nobody believes that I have Asperger's when I tell them

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Hi I'm new to the website and I'm not professionally diagnosed with Asperger's. When I try to tell people that I think I have it they actually get mad at me. I want to explain to them all my symptoms but it's a little embarassing. When I was younger:

>I would flap my hands whenever I was excited
>I would bang my head into walls if I was upset or bite my hands....mostly over video games (this is the most embarrasing)
>I was obsessed with video games and drawing super heroes (still am)
>I had no friends from 2nd grade to 8th and I didn't really try to make them.
>was diagnosed with depression in 8th grade and put on anti-depressants...I finally started to make friends
>I was and still am slightly uncomfortable with eye contact.
>always have been told I'm socially awkward and never understand why.

Ever since anti- depressants (which I'm not on anymore) I've been able to make friends alright, but the relationships are difficult for me to understand. I randomly became obsessed with ballet and now I'm a professional ballet dancer with a major company...I think it's because I'm somewhat successful and I can make friends, that nobody believes me. Can anybody give me any insight into this?

Why do people get mad at you for saying you might have AS?

Is it because they think that you are just using an excuse?

A professional ballet dancer? DAMN! That's a pretty impressive path in life for someone with potential AS.

Some of your past history is a bit similar to mine. I knew something was not normal about me for years before I was finally diagnosed but NO ONE would believe me. I could make friends but once I no longer had the school environment to be able to see them in the friendships would fade out. Trying to call them or hang out with them outside of school ended in instant failure.

I do think that they're might be some potential for AS in the symptons you described. But I think a professional diagnosis would be the only thing to really confirm this.

I think that the easiest way for other people to understand is to tell them that you permanently feel like you are going through the pains of living in a new country for the first three months. Studies at UCLA have shown that the brain responds to such circumstances in ways that are almost identical to High Functioning Autism (Asperger's).

To WrongPlanet!! !

people never believe I have it either despite the fact that I have a diagnosis and met all the criterior. So lesson learned- having a diagnosis will not make people believe you.

I agree with the other poster that people dont want to beleive it as they think it is an excuse.

The people who most strongly think I do not have AS are ones who want me to 'pull myself together' and that sort of thing, usually therapists and social workers, the real empathising types. I think as well that they project onto me what characteristics they think I have from how I look or because im friendly/polite. My fathers ex wife said 'but your the most affectionate person ever' where as I had only tollerated her hugs out of politeness and hate being touched.

People project a lot on to us to 'work us out' rather than just accepting what we say. I think this is the path we walk and that it will be a lifetime of being denied and miss
understood.

To the last person who denied my AS I said 'No one can diagnose or undiagnose me, only I know what goes on in my mind and have experienced my life and someone else can not tell me what I know, my diagnosis is my business and about how I define myself and what is usefull for me to understand myself better and it really does not matter what you think'.

I never told anyone i have it, people found out by the way i was/am its not so important to let people know but i wouldn't feel good too if i would have said i have AS and they would get made at me so i understand why you want them to believe you. I think for as far as i know is that NT's tend to make preconceptions in how you look and act. Sometimes it doesn't even make sense.

Hey Welcome To WP

how are you ?

Welcome greetings to the Wrong Planet, fellow-traveler dustintorch.

Welcome to join in and talk with us,dustintorch! Hopefully you one day can see it as positive that people dont believe you. You must be very highfunctional beeing able to be a proffessional balletdancer
Anyway, try not to be upset. I know some people have hard to believe me too, simply because I to them appear so normal and can do advanced things.

That doesnt mean you can still have AS as its a difficult balance in what you can deal with and not and mostly its stress that excist in your head that you might be very good in covering among others... at least it can be that for me..

thanks for the opinions...I guess there really is no point in telling people anyways. I just kind of have to be right all the time and when people think I'm wrong, it really bothers me...especially in this case when I feel so strongly about it. I'm still going to try and get a professional diagnosis though.

Thank you!

I'm having the same issues. My Psychiatrist says I have Asperger's but my Psychologist said i have Dyssemia. Don't cut off other possible diagnosis options because you are comfortable with this one.

welcome to WP


regarding this one...

"and now I'm a professional ballet dancer with a major company...I think it's because I'm somewhat successful and I can make friends, that nobody believes me"

its a BIG WOW!

Welcome to WP!

There are some idiots out there who think AS is "made up."