So I'm obviously new as a poster to the forums but I've been visiting the site for a couple of months. I got my diagnosis of AS last month after having it pointed out by several friends that I fit the description to a T. In retrospect, AS has been the source of many of what were perceived by others as rebellious, stubborn, or incompetent qualities and actions. I went to college right after high school at Texas A&M, but burned out rather quickly and only passed 12 hours worth of classes in three semesters. I was misdiagnosed with ADHD and General Anxiety Disorder and put on all kinds of medications that only exasperated my negative symptoms (Vyvanse and Adderal caused more meltdowns and made me speedy, etc). I dropped out of college and basically disappeared off the face of the planet for a year and a half, and spent that time backpacking around Texas, couchsurfing, smoking my body weight in pot, and experimenting with various other drugs. Obviously I'm pretty open about it, just ask me if you're curious about psychedelics and/or enactogenics and their effects on the aspie brain. I grew a lot during this time, and it was then that people started pointing out my glaringly obvious Aspie traits. I was arrested for a possession charge that I did not commit (I was mainly arrested because I "acted sketchy" according to the cop; the person who did commit the crime was very likable and well-off, and refused to take responsibility) and could have been fought in court, but I decided to just take the consequences as a learning experience and an excuse to stop smoking weed for a while and get myself straightened out. At this point I had no job (lost the only one I had due to a meltdown which got me fired), $2000 in credit card debt, and faced jail time or probation costs on top of all that. I woke up one morning and decided that computer engineering was the career for me after several years of programming and compiling Linux from source on my own, and returned to my parents to attend Texas Tech. And here I am, doing well after my diagnosis and subsequent therapy/assistance.
As far as Aspie traits go, here are just a few of the ones that have been pointed out to me or that I've noticed myself (note that I use the "clinical" terms in most cases):
Pervasive interests
Routines and rigid patterns
Piling in bed and specific sleep habits
"Aloof" and awkward in social settings. The number of people exasperates this, I can usually stand two, three is a crowd.
Stimming
Toe-walking
Lack of eye contact
Pedantic language and large vocabulary
Monotonous voice
Meltdowns
Picky eater
Lack of expressing empathy
etc. etc.
12 Jul 2012, 12:30 pm
