Asperger's - do I have it?

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Way back, when I was thirteen and recovering from anorexia nervosa, my therapist suggested I might have it.
I was insulted, at the time - I immediately though of a strange little boy obsessed with light bulbs - you know?
But a few years later my cousin was diagnosed.
I would never have guessed that she had it. She was the only person in my family who I felt I had a connection with... but she was mute, most of the time. Whereas I can talk, if need be. It just doesn't come naturally to me.

My mum said that there was no way; that I was a normal, active child with lots of friends; I was always climbing trees and rolling in mud. It wasn't until I was about ten that I started to get a bit weird.
Here are reasons why I'm concerned, and want to go to a specialist to check that I don't:

These things speak for themselves:

"Adult females are prone to both temper and crying meltdowns, even in public, sometimes over seemingly small things due to sensory or emotional overload. Hunger/food seems to be a common trigger."
I had a fainting panic attack when I was younger, at a dinner party with strangers.

"physical gestures/behaviours when happy more expressive than males."
I tend to vigorously jig my leg up and down when I'm both excited and afraid.

"Hates injustice and hates to be misunderstood. This can incite anger and rage."
"Often prefer the company of animals."
I am vegan for these reasons.

"Prone to mutism when stressed or upset."
Why, yes I am.

Everything here applies to me. There are more, too. I could go on and on and on about the 'Asperger's traits in girls' that most definitely describe me. ALL of them. Is it coincidence?

I'm wondering if I should go to an Asperger's specialist, but based on what my mother said, there really is no need, is there?
Thoughts?

It doesn't sound like you have it. I'm pretty skeptical about that list because it could describe any girl. Especially introverted, neurotic or quirky girls.

Awesome. That's really good to hear - thank you for replying to this. Have a lovely day!

I wouldn't think Aspergers, unless you think your mom is wrong. I do know a little girl who has been diagnosed with ASD who has a lot of friends, but she has had a lot of adult understanding and as far as I know, there was never a time that upon first meeting her, she would not have stood out as quirky. Because she is quirky and always has been. But she's also a beautiful neat kid!

I guess what I'm saying is if you needed speech therapy to help you communicate or OT or special Ed and you are very normal compared to not having been when you were younger or you're worried, a professional can help set your mind at ease.

I wondered - when your therapist first suggested it, did they explain at all why they thought you might have it?

Gizalba - I found her to be rather a cold, stand-offish woman, to tell you the truth. She said that I seemed to have trouble communicating with her. Thank you, everybody, for answering. I'm still not sure. If anybody is still reading this - what would indicate that a girl DID have Asperger's, for sure? It's not that I'm worried. I just want clarification one way or another. I DID have a lot of friends as a child. I also remember sitting in front of a mirror and telling myself exactly how I needed to act, and what sort of 'persona' I needed to get through the day. So I was charming and charismatic. I looked like any other normal, outgoing child.
I don't think that I had it, now, because I was active and outgoing.
But... I'm still torn.
You know what I mean?
After taking in what everybody has said, though, I don't think that I'll go to the specialist, after all. I think you're right, and I don't have it. I just must learn to appreciate and love my quirks.
Have a lovely day, my lovely people.

Since Aspergers is not exclusive to introverts, you could be a highly extroverted person with aspergers. I know one such. Can you imagine the combination of sensory over-load with a powerful need for social involvement? Imagine having difficulties with social signals AND having a personality that needs lots of friends?

Makes me glad to be an introvert!

Thanks for that, KAS. Though I'm definitely an introvert now. I could happily spend weeks by myself.

Yeah, from what you said there's no good reason to suspect it,IMO. Children with ASD have severe impairments in social interaction and repetitive/restrictive behaviours and.or interests causing severe impairment.

Shaking your leg a lot and jumping when excited is normal person repetitive behaviour for lack of a better phrase and having a strong sense of social justice is completely normal. Those lists are just things that some psychologist/ psychologists have observed in girls with AS ro maybe even just a layperson (depending on the list) but those particular things you mentioned are actually very typical of girls in general, or maybe people in general. I know TONS of girls who are NT and very socially adroit with those qualities. Before and after classes and at breaks all the other students in my courses talk to each other about are social justice issues. They're obsessed. They're mostly girls because I'm in library school.They are not symptoms of Asperger's.

Being outgoing doesn't preclude the diagnosis but being charming and charismatic, getting along with people and having lots of friends from a young age makes it very unlikely. Yes, some people with AS, especially girls learn to mask deficits but but not as a young child. That's something that would happen as they get older and the masking is usually imperfect, not resulting in having no social problems and making lots of friends.

Still, if you are having any serious problems in your life or experiencing a lot of distress than you should see a doctor about it. Good luck, OP.

We don't know. Where is Fnord these days?(inside joke).

Joking aside we are not professionals. The best we can do is say you have a lot of traits. You can list them all if you like, long posts are a thing here.

As said by daydreamer84 if you are being inhibited or constantly stressed (no matter how you present yourself) see a specialist.

In many parts of the world since 2013 Aspergers has been removed from the diagnostic manual and subsumed into the broad "Autism Spectrum Disorders" diagnosis. Even in those regions some specialists may use the old manual or use Aspegers as a colloquial term to describe people.