I need your help!

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Hello there!

Well I haven't been on here in several months, but I curious about the nature of ASD. I'm neurotypical, I think, but I have noticed myself over indulging on different topics of interests. Also ever since I was little I would get these attachments to certain people, usually another girl who I wanted to be just like. It's not a gay thing or anything, but I would think about them a lot. For many years I've been living in a kind of fantasy world, and it always revolves around the people and situations I wanted in my life or situations I wanted to experience. Sometimes I would try an imitate things that they did, but not a whole lot. I have always had low self-esteem, and was shy. I've never had too many problems with communicating with others, because if they talk to me, I will talk to them. Although some people are just hard to talk to because they make me feel inferior. As a kid and even today, I was usually happy-go-lucky, I didn't throw that many tantrums, I have always been a go with the flow kind of girl, and was never rigid. I can read facial expressions well, and get social cues and all that jazz. I've been noted for my great sense of humor, my sweetness, and cooperativeness all my life. I have been wondering lately though if I might have some kind of ASD. I kind of have special interests, especially with people, but they don't keep me from doing other things. Certain things are just on my mind a lot. I do have mild ocd, and generalized anxiety disorder since I was 9 and 15 respectfully. I've talked to so many other neurotypcials who deal with the same ocd and anxiety problems that I have---especially excessive worrying about things.

Aspie traits that I may have include:
Obsessive interests/fantasy--with people/situations, and can't get certain things off my mind.
Slight problems with communication---mostly due to shyness, so I don't know if this counts.
I have this weird thing where I can remember birthdays well--it's weird.
I can listen to the same song on a loop, but again I can stop whenever, but then I will pick it right up again. I think that's normal though.

What do you guys think? Should I get tested? I've taken all the online tests, and they all came back as neurotypical. I just don't know though, because the internet makes it seem like if you have obsessive interest, then you must have ASD. I would really appreciate your help.

nice to see you got so much insight and help.

IMO you have no need to look at the issue so black and white.

Believe me the dx methods are not science.

You are just experiencing normal challenges to be a human being in a collapsing system. Chill. lol

Hard to say since I'm no psychiatrist. You may, however, be within the Board Autism Phenotype. Basically, it means you have a number of autistic traits, but you don't qualify for a diagnosis:

http://autism.about.com/od/autismterms/g/phenotype.htm

Regardless, if you find that any issues you're having are impacting your life, it may not be a bad idea to consult a professional.

EDIT: Female ASD traits are a little different from male traits. Check out the charts here:
http://www.help4aspergers.com/pb/wp_a58 ... d4f6a.html

hi~ im sure youve come across the term 'spectrum disorder' ~but its really important to understand that. eg~ i know plenty of girls w AS who had no tantrums growing up, and vice versa. there's really no one size fits all- we are all different.

as fishstick says, the female version of AS is often different. female brains work differently, so girls are more able to learn, subconsciously or consciously, social behaviour in particular.

at the top of the wrong planet home page is an in site google option. google there for threads on female AS~ we behave quite differently. your imitation of other girls is something ive certainly done, but again im sure lots of NT girls do it too. i also copy gestures, inflections etc i see in people on tv- ive literally leaned how to behave. do you feel youve done that?

remembering birthdays again could be classically AS- but im sure lots of NTs do it too. theres a diagnostic Q abt remembering phone numbers : )

the problem with the online tests- the AQ test- http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html is that its designed to test for ONE type of AS; the type which most NTs knw of- the obsessive science geek type. it actually discounts female AS, and even some male types of AS- eg- would you prefer to go to a museum or the theatre? the "AS" answer is *supposed* to be- museum- as aspies are supposed to love collecting info.
ACTUALLY- i have trouble with distance learning- im fine if its in my hands, but if its in a glass case i zone out. i also hate peripheral movement, and the ebb and flow of noise, weird acoustics etc in museums. ts unpredictable- one room may be colder, darker, quieter etc than the next. its a pain in a panoply of ways.
conversely, theatres are quiet, dark, others are still, and so long as i have an isle seat, or better still noone sat around me, im happy as larry : ) i dont just see theatre as 'people and stuff they say' i see it as- costume, design, direction, action, history, language, sound, light, acting etc, as well as whatever the charcacters are up to. i like the architecture of theatres, the smell, the soft carpeting- its just far nicer to my AS than an echoey museum! see what i mean?? the author of the AQ test now admits the huge difference between male and female AS, but sadly the test remains as the first hurdle towards diagnosis.

go to your library and borrow tony attwood's book on aspergers in girls; hes incredible : )
he really understands it so well- eg- in the AQ test- do you prefer fic or non fic? the "AS" answer is non fiction. atwood ponts out that girls draw facts from fiction- whether its an obsession over unicorns, or princesses or whatever, they may still have the interest in reading for learning facts, but just do it differently. again- the AQ test is against girls. im still able to read books without doing this, but do tend to have periods of obsession with a genre etc.
playing a song on a loop is VERY aspie- my god, ive bored friends by doing that. but maybe NTS do it too.

weird things i never knew were related to AS but are-
im slow to tell left from right,
prefer sitting/lying on floor/sofa/bed to chair,
hate light touch, like heavy touch,
love loud music so much i always have headphones on to drown out quieter but intermittant outdoor sounds,
i learn & teach by doing, not reading, hearing or watching.
highly developed sense of right & wrong, and justice etc.

it was finding out the weird, tiny, quirky things like that which made me go 'ok... i really do have it afterall'. when i first started looking there was almost nothing about female AS, but theres heaps more now.

this is a test written by someone with AS, the aspie quiz, which is reckoned to be far better~ http://rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php but again i sthink its slightly skewed toward male AS- eg- viewing social skills as being NT; ive learned to be fine.
id also add that i may not have scored highly when i was say 16, as i was simply far less aware then. i really do still learn so much, every time i google anything about AS. what you think it is now is only a fraction of the whole. ha, that sounds realy unhelpful- bt i mean that since its a spectrum disorder, you could read a lod and have none of those things- but still have AS.
im sociable, empathic, humourous, confident, out going etc- i scored high on the extensive tests i took when i was diagnosed, and had a history of symptoms- digestive trouble, poor eye sight but not wearing glasses due to visual overload etc.

its often hard to get to the point of being tested, so first really do look into it in more depth. plenty of girls face the whole 'you dont look like you have it' and 'theres no such thing as female AS' etc, which i battled against.

apart from tony atwood, the best place to learn about AS is from other aspies. loads of stuff i know the guys who tested me had never even heard of- eg- looking younger than actual age, preferring to sit on the floor etc. we hahve our own experiance, but also speak to one another online.
and in case you hadnt noticed- some of us tend to rant/talk at length without stopping im highly skilled in this, as you can see!
good luck.


(hope this is reasonably coherant- im super tired and my brain is fuzzy).

I never imitated that much...just sometimes like everyone else growing up. I know plenty of people who listen to the same song on a loop. My main concern is the obsessions I get....and now that I think about it, I didn't really have true obsession till I was in my teens, and maybe it was because I was super bored and had nothing to do. I've never thought I was different was others or anything, everyone has quirks! I've been reading up on female aspie traits and different sources say contradicting things, so I'm confused!! I'm not a savant on anything topic, even things I tend to obsess about----maybe it's not an obsession then. I don't know! Ummm....do neurotypicals have things they obsess about? I don't really know if I fit the criteria or not for ASD. I read people well, I don't have a problem with eye contact, etc. I read up on Maladaptive Daydreaming and I may have that. If I go and get tested...how long does a diagnoses that?