did it occur to me to read up or thought or heard of an autistic person as being anything other than a 'Rainman' type person.

It's hard to describe how it felt like to one day be reading on another online forum where a man was describing some of the issues his autistic son (Rainman-type as that was all I knew at the time, i'll refer to them as Low-Functioning from now on - no offense intended) had at his school and he put some links about autism.. clicked them (as I was a bit bored and curious) and began reading. It was all pretty much what I knew already until I got to the part about Asperger and HFA.. and when practically every 'symptom' matched my personality and all these @#$@ social issues i've had in my life .. well.. lets just say its the first time in my life that my thoughts just froze.

Lost count on how many online tests i've taken so far and i've been scoring 'highly likely' as being AS/HFA. I would like a proffessional opinion but so far i've not been able to find an adult specialist (all resources point to child specialists only). I live in the Orlando (Florida) area and would appreciate any assistance.



Out of the common Asperger 'symptoms' I do not exhibit:
-problems working with a group (I'm usually silent and listening + analyzing what to do and at the end im the one that comes up with the solution). Socializing with them as part of 'the process' is very problematic for me though. I've learned to let them chat till they frustrate each other, tell them to shut up (in a nice way) and give them a simplified version of the solution (since I end up doing the complicated stuff.. too hard to explain it to them).
-I suck at math. I literally have problems adding and multiplying stuff in my head thats more than 2 digits. However, I'm really good at physics and anything requiring 'concept' linked with math. If it wasn't for calculators or computers to the number crunching for me i'd be miserable.

But i do have every social interaction symptom there is. I dont like crowds, cant stand loud dissonant music, prefer to be alone / work alone, if multiple people talk to me I tune them all out, etc. Worse of all i'm single (as most) and never had a GF or any friendship with a girl other than colleague/classmate type.

My general questions:

What is the difference between Asperger and HFA? All I read seems to point that Asperger is another name for HFA... yet some sources say its different. Many say Asperger are more 'chatty' while HFA's are 'quiet' types.

What is the difference (if any)?

Dantac,

I don't really have a problem working with a group either. They just usually work so INCREDIBLY slowly or badly, that I am insulted by it.

I am not great at math either, and apparently many have the same problem.

You sound like you may be AS!

I think people get Asperger's at a later age so they are usually higher functioning.

Here's a link to the official criteria - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/overvi ... iteria.htm

Main Difference:
autistic disorder - Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years: (1) social interaction, (2) language as used in social communication, or (3) symbolic or imaginative play.

Asperger's syndrome - # There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years).
# There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

yeah i just found out I had aspergers at age 25. welcome to the club it does sound like you have as too. In school I really didnt have a problem with working in groups, it's just that the others seemed really slow to get there work done, and was bored with the material, and people are rude in groups, found it also insulting, yeah I suck at math too, everyone on aspergers is different, some may be good at math, some may be good with computers, computer repair, web design, journalism.engineering,scientists.. etc.

I think Aspergers may be a subset of HFA, thought I couldn't draw a Venn diagram to show...
don't feel bad, I was 49 when I found out...

I can work in groups also, although I do get frustrated with people because they want to talk problems to death rather than go ahead and solving them. I usually get along with other geeks better than when I have to do group problems with others. I sometimes zone out and think about other things when a meeting gets boring and long winded.

I can be a very social person and I usually score high on the online quizzes in social skills, but I have learned them over the years. Most do not come naturally to me and I still blurt out weird things in the middle of conversations if I don't watch myself. I don't let it stop me and I have been described as eccentric and colorful by my friends and family. Not all of my friends/acquaintances know about my having AS, as they have been my friends longer than I have known about having it and them knowing really will not change a thing.

I am not as clumsy as a lot of a AS people are. I was taken to a physical therapist back in the 70's because my mother was worried about me being clumsy. It was a fairly young age and I believe that it helped me a lot.

I got my diagnosis when I was 39.

If that were accurate, then people with Rett's, childhood disintegrative disorder, and "regressive" autism would be "higher functioning", and while some probably are classified that way, most supposedly aren't.

Good info. Thanks.

Welcome to WrongPlanet!
I myself could pass for NT but that is from acquired experience rather than so called "common sense".

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The differences all depend on who you read/listen to.

I'm not really keen on the whole LFA/HFA distinction, for a number of reasons (I'm too lazy to list them). I prefer autism, which includes verbal difficulties all throughout life (severe difficulties that is) and autism without said severe verbal difficulties throughout life (Asperger's).

Professor Attwood seems to agree.