How High-Functioning are you?

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I am pushing very hard for a proper assessment for Aspergers at the moment. I've been told by several psychiatrists (not AS or autism specialists) that I am probably "on the spectrum" but no-one has been able to give a DX. I've been speaking to the Outreach coordinator at a local Autism charity (SACAR in Bradford) and she's said that I might be struggling to get a DX because I'm so high-functioning. She has recommended a couple of specialists (one being SBC) who have experience in dealing with cases like mine. I'm getting worried that I might never get a definite Yes or No as to whether I have AS or not and I do think that a solid answer would be really helpful to me.

I score around 40 on SBC's Autism Quotient test thing, which is fairly high as far as I can tell. That said, a 50-question test isn't going to give them same accuracy as a proper assessment! I play several musical instruments, I've been in several reasonably successful local bands, I hold down a full-time job, I drive a car, I engage in social sport and I've been in several long-term (and extremely dysfunctional!) relationships.

Is there a point at which you are so high-functioning that whether you have AS or not (or can be diagnosed or not) becomes irrelevant? I feel like a DX and some proper support would be a huge help to me, because despite my achievements and the successes I've had in my life, I'm thoroughly miserable and have been for a long time. I'm consistently frustrated that my ability to comprehend and learn the subtleties of a programming language or a musical instrument fails so completely when it comes to understanding people and social situations.

There are clearly people with AS who are far more "disabled" (for lack of a better word) by the challenges their condition causes than I am (if I even have it). However, should that preclude me from the benefits that a successful DX and ongoing support might bring to me? I'd like to hear what experiences any extremely high-functioning AS sufferers went through (or are going through) to get a DX. Has anyone just given up? Should I?

I'm not sure how I should answer your poll. How about "All over the place: Unable to work, can act normal around friends but can't spend too much time with them, and have an excellent romantic relationship"?

I've been wondering whether to try for a diagnosis too; I'm fairly good at acting like an NT (albeit a weird one), especially in short-term encounters, so I'd be afraid I wouldn't be able to get one. I'm so high-functioning in some areas that the areas where I have a lot of trouble might just look like laziness to someone who doesn't know better

By definition, one must have "considerable disability" in an "important area of functioning" to meet the AS criteria (work, social, school, self-help, etcetera).

Me?

No work
No school
Social due to the 'net (it wouldn't exist without it)
No driving
No phone
I cannot prepare food other than opening tins, and cooking frozen stuff (which is adequate in reality); anything that involves too many "functions" and I have trouble. This transposes over everything I do
Need routine to do stuff, otherwise cannot do said stuff

"High-functioning". I fit the Asperger's label (Professor Attwood).

I guess my the descriptions of each I don't fit any. I am able to hold a basic job, I have a few friends, but I have never had a relationship. I struggle with some basic stuff, like for example, I am 17 and cannot tie my shoes.

Hi There -

I feel your pain... believe me. I'm there, myself, working through trying to get a valid DX from folks who frankly don't believe me when I tell them how much trouble I've had my entire life. Even (especially!) the people closest to me don't want to consider the possibility that I may have been autistic/AS when I was a child (which would explain A LOT! -- the fascination with spinning, lighted things... beating a drum I got when I was 4 so long and so hard that I actually broke through the head... the hair-chewing... the self-injury... the stimming of rubbing satiny fabrics together so intensely and so long that my mother had to replace the ribbon edges on my blankets... the utter inflexibility of insisting on wearing the same pajamas for three years, and my refusal to adopt any others... my refusal to get different glasses or a different hairstyle for years on end...) I can't tell you how much of my "odd" childhood Aut/AS could explain.

Finding out about AS and learning that I'm not the only one who is/was like that is, well, life-changing. Suddenly, I can relax (much more than ever before). And I am actually noticing the world around me in ways I never did before. There are flowers blooming around me in the springtime? Really? I'm not being facetious -- I really don't typically notice such obvious things... probably because I'm just trying to keep my equilibrium.

Yet, nobody around me wants to even entertain the possibility. What *IS* that?

I score consistently at 42 on the AQ scale at sites testing for Autism Spectrum quotient. I've taken the test a number of times, when in different frames of mind, and I require(d) myself to mentally "produce" quantifiable examples of each of the criteria to substantiate my internal "claims". I come out consistently from 41-43.

I've been to doctors, a neurologist, a therapist... all of them very nice people and qualified in their own ways, but I consider them somewhat "hostile" as they tend to dismiss my concerns, or they think it's something else -- ADD, OCD, bipolar, emotional issues... everything except an actual neurological condition that explains so much. I've been sufficiently dismissed, that I'm reluctant to really explore the AS side with them, as they seem to have already decided I'm a bit of a basket-case, and I may be making things up.

I'm NOT making this up... And the fact that I can apparently function very well in the world -- 20 years of consistent employment (albeit none of the stints lasting longer than 1-2 years with any one group/company)... long-term relationship (tho' my partner tends to claim she feels 'alone' with me, and we are not without our issues.)... well, it seems to work against me. Does it not occur to people that if you can't function "normally" in the world, you're totally f**ked, so you either sink or swim, and some of us -- through luck or just a lot of hard, back-breaking, mind-bending work -- manage to learn to simulate normalcy just to keep people from beating up on us? I was bullied enough as a child, thank you very much. And I learned a lot from those years.

I would like to connect with a competent neuropsychologist to get some quantifiable results that can show others I'm not completely insane or just looking for attention. I don't want attention -- it's the last thing I need! But I do need a way to communicate my situation to the prejudiced, shortsighted, impatient NTs around me, so they can at least be vaguely aware that I'm different from how they expect me to be. I don't need someone to tell me that I'm autistic/AS... I need them to tell the skeptics all around me who neither take my difficulties seriously nor wish to accommodate them. I need a vocabulary with which to communicate with the NT world.

Sadly, my learned ability to function "well" in the world seems to be working against me. If I pretend to be worse off than I have learned to be, then I run the risk of being found out and discounted. If I portray myself as being in need of help beneath the surface of my able exterior, I run the risk of being called a "fraud". If I keep acting like nothing is wrong, I can't get the help I desperately need.

This really, really sucks.

But what else is new? Onward and upward. Good thing I can code...

K

Struggle with work and have no friends...

Well, I think the poll options were maybe a bit limited. There is a very wide range of issues that fall outside the "Job/Friends/Family" areas and can be highly specific in certain cases. I think I would probably just about qualify as "severely disabled" when it comes to social interaction. I've learned to cope in social situations, but usually by either rote repetition of conversational "set pieces" or through blatant manipulation of people around me such that I can control the situations I'm in. This is why my relationships tend to be very dysfunctional because I'm a manipulative control freak!

If you have severe difficulties in social interaction, I don't see why you cannot meet the criteria if they say you're perhaps on the spectrum, just not "severe". If you've had many failed relationships that you chalk up to the aforementioned social impairment, I can see how you perhaps may need social/emotional training (they say it can help, I don't know).

The thing is, many of the professionals see individuals who cannot form a relationship (they usually don't work either, and they usually live at home well into adulthood), no matter how much they try; walking through a brick wall and all. This sways their opinion on severity.

I get around 40 on the AQ test.

don't work
don't drive
have acquaintances but difficulty with close friends
have a relationship
don't live at home
lack common sense in complex food preparation but can prepare partially ready-made stuff
bad housekeeper

better at some things

You are WRONG! The CLOSEST thing to what you said is:


It says clinically significant, NOT considerable, and NOTE section E!! !! !


Me?

I work fine
I have a good education
I drive fine.
I can communicate well.(verbally at least)

I can handle my daily chores fine.

Well, I guess if I'm going to break it down like some people have;

Educated to degree level (BSc(Hons) Computing)
Have a career (structured career across 2 employers)
Drive and own a car
Lived away from home since I was 18 (11 years)
Have friends, but no close friends
Have had relationships in the past, currently single
Able to perform most tasks
Gifted in music, sports, academia, computing, reading and writing, maths
IQ tested at 180+ several times (highest was 193)

On the other hand;

Suffer from extremely low self-esteem
Suffer from depression
Regularly suicidal with a history of suicide attempts
Suffer from "social phobia" - regularly have panic attacks in public places
Complete inability to cope with non-verbal communication leads to frequent problems in social situations

hey dave

its lauren
im just going under a different user name

how you been

feel free to pm

and i hope none of those suicide attempts have been recent ones

x

My had my mom be given the status of "Conservator of the Estate" so she can help me with my finances.

I need a job coach when I work.

I have very few friends, but I am very close to the friends I have.

I have had very few relationships, all failures.

I can't drive because of sensory, motor, and eyesight issues.

I have little common sense.

I have staff that comes to my apartment 3 times per week for a couple hours to help me with cleaning, bills, making appointments, and running errands.

I need a note-taker for my college classes because I have trouble taking notes and paying attention to the lecture at the same time.

I take tests and exams for my college classes in a separate, quiet room because of my sensory issues.

I have trouble explaining things and giving directions to people unless I have a few minutes to think about what to say.

Just wanted to say that this is a really well-written post, klstoner. I really feel bad for you. I have been fortunate enough to get a diagnosis of Asperger's (I say "fortunate" because I have found similarly to you that knowing about it explains so much about my life and personality and is helping me to deal with moving forward.)

But there are times when I doubt myself, and when I struggle, it's easy to fall into thinking "Maybe they were wrong-- maybe I'm just lazy/irresponsble/a bad person..." That's when it helps to remember "no, someone with a diploma on the wall said it's more than that."

I don't know what to say to help with your struggles-- I'm glad that you are being as positive about it as you are. I wish the best for you.

Bloody hell! Hiya! I'll pm or txt or summat!

Could not really honestly align an answer with the poll choices.

- Work full-time, but have had a lot of jobs
- Like my job - but sensory problems with work environment (light, noise, people)
- In relationship - but have major problems showing any emotion or empathy
- Have one child
- Drive car (and like driving), but by myself
- No close friends - a few acquaintances - just cannot do small talk - but will talk for hours on obsessional subjects!
- Always had low self-esteem - never good enough, always feel could do better
- Constantly thinks of suicide - but I do not think I would do it
- No social skills - at best can act NT for maybe 15 minutes without a break - rely on rote pieces
- Currently completing research based Master's degree - but did not start University until in 30s
- Hopeless short-term memory, but great at trivial pursuit type questions
As much as I have been DXed - it was only 'discovered' when I was seeking help for stress, and panic problems - being diagnosed has helped me learn more about myself, and it has probably helped my wife more; but it does not change your life or provide solutions.