Hi, newbie here. Am I Autistic/Asperger's?
I was diagnosed as High-functioning at age 15, and originally accepted it grundgingly, but over the years have come to increasingly question it. Or else, I have improved markedly from my high school years. I'll just briefly describe myself, and then you can make a conclusion;
I'm a 20yo university student from Perth, Western Australia, who studies Urban planning. I've been in Perth my whole life. Anyway, as a young child I tended to have obsessions which included my pre-occupation with dinosaurs.etc. My parents often like to embarrass me recounting this, lol. Anyway, I was pretty normal throughout primary (elementary school). I had friends like any normal kid, could have normal conversations, was pretty much emotionally normal, although I felt I was also very shy and inhibited.
Then in 1998 I had a traumatic experienced which precipitated a downward spiral (I was 12). I was afflicted with trauma-related anxiety, given medication.etc for it, and ended a miserable first year of high school alone, frequently depressed and anti-social. This continued through high school. I did, however, have many 'abnormal' obsessions - like creating my own 'Star Wars' Universe, spending most of my time reading up about Star Wars, sci-fi.etc. At age 15 I developed an obsession with weather - I would compulsively search through weather stats, reports.etc, too apathetic to bother seeking socialisation. I also had extremely low self-esteem.etc.
That year I was also diagnosed with High functioning, and also told I had an exceptionally high verbal I.Q. The basis of the diagnosis was the fact I had troubling socialising and was obsessive, and apparently couldn't understand the normal nuances of society.
Now fast forward to today. I still have few friends (mostly high school ones) but find I am much more socially 'in-tune' with the world at large, am attempting to start a relationship.etc. I have no problem with interpreting humour, subtle emotional signals (well, not always I guess) - in fact some people who know me well would say I have a healthy (or unhealthy, lol) sense of humour!
Anyway, from this description, do you think the Diagnosis was correct? I think I most likely do have a very mild manifestation of the condition, but am not sure if it is advanced enough to be labelled 'Autism.' Anyone? Your reply will be greatly appreciated.
Ok, I was a classical loner, but I think alot of this stemmed from various other mental health problems like anxiety/depression. First of, I was VERY depressed when I was 13-14-15, and sort of felt drawn into myself. I just wanted to escape from EVERYTHING, like I'd go to the library most lunch-times and just read (both fiction and non-fiction). But the most important thing was I did WANT friends, to socialise etc. I tried joining in some conversations, but found I was generally too shy/lacked confidence. I know one other kid who had alot worse Autism/asperger's than me (If I indeed really do have it, I guess it doesn't really make much difference to my life, just a name after all)...he was always alone.
Now I found I'm a lot more confident, can make jokes.etc. I don't have a problem with eye-contact, although at times I perform slightly strange gestures. In HS I was a bit of a teacher's pet; I was a daydreamer prone to dreamer, fantasizing etc. I didn't have a girlfriend, but had a few crushes, lol. Then Graduation came, and yeah, that's about it.
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