hmm... just speculation, but

Post Reply New Topic

Based purely on the "you might be an aspie if' thread, i have started to wonder if i may be AS as well. I know that sounds weird, and not very reliable, but the number of things i related to after reading like 12 pages of that thread has alarmed me. O_o Then again, i have already mentioned i have always been an odd person. I just always assumed reading constantly, preferring the company of animals over other humans, knowing random facts about nearly everything, making other people uncomfortable in conversations, being incredibly anal about how my belongs are arranged, scoring 133 on an IQ test in 1st grade even though i didn't learn to read until i was 9, preferring to eat the same foods for long periods of time, not being able to stand being in certain places because of the lighting, getting irate over things like how the colors and fonts on store signs are repulsive and the companies need better marketing departments, not caring about my appearance, constantly feeling hot even when other people are cold, crowded and noisy places giving me panic attacks, skipping class in school to read Hamlet in the bathroom, only being attracted to people of the opposite sex who are equally intelligent and odd, and the fact that i gave up on trying to be normal a long time ago were just me being an odd person. I am actually very emotional (which i don't think fits although my son is also very emotional), remember i mentioned the "highly sensitive people" concept, and eccentric. According to my husband's opinion i have a personality or mood disorder. I have anxiety issues, some OC tendancies myself, and have been diagnosed with panic disorder. I'm a walking contradiction. I live my life mostly in my head, but become very depressed if i don't constantly have a project to be working on. I've also dealt with anger issues for a lot of my life and was in anger management therapy of my own choice when i was 18 and my oldest son was a baby, but i grew up with an abusive alcoholic father who also had rage issues. I'm not necessarily looking for a lot of feedback on this. I'm just becoming curious, because although i've mentioned i do have a lot of self acceptance, i am a problem solver, a gatherer of information, have a need to piece things together and understand them, and then share my findings with others. It drives my husband crazy. Another thing that drives my husband crazy is my redundancy. I tend to repeat the same concept in a conversation, just wording it differently each time, and my husband says it seems like i must think other people are dumb and can't comprehend what i am trying to say. He takes it as an insult, but i don't mean to be that way. The interesting thing about it, is that i don't seem a whole lot like my brother in law. He's not an emotional person, doesn't really even try to talk to people, and i do, it just usually turns out weird unless that person is also weird. He also plays video games in all of his free time, whereas i spend almost all my free time reading. All 3 of my sons have different fathers and all their fathers are odd people as well. I really only have relationships with other weirdos. So i'm drawing a couple conclusions here so far. It's possible that my son and i are both AS, that we are both just really weird and he gets it from me, or that my son and his father may both be AS. We know for sure his father's sister is, and thinking about his dad is what got me thinking about my son in the first place. I was also reading the interview with Temple Grandin on here yesterday after listening to a podcast about her, and the part where she was talking about the line not being black and white and "computer nerd" not being a medical diagnosis has got me thinking as well. Just some random thoughts.

Peace.

Well, i don't think i fit the non-verbal communication criteria or the motor clumsiness criteria. So maybe i'm just really weird, like i always assumed.

Peace.

hi=--

well--this is only speculation on my part too, because i'm still trying to put the pieces together about my own life. (so far i've come to the conclusion that i'm very NLD with AS traits---but then, all people with NLD seem to have at least some AS traits.)

anyway: you don't have to fit all the criteria. and AS does run in families. if you're asking about your son, you're likely to have questions of your own.

(and i relate to the part about only seeming to fit with other eccentrics. my longest term relationship was with someone who i'm now pretty sure was HFA--high functioning autistic. i also relate to the strong urge to make sense of things, the need to repeat that, etc.)

i can't diagnose you---any more than i could diagnose your son. but i do encourage you to keep asking. just my two cents.

I had never even heard of NLD and googled it just now. Thanks for giving me a new avenue to research as well. I was also reading one set of criteria for diagnosing AS that said "only if no other Pervasive Developmental Disorders or Schizophrenia are present". I know Schizophrenia has been diagnosed on my mom's side of the family once and was a severe case, and she has 2 other relatives the family has suspected have it as well. My uncle Mike (mom's brother) is a completely OC Agoraphobe and doesn't leave his house at all, or even talk to the family anymore. There is speculation in the family he has Schizophrenia as well. My mom's oldest brother Gary has always been considered "off" by the family, but they assumed it was some kind of brain damage and he was never diagnosed either. For all i know he's Autistic. The mental health in my family has been all kinds of whacked, so who knows anymore. I've been pretty close to Agoraphobic in the past myself. That's why i'm currently seeing a doctor and being medicated for Panic Disorder. I'm making a lot of progress too. By the way, one of my "obsessions" is studying psychology. Depth psychology specifically though, like the work of Carl Jung. I didn't start putting more focus on neurological disorders until my nephew was diagnosed with Autism.

I know what you mean. I truly don't think that I am AS. I have always been very social and did very well in school. However, since my son was diagnosed, and my husband seems to have quite a few traits, I have been doing a lot of research. I think that I may have just a few quirks of my own that in combination with my husband may have been enough to have an effect on my son.

Even though I am very social, there are times when I can spend lots of time alone, and be quite content. I love to read, and have never been a very physical person. I have never done any sports, and could care less about them. I can become quite obsessed with topics or people. I really don't love bright lights either. Oh, I also have a very good memory. I can remember details about things that happened years ago, and sometimes, I can remember peoples cell phone numbers that I used to work with years ago.

I guess the bottom line is, I think everybody has some autistic tendencies.

It is really common for parents to start looking at themselves once they connect AS to their kids.

Some 26 genes are supposed to be involved, if I've got it correctly. Which leaves lots of possibilities as far as cause, variations, and partials. I've pretty much decided I have a lot of AS traits but probably not enough to be diagnosed. My husband has decided he is AS. Neither one of us has done a lot of research; it's our gut reaction, and we each feel that the other has probably called it correctly. For me, other than realizing "how" my son got AS, it isn't something I need a definite answer to, but that all depends on how many unanswered questions are left over within your life, I guess. Just know you've got a lot of company on connecting the dots and wondering

Looks as if the A. spectrum consists of people both inside and outside the criteria for diagnosis with a DSM disorder.

I am not certain whether I'd be diagnosed with an ASD or not, and anyway I prefer to put the time, effort & money into something besides getting diagnosed.

But I'm with the OP. I read the "you might be an aspie" thread too, and then went to take the quizzes and everything. I have some of the criteria behaviors very intensely, others less so (not sure if criteria-worthy or not) and then some just do not apply. Also I'm not sure what some of the terms mean, like "normal" this or "excessive" that.


All the time I spent in self-analysis and I never came anywhere near the feeling of amazement I get when reading these forums, that other people are having the same experiences I did.

I read an article today, actually, about how parents and siblings of people on the spectrum, while not meeting the diagnostic criteria for a spectrum disorder, DO often display milder autistic traits. I couldn't find it again, but here's a link to a study on the Broad Autistic Phenotype.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/c8335p8754477331/

I don't know that I'd get a diagnosis either, because I've had nearly 33 years to adapt and lead a fairly successful life aside from being a bit of a nerdy hermit. I was fortunate enough to excel in school (although I had trouble with transposing numbers, which led to my ADHD diagnosis), and while my lack of networking skills crippled me a little in terms of promotions to leadership positions, I was well-respected in my professional field. I have a great hubby who also likes his space and me-time, and some really fun, adorable kids. The only real problem (other than being too uncoordinated to use a treadmill at the gym) is that it never occurs to me to socialize with other parents and set up playdates for my kids until my NT daughter asks me, "Why do my friends never come over for playdates?" But really, is getting a diagnosis going to change that? I already know it's a problem. A diagnosis would have been much more helpful when I was a kid.

I feel the same way. I'm a member of several online communities and message boards, and i have never felt such a strong sense of relation to anyone in those other networks as i feel here. I'm not quite sure what exactly it means, but i've told my husband it has to mean something if i feel like i fit in more with people on an AS site than with NT people elsewhere. So many people on this site have brilliant minds, and i can't help but laugh at all the oddities, jokes, word play, and unconventional philosophies i see here, that i feel like i totally relate to. Some of the problems as well. I've never had a paying job in my life. I don't drive. I had very few friends in school, besides my teachers, and was referred to as a "freak" by my peers. I still have very few friends, and suffer from Panic Disorder, some OC tendencies, and intermittent depression. I started studying psychology as a teenager and have spent a good deal of time on self analysis attempting to figure out all my issues. There are pieces falling into place for me just because of having found this website. The best part being i'm never going to feel rejected by anyone here whether i am AS, NT, ever get a diagnosis, or not. Just being myself is enough to fit in here, and it's a wonderful feeling to me.

Peace.

Hi,

I too feel a strong affinity with Aspies. I'm very introverted and have a lot of "aspie traits" (probably because of my family history). And for a while I wondered if I might have Aspergers, but I do not believe that I am on the spectrum. It's possible to be very Aspie like without being one. The similarities between introversion and Asperger's are strong, and introverted folk can have similar issues, such as anxiety, ocd etc.

You mentioned Schizophrenia was in your family. Just wanted to point that because AS has only relatively recently been recognised, researchers believe that a lot of older people who probably have Aspergers have been misdiagnosed with Schizophrenia.