How High-Functioning are you?

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You don't have to see someone to do CBT, especially since you're on such a long waiting list. You seem to have a lot of the other parts of your life in order so maybe you would have success doing it yourself. The skills of CBT are pretty basic. It just takes practice and reflection. Check out Mind Over Mood.

I'm in a similar situation and I don't really see the point of an AS diagnosis, and I don't see what you would gain from it. The only thing to gain would be closure or a sense of identity. That's only a bandaid for anxiety, depression and relationship issues. I think the most important thing to do is to learn about AS and spend a lot of time reflecting on your life. Really think about why you have those problems, what are the behaviours and thoughts?



I know what you mean, but just move on from that point. While it's a key point of AS, there's nothing that can be done to speed things up. You can learn better social skills, it's just takes a while. If you acknowledge that and just take your time to learn them then it wont seem so frustrating. Another thing that helped me was to study psychology. It's more scientific and explains the drivers for behaviour.

Regarding the poll, I put average. While my relationship is good and I have a few friends, having difficulty supporting myself in a normal way really puts a dent in it.

The good
- I have one close friend and a few other friends and I'm happy with that.
- I'm in a long-term stable relationship.
- I live with my girlfriend and have had lived with flatmates before.
- I'm intelligent and good at things.

The bad
Most of my issues are driven by sensory overload and obsessiveness. It does affect my life quite significantly.
- Work is the worst by far - I can't hold down a traditional job but I'm trying to work around that.
- I don't socialise but I couldn't care less.
- Anxiety and depression, but not nearly so bad any more after I realised why it was happening - after I stopped forcing myself to be normal this all just went away.

I am considered HFA (classic autism) because I go to university and am verbal. I am definitely not mild though, and I checked "not very". Yes, I go to university and FINALLY live in an apartment. I need constant support though. I am very poor at making decisions. I cannot maintain employment. I have no social life, no friends, and never had a relationship. I also meltdown fairly easily (one of the reasons it is hard to maintain employment).

I have had jobs, but have gone thru a lot of them, last job I had was 12+ years ago. I have a marriage, and no friends. I tried the "internet friends" thing, that lasted a year, then blew up. Got a full scholarship to college right out of high school, went a year, quit when the counselor basically told me to. Went back and got my A.A. and that's all I have. Self taught computer skills. No friends, 3 dogs and a husband.

I don't fit any of the categories. So here:

I have a job where I work 33 hours per week. It is below my education level but is one of the few things I would be capable of doing due to mental illness related issues.
I live alone
I drive
I do not have or want friends
I have never had a romantic relationship nor do I want one
I am reclusive most of the time

I'm married and I work and have no friends except for people I talk to online.

i'm high-functioning sufficient to know that i'm not especially high-functioning.

I'm between 'Fairly' and 'Average' on this list. Voted 'Fairly'.

- I have been having a job for the last 14 years continuously. Currently I'm on dole, unemployed. Had problems with sensory issues and narcissistic colleagues, besides small issues like forgetting names, faces, difficulties with taking or giving directions, small-talk, time management, etc.
- I have a masters in economy, so IQ-wise I'm well-endowed.
- As a child and a young adult I used to have one friend and maybe 1 or 2 good acquaintances. I'm not sure about those categories, though.
- Now I have two close friends and a few acquaintances (so there was some improvement over the decades in this department).
- I had never been in a relationship until I was 36. Now I'm through one one year and one two month relationship. All were miserable failures.
- I live alone in my apartment. I can drive, do my laundry, sometimes I'd cook or bake, but I hate vacuuming and mopping to bits, don't do them, so in a sense I'm wallowing in dirt in my flat, while I, myself, like to be clean.