not sure if I have aspergers anymore
I'm not sure if I have aspergers anymore(I was diagnosed when I was like 2) because I can read peoples emotions and social cues, like I can tell if somebody doesn't want to talk to me, or is getting kinda bored, stuff like that, but I still suck at starting convos and making friends and stuff, like I have to have really talkative people come to me. and sometimes I freak out at parties if I don't know anybody. I'm still really smart and creative and sometimes I get obsessed with things like songs(not on an AS level I dont think). I like most NT things for a girl, i like to shop at buckle,A&F, & pacsunI even took that Aspie quiz and it said "you are most likely an NT". so I don't know, am I AS or NT?
Tamsin
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Joined: 18 Jun 2011
Age: 34
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Some of us, by neccessity have learned how to read people's emotions and social cues. I'm extreamly empathic by nature, and i can often understand how people are thinking. That alone doesn't mean i do not have aspergers, I know at one point i couldn't do that. It's human nature to be social, thus, it's pretty high up their on everyones priority list to be social. A girl, especially teenage years, has perhaps the highest priority for learning social cues out of anyone on the planet.
Is it because you dont know what to say? or is it because you are nervious? Is it because you can't or is it because its painful to do so? alot of people are shy and timid, again this isnt a defining factor, because it is so easily misread.
This is the most important thing you've said so far. Why do you freak out at party's? what triggers it? If its crowded places, loud music, high pitched noises, being bumped into to much then you almost assuradly still gots the aspergers. If it really is simply because you don't have friends around, then that makes you a teenage girl.
I like shopping to, and the quizes are most likely as accurate as an online IQ test (thats to say they are completely inaccurate). I dont think aspergers is something you can get rid off with time. One of the very few relavent study's done, by yale none the less, points out that autistic spectrum people have a neuro pathway missing. You dont just grow those back. However its completely within human nature to adapt. Prime example is that when i was 10 i had no friends. When i was 22 i had so many that i litterly couldn't spend the time to keep all of the friendships on anything but a "i'll catch up with you once a month" thing.
If your really interested in finding out, go to a crowded mall, and head to the food court, or where ever the most busiest place is, where people are bumping into you, and everyone's talking. A really loud metal concert is great to. If it doesnt bother you much, your pretty much a NT. If you get dizzy and pissed off, and feel you gotta jet, and be somewhere quite, you probly have it. I am not a doctor, but in my expierence nothing beats the over stimulation test.
It sounds like you might just be shy. Did you have issues reading social cues as a child (I don't mean at the age of 2 when the majority of people would likely be unable to convey such a thing properly anyway). I mean at say age 10 or so--were you similar to an aspie or to how you are today? If it is the latter, then it is likely you were misdiagnosed (since you cannot outgrow it). It does happen--if a label applied to you at the age of 2 does not fit and has not fit you for as long as you can remember, then it likely was the wrong label and there is no need to use it, IMO.
_________________
Diagnosed with classic Autism
AQ score= 48
PDD assessment score= 170 (severe PDD)
EQ=8 SQ=93 (Extreme Systemizer)
Alexithymia Quiz=164/185 (high)
Maybe yes, but not necessarily. This could be also be the result of social anxiety (the crowds and being bumped into by people). If it is sensory issues, like loud music or too many voices coming from all directions, then it could also be a sign of a sensory disorder (not everyone with sensory disorders are autistic). Anyway, I am not saying it is definitely not asd, but that it doesn't have to be either.
_________________
Diagnosed with classic Autism
AQ score= 48
PDD assessment score= 170 (severe PDD)
EQ=8 SQ=93 (Extreme Systemizer)
Alexithymia Quiz=164/185 (high)
Of course, it can also happen that you are in a good environment for a while and your ASD doesn't show all that much--but in a worse environment, under more demands, it'll come out again. That's why many Aspies aren't diagnosed until school age; they were always autistic, but their problems only showed up obviously once they were in the demanding environment of a classroom.
I wouldn't worry about whether you were still diagnosable or not. You seem to be doing quite well, having learned a good deal about navigating the social world, and that's a good thing. But under more stress, you may once again need help, and it's good to have that option on the back burner for when you need it.
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LuckyLeft
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Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Age: 34
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Maybe you had PDD-NOS, and you were misdiagnosed. I thought I had Aspergers as well, but I'm starting to think now I never did. And considering I had language delays, among others; during my toddler years; I was closer related to Classical Autism and not AS. And I've made great improvements, but I still have troubles, but I've learned to masquerade my eccentricities to the general public, to an extent.
As for the few parties I went to, I usually find a spot, whether to sit down or stand in a corner, b/c of lack of knowing anyone or anxiety as well.
I don't believe that you can 'grow out' of AS, or any ASD for that matter. It's just a matter of adapting to your environment, and some adapt faster than others.
But since you had no language delays, I don't know.....
That is likely PDDNOS then, IMO If you qualify for an ASD, had a language delay, but do not fit the diagnostic criteria for classic autism, I am pretty sure that is PDDNOS. I was also falsely diagnosed with Aspergers (but I have classic autism).
No, people who are definitely autistic will never grow out of it. It is still possible to have some autistic-like qualities as a child without actually having autism. I am pretty sure it is rare for Aspergers to be diagnosed at the age of 2 anyway. I know it does happen, but it is still rare. It is usually diagnosed several years later than classic autism. Some people have autism and create coping and adaptive strategies yes. Others though ARE misdiagnosed, and Nikki MAY be one of those people. That is why I asked how long this characteristics might have lasted. If she can remember them herself, then perhaps she has come up with coping strategies. If they were not present for the majority of her life, including the majority of her childhood, then it is possible she just had some seemingly autistic-like symptoms without actually having autism/aspergers itself and was therefore able to grow out of the symptoms entirely.
By definition, a person with Aspergers canNOT have a language delay (I know some people with delays still get AS diagnosis, but just because a person has an official label does not make a person that label. This is why I don't think you should have been diagnosed with Aspergers--and this is precisely the reason my original Aspergers diagnosis was revoked: because I had quite a language delay/regression).
_________________
Diagnosed with classic Autism
AQ score= 48
PDD assessment score= 170 (severe PDD)
EQ=8 SQ=93 (Extreme Systemizer)
Alexithymia Quiz=164/185 (high)
Lily, I think it's important to draw a distinction between "autistic, and can be diagnosed" and "autistic, and cannot be diagnosed." You'll always be autistic in the second sense, but it's entirely possible to lose a diagnosis because you've gained such good coping skills that you no longer need help, use extra effort, or seem unusual to others. That happens to people with mild cases of autism, usually, especially if they were mild in childhood. People with mild cases in adulthood tend to have been moderate to severe as kids.
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MsMarginalized
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LuckyLeft
Sea Gull

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That is likely PDDNOS then, IMO If you qualify for an ASD, had a language delay, but do not fit the diagnostic criteria for classic autism, I am pretty sure that is PDDNOS. I was also falsely diagnosed with Aspergers (but I have classic autism).
No, people who are definitely autistic will never grow out of it. It is still possible to have some autistic-like qualities as a child without actually having autism. I am pretty sure it is rare for Aspergers to be diagnosed at the age of 2 anyway. I know it does happen, but it is still rare. It is usually diagnosed several years later than classic autism. Some people have autism and create coping and adaptive strategies yes. Others though ARE misdiagnosed, and Nikki MAY be one of those people. That is why I asked how long this characteristics might have lasted. If she can remember them herself, then perhaps she has come up with coping strategies. If they were not present for the majority of her life, including the majority of her childhood, then it is possible she just had some seemingly autistic-like symptoms without actually having autism/aspergers itself and was therefore able to grow out of the symptoms entirely.
By definition, a person with Aspergers canNOT have a language delay (I know some people with delays still get AS diagnosis, but just because a person has an official label does not make a person that label. This is why I don't think you should have been diagnosed with Aspergers--and this is precisely the reason my original Aspergers diagnosis was revoked: because I had quite a language delay/regression).
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Not sure if you referring to me or the OP, but I do have PDD-NOS, and that's my ASD. And I thought I had AS for a while, because I have several of the symptoms, but I think my PDD-NOS diagnosis should be kept because I did have language delays. I was under the impression that I 'beat' my disorder once I stopped receiving IEPs in grade school.
But of the OP, I was thinking the same thing. I didn't think children could be diagnosed with AS at the age of two.
I know people say this all the time, and this is what doctors say as well because to admit otherwise would be to acknowledge getting it wrong sometimes. Some doctors get it flat out wrong to begin with and the child in question NEVER had autism but was misdiagnosed with it. This COULD be the case or Nikki (or, it could be the second possibility that you offered).
The way I see it is if you are truly autistic as a child, that cannot change. One cannot rewire their brains to be non-autistic. Coping strategies do arise, but the person--if truly autistic to begin with--is simply autistic with coping strategies. I never saw the point of losing a diagnosis, but I see what you mean since you've mentioned that they will still always be autistic, they just don't need the diagnosis anymore. I have seen articles though, that say an autistic person can become non-autistic, and I simply do not believe this can happen.
As I said though, I whole-heartedly believe some people are just misdiagnosed to begin with. That is why I asked Nikki if she remembers having any autistic-like qualities as a child. I don't think a 2 or 3 year is likely to learn coping strategies (or would even be in a situation that would require them to learn these strategies). That would likely come at least a few years into elementary school, which she would probably have memories about.
_________________
Diagnosed with classic Autism
AQ score= 48
PDD assessment score= 170 (severe PDD)
EQ=8 SQ=93 (Extreme Systemizer)
Alexithymia Quiz=164/185 (high)
Or you could be hyposensitive to stimulation.
I think it is possible to outgrow being autistic, if you're the right kind of autistic.
We tend to look at a 'snapshot' for diagnosis, but it seems often what's really encoded is a developmental trajectory. For example Rett Syndrome is a genetic condition in which the girl (it's an X-linked condition that's fatal in boys) develops normally for a bit, then her head growth slows and her development slows, then she loses a pile of skills and start acting very autistic, and then she starts gaining skills at a very slow rate and becomes a lot less autistic-like in behavior. If you look at a Rett Syndrome girl at a single point in time you might say NT, or you might say autistic, or you might say severe MR with dyspraxia (but not autism). But neither would be the full picture. And it's not just a matter of reacting to their environment or learning skills or whatnot - Rett girls' brains physically change during these different phases.
Similarly, I think there's a condition where kids present as autistic at a young age, then as part of their natural development they turn out mostly NT. (Whatever treatment they were getting at the time usually gets the credit, but they'd have 'recovered' regardless of the treatment.) The way autism is defined now, as a collection of behaviors, I'd say it's accurate to call those kids autistic at one age and non-autistic later on. Once we know more we'll probably stop talking about autism so much and instead talk about a variety of specific syndromes with known causes, just like people often talk about 'Down Syndrome kids' instead of just calling them mentally ret*d.
Anyway, that's a tangent. I don't think the OP has outgrown being autistic. It sounds like she(?) just learnt coping skills without a true shift in neurology.
CockneyRebel
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Well, you're a female - women generally are much better at picking up on social cues.
You were diagnosed very young. Did you also have therapy and interventive services since that dx? If so, the standard practice of trying to get intervention into place as early as possible is there for a reason. It does help. You may be able to function at a level where you may no longer be diagnosable - but that wouldn't change how your mind works. If you have AS you will always have AS and you may have just learned all you needed to know to function like normal.
Or the doctor just got it wrong.
I'd read more threads, especially the ones about AS and women, and see if you can relate to what you find there.