My name is Katie, and I suspect that I have Aspergers. However, despite extensive reading, there are a few places where I don't quite fit into the norm of Aspergers, so I thought I'd toss a few questions at y'all.
I'm a Christian, read voraciously, and am diagnosed with ADHD. However, the medication for ADHD (Adderol) doesn't really deal with most of the issues I have, so I began to doubt that that was the entire problem. It didn't deal with the anxiety, the difficulty in attending classes, the inability to communicate normally, the struggles I had as a child and a young teen to read others' emotions, the sensory issues (food texture,) and my habit of skipping from obsession to obsession. Two of my cousins have Aspergers syndrome, and my mom (a RN) always said that I acted a bit like them. So I began to look into what Aspergers looked like for women, and I was blown away by how similar it sounded.
However, despite the emotional similarities, there were a few things that didn't quite match up. I don't have an issue understanding people's motivations or expressions -- I have issues reacting to them. I can tell you what people I know are feeling with scary accuracy, and never be able to tell you how to react to those emotions. I've always watched people -- reading people is almost my hobby. However, it stemmed from the fact that I couldn't understand people at all, so I spent a LOT of time figuring out the specific social body language and facial expressions of the city that I live in. I'm completely lost when I leave, honestly.
I also enjoy makeup and fashion, but it's one of my rituals. I'm very good at putting on makeup, and I own comfortable makeup, so making myself presentable in the morning is a morning ritual. If I don't do it, I'm thrown off. I don't like uncomfortable clothes, but there's no rule that says that comfortable clothes have to be ugly clothes. Long skirts and maxi dresses are pretty AND comfy. Despite their lack of pockets. That's my dream, a maxi dress with pockets.
I'm also a gifted mimic, to the point that I begin to mimic people's accents back at them when we speak. (Awkward with Jamaicans, let me tell you.) I can pass for normal, but it's not my personality.
I like to fish, write poetry, cook, and shop. I tend to obsess over things, skipping from one obsession to the other... (I think I managed to watch every single Star Trek episode that ever aired in about six months.) I'm in College, and struggle to go to class, turn in stuff on time, and frequently get lost on campus. Luckily, I make up for most of this by befriending my professors and bringing them baked goods. You can cover a multitude of sins with baked goods. I was homeschooled, so I managed to miss out on most of the bullying and social issues that come with school.
It's lovely to meet all of you!
24 Oct 2013, 8:05 pm
