I have some questions.

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I hope you don't mind me asking, but I would just like to get a better understanding of a few things from your perspective. I may or may not have AS. I don't know. I have, and have had, some characteristics yet question the explanation due to my early history. The thing is, there are some characteristics that don't have potential explanation. This suggests the possibility of Asperger's Syndrome. If I do get tested, I want to make sure I give accurate information. I don't want to be told I have something I don't. I don't want a diagnosis to be missed, either. I don't mean to be nosy by asking so many questions, I'm just trying to understand. Thank you!

Do you get along better with certain age groups than others?
How intense is your special interest? How intense was it as a child?
Were you aware of hiding your symptoms as child, if you did?
Do you have sensory sensitivities? Are they uncomfortable? Could you describe them?
How early did characteristics begin to show?
Is it always noticable?
Do you/did you have problems with taking things literally? How so?
Did you ever do things such as twirling, throat clearing, etc? Do you know why?
How strict is your routine? Is it daily, or apply to other things?

Do you get along better with certain age groups than others? Nah, pretty much everyone thinks I am weird equally. I get along with people who are quirky themselves, whatever age, and are therefore more tolerant of the way I am.
How intense is your special interest? How intense was it as a child? I don't have a special interest in the singular. I go through phases. I want to know everything about something. It can last a day if it is a small subject, or 1 year. And I often have 2-3 obsessions going on at once. As a child it was the same.
Have you always been aware of your thought process in communication? I am not sure what you mean here. Isn't everyone aware of their thought process? I mean, NT mothers tell their kids "think before you speak", and blurting stuff out thoughtlessly is called a blunder, and so on. So doesn't everyone usually, or at least aims to, articulate their thoughts before they speak? I suppose the closest to this I have is, I gotta finish what I was gonna say. If I have a sentence in my head and the other person goes "oh, ok" halfway through it, I gotta finish it. I know they already got it, but I have to, or that thought will not be "finished" in my mind and I can't think something else.
Were you aware of hiding your symptoms as child, if you did? Oh yeah, even though it wasn't a diagnosis when I was a child. But being picked on and constantly sent to the school counselor and shrink sent the message that I wasn't normal loud and clear, and I tried to mimic the "normal" children as much as possible.
Do you have sensory sensitivities? Are they uncomfortable? Could you describe them? Yes. I hear humming electrical noises that other people can't hear. I can't stand the touch of cotton wool. I feel hot and cold very differently from other people, and overreact to both - so I'll be the one in the sweater washing my hands in cold water cause the warm water feels like I am burning myself.
How early did characteristics begin to show? At about 2. I could speak with an unusually high vocabulary, I used to memorize the stories from the story books my family told me and retell them later turning the pages at the exact time, I'd use mnemonic devices to memorize words without anyone having taught me them (repeating 3x, touching the object with the word, etc.), and then at 3 I taught myself to read and write.
Is it always noticable? In a casual interaction, like if I go to the supermarket, no. I've gotten pretty good at the eye contact thing. But it is always exhausting. It is tiring to be me. Doing the eye contact is tiring. The sensory overload of the world and remembering to do the eye contact is so tiring. I have a couple of friends that know and that are ok with me never looking at them or randomly staring, fortunately.
Do you/did you have problems with taking things literally? How so? Oh yeah. I will always have this problem! I can detect if someone is saying something sarcastically or laughing, but if it is just a figure of speech, I usually take it literally.
Did you ever do things such as twirling, throat clearing, etc? Do you know why? I loved twirling on chairs, as a kid. I sorta still do, and twirl a bit if I am alone. Also, my wedding band rotates and I spend a lot of time just rotating it.
How strict is your routine? Is it daily, or apply to other things? I don't have a very strict routine. I have short term plans, as in I am going to do X and then Z, and I am gonna go about them in that order no matter what. If I am forced to change that plan, I feel terrible, my whole day is ruined.

Have you always been aware of your thought process in communication?

Sorry, I guess that's not very clear as to what I'm asking. I'm not sure how to put it.

Do you get along better with certain age groups than others?
Yes. Much older or much younger.

How intense is your special interest? How intense was it as a child?
Interests, plural. I've had dozens, over the years. They can be as intense as 20 hours a day, or quite weak, the intensity of a typical person's hobby.

Were you aware of hiding your symptoms as child, if you did?
I was rather oblivious to it all--I was very socially awkward, but I wasn't interested in socializing, so the gap wasn't ever really very painful to me.

Do you have sensory sensitivities? Are they uncomfortable? Could you describe them?
Sight, touch, smell, sound... Yes, they're uncomfortable. Anything bright, certain textures, high-pitched or loud sounds... The feeling is a little like hearing fingernails on a chalkboard. The sensitivities get much worse when I'm stressed.

How early did characteristics begin to show?
Birth, maybe before. I cried constantly unless I was rocked, was even more sensitive to sensory input than I am today, and took a great deal of interest in playing with things rather than socializing with people.

Is it always noticable?
To someone who knows autism, yes. To someone who doesn't, and presuming my stress level's low, I can usually keep up an act for about a half hour before the oddness begins to show.

Do you/did you have problems with taking things literally? How so?
If I am not thinking, I answer rhetorical questions, take figures of speech literally, and don't detect sarcasm. But I'm quite capable of handling all those things; I just need a little extra time to figure them out--a second or two at most.

Did you ever do things such as twirling, throat clearing, etc? Do you know why?
Stimming. Yes, constantly. I think more easily when I'm engaged in repetitive movement of some sort. The only time I stop is when I'm asleep and when I'm extremely, extremely overwhelmed. By that point I've probably lost speech, too, so it has to be pretty extreme.

How strict is your routine? Is it daily, or apply to other things?
Not very strict. I don't use schedules; I just do things the same order every time--otherwise I'd lose my way and forget what I was supposed to do next. I wish I had more of a routine; my erratic sleep schedule would benefit, I'm sure.

Have you always been aware of your thought process in communication?
If you mean, Do I think about what I say before I say it?, then not always. If I had those few extra seconds to think, I would probably embarrass myself a lot less.

Seperately from this survey, does anyone know if sensory sensitivities associated with Asperger's are always uncomfortable? As of now, I don't recall having any discomforts in the past (although I sometimes have mild discomfort towards sound if I'm trying to focus). However, I have very good hearing. Some examples being that I can hear instruments in songs other's don't notice and I could hear the bats in the attic from my grandparent's foyer.

Cool. My first aspie survey.

Do you get along better with certain age groups than others? When I was younger, I always fit in better with older people. As an adult, I have a hard time with immature people of any age.

How intense is your special interest? How intense was it as a child? My special interests are and have always been *very* intense. One in particular, I have had since my childhood and it has only grown and expanded.

Were you aware of hiding your symptoms as child, if you did? I had absolutely no self awareness as a child what so ever. I have always felt I was different from others, but it was not until my teen years that I became self aware and began trying to conform.

Do you have sensory sensitivities? Are they uncomfortable? Could you describe them? I have sensory issues with smells. Everything makes me gag, even good smells. I also have issues with touch. If I don't know you and you touch me, I must resist the urge to smack you. I also have some minor issues with textures. Anything gooey, especially if it is sweet, will make me gag.

How early did characteristics begin to show? I have no clue. I was a drop-of-the-hat projectile vomiter until the age of ten, when my stomach finally started to settle a bit. Everyone always thought I was a sickly child, but I was in fact a very anxious one, who reacted to overstimulation by puking. I was always the smart kid that never fit in and always puked on the bus.

Is it always noticable? To me, yes, my weirdness is always quite noticeable. I have no real idea what others think.

[b]Do you/did you have problems with taking things literally? How so? Yes. I have the most problems with sarcasm. I take people's words for what they mean and have trouble ascertaining tone of voice.

Did you ever do things such as twirling, throat clearing, etc? Do you know why? Yes. I do them. I have no idea why.

How strict is your routine? Is it daily, or apply to other things? I do not have a strict routine per say, but I am very anal about being on time, doing things in the correct order...basically doing things in what I feel is the right way.

Do you get along better with certain age groups than others?
I would say I get along with everybody. But people my age and older can still tell im weird & quiet. I don't really be around children. I tend to get along with people who have quirks themselves

How intense is your special interest? How intense was it as a child?
There are more than 1 special interest that applies to me. I like the internet, video games, and television manly. As a child playing video games was very intense. It was like my only friend & it relieved stress by having fun playing. Usually at least 4-8 hours a day and there was no computer at the time. Now It's more like I play the video game maybe once a week for an hour or 2 and im on the computer for 2-6 hours a day.

Have you always been aware of your thought process in communication?
No I havent. I always knew that it was hard to make friends even in elementary school and I prefered to be quiet. But I didn't think it was anything wrong with me so I didn't think too much of it. I used to tell myself "I'll become less afraid when I get older" So now at 19 im fully aware that It's always been something wrong with me. I ask myself why I STILL can't keep friends and hang out like other people do.

Were you aware of hiding your symptoms as child, if you did?
I did hide my symptoms but I wasn't aware of it at the time. My focus was video games after school. I couldn't wait to get home from school. I didn't communicate well with others but my grades were good. So when my mom ask me how was school today I would just say "It was alright"

Do you have sensory sensitivities? Are they uncomfortable? Could you describe them?
Im not completely familar with the meaning of sensory sensitivities but I feel like sometimes people are staring at me or talking about me or when alot of people are talking at one time it can't seem to keep up and get lost in the conversation.

How early did characteristics begin to show?
I don't remember. But i've always been told by others kids at school that I walk awkward.

Is it always noticable?
Yes

Do you/did you have problems with taking things literally? How so?
Yes, Sometimes I take things literally when people are just joking or I just don't get the joke at all.t

Did you ever do things such as twirling, throat clearing, etc? Do you know why?
Yes. I did twirling as a child because I liked the feeling of being dizzy.

How strict is your routine? Is it daily, or apply to other things?
I do the same thing everyday and I may switch up or add something to the routine.