Introduction

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I recently joined the wrong planet discussion group, I'm a 22 year old male from Bendigo in the state of Victoria, in Australia.

I was diagnosed with asperger's when I was 2 or 3, while I walked by the time I was one; I did not talk until the age of 4. When I attended special school from age 6-8 I was using sign language. As a little kid I did not think myself as any different from the other kids, just a little slow. I did not know I had asperger’s until I was 12, I that out on court reports which had been laid around the house.

I have a very high IQ around 150, I probably taught myself to read at age 4. However my language, spelling and math skills were behind my peers. I was held back a year when I attended a mainstream primary school from age 9-12.

A little about my family background, my mum and dad spilt up when I was 4 and I lived with my mother and sister (2 years my junior) in Tasmania until the age of 13. My mother is a weird kind of woman who does not have many friends, very gloomy and pessimistic about the world, quite serious and cold emotionally. I never remembered her having any interest in a romantic or sexual relationship; also she never held a party apart from birthday parties for my sister and me. Recently I have been suspecting she has the same condition I do.

My sister and father are very much NT, they have lots of friends and are quite social. While my mother and me aren’t much social.

After my parents broke up my Dad married again to his ex-wife I will call her M. She is quite nutty to put it, apart from having an IQ of around 70, she was bi-polar. Their first kid my half sister K (who is now 18) was taken away from them by M’s mother when K was 2. This was probably because M was working as a prostitute at the time (she worked as a prostitute for the whole time I was living with her and still probably does).

I came to live with my Dad in Melbourne when I was 14 and attended a mainstream high school for a year. It was the worst year of my life, I was seriously teased and bullied and I was so depressed I had to go into a mental hospital for a while. From age 15-18 I attended an alternative high school in Brunswick a suburb of Melbourne and fit in fairly well. In 2001 I graduated High school with only average scores (I was aiming then to get into a Bachelor of Arts course in a university). My school scores only allowed me to get into Diploma level courses.

I did in 2002 I commenced a Diploma in Spatial Information course, I did not well in it for various reasons. One of them was in mid 2002 my Stepmother left my Dad and it affected everyone including me. I dropped out of the course and in early 2003 moved from Melbourne to Bendigo where I looked for work unsuccessfully for the year.

In 2004 I did a Certificate IV in Accounting and passed it, in early 2005 I looked for work with much success.

Currently I am living with my Dad and my half brothers that are 9 and 7. The 9-year-old is a pretty normal NT a lot like his Dad, sister and half sister. However the 7-year-old is physically and well as mentally delayed in his development. He has the mindset of a 4-year-old and does not even know how to read yet. My dad has told me he shares similar traits to what I have, however is very NT in social skills, indeed he is maybe hypersocial.

Starting in July of this year I started doing a Bachelor of Business (major in accounting). Deep inside I rather do a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science.

However the local university campus does not offer the kind of science majors I would interested in doing and I chose a Bachelor of Business because I would provide me with the best chance of getting a job in the long run.

I could always go down to Melbourne and study, however I am supporting my Dad money wise and if I left I dunno if he said he would have to move back to Tasmania, because he could not afford to live in Bendigo no longer, also it would end his relationship with his current girlfriend.

Due to sort of teenage years I had, I am very insecure about myself and having not the will and to a degree financial means to go out, meet and make friends. I am quite depressed and often despair about my life. My only source of income is the Disability Support Pension the federal government pays me. Never having a long-term job makes me feel inadequate as a person and is contributing to my depression.

I am kind of embarrassed by my Dad, he believes in weirdo stuff like Polyandry, although I get along well with his current girlfriend.

I never had been a whiz with computers and not much of an artist. Although I am a great observer of the world around me and have a huge knowledge of history and politics. My counsellors suggested when I was younger than I do an Arts Degree and become an academic.

Apart from reading up in history, politics and sociology I enjoy watching Docs on television, occasionally films and other television programs. I also enjoy playing computer games, surfing the Internet and walking about Bendigo.

I guess it would be the longest introduction you have ever read by I wanted to get a huge amount off me.

wow. Im not really sure waht to say, but i enjoyed reading about you. it sounds really tough i hope you begin to feel better.

Welcome
I hope life picks up. I am also studing for a BA in business (almost done) so if you every want to talk about that just PM me

Welcome!

How is it that you're diagnosed AS when you only began speaking when you were 4? That's well and truly delayed, and according to the DSM you can't be AS. You should be classified as having Autistic Disorder.

You sound quite a bit like me in some respects, although not identical. I am a huge poltics/history buff, particulary of WWII and the post WWII eras.

Whadda know about that devil Rupert Murdoch. . ..????





Any particular field? Bachelor of Arts is pretty vague. I am currently in college for a Bachelors of Art in Industrial design.







Same, same, same. My IQ is a relativly puny 136, but the rest is revelant to me. I started to talk in sentences at age 3 (for unknown reasons, but deafness is suspected).


You intrigue me. In many ways you sound like a mirror, and in others, not. But enough to intrugue me. Welcome to WP in any case.

Let me clarify,

I was diagnosed with Autism at age 2, however over the years as I grew up. People who have analyzed me thought I have AS rather than Standard Autism. I got to check my psychological assessments about what I was exactly diagnosed with.

I think my family has a history of developmentally delayed; my half brother that is 7 going on 8 is very developmentally and maybe physically delayed, he also shows signs of having ADHD.

I have changed my profile to having Other Autism spectrum disorder as a result.

Hi!

Welcome! I am glad you joined.

It turns out, you have a lot in common with me in regard to your family background. It is amazing that you were still able to talk when you got older.

On top of that, what you are studying in the present really impresses me.

You will like it here, I know.

Well I spend a lot of my childhood in early intervention centers and special schools (a total of 4 or 5 years). Generally my teachers throughout my teacher were supportive. The main problems I had been from other students.

When I was a kid, my physical development was completely normal although I was shorter than average, then again my father (5'8 or 5'9) and mother (5'2) are below average in height.

This in complete contrast to my 7 year old stepbrother, who even compared to his 9 year old brother, is tiny and the 9 year old is probably the shortest boy in his class. My 7 year old stepbrother did not learn how to walk until he was 3 (I was walking before I was 12 months old).

I had some motor skill problems, I wasn’t toilet trained until the age of 4 and I wet the bed until I was 7 or 8. Also I did not learn to tie my shoes until I was 9 or maybe 10.

My main problems were in the learning department. I’m probably hyperlexic and maybe self taught myself to read at age 4. My reading ability was maybe ahead of my peers in Primary School. Although I was well behind my peers in writing and arithmetic, that was probably the reason why I was held back a year when I was 11.

I probably learned to speak in complete sentences when I was 4. The special education programs or something else (maybe my IQ of 150) helped me to catch up to my peers in language by the time I was 8 or 9.



I attended an 'alternative' high school from age 15 to 18. If I had remained in the mainstream High School system I would have left at the 10th year due to the terrible bullying I was getting.

Last edited by newchum on 14 Aug 2005, 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

No more than most people, although I believe several famous figures probably have AS judging by their behavior like the Theodore Kaczynski, Terry Nichols, Bobby Fischer and Bill Gates.

Fictional characters who I think might have AS are Dilbert, Moe and maybe The Comic Book Guy and Seymour Skinner (in the later seasons of the Simpson’s, although Enda Krabappel made a remark in season 3 about Skinner being a Moma's boy).



Here in Australia, strictly Liberal Arts.

wow this is a litle off topic but you saying you learnt to tie your shoes at 9/10 ish made me realise that there probly was a reason why i only learnt to tie my shoes at like 11. sorry i keep having these moments where i read something someone else has said and then gone.. hey i did that, i guess its coz im still getting used to the idea that there are things that do have reasons for them and stuff. (not that that makes sense)
anyway its weird coz most of you are all awaare of all this and im just sitting here going wow like every 2 minutes

You will probably never cease to amaze me, newchum. I have some motor difficulties, but not as many I did before. I am getting better with them.

I am still having these reactions
It really feels great to not be alone anymore as the only person who did or did not do ...... on time or the "normal" way.

Hi Newchum,

I think there's a couple of other members in country Vic too. Welcome to the site.