Attwood's Book

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I only learned about AS about a month ago, so I bought Tony Attwood's book "The Complete guide to Asperger's sydrome.

At around page 24, i started crying, and i had to stop reading by page 32. I was crying like a baby. Something that is very atypical of me. But the book described me almost perfectly.

-"Most adults report that having the diagnosis has been an
extremely positive experience (Gresley 2000). There can be intense relief: ‘I am not
going mad’"

At this point, when i read it, i had a complete breakdown. I finally understand why I am different.

I just wanted to share this with you

I didn't have the same emotional feeling that you felt but one of relief knowing that I was not unique nor alone..

I didn't cry or have that emetional out burst either. I actually felt kind of bewildered., 'you mean there are other people like me?'

The emotional burst came from the understanding of why I am this way. I always knew that I was different from most people. (I did meet a few exceptions so far) But most of the descriptions and the explanations in that book made so much sense.

I haven't been diagnosed yet, and there is still a few details in the book that does not fit with me, so I don't want to jump to conclusions. I will finish reading the book, and try to get more information through here, then I will go to a professional to have a clear head.

I can identify. It was a HUGE relief for me when I was diagnosed, all of a sudden I realised I was a bit more than just another f**k up.

Good for you! Welcome to the (surprised) club.

I was diagnosed when I was seven years old. I was diagnosed with ADHD the previous year and I wasn't really phased either time. I just didn't like having to take the medicine for the ADHD; which caused perminate brain damage. I was a really arogant little kid and I used to think that the only problem was with everyone else.

Welcome to WP Burny!

I first heard of ASDs before Attwood's book was out (1994) -- I ran across the subject in Donna Williams' books. I was seriously weirded out when I first read them, but her story had really serious abuse and other things, so I wasn't sure what it meant. Then, I got online and found the few forums that had some autistics on them and started reading their first-hand experiences. Those blew me away -- it felt like they'd been following me around taking notes on me my whole life. It was also weird because I'd never heard such stuff before, anywhere. The books on the subject at the time were very abstract and about "autistic disorder" only, since "Asperger's syndrome" was a brand-new diagnosis at the time -- Attwood's book would've been great to have back then.

I got the same book last week. I didn't have the same reaction you had. I was stunned at some points, at other points I was thinking "OMG, that's ME?" and at other times I had this huge sense of relief knowing it isn't just me. I've learned that all my quirks does not mean I'm a defective person like I once thought.

My mom is not known for her ability or even willingness to understand other people's problems but this is something she's trying to understand. Her friend lent her a copy of this book. I was planning on getting it sometime in the future but got it now so I could point her to specific pages and tell her "that's what I feel like" or "that's what goes on in my brain." Previously I've not had the words to describe these things. Maybe she'll finally understand at least parts of me.

I'm NT (my son has AS), but there was one section in Attwood's book that completely weirded me out, because that small section described my life to a T. It was the part about how some with AS manage to cope with school relatively ok. The items that applied to me were:
- believed themselves to be better and smarter than their classmates (I was identified as gifted, and just assumed I didn't have much in common with others)
- spent majority of time absorbed in special interest (I used to read 4-6 books a week)
- had one or two close friends, and truly didn't care about larger social success
- got along better with the opposite gender
- chose a profession where the opposite gender was the majority (female engineer in my case)

There were other bits I don't remember the details of right now.

I think I may have a few AS traits in the social arena. I did sorority rush in college and was one of the very few not given a spot. I've always had a very difficult time moving beyond casual acquaintance to making a friend. In any group I am always on the outside when cliques form.

The social difficulties I've had are small compared to most of the AS folks here, and I don't have sensory issues or other indicators of AS, but I was still freaked out to find my experiences in Attwood's book.