Could I be an Aspie?
Hi, everyone. First post
The Spectrum has always been of interest to me, so when I stumbled upon this site and started reading, I wondered if I could possibly have Asperger's too, because lots of these things seem to apply to me, especially when I saw that it's common to have ADHD along with it.
A few other things I noticed:
*I have severe social anxiety. I don't really know how to describe it. But if I see an aquaintance from high school, even a friend, I avoid them because I have a hard time putting thoughts into words, or what I want to say I know will be too slow 'coming out' so I avoid having to talk if possible. So it's very difficult to keep friends; the only ones I have left are the ones I have from the internet. I talk to family fine though. Relating to the ADHD, I have the combined type, and so everyone says I should be more hyperactive. When it only happens, it's mental-hypers now for some reason.
*I refuse to use the phone at all costs, even if Mom wants me to call people I know to thank them. If I'm forced to for another reason, I absolutely need a 'script'. I've had occassions where I didn't have an available option on my script to use left so I froze up and said "okaybye".
*Eye contact, while not a huge deal with most family, tends to make me really uncomfortable.
*I have repetitive behaviours.. tics? I spend most of my time on the computer, but when that's not an option (family visiting at someone's house, example), I find myself alternating flexing/relaxing my hands and fingers. And I might randomly hum a single note. And I might stop and stare at something, like a reflection in a picture. And once, one of my sisters told me she's noticed my weird behaviour, but she doesn't mind it (so I wonder how obvious it is to others...)
*I noticed a thread about repeating parts of songs. Sometimes parts of songs, even as short as 5-10 seconds, seems to hypnotise me and I have to play them over and over again.
*If I'm expecting something to happen, and there are last minute changes (or I had just made myself think it was happening in the first place), I have a huge freakout. Not sure why. Like, without fail, every night I ask what's for dinner. And I have a problem if it's changed.'
*I have a huuuge problem with dances and other social gatherings. They scare me. Mainly because social awkwardness is unavoidable (like the first point^), and I'm sure everyone's subtley watching me, waiting for me to do something weird.
*And if it matters, I was reading by age 3. And I am horrible at math, despite my dad's best attempts to fix that, haha.
*From another thread, I saw something about always having to sleep with a heavy blanket because of the pressure. That's me too. Always with the duvet and blankets, even in summer. And tight hugs.
*I wrote these on my hand on the way home from where I was walking, in case I forgot them. I'm surprised I remembered what my hand-notes meant.
I think that's it, maybe I'm being ridiculous in thinking this could all be me too. But I self-diagnosed my ADHD, and that turned out correct. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Sorry for the length of this
That isn't a lot of information. It could just be social anxiety.
do you fit this criteria in your opinion?
(a) inability to interact with peers
(b) lack of desire to interact with peers
(c) lack of appreciation of social cues
(d) socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior
2.All-absorbing narrow interest (at least one of the following)
(a) exclusion of other activities
(b) repetitive adherence
(c) more rote than meaning
3.Imposition of routines and interests (at least one of the following)
(a) on self, in aspects of life
(b) on others
4.Speech and language problems (at least three of the following)
(a) delayed development
(b) superficially perfect expressive language
(c) formal, pedantic language
(d) odd prosody, peculiar voice characteristics
(e) impairment of comprehension including misinterpretations of literal/implied meanings
5.Non-verbal communication problems (at least one of the following)
(a) limited use of gestures
(b) clumsy/gauche body language
(c) limited facial expression
(d) inappropriate expression
(e) peculiar, stiff gaze
6.Motor clumsiness: poor performance on neurodevelopmental examination
(All six criteria must be met for confirmation of diagnosis.)
Thank you, Tim_tex.
As for the criteria, thanks for that, buryuntime. I hadn't found anything definitive.
Let's see here...
1a&b) I could, but I prefer not to
c) not really sure what this means
d) used to be really bad when I was little, but not so much anymore.
2)a&b) I resist all other activities but the computer, does that count? Except walking, but only with someone else.
c) It was definitely like that with early reading, because I remember suddenly really understanding what I was processing. Not sure about other things.
3) Not sure what that means, like having to have things be a certain, consistant way all the time? Like with the dinner thing, and if we're anywhere I'm always asking "What's next?" and "How long does it take to get there?"
4)a) don't know
b) I think so, but not certain
c) possibly
d & e) not sure
5) Mostly hasn't occurred to me...
6) During my ADHD assessment last year, they asked about clumsiness, and I think I got a 'couldn't decide' from my mother on that.
Here's the other criteria that isn't so specific:
And yeah you're welcome here of course I was just answering your question. This is the criteria if you were going to be diagnosed with it.
(A) marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, and gestures to regulate social interaction
(B) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
(C) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interest or achievements with other people, (e.g.. by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
(D) lack of social or emotional reciprocity
(II) Restricted repetitive & stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
(A) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
(B) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
(C) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
(D) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
(III) The disturbance causes clinically significant impairments in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Haha, good. I wan't trying to come across as convincing, just wondering if I had enough criteria. Or maybe I just didn't communicate correctly. I have this weird feeling that I could communicate so much better, but something is preventing me. Darned if I know, though. xD
The second set of criteria is also interesting, especially part II and some of I. Might be worth looking into, except I'm not sure if I want to, what with the ADHD investigation just finishing. But either way, I feel like an imposter even just being registered here, as I can't really comment on experiences. But yes, I am a nice person with fair intentions.

Whether you have AS or just have some aspie traits, you're here, so browse, relax, and enjoy. Not everyone here is on the spectrum, and there's no requirement to be, or to reveal that you are or aren't.
One note about the diagnostic criteria posted above: They pertain mostly to children, and are very difficult to apply to adults for a variety of reasons. Getting a diagnosis as an adult can be difficult in some cases, too.
I'm convinced that you're welcome here.
cyberscan
Veteran

Joined: 16 Apr 2008
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,296
Location: Near Panama, City Florida
Try this test. It's pretty accurate
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html
_________________
I am AUTISTIC - Always Unique, Totally Interesting, Straight Talking, Intelligently Conversational.
I am also the author of "Tech Tactics Money Saving Secrets" and "Tech Tactics Publishing and Production Secrets."
Hah, well I'm not really asking permission or anything xD I just thought it might be a polite way to title the thread.
And I got 37 on that test.
AND thank you all for the welcome. I get a a vibe of 'nice' from here, I look forward to finding out more about what living on the AS (which I assume stands for Autism Spectrum?) is all about, even if I'm not on it
In books I've read, it's always about how to live with an AS-person, but you never see much about what it's like to actually live with it yourself. Already I feel more informed
fiddlerpianist
Veteran

Joined: 30 Apr 2009
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,821
Location: The Autistic Hinterlands

That's a nice feeling, isn't it? I often wonder why the autistic community isn't asked their opinion about autism issues more often. It seems that most people simply don't think to ask them.
Well, welcome to Wrong Planet from a 36-er!

_________________
"That leap of logic should have broken his legs." - Janissy
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