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I am currently taking Child Development for my BS in psychology and as part of an assignment and I have been tasked to interview teenagers about their experience of growing up. I am 26 years old and really dont think I will be able to physically accomplish this due to my social anxiety. I am posting this in hopes the few adolesant aspies members may see my delima and come to my aid with their needed thoughts. Here are the enclosed questions I am suppose to ask.

1) What do you like about being a teenager? What do you dislike?
2) What is the best thing about your life right now? What is the worst thing?
3) What is the most important thing about your life right now?
4) If you could change one thing about yourself or your life, what would it be? Why?
4) What do you feel about the future? Why?

Any extra information that any of you wish to add is appreciated as well. The professor expressed a need for the interview to last at least 20to 30 minutes. Please keep in mind I will assume anyone who answers my questions to be between 13 and 18 years of age. Thank you all in advance for your participation.

I will be 19 on Sunday. Is that too late?
Oh and I have social anxiety as well, so I sympathise.

1. I like that I have very few major responsibilities. However I dislike thqat I have very little control on what responsibilites I do have.

2. The best thing in my life right now would be the near complete lack of anything capable of making me depressed or overly stressed out. I just don't get stressed out easily. However I do have difficulty asking people to do things, I am definitely not a leader, but I'm not really a follower either. This might run me into a bit of trouble down the road, but I think I'll be able to adapt.

3. Difficult to say, right now the school year is almost over and I'm going to start looking for a job very soon, among other things, again very tough to say.

4. I don't know, I guess I would prefer to be more outgoing. I always have a difficult time starting a conversation. Once I get started I'm generally fine, but the first sentence is a killer. But other then that, I'm very happy with who I am.

5. I see myself entering a computer related field. Probably either programming or computer repair (I have been able to learn computer code at extremely fast rates, and computer repair pays huge hourly wages). I'll probably marry a girl who can understand what I'm talking about when I start talking about very nerdy things. It could take me awhile but I'm sure I'll find her some day.

Oh please type away, you will be 18 when you made the comments so i think that is what counts..thanks for the support as well..
im sure you know how much of a hell social anxiety can be

1) What do you like about being a teenager? What do you dislike?
I like that I have the time to be with friends. I like the learning that goes on in this period of my life. I dislike that adults don't take us seriously, but then say that we have to rush to do the things they do. (ex. I'm not allowed out late or to partake in many "adult" conversations but then am constantly pressured to get a job and "take responsibility")

2) What is the best thing about your life right now? What is the worst thing?
College (for both) also...
Best: Free time
Worst: Pressure

3) What is the most important thing about your life right now?
College

4) If you could change one thing about yourself or your life, what would it be? Why?
I would change the fact that I'm so unmotivated. I never do things while I have the chance and seem to let things pass me by. Socially, I feel comfortable. I'm terrible at fitting in with society but I don't feel the need to worry. I don't mind it at all.

4) What do you feel about the future? Why?
nothing. I've never been one to see myself in any sort of future. But...
I guess right now I feel very pressured about it. College is a big deal and every adult I talk to tells me so.
I suppose I want to become a social worker or someone who helps kids in the fostercare/adoption system. I love children and would love a job helping them. I would also like to work with kids with autism and other mental disorders.

I am 17 (18 in nov) and will be attending college in the fall. My major will be psychology(BA), so maybe I'll be in your positon someday (is it fun? do you like it? why'd you decide to go into psychology? any tips?)

1) What do you like about being a teenager? What do you dislike?
When I was a bit younger, I disliked a lot more than I liked, but as I've got older I've found more that I like about it. Probably the fact that I have more independence now than I has as a child. That doesn't help so much with going out, as I rarely go anywhere. But, with everyday things such as deciding what to do with my free time, it's a lot better. I also like university and I've just completed my first year. I prefer university to school as it allows me to concentrate solely on history, which has been my main obsession since I was around 7 years old.
What I dislike most about being a teenage though is the behaviour of other people my age and their expectations of me. I've never really been similar to others my age, especially since the age of about 12. I disliked the way other kids in my school would criticise me and mock me. From what I've noticed, this appears to be more of a problem in people around 13-15. A lot of teenagers seem very judgemental and have always been interested in different things. When I was about 15 a lot of the others in my class were going to parties, getting drunk, smoking, taking drugs. But I wasn't really interested in anything like that.

2) What is the best thing about your life right now? What is the worst thing?
I've only recently been diagnosed (this January) and found out about Asperger not long after I turned 18. This is probably the best thing that's happened to me as my family now understand me a lot more and I understand myself more. So I'm much happier than I was this time last year. I can concentrate on my course, which is going well. I enjoy lectures and have been doing well in assignments/exams.
The worst thing is probably a combination of different factors which prevent me from doing things related to be interests. Mostly social anxiety which creates problems when it comes to going out to museums or to libraries. Although I am improving gradually, so hopefully this will get better. Other things which stop me going out as much would be things like sensory problems. Since I was 8 I've hated the sound of other people eating, so I can never be around others when they eat. This means it's difficult to go out ofor the day with my family even though there plenty of places I would like to visit.

3) What is the most important thing about your life right now?
My course and my cat. I think the most important things in my life right now, apart from my family, are my interests. Now that I've left school and found out I have AS, I am much happier focusing on things that interest me, such as history.

4) If you could change one thing about yourself or your life, what would it be? Why?
Social anxiety. I developed this out of depression when I was around 13. That was when I first realised the extent of my problems and how different I was from others in my age group. So, as the only way I knew how to cope, I reacted by becoming increasingly withdrawn and isolating myself from others. This led to severe social anxiety and, although I am improving, it still prevents me from doing a lot of what I would like to do with my life.


4) What do you feel about the future? Why?
I feel much more optimistic about the future now that I have a disgnosis of AS and understand why I am how I am. I have a supportive family and am seeing a counsellor at university about my anxiety and confidence. So, although I accept that it is unlikely I will have a 'normal' life, I feel much happier about my future now.

I hope this helps. I know my answers were a bit shorter on some questions, but if you need me to elaborate on anthing or explain, then I'll be happy to do so.

1) What do you like about being a teenager? What do you dislike?
I like the fact that my parents now are more loose on what I can and cannot do (i.e. I am able to refuse to attend events that I know will be stressful most of the time). I also like the more interesting classes I can take (usually). I dislike the huge, looming specter of college on my horizon (I tend to get nasty anxiety attacts at the thought and have had to be badgered into doing most of it by my parents to date) and the impending pressure of my driver's test. I'm nearly seventeen (birthday's in late September) and haven't passed, and I need to be able to pass it by August so that I can get a parking space and get to and from my internship next year.

2) What is the best thing about your life right now? What is the worst thing?
Best thing... well, I'm currently enjoying my summer break and the freedom to do whatever I like (when I'm not babysitting my five-year-old sister). This year I'll be enjoying my courseload greatly--I saved my most interesting classes for senior year where I could, and after a punishingly boring junior year I'm looking forward to next year's classes. Worst is probably my current social isolation. I take ages to trust people enough to go places with them--I have a measure of social anxiety myself--and I have no real friends in my current geographical location. Worse, the friends I do have--whom I miss totally--and I don't have a remotely similar schedule, because we're a time zone apart and tend to be on the Net at different times, meaning that I don't get to talk through IM with them as much as I'd like. So I'm more than a touch lonely at the moment.

3) What is the most important thing about your life right now?
Probably my academics. I don't really have much else that I should be focus on. One of the centers of my life is also my two-year-old terrier cross Oliver. One of my most relaxing pasttimes is teaching him whatever interesting tricks I can think of. Currently I'm working on getting him to learn to climb a ladder. Oliver functions as one of the sole sources of social interaction in my life now that school is out.

4) If you could change one thing about yourself or your life, what would it be? Why?
Removing my fear of strange people and phones? It would make my life so much easier if I could use a phone without having to spend five minutes psyching myself up to do it, or go up to a sales person and solicit their help without having to be coaxed to do so. And it would be easier to make friends if I didn't feel I had to attach myself to someone who looked nonthreatening.

5) What do you feel about the future? Why?
Erm. Mostly because of my anxiety about college, I'm essentially terrified of it. I'm not afraid of going to college so much as I'm afraid of the application process, oddly enough. I'm worried about not getting into a good college, not being able to pay for any college besides UGA or Georgia Tech (neither of which, I feel, are at all good for me), or screwing up majorly. I know it's irrational, but I honestly do feel panicky about the whole process.

THANK YOU ALLLLL FOR YOUR INPUT....IF ANY OF YOU WANT A COPY OF MY PAPER, JUST EMAIL ME..

[email protected]

I am 17 (18 in nov) and will be attending college in the fall. My major will be psychology(BA), so maybe I'll be in your positon someday (is it fun? do you like it? why'd you decide to go into psychology? any tips?)[/quote]



Although I love psychology and anything which has to do with cognition, i must say it has not been as fun as i thought.....maybe because i work full time and dont always have the appropriate time to focus on school as i should. The reason i chose psychology rests greatly on my unwavering attempts to understand myself and the people around me.... I find myself numerous times working my brain furiously in frivious attempt to understand why people do the things they do. That helps me to get through even the dryest lectures and/or professors on campus. My tip would be for what ever major that you wish to pursue is to make sure it is something that you are willing to work for even with the distrtacting presence of an NT world around you. Try to focus your energy on positive aspects

I'm 17, still in high school. I am a considerably social person for being AS, I make up for my lack of social skills and drives. With my good temperment and general love to talk and be around GOOD people. All the other aspergians I know are social too.