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Hey everyone! I feel so idiotic saying I THINK I have Asperger's b/c I haven't officially been diagnosed. I've suspected it for about 3+ years though. I've taken the Aspie-Quiz on the internet 3-4 times in those past years & I always get close to the same results verifying that I am very likely an aspie. When I try to talk to my parents or friends about it no one is supportive. The only one who believes that I am is my DH (he has to put up w/me 24/7 & it's not always fun!) When we sought out help from a Dr. friend of ours for a referral he asked why I thought I had Aspergers. As I attempted to explain I could tell it was not going well, he said I could just be OCD. At the time we were new friends & he knew nothing about me & I don't feel comfortable asking him now what he thinks, b/c he didn't believe me then. When I was an early teen I was diagnosed w/a learning disability & when I was about 25 my therapist concluded that I might have Borderline Personality Disorder. After researching I found that women are often misdiagnosed w/similar things I had been diagnosed w/before so when I learned of Asperger's & researched it, I felt like it explained me to a T. Now I'm just looking for support.

Icuaspie, and welcome to WP!

Welcome!

Welcome to Neverland Wendy. Please leave your human urge to socially conform at the door.

I went through the very same thing... up to the bitter end. Family saying its everything they can that's the most negative and why? Probably because in the past, you did something that ticked them off with your honest non-NT observations about their neurotypical idiocracy.

Therefore, they don't like you very much... and it must be the very worst diagnosis.
Anyway.... yeah, when the school suspected my son, the family reaction.
But when it came to my two daughters... oh no no no... just "speculation" ... "has your mother diagnosed you..." then the day with a child autism specialist came, and both daughters were diagnosed positive... beyond shadows of a doubt. Don't let people put doubts in your mind. Go through with seeking a specialist. The worst that can happen to you, is getting A.S. or Autism ruled out.

ASPIE VS. PSYCHO MOM. (I love this hilarious clip... esp. the snip about the "bi-polar" disorder). Sound like anyone in your family?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyIf0zU1Dzg[/youtube]



Big difference between somebody repetitively collecting toy cars or paying attention to every car that passes by on the road, and obsessing Make ... Model .. Year .... like a machine vs. somebody who compulsively collects junk like a packrat, or compulsively washes their hands a 1000x a day.
Although OCD are similar in their description, these two conditions are nothing alike.

You should study up on OCD symptoms vs. repetitive A.S. symptoms, to better distinguish the difference for the psychiatrist, 'cos you know what? Most are too lazy to bother doing the study and will slap on misdiagnoses upon misdiagnoses, if you let them. You've got to do your own advocating, or nothing will get done and you'll slip thru the cracks. If you're really A.S., you're lucky you made it this far.



Don't sweat it. Truth has a way of taking care of itself in time. Seek out an adult Aspergers specialist... and get a diagnoses if that's possible. Once you've got it on paper, you won't have to explain yourself to anyone.



Seek out an adult Aspergers specialist. That's your best route in the future.

You describe some of the very same troubles I've had with people, and the same way I left out feeling about them. I've got three out of three kids, now documented. I no longer have to "explain" myself. If anyone wants to question or scoff, they can argue with the doc... and believe it or not, some in my family actually tried... for awhile, then shut their mouths 'cos they woke up, and realized it wasn't changing my mind, and they looked pretty stupid, denying the conclusions of a board-certified Autism specialist.

The last I heard about it, my sister, who's an LPN (lisenced practical nurse) was trying to minimize our plight and begrudging against us, that "Aspergers shouldn't even be a diagnosis, its not serious." to which I reasoned to myself (and its none of her business), "but it was serious enough for you guys to sit around gossipping, accusing we were mental this and mental that... but now knowing it was innocent Autism/Aspergers, you can't bring yourself and your almighty pride to apologize for all the insult, injury and wrong so-called FAMILY had done to me and my children."

I don't need their uninformed and sometimes outright *wrong* opinions. I've established friendships, elsewhere. That I'm out from under their thumb, stings worse than anything.

Love the video clip! Parts of that are verbatim transcripts of conversations I've had with my mom over the years. I never mentioned AS to them until I was already scheduled for assessment and diagnosis, so there wasn't much time for them to argue against it because they had no clue what it was, though they did look rather skeptical at the word 'Autism'.

Post-diagnosis though, I think somebody must have done some reading (they also have friends whose son has AS), because the haranguing and the pressure to behave normally have noticeably abated. Now I get the feeling they're relieved to think of my oddness as a 'birth defect' and not the result of bad parenting.

cmeaspie, even formally diagnosed, you're going to find few people anywhere you go who have any idea what AS is. They will scoff at the idea, claim that you're using the Lifetime Channel 'disease of the week' as an excuse and continue to discriminate against you simply because they can. I wish I could tell you there's some great social change coming, in which Neurodiversity will be defended, accepted and appreciated, but the truth is, the very people who claim to be 'Speaking' for us, are not touting acceptance, but a 'cure' to eliminate Autistics and their alternate viewpoint from the face of the Earth - to drug us into conformity and abort us out of the gene pool forever.

Welcome to the underground!

"Hello," cmeaspie - welcome aboard the Wrong Planet.

*phew* I hadn't considered that aspect. My Mom has seen quirky behaviors (and center of gossip circles to defend herself) and perhaps felt it was a reflection on her parenting. Now thinking of a way to say it as though the idea were her's all along so I can get some relief.

To WrongPlanet!! !

lol, the video was great, I felt like I was reliving past conversations w/my mom! DH & I laughed. I really want to thank you guys for the support, just the positive feedback really makes me want to go out & try again to find someone who can help me. This time I think I'll keep it private between my DH & I and not family or friends.

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

Welcome, cmeaspie