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Let's all share our stories of how we came to be diagnosed or in the case of self diagnosed Aspies, when did you first strongly suspect you were an aspie? So when were you diagnosed? What led to your diagnosis or self diagnosis. I'll start... I was born in ' 91 and grew up in the '90s when aspergers first became a diagnosis. Anyways... When I was about 4 years old mom and dad started noticing odd behavior from me and didn't know what to make of it. I would get obsessed with odd stuff or want odd things that weren't age appropriate and talk it about it all the time. I would also avoid eye contact with people (except my mom and dad) and I was extremely sensitive,nervous,and hyper. My parents were stumped until my dad happened upon a readers digest article about aspergers and showed it to my mom. They both agreed that what they were reading described the way I was,so my mom set up an appointment with a psychologist. He quickly agreed that he thought I had aspergers and was really excited about it because I was his first aspie patient. However he wasn't qualified to officially diagnose me so he referred me to a specialist to do that. However before I went to the specialist I overheard my mom and extended family talking and they seemed very critical of me going to what they called "crazy doctors" and it hurt my feelings and made me feel really insecure. So I ended up refusing to go to the specialist and my mom begrudgingly agreed. So from that point on me and my family kind of denied that I was different and I went through life acting as if I was just like any other kid. Luckily I lived in a really small town and knew a bunch of the kids before I even started school so I fit in ok, despite being really eccentric. I also played sports and was considered really funny and those things really elevated my social standing. I had a few kids make fun of me at times but I never had any bullies because I was one of the tallest/biggest kids in my grade. Despite my aspergers I did very well in elementary school and it appeared that I would have no problems in life. But that all changed when mom decided to move when I was in 6th grade. Suddenly I was in a new school and was unable to connect with my new classmates. I became painfully shy and did a 180 socially. My teachers would regularly write my mom and tell her that I seemed socially awkward and timid with the other kids. These problems continued through middle and high school and I never made any close friends at my new school . Things got a lot worse when I hit puberty and started having crushes on girls, I discovered that I was painfully love shy and didn't have a freaking clue how to talk to them. Whenever I could muster up the courage to talk to a girl I looked like an idiot and was called a creep or a weirdo. I hated school.... I always felt so out of place and awkward and looked for reasons to play hookey. As soon as I turned 18 I dropped out of high school and got my GED and entered the workforce. I bounced from job to job because I got fired or quit. I also struggled with money management (still do) and this pattern continued until I was 21 . My mom was getting really frustrated with me and decided I should see a life coach.So I did.... And the lady who I started seeing just so happened to specialize in helping Aspies learn money management and life skills. She quickly noticed the aspiness in me and recommended that I seek an official diagnosis. So she referred me to a local psychologist who specializes in autism. After seeing me a few times and running tests he officially diagnosed me in July 2013. It was like a weight was lifted off my back to finally get that diagnosis at age 22.

everyone thought i was just simply odd, slow and sensitive up until i moved to a new school and i wasnt making any friends and getting picked on ,had obsessive interests and routines. the counsellors said i was a bipolar, but my dad didn't believe it, i started having violent outbursts because of stress, so my dad took me to a adolescent therapist (who specialized in autistic adolescents which we had no knowledge of) , he first noticed odd behaviours when i formally introduced myself and didn't make eye contact and kept talking about the posters on the wall, he asked my dad about my childhood, my dad said i was a bit delayed in coronation and was often alone, which only grew his suspicions, he then listed some behaviours (without telling my dad it was autistic behaviours) and my dad said they all fit to me, which confirmed a diagnoses.
later on, i was hospitalized and the doctors insisted i had a nonverbal learning disability, ADHD, OCD and Social phobia, which my therapist didnt agree with, but he tested me anyways which only reconfirmed my autism and put me even FURTHER in the spectrum.

I always had a sense that I was a little different. I had unusual interests from the time I was a small child--traffic signals, bridges, highways, supermarkets. I had a lot of emotional issues as a kid, and always had difficulty socializing. I suffered from a lot of fear and anxiety. I was stubborn, obstinate, and frustrating to deal with.

I remember family members comparing me to Rain Man regarding my ability to remember vast quantities of information, and my mom had commented to me that people used to think I was autistic as a kid, but that I couldn't be because I spoke on time, and so on, and that some surgeries I went through as a kid were probably the source of my issues (or so the therapist I saw as a child thought).

In early 2006, someone had mentioned to me that they thought they had Asperger Syndrome; up to that point I had never heard of AS, so I went and looked it up on Wikipedia. I instantly recognized some traits--special interests, a good memory for facts, stubbornness, resistance to change. But I wasn't convinced at that point. I remember thinking, "I'm not very good socially, but I'm not that impaired, am I?" I shrugged it off, but every now and then I'd wonder if maybe that description fit me.

In 2010, I was struggling at my current job. I had trouble multitasking and doing everything that was expected of me. I was obsessed with one part of my job, but completely uninterested in another. I was criticized for poor communication skills and was seen as disengaged. I was close to being fired. My supervisor told me that one coworker had wonder if I was "a little autistic." I told her a little bit about the various issues I had as a child, and thought that maybe I was still dealing with some latent issues related to all that, but it got me to thinking--again--that maybe I was somewhere on the spectrum.

Around March of 2012, everything suddenly started coming together. By that point, I had come to the conclusion that I was a bit quirky, but I started to notice things about myself that, as it turns out, are common autistic traits. And then the news about the "1-in-88" diagnostic rates came out. I started to do a little more research. I took some online tests: I expected to be a bit higher than average on the AQ test, but I was a little surprised when my score came back in the autistic range. I took the BAPQ. Again, it came up as BAP/autistic.

And then I started reading accounts from adults on the spectrum, and started recognizing a lot of the traits. I came to WP and read others describe their lives and realized just how much their accounts seemed like me. I'd read lists of traits and diagnostic criteria, and realized that most of it described me. So for the first time ever, I embraced the possibility that I might actually be on the spectrum.

When I told others about my suspicions, their responses were almost all along the lines of, "I knew there was something different about you," or "I can see why you would think that," or in one case, "I knew that for a while." Wow. Unofficial validation.

Then just this month, I met with a psychotherapist who specializes in ASDs and was officially diagnosed as being on the spectrum. She told me that I was aided by a high level of intelligence, which allowed me to form coping mechanisms and "get by," even though I've struggled constantly. She also said I seem to have ADHD and OCD traits, but that those were probably due to autism and aren't severe enough to warrant a diagnosis of either of those.

Autism put a lot of things about me in context. It explained my obsessive tendencies, why I have no idea how to make small talk or approach others, my I have such a hard time controlling my emotions, why I am so fussy about the texture of my clothing, etc, etc... And it better put my childhood issues into context: I responded the way I did because I am autistic.

two years ago my nephew was diagnosed. I went online to read about it and found a description of myself.

I've been odd and left of center my whole life. I stood outside of the rest in high school. In college I made acquaintances with punk kids and other outcasts. As an adult I kept company with drug addicts, alcoholics and people who were also outside of the norm. All of my siblings have kids except me. I'm the oddball who lives alone and even spends holidays alone.

I went through jobs the way kids go through toys. It was one after the other. When I left my job in 2012 I started reflecting on myself. Why was I so odd and non-conforming when my siblings blended in? How come I can't relate to those my age unless they're freaks? How come it's so hard for me to make and keep friends?

I started looking up psychological disorders on the internet. One thing led to the next and eventually I came across autism. Hmm. Was that me? I started reading up on it and thought it was a possibility. I even came across Wrong Planet but only lurked because I wasn't sure if I was on the spectrum.

Psychology Today lists people who specialize in autism and Asperger's Syndrome. I sought out a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in autism for a screening. After I went she said there was no doubt in her mind that I was on the spectrum. Instantly, I was relieved. Finally, there was a group to which I belonged.

Autism has given me a face and a place. I know now where I fit in. It's got nothing to do with my sexuality, immigration status, mixed race or abuses. I can look at my oddness, my quirks, the unusual things I say and my unusual approaches as defining me and being called autism.

I ended up in hospital (it doesn't matter why).

I saw a few psychiatrists who diagnosed me with various things.

I was later referred to see an autism specialist, who diagnosed me with Aspergers.

It is a really long boring story, so I've kept it as short as poss.

growing up, and school was quite troublesome for me. except for shop classes. I was well out of high school before any aspergers was ever a diagnosis for anything. (which took 2 extra years of night school to finish, mostly due to boredom). back then people just called you slow. my social skills were o.k. with at least one group of people. all those people that partied alot, and were labled loosers. typically had more fun, and could be myself more than any other group of people I can think of. partying helps your social skills. some of my "friends" wound up in jail, or prison. some turned into drug addicts, and turned out looking like poster boys and girls for dare. some went into gangster mode, and are not with us anymore. the rest all did o.k. for themselves. everyone knew I was different, and could not put thier finger on it. I remember one girl I went out with studied homeopathy, and tried to label me as a stafysagria(or however you spell it). basically a sociopath. she defined it for me, and I told her she was wrong. after talking for a while, she knew she wasn't right, and eventually gave me a book on homeopathy, and told me to figure me out??? she was stupid. I read that book, and did a real good job of labeling almost all my friends. in the mid, or late 90's, I came across literature on autism, and than aspergers. saw a documentary that hit the nail on the head. basically kept my personal diagnosis to myself for about 12 years. found out most people don't want to believe it, or don't really care. since most people are about as psychological as a rock, you have to have some really serious chronic issues before anyone will try to lable you with something. most of the time NT's believe you can be fixed? I have come to believe that a fix is narcissism. doesn't work for me. I had a serious meltdown almost a year ago from bullying sociopaths, and lying narcissists in the workplace. that's when i really came out with it. needless to say, it may have done some good for me, but i lost my job. there are a few friends like me who always knew what I am. as I them too. we are good at keeping it to ourselves. no one needs to know. I am a mechanic, I fix cars. a darn good one at that. as long as people leave me alone, and let me do my job without all the games, I do o.k. from what I have learned, and what I have taught people like me, I would also like to add that I would love to teach people like me to do what I do if they are willing, and I would take an automotive technician with aspergers syndrome, or high functioning autism to work on my car over ANYONE in the industry.

Just as messed up as the next ape's.

Growing up other kids would call me weirdo. I didn't realize at the time I wasn't making friends the way other people did.

During my 20s, having become aware of autism thru TV shows, of all things, I began to be more self-reflective, and realized that even with people I counted as friends, I didn't have the same depth of a relationship as I could see they had with others.

I had no idea how to do what they were doing, and began to see a similarity, tho' a mild one, with autism. (Pretty much only classic, extreme autism was commonly known back then, but I could see the connection.)

A doctor, after telling me there was no such thing as "partial autism" ("Either you are or you aren't, and you obviously aren't") did admit to me that if whatever neurological difference that caused autism was present to a lesser degree (or if there were several things combined that caused it, and most but not all were present), a person might be "partially autistic".

Years went by. I was eventually diagnosed with neuro-chemistry problems, and maybe a year to 18 months ago my doctor said it was time for me to get a therapist. I'd had one prior to the neuro-chemistry diagnosis, and went back to him.

During our second appointment, we were talking about what I'd thought of as agoraphobic symptoms. He asked me how I felt going outside, how I felt when getting back home. (The latter included needing to CRASH to recover.)

He then asked "Have you ever been evaluated for autism?"

I was stunned. "WHY?" I asked. He explained his autistic patients gave the same answers I was giving.

I told him what I'd long suspected, and reminded him that a LONG time earlier, he hadn't been able to get me thru a word-association test, because I'd kept getting mental images, not words in response to words he said.

"You tell your doctor I want you evaluated for autism!"

My next visit with my doctor, when hearing what the therapist had said, the doctor froze, and looked like something suddenly made sense. "Good catch," the doctor said.

Sadly, all our efforts to find someone to do the evaluation in the suburbs (I can't handle driving in cities, even tho there's a hospital with a big autism dept. in the nearest city) led to me getting saddled with some goon who worked out of the trunk of his car.

After a four hour series of tests (which my doctor later said sounded like just an IQ test) and little conversation with me, he said I wasn't autistic because I could interact and had a sense of humor, and that autistics regard other people as objects that have no feelings. (He also claimed my inability to instantly arrange some plastic blocks in a pattern to match a printed sheet proved I wasn't autistic.)

I suspected the guy had no qualifications where diagnosing autism was concerned.

When I explained why my doctor and therapist had wanted me evaluated, he got angry and said "Well, if you want to be autistic, be autistic!"

My doctor, hearing all that happened, said the guy had done and said some things that were very unprofessional. My therapist said the guy is nuts. The local Asperger's organization asked for his name, saying if he was in their database he was getting deleted or at least flagged. Here on Wrong Planet, people said I'd gotten saddled with a quack.

Since the insurance people likely wouldn't have taken kindly to another evaluation too soon, I'm waiting until 12 months are up. We figure that'll be the time for me to hire a cab, go into the city, and hope the evaluation they perform won't be anywhere near as extreme as what I went thru with the quack.

Speaking with my therapist this week, he still suspects I'm somewhere on the spectrum.

We'll see...

This was about six years ago.

I was curious why I'd never met anyone like me. Over several years I would search Google for phrases that I might use to describe myself. From my perspective at the time the most obvious things that differentiated me from other people were that everyone said that I was a genius and I have very significant sensory issues. I taught myself to read when I was very young and was put into gifted classes, but the other students in the classes disliked me. As for the sensory issues, it's like other people's senses don't work well. Mine are much more acute and many things that other people don't have issues with are unbearable.

I did a search for a particular sensory issue, and one of the search results was a link to WrongPlanet, and the description included the phrase "our obsessions". I'd never found anyone with similar sensory issues, but finding someone with at least one similar sensory issue and who had obsessions was a complete shock. Since I was young there's one topic I'd talk about all of the time, and I remember one time that I didn't see someone for something like ten years, and the first thing they asked me after seeing me for ten years was whether I still liked that subject. I know soooooo much about that subject. More than most other people seem to know about anything. So I clicked the link. I started reading this site on December 7, 2007, but didn't join until December 21, 2007.

For several months afterward, I spent all available time reading this site and reading about autism. I read all of the major books about autism, and all of them seemed to match me. I read autobiographies of autistic people, and so many things seemed exactly like me.

From reading those books and this site, I realized that I probably didn't understand others' motivations as well as I had thought. I kept reading and followed suggestions, and within a year I was able to find out how to get a job.

I am so so so glad that I found this site.

I want so much to get a proper diagnosis, but also have severe social anxiety(I was bullied SOOO badly in school), and don't feel like I know specific steps to follow to go about getting a diagnosis, or who to talk to. I don't have a general doctor, and I can't talk to my mom, because even though she says that all of the symptoms and descriptions of each of the common criteria used do fit and did fit me as a child she insists that I'm not autistic. I'm not in contact with any extended family, and don't have anyone in town that I could consider a friend. I don't have a car, but do have a job, and live somewhere with terrible bus service. I have medical expenses I'm still paying off a loan for, and my monthly income is almost exactly the same as my monthly expenses, with no way to cut my expenses.

I also hate my job and want to quit because I hate it so much and my employer has been abusive(drastically cutting my pay but keeping the same responsibilities, and reclassifying my position to take away my leave) but have no other job prospects, which seems unlikely to change because I have no social network. My job involves my interest, and I know it in greater detail than anyone I've ever met, so the fact that I haven't been able to get a similar job with much better pay feels even worse.

I've already shared my story ***

edit

My childhood was dumped with suspicion. My parents knew that I was different from everyone else so they sent me to multiple psychologists in order to figure out why. They were confused and they sent me back very upset and sent my parents away with no refund. Because of this, I've always wondered if my parents resent me. In preschool, I met an autistic girl named Sophie. I felt like I could relate to her better than I could with anyone else (Nothing romantic!)

Eventually, in elementary school, doctors learned that I have Tourette’s syndrome, which led to me being bullied very frequently by my classmates. Then I was prescribed respiradal to help me with various other dietary issues, but to manage my tics as well. My tics got better for the most part, but aside from the autistic people I knew, I still didn't make any more friends.

Because of relating really well to an autistic friend I had, her mum suggested to my mum that I get checked. Got to skip school for half a day and we went to the specialist's office. I hated seeing her, just like every other doctor, but she diagnosed me with Asperger's and ADHD as well. My mum panicked and bought a billion parenting books and she has never truly treated me like her child since that. My dad, being an human resources worker, obviously took some humiliation and thinks I am determined to be his neurotypical son. It's bad enough that they are Asian parents and pressure me to focus on my school work and only my school work. I don't want to fulfill these parts of my parent's expectations. I just want to be who I am.

I moved to a distant town when I was 12, so I commuted to a private middle school. I made some friends there because some of the people there were actually pretty cool. But the long term effects of respiradal made me more erratic and manic so I was taken off. At the same time, a girl in my class named Alice admitted to having an unrequited crush on me. After a month in waiting for a response, I started dating her, but I kept it secret from my parents. We became very close with each other.

Time became an issue for me in high school, which was also a private high school. I was always able to keep up with my schoolwork and I also avoided studying and still got As in a few classes, but the real issue was time between gaming with my nerdy friends and spending time with Alice. My tics also came back because the respiradal effects had finally worn off, I also had to break up with Alice, which was hard on both of us. There’s still a bit of tension between us, but we are still good friends.

And this is why I am here today. No not really no.

EDIT: Grammer check and per OP's request, actually putting the main parts of the story here.

Here's my story. I started off as a typically developing baby. Right up to the age of 4, everyone thought I was just a mentally ''normal'' baby, like my older cousins were. I had the occasional tantrum over things what are common in toddlers, like wanting my mummy or wanting sweeties or not wanting to get into the pushchair or somebody taking a toy away from me, etc. I reached all the milestones at the average stages and had no trouble with potty-training, and my speech development wasn't delayed or too early. I was just an average, typical baby and toddler. I was a bit shy at preschool, but that is not unusual as I have known a lot of toddlers to be shy. otherwise I coped fine at preschool, and no adult, not even a professional, would have even guessed that I had anything other than ''Normal Toddler Syndrome'' . Well, I might have shown a minor AS trait here and there, but nothing noticeable and if it was noticed it was probably assumed a typical baby/toddler thing, as toddlers can display ''Autistic'' things like repetitive behaviour or special interests or meltdowns. It's just all part of learning, and most typical children grow out of it before they start school. Even I began to grow out of a lot of typical baby behaviours since I learned how to interact at the age of 3. So my mum had no worries sending me to mainstream school at 4 years old, with all the other children that were to also start school. But on my very first day of school, I did display quite shocking behaviours what caused concern to the teachers and my parents. I knocked chairs over in the classroom, pulled the teacher's hair, got under the tables, threw paper from out the drawer, kicked things, wouldn't come back in when playtime was finished.....I was just out of control. My parents were shocked because they knew it wasn't like me to be like that, and they knew it wasn't their fault because they were good parents (not too overprotective but not abusive, just average parents). I was also lacking in reading, writing and maths, so they proposed I had a mentor (like a support worker) to help me at school. Having one of those in the classroom with me apparently helped me calm down within a week, but I still needed to be assessed. They left it for a year or two because they thought maybe I might change and start to keep up with the other children, but they noticed I didn't. They then suspected me of having ADHD, then ADD, then learning difficulties, but then they had me observed in the classroom setting when I was about 6, then again when I was 7, and I was backwards and forwards to the whatever it was clinic, and they diagnosed me with Asperger's Syndrome at age 8.

My mum says that they probably wouldn't have known I had Asperger's if I hadn't have been like how I was on the first day of school. They obviously would have knew I had something, but not Asperger's. It wasn't until they payed close attention was when they found what was wrong. But sometimes I feel that I haven't got it and just have other things like anxiety disorder, but then I do things and I think ''yeah, that is typical Asperger's''. Maybe I'm still in denial about a few of my traits.

Not sure if I am on the spectrum or have something else. But in a nutshell:

Slightly different development as a child with advanced levels of development beyond my years in some ways (ie moral development, hence why nothing is black and white to me unless I am drunk or something) but slightly behind in my development in others (emotionally immature).

Tested by psychologists at 13 for mental health disorders as bullying at school was resulting in my self harming (choking self/hitting seldf on head...not cutting or similar. I do not wish to harm myself, I am just overly frustrated and upset and am not able to deal with what I am feeling at the time. I do not plan it or decided to do it, I just do when I get too overloaded by things, which is why I call them my overloads). All the same they did not find any mental health disorders so sent me away after pointing out my developmental differences and saying that I was over sensitive and too idealistic as well.

Also had bad tantrums.

Bad home life also contributed to outbursts but can be prone to them any time I am too stressed or upset by things.

Considered to be exceptionally bright or extremely intelligent by schools and colleges but did not fit in socially (could not make friends with my same age peers). Was able to socialise with older children or adults though. Also those who matched my level of academic ability were also easier for me to converse with. Don't have much to say to most people unfortunately, they don't really understand me or what I am trying to say very well and I become frustrated over this. I am unsure if the problem is with myself or with them (am I not explaining things clearly or do they just not understand what I am trying to say?). Started school early due to level of brightness.

I am told I can misinterpret people, which I can do, particularly online. I also am more prone to doing that when I am stressed as I am not always paying attention as much as I should be and am prone to knee jerk reactions on occasion. When I say stress though I usually mean the stress of bullying. Things don't often stress me much, things always have a solution, don't keep picking on me, are not mean to me and just sit there waiting patiently for me to sort them out. Why would things stress me out? People drive me up the wall though (and I sometimes mean that affectionately, sometimes however...god arghhh, aghhh, arghhhhhh).

Collected bank forms as a child instead of playing with dolls. Had trouble playing with peers. Was not interested in the same things as them. Love my hobbies, have large collections related to them.

Large vocabulary from a young age. Developed speech quickly..no delay..this makes me think not ASD

Was (and can still be) sensitive to things like labels in clothing, certain materials, certain lights, crowds (too much pushing and shoving and noise) and so on. Do not have panic attacks though, just find these things uncomfortable/painful/have difficulty tolerating them so I am not convinced its an anxiety thing.

Unable to make or maintain friendships. Somewhat introvert as like spend my time learning rather than socialising but do like to have people with whom I share bonds with in my life. I am an idealist remember, I can have a romantic view of things. I can be logical but I can also be very feeling even if I do keep going away on my own to do my hobbies or indulge in some reading.

A support worker I once had (don't have one at the moment, prefer to do things myself) asked me if I had be assessed for Aspergers. Several other people also asked the same or asked me directly if I had it. I am not sure. I have traits of it, especially socially, but have no learning disabilities outside of that area as far as I am aware.

Do have problems organising myself but that can have more to do with my concentration span than anything. It is perfect for things I am interested in but can I get my brain to do boring chores that I hate...nope! I have to use routine for that or my brain keeps getting distracted by more interesting things. It loves to learn..if there is nothing to learn or what I am doing is not a novelty or new to me I get bored quickly.

People keep calling me weird. They can't understand me. I don't think I make sense to them, they don't make sense to me. Oftentimes, their methods often seem counterproductive (I can see easier more effective ways of doing something) and their logic can be full of flaws.

Still trying to work out if I am insane or on the spectrum.

Sorry about my typos above, I am aware they are there. I think I have a migraine coming so if I come back to edit I will do so later.

My story is sort of spread out over 22 years, so I'll do the best I can not to make it too long or confusing to follow.

I was a very odd child, but no one ever really thought much of it. They just thought I was kind of unique. I played with my cousins and was extremely imaginative when I was really little and I could talk on time and learned how to read early; however I was extremely shy and didn't talk very much. I was also really sensitive to sound (my touch sensitivities didn't get really bad until later... don't really know when they started). Finally, I never really had tantrums (once in a great while, but for the most part I was too well behaved).

In Kindergarten it was apparent that I was bored out of my mind and I was being kind of problematic. I remember one instance where it was play time and I was certain it was my turn to play with the tinker toys, but another kid beat me to it and I got really mad and hit him. Shortly after that my parents pushed to have me moved to 1st grade where I would be more challenged. After about two weeks in 1st grade, the teacher insisted that I be evaluated by the school psychologist because she was certain there was something wrong with me. The psychologist noted that I had obviously delayed motor skills and that I was really shy, but didn't actually diagnose me with anything and insisted that I was just gifted. At this time it was the mid-90's, so not only was Asperger's a new diagnosis in the U.S., but it wasn't really thought to affect girls. As I got settled in to 1st grade, I started doing a lot better and things continued to be good until I got transferred to a new school for 3rd grade, where I lost all of the friends I had and didn't really make any new ones until about 5th grade. In 5th grade, however, we switched to year round school (there was a total lack of routine with the way they did it) and I also was getting bullied a lot so I started doing poorly in school. I could still get A's on all of the tests, but I didn't turn in a single homework assignment and I often didn't really pay attention in class. Everyone thought I was just being a bit rebellious, though, and didn't think much of it.

Things got a little better in junior high and my grades at least improved from D-'s to A's and B's. However, puberty hit and I had real problems with hygiene so I got bullied a lot more. It was around this time that I started to realize that I wasn't really like the other kids, but I didn't really know why. This got especially noticeable when I was over at a friends house and she asked me why I was "always such a spaz."

In high school my self-esteem tanked and I always wondered why I got bullied or why I wasn't able to interact with other people normally. I frequently made an ass of myself, and after the fact I would realize that I had made an ass of myself, but in the moment it didn't really seem like I was doing anything wrong. Later on when I realized that I had done something, I would always berate myself for it and started to think that maybe I was ret*d and nobody had the decency to tell me about it. However, things got a bit better academically because I was able to take more of the classes that I was interested in so my grades improved to straight A's. I also took drama, which was nice because I got to hang out with people who were just as strange or stranger than me, and also helped me work on being more outgoing.

When I was in 10th grade I was watching the episode of House (of all the ways to finally figure it out...) where House was treating an Autistic patient. At the end of the episode he read of the criteria of Asperger's syndrome to try to convince Wilson that he had it and when I heard it, things kind of started to make sense. I did some research on it, though, and wasn't really convinced that it described me. It kind of got put on the back burner and I continued to go through school without issues. In 12th grade, I took a psychology class and one day the teacher had us take the EQ test and announce our scores to the class and I had only scored about a 12 on it. After everyone had said their scores the teacher went on to describe the different ranges for it and told everyone that people who scored in my range were more likely to have antisocial personality disorder, which absolutely terrified me and caused me to do some more research to try to figure out what was wrong with me, and I found Autism again, which sort of made sense, but I still wasn't really convinced that that's what I had.

I went off to college and during a summer internship one of my coworkers turned to me at lunch one day and flat-out asked me if I was Autistic. I told him that it was possible and did some additional research on it and things finally started to fall into place. I put together a list of symptoms and omitted any references to Autism or Asperger's syndrome and gave it to my mom. She immediately noted that it described me and I got really excited because I had finally figured it all out, but then my mom went on to say that it didn't really matter and that it was overdiagnosed anyways. So I kind of just kept it to myself for a couple of years and tried to learn a bit about it on my own (and eventually stumbled across WrongPlanet).

Over the last year or so, I've had a lot happen to me. I started grad school and the stress of it got to be too much. Additionally, my parents decided to move out of state, and I've come to realize that I'm a transgender. I started to fall apart and got to a point where I realized that if I didn't talk to a therapist I was going to completely lose it. So, I went to the school's counseling center and after a few sessions there they decided to have me evaluated for Autism and I was finally diagnosed with ASD Level 1 over the summer.