Being half NT - is it possible? If so, I am CONFLICTED.

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You don't have to have every trait of AS to have it, just enough to meet the criteria, and they have to cause problems.

Some people have aspie traits, but not enough for a dx. But that doesn't mean they're "half-aspies" just that they have as traits

No that would mean they have a few AS symptoms that aren't very severe.

Seems like a pretty meaningless concept to me. It's a continuum, so if you're not severely autistic, (as in non-verbal), you're already "half NT" in a way. I don't really see myself as being a different species from "NT" people, despite how much of a loner I am.

Well - thank you for the replies.

My understanding of Asperger's/Autism is expanding and my mind is opening.

Thank you.

You either have autism or you don't. It's a spectrum disorder so you may be at the very mild end.

I've often felt half aspie/half NT. I put it down to not being diagnosed until I was 37, so I grew up thinking i was 'normal' and had internalised NT culture to the extent I saw myself as an inadequate NT/NT with extreme social anxiety

I think my NT side bullies my aspie side so that it's like I have a continual NT voice in my head belittling me, as I know exactly how I'm coming across to the average NT (ie as a bit of a joke), hence I am continually castigating myself for not being something I am neurologically incapable of being.

It's like being in limbo - I can't identify properly with either the aspie or NT side so I can't relate fully with either culture and have to have my own, which completely alienates me from others

I'd have been far better without the AS diagnosis in my opinion and oh look the DSM-V or VI is due to just delete the whole Asperger diagnosis anyway so it's all been a complete waste of time!

I feel nothing but hatred towards the whole Aspergers diagnosis at this moment in time!

No.



Welcome to the wonderful world of being an ordinary introvert.

Ive often heard Aspergers itself described as the middle ground between NT and Autism. Half NT, Half Autistic

What's the point though? All the label does is stigmatise people by telling them 'you're not normal'

It's had a bad impact on my life. I had a good job pre-diagnosis; post-diagnosis I am unemployed and want nothing to do with people so how exactly has the diagnosis been of any use to me?

It's society f-king with peoples' lives in my opinion instead of letting them just be themselves without all these pathetic labels

First off im sorry to hear you are having a bad time

This is very interesting to me. Ive heard stories of diagnosis being both a positive thing for some while with others its had a very negative effect.
Im seeking a diagnosis at the moment and im hoping it will give me the answers to my past so i can put everything behind me and start looking forward to the future, i feel like i need this label

Sounds like your life was pretty good before, what made you seek a diagnosis?

Ironically I didn't even seek a diagnosis; I had it foisted upon me via Occupational Health at work.

I had been working in IT support for a local council for over 10 years and had progressed to a supervisory job in the same field at the council in my home town. I had problems with the people side of the job due and was told by my employer that they were going to refer me to occupational health to see what support could be given - either anger or stress management. I was told it was voluntary whether I went or not but obviously I agreed to go to show willing.

I was told by the occupational health Dr that I wasn't fit to be at work after I got upset when speaking to him. I was signed off with depression for a long time despite my just wanting to go back to my job. Being off work was making me depressed and even my GP said they thought I was fit to return to work. The occupational health Dr said he thought there might be a more fundamental problem and he referred me to see a private psychiatrist at the local Priory hospital. I mentioned aspergers to this psychiatrist, saying someone had suggested I might have it but I didn't think all the diagnostic criteria applied to me. The psychiatrist said he was thinking along the same lines so he referred me to his colleague who was a Child and Adolescent Neuro-Psychiatrist, who diagnosed me with Aspergers. He said I was the first adult he'd diagnosed.

So I had my Aspergers diagnosis done for free, privately, all paid for via the occupational health dept of the local council without even asking for it!

After being told I had Aspergers and with the implications of this ie you aren't going to be good socially or relate to people properly etc, all my confidence went as far as thinking I'd be able to continuie in a role where I was supervising others. My workplace created an admin job for me which I lasted in less than a week as I was a mental wreck. My workplace wouldn't tell people I had Aspergers on my behalf, they just told people I didn't like people staring at me so I was stuck sittiing at a desk on my own in an open plan office with everyone surreptitiously staring at me! It was a f-king nightmare!

I'd been prescribed anti-psychotics by the private psychiatrist and these were really messing with my head and I felt at one point I was going to attack this one male in the office who I felt had picked on me - it took all my powers of restraint not to get up, walk over to his desk and repeatedly bash his f-king head into his desk - this was the overriding thought going through my brain ie to do it!

So I ended up walking out. Id never felt respected by the majority there anyway but after this diagnosis I was at rock bottom and couldn't see any way of coping in that environment - all my confidence had gone.

I went onto the council's redeployment list and managed to find myself another job under my own steam with Rethink - a mental health charity (used to be the National Schizophrenia Fellowship), as a part time administrator. That was a lot better as I was working on my own a lot of the time so was ideal. The travelling there and back was very stressful though.

I lost that job as got made redundant and had another go at an IT support job in the NHS but ended up walking out of it as I couldn't cope with the people side of things. I feel people reject me and semi-bully me in the workplace. I'm always on the back foot. If I keep my head down I can be ok but sooner or later something will get too much and I will get angry with someone and the bullying will get worse. I'm better left to get on with it in my own office.

After a period of not feeling I wanted to work at all I got another admin job in a hostel for homeless ex offenders - a far from ideal situation and the usual problems occurred - falling out with other colleagues and the boss. Then my mother became very ill (she died later that year) and I lost it totally when I thought some of the residents were being rude about me (not that this hadn't happened before, I'd just kept a lid on it before). With the added stress of my mother's illness though and having made the stupid decision to come off my anti-depressants I was unstable and yelled very loudly exactly how I felt about these people!

Sent home from work and as my Dad had dementia and needed to be cared for in the absence of my Mother, I went off sick as my boss was being far from understanding - all ready to discipline me without even hearing my side of the story (he was an utter t*** basically - story of my life as far as bosses are concerned!) I had enough on my plate having to look after my Dad and visit my Mum in hospital

The upshot was I never went back to the job as it was obvious they didnt want me back and someone else was lined up to take over so they paid me off when I started bandying the words 'Constructive Dismissal' about loudly via email!

Lately I have been running a support group for adults on the autistic spectrum but I've even got fed up with that as I feel unsupported in running it, depressed and I dont relate to these people as they're mostly stupid, apathetic and selfish - all ready to take my help but give nothing back - most cant even be bothered to respond to an email so today I reached a point where I've said F-K THEM ALL!

I'm going to destroy every reference to f-king Asperger's Syndrome in my house and start looking for another job when I feel in better spirits

The whole diagnosis has really f-ed my life up as far as I'm concerned. I was earning about £19,000 pre-diagnosis with that supervisory IT Support job and I'm on Employment and Support Allowance for being supposedly unable to cope in the workplace now, so how is that progress??

The Asperger'S Syndrome diagnosis has utterly disempowered me and I've received no support for having Aspergers whatsoever, let alone met any professional with a f-king clue about it bar the one who diagnosed me!

I'm currently on a waiting list to receive mental health support - it's a joke!

My gut instinct was to avoid having that diagnosis foisted upon me and I was right!

Well, you can get an idea of what I think from my signature.

Personally, I think the spectrum is wider than just those diagnosable with a disorder. And I don't think it makes sense to definite autism (and being an aspie) solely based on if one is diagnosable with a disorder. One thing I know from reading this messageboards is austistics and aspie see themselves as autistic (and/or aspie) quite apart from whether or not they qualify as having a disorder. So it doesn't make sense to only count the diagnosable as on the spectrum.

There's a continuum. Really, a multi-dimensional continuum. Different traits each varying. Yes, one can be part NT and part aspie.

But what good do all these labels really do apart from encouraging separatist thinking and stigma?

No one can really know who is what - we're talking about people, not machines and not diseases that can be cured, so it's all wide open to speculation and interpretation

In my opinion the decision to remove Aspergers from the DSM-V says it all - it's all been an experiment and as they haven't been able to provide sufficient differentiated support to people with Aspergers, they've decided to just dispense with the whole diagnosis. People with Aspergers has been too problematic for them to help so they've said right let's pretend there is no more Aspergers then we wont' have to deal with them - they can lump themselves in with the autistics if they really want to push the autism issue.

People should be outraged about this as it shows the true extent of how stupid meddling professionals without a clue about anything can mess peoples' lives up on a whim!

Do all the people who used Aspergers as mitigating circumstances for the crimes they committed now get full sentences with the diagnosis no longer due to exist? I bet this will happen in soem cases as I can see the 'professionals saying 'Well he did have Aspergers but as that doesn't exist any longer and he doesn't qualify for full blown autism he reverts back to being just an introverted loner again and is fully culpable'

Just watch them do this!

Damn nessa! thats terrible i dont know what to say but i can see why you are so angry about a label that was forced onto you, very unfair!

But, as far as what good these labels do, none of us would be hear at Wrong Planet without these labels. These labels help us find information, and bring people with similar traits together.

I don't think there's a meaningful difference between Asperger's (as official defined anyway) and autism. I think getting rid of the Asperger's label in the DSM makes sense. But that doesn't mean these labels related to the autism spectrum have no benefit. And to participate here and claim they don't do anything good is rather hypocritical.