Can a person gradually become aspergean?

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I feel that I bordered normal when I was younger but by the time I entered high school I was so frustrated with being mistreated and disrespected by my classmates that I consciously became asocial and inhibited. That's when my aspieness as I know it began to flourish. Was my aspieness self-induced, was it like a seed waiting to be nurtured, or did it appear out of the blue?

I think it's possible that I've always been an aspie, but my high self-esteem and high level of confidence (which might have been interpreted by some as part of an unfounded sense of superiority) sort of masked it when I was younger. The lack of rational thinking associated with childhood might have 'helped me' not see that I was different from my peers. The fact that I never presented academic, behavioral or any significant social problem made it difficult for adults to perceive my "differences." At best they probably thought I was a brat; at worst, "kind of weird."

Like many conditions, there can be things that exacerbate the symptoms or make them present in individuals in which those symptoms were previously masked.

I think it means you might only be mildly Aspergic (Aspergean? Asposic? Whatever...) and previously were in an environment that didn't bring out those somewhat latent tendancies.

I think that quite often, things like bullying or higher levels of stress might cause an individual to revert to a more pronounced level of AS.

I think you can be driven into an AS-like state, but (and I'm speaking entirely from personal perspective here) being neurologically AS starts with some pretty fundamental issues that aren't really subject to your environment and/or infant-social-conditioning.

Really, the only clearly defining symptom of AS (and much of the autistic spectrum) is a basic inability to comprehend/develop non-verbal social abilities. If you can (or were ever able to) read/understand facial expression and body language then you're probably not AS and should investigate alternative disorders such as generalized social phobia/anxiety. Take heart in that those disorders are "treatable", whereas AS/Autism is something you cannot change/cure.

I'd really recommend that you seek the consultation of a trained professional for a proper diagnosis - Being socially "difficult" can stem from a great many causes. Being socially incompetent is a whole other can-of-worms, and if there is a way for you to resolve it than you should grab on and hold tight. It might be a rough ride to "normal", but if you can get there then you'll be a heck of a lot happier.

Please, don't aspire to AS-ness if it's not clearly who you are. While I wouldn't change who I am for anything, I know that I've been forced to accept a social death-sentence, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone else.

It's OK to be weird - most people grow out of it. Having an autism-spectrum disorder is something you'll have to deal with for the rest of your life, and trust me - it ain't fun.

Nick

This is probably the only reason i think i dont have AS, i think i can read facial expressions well. This test any good?

http://www.cio.com/article/facial-expressions-test

You could be blindly unaware of your dysfunction, if the people around you were not the type to pick on you. That applied to me. With age and experience i came to see my previous blunders and failures.

I feel I can read facial expressions fairly well, but I have a hard time showing my own emotions.

I just did that expression test and I got 1 right, and I was really trying. Anyway, I think some of my traits have been there from the start, but a few more have got stronger more become more apparant as I got older.

Did you judge it when the image changed to another pic for a split second? dont understand why it reverts back to a normal face.

Just press corresponding key on keyboard.

I followed the instructions, and watched each one like, three times, I guess I am used to my own standard expressions, blank; bug-eyed stare; frown; suspicious grin; big stupid toothy prideful grin and floor stare. I do not spend that much time watching the expressions on peoples faces, maybe I should, but I am not going out of my way to.

Sounds to me like you're an NT with a lot of frustrating experiences. Those "tests" are a fraud anyway. If you're really worried, you have to get a professional opinion (a psychiatrist), however, if you're just really messed up because of your childhood, you should probably see a psychiatrist anyway. They don't all have horns. NT or AS, seeing someone might make you feel a little better.

Good luck.
Beentheredonethat

The only thing messed up about my childhood was the severe amount of bulying due to me not conforming to any "NT" behaviour.

apparently one fairly sure sign is if your parents refer to you having been odd, different, etc. I knew that i always pushed people away, my mother included, when they tried to hold me cos my mother told me many times, but when i told them recently about thinking i'm aspergers, thus on Autistic spectrum , my mother said another thing they'd noticed was how i needed lots of notice before doing something new, and they learned to prepare me far in advance, telling me about it etc, AND another thing , that it seemed like i simply didn't seem to be able to see anything from other peoples point of view, including the effect i was producing on people.
etc etc
Point is AS is from birth, or within first two/three years , and so signs from then are good indication.
However an aspie parent might not notice this kind of thing in their child. For example it wasn't until my mother said my sons language skills ( at 5 years age) were really poor that i began to realise he really did have some sort of genuine problem, and not until discovered my own AS that realised his pervasive development difficulties ( at age 8 !).
So...

PS: you're a guy so it might not be relevant to you but there is also some theory now that in females AS might express differently because of the female empathising bias, or social pressures, whatever, meaning female AS might become almost super good at bursts of hi-power socialising but it would be a strain ( on energy and intelligence) because would all be worked out from complex and deliberate copying and mimicking. This might make AS in women less visible until extra stresses are put on the person, at puberty, or independence at age 18, whatever.

This is 100% incorrect.