Being laid off for ten months had made my Aspergers worse

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Have been laid off since October 09 and I think being away from people has made my Asperger worse then what it was. I believe I lost the immunity to people I picked up being around co-workers and strangers I saw on the job everyday for 9 years. I have not been this uncomfortable around people since High School. Just waiting in line for a cashier or to see a bank teller makes me break out in a sweat and become nervous. I go for testing August 06 I hope it does not make me miss the testing.

I understand where you're coming from. I feel the same way every Monday after a weekend alone gaming. I imagine it's many times worse for you after that much time though.

I have noticed when I work, it makes me less aspie because I am more functional and more structured and I am not as obsessed. But when I am not working, I get worse. I get into my routines more and it's hard to get out of them and I forget to eat. That wouldn't be good now because I have to eat.


Maybe you're one of those aspies too who is more functional when they work? I have one aspie friend who is like that too and she says she wants to work 80 hours a week to be functional. I think that is too much.

yeah, I can definately relate to it, been unemployed since august, and it really sucks. More time goes by the more I regress.

I hope you don't miss the testing either because it seems like an official diagnosis is important for you at this point. I was nervous during all the neuropsych/IQ tests i've taken and those who administered the tests have always made note of it. Anxiety can impact performance on these tests too.

Also...if they give you an IQ test and it's the WAIS-IV (the latest edition of the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale) don't be too surprised if your full scale IQ score (and similiar scores) is somewhat lower than your scores on previous IQ tests (assuming you've had some IQ tests in the past.) If you score is lower, it likely has nothing to do with you and/or your anxiety.

Rather....it has to do with the latest edition of the WAIS itself. This is some of what they wrote in the "intellectual functioning" section of my latest test results:


"It is noteworthy that only in this most recent evaluation was he administered the WAIS-IV. While the scores were comparable to his previous results, research has shown that overall the full scale IQ scores and similiar scores tend to be somewhat lower with this new measure of the WAIS primarily because of the loading of processing speed and working memory".

In other words.... as opposed to previous editions of the WAIS, this latest edition places substantially more value on the processing speed and working memory index (both of which are determined by your performance on various subtests on the WAIS) scores when calculating the full scale IQ score.


People with AS and similiar disorders often have some problems with processing speed and/or working memory. That doesn't mean we're any less "intelligent", it just means that some of us, at least, have deficits in processing speed and working memory.

I was unemployed for a while, until July 2008. After working for a while, I found that I was starting to improve, after two months, at my job. Over the past couple years, I've improved to the point, that I question my AS, sometimes.

I know exactly what you mean. Loss of routine and human contact does this to us. This is what you have to do....

1) Check out Meetup.com for people to meet in your area for whatever activities
2) Check Craigslist.com for the same
3) Find a constant interest - join some sort of club, be it tennis, pool, bowling or martial arts

In other words, find a group of people you can hang out with on regular basis.



This hit close to home, man I keep looking for people in my area to go with me practice martial arts in the park on weekends... Being mostly indoors sucks, and being alone in the park is pretty boring.

I am apart of a meet up group for dungeons and dragons we meet everyother saturday but lately we all have been skipping some game weeks for different reasons.

Its not unusual for a condition like that to feel 'worse' after an extended period of isolation. I'm going through the same thing right now myself. Good thing is, your social skills and 'people immunity' aren't gone, they're just rusty from disuse. It'll come back to you once you start using it all again. I think its just what happens when you take off the NT mask and don't have a need to wear it for awhile.

I'm basically the same as this. I can function better working (because I kinda have to) and over a long weekend, I can get pretty "eh" when I go back for the first time. Nine months though, I know how that feels. It's sort of like beginning all over again at a new job (I worked a seasonal job at a water park as a cashier for two years and couldn't get any employment over the year until the next summer rolled around). It felt similarly to that, and my first day back felt like a whole new job, like I was gonna somehow forget everything I learned at work and get fired for screwing something up big time. :/

I agree 100%...I worked for 19yrs, the last 15 in the IT field...of course, it seemed even though I am a woman, I got along much better with all the programmers, etc...but at least I did talk, socialize, etc...after being laid off, I literally have come to hate just about everyone around me...We live in an apt within steps of the beach, there are gatherings of neighbors just about every weekend at the beach, pool, etc...barbecues, etc...and my husband and autistic kiddo go out and I literally keep the curtains shut, the apt dark and watch TV on sit on my computer all day...except when my husband comes to tell me that someone is asking about why I am locked up...sigh...