How did you get the idea that you maybe was an AS?

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I thought that I maybe had ADD, never thought of AS, cause I just knew AS from TV, where persons resited square roots of complexed numbers, backwards and stuff like that. So I brought this up with my doc, when I had an appointment about my depression.
After telling him about myself, school etc. He ruled out the ADD as impossible, cause I allways was a quick learner and did quite good in school with little efforts, also I never was hyper. He mentioned AS, but said it was complicated to get a diagnose, and that we should treat the depression first. This was a couple of years ago. I guess I put the subject to rest, but recently I heard an author speak on the radio about her AS. I recognised many of the issues she told about, so that's when I started to look for answers on the web. So, here I am.

I thought I was dyslexic. My mum told me to look up AS and I did but didn't think I had it. On the sites I looked up they didn't have much about speech problems. 5 or 6 months later a guy was asking on Yahoo Answers what medical problem he may have had. He wrote a brief description of himself and I related to it right away. Somebody left a comment that said he may have AS, so I looked it up again. I had recently broken up with my boyfriend too and I always wondered why I acted the way I did (that whole lacking empathy thing). Then I found one sentence on a site about AS saying that adults with AS have relationship problems, so I looked into it more and finally had my answers.
First I got treatment for social anxiety then I went for a diagnosis for Asperger's Syndrome.

i didint i was pushed to shrink because thye though i was depressed

Well, I've always been a bookish loner, and for years I've identified with the "geek" or "nerd" subculture. Then I read an article in WIRED which referred to AS as "The Geek Syndrome", with a link to an online test. That's what got the ball rolling.

I randomly found a book in a library called "Asperger Syndrome", and I decided to read a little of it because I didn't know what that was. I read the entire book that day and found that it almost perfectly described my life.

I took the Aspie Quiz after that and scored 184/200...still undiagnosed though and unsure how to go about that step seeing as though I am only 17.

I've always known I was "differnet," that I acted and thought and emoted differently from others. On my profile on the site where my wife and I met, i described my persnoality as "Weird."
WHen I first saw Asperger's on a medicla show, I thought, "That kid is a lot like me," in terms of the vast knowledge of "trivia" and "rattling on" and stuff. But some of the things didn't seem to fit. Like I'd hear "Asperger's lack empathy," and that doesn't make sense, because I'm practically empathic. I have a very deep awareness of other people's emotions. As I did more reading and found out what they really mean is that Asperger's don't know how to give the "proper emotional response," and I'd agree with that.
Then I saw the _House_ episode about Autism and Asperger's. I've always thought I had "reverse-OCD" (like, I lik ethings messy). When I heard about the idea that people with Asperger's like control over their surroundings, and that that can manfiest itself either in extreme neatness or messiness, I said, "AH!"
When House made the commennt about "You hvae to speak autistic," that spoke to me, because when I've met kids who are autistic, I'v ealways had an ability to communicate with them at some fundamental, body-language level. Which is funny, because I usaully don't "get" body language with others.

My son--who shows a couple signs but not enough to be diagnosed autistic or asperger--was in speech therapy for a while because of a "delay" (they said it was caused by being a boy with three sisters). But at the different interviews, when they asked all the "autism questions," like eye contact, etc., I would say, "He doesn't, but I do," or "He does, but I don't"

So I got to seriously reseraching it and found out about a lot of obscure stuff, like synesthesia and being horribly pick out clothes, that described things about me no one else ever could.
I found out that the "symptoms" of bipolar and ADHD and OCD that I had were more in keeping with Asperger's than any o fthose other diagnoses (and that the overlaapping symptoms were the only ones I *had* of those other diagnoses).

Two people in the same week informed me of my autistic behavior. I researched autism and likened myself to HFA and, to a lesser degree, AS.

Every year before that, they thought of autism but they were always freaked out by the clinical psychologist's assessment of me because I might have some severe personality disorder such as the narcissistic, antisocial and schizoid types.

I feel like the reincarnation of the galaxy's best assassin because I see things as they exist and I secretly use drugs to stay calm all the time.

It was when I read about remission of Autism in children when they had a fever - in a 3rd December 2007 study.

Years ago, I'd asked both my (successive) GP's why I underwent a major cerebral shift whenever I had a cold or flu - during which I become company-seeking rather than company-shunning, more mentally agile, eloquent and popular - and life is just inordinately easier.
They just shrugged their shoulders.
Like the (very) few others I'd found (on the web) who experienced this, I thought it was down to ADD (non-H) - which they all had in common and I had all the symptoms of.
Then someone posted a link to the fever study and I looked up Asperger's.
So here I am 12 months later.

It certainly wasn't my idea. I was about 10 and neither I nor my parents had a clue about Asperger Syndrome.

I was being seen for severe headaches, and as the neurologists were bouncing around ideas about migraines and cluster headaches, I was referred to a man who very quickly diagnosed me with AS, though it was unrelated to my headaches. No diagnosis on those to this day.

Eh... something. People were always trying to find what was "wrong" with me... seen at least two shrinks; forgot why the first one (was a longish time ago) second one cause of depression. Second one, she pretty much pegged me as Aspie from the get-go, but I didn't see her long enough for offical diagnoses. Meanwhile, I ended up self-diagnosing myself after awhile, then ended up with said shrink again, and got my offical dx. The end.

I never thought I may be AS. I was 12 when diagnosed. I was too young to come across the label on my own because we didn't have the internet anymore and I wasn't interested in disabilities back then. I wasn't aware of the conditions out there except for being in a wheel chair and having to use crutches and mental retardation and seizures.

I knew I was different because I had it harder than everyone else. I felt singled out, treated different, wasn't as good in things as other kids, I was picked on by lot of people, my friends kept telling me to go away, and I found group situations boring and hard. I was unaware of the other problems I had such as sensory issues. I thought mine were normal. I didn't think I had a problem with me when I was bossy and wanted everything my way, I didn't know I lacked theory of mind, I didn't know about reading body language and social cues. I didn't think disliking change was abnormal. My mother had to keep telling me when I was little "It's an opinion." "he is entitled to his opinion." I didn't know the difference between facts and opinions back then but then again I see some people, even adults who still don't know the different because I see them argue in politics and religion trying to get the person to belive what they beleive and put them down when they don't agree and they attack them.

My parents kept telling me I was normal but I wouldn't beleive them because if I was, then why do I get treated different in school? I thought I could be normal if I was treated right and stopped getting ejected by my peers and friends.

Then in 6th grade, the last thing I needed was a label because (I was working hard to be "normal and be like everyone else) it meant I wasn't normal and there was something wrong with me but no my mother kept telling me I see things different and my brain works different and I have a different learning style. Even when I misunderstand people, my mother would say it has to do with my brain working differently. I tried even harder after my mother told me I had AS because I thought I could just get rid of it. Well you can technically but you just have to keep working on the symptoms such as learning how to be flexible, learning sarcasm and phrases, learning how to show empathy, etc.

So I never thought I had anything wrong with me, I knew I was different even though I used to say when I was 10 and 11 "What's wrong with me?" "I wish I could trade my brain for a new brain" "I wish i could ask god for a new brain." So maybe I did know then I had something wrong with me but I just didn't remember saying those things until my mother told me. I used to get mad at myself for struggling with school work and struggling to stay focused on my work. I just thought I was stupid because that's what other kids kept telling me.

When I started reading here on WP.

When I joined, I only thought that my siblings had AS and I thought I had something else.

I was diagnosed with ADHD & extras by a psych doc. Realised I had some worriesome AS behaviour traits by accident when researching ADHD. My psych doc and I decided I should have some consultations with a Clinical psychologist Doc who specialised in AS therapies.

Two hour assessment by psychology Doc and I received a dx of ASpergers. Argued against the dx because I made eye contact. She smiled at me and explained the disorder to me in length.

How did I realise I had AS? I didn't... my psychiatrist told me!
But it's been a long process. Started seeing psychiatrists when I was 13 because I had depression, couldn't relate to people and wanted a sex change.
Then a year ago I thought I had bipolar... I've spent the last year convinced I had bipolar and I ended up in a psychiatric unit where they treated me like crap and I had lots of meltdowns and because I had meltdowns, they wrongly diagnosed me with Borderline Personality Disorder.
Then I had to see a psychologist who didn't like me and thought I was stuck up so she diagnosed me with Borderline Personality Disorder, Narcessistic Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder.
Then my Psychiatrist diagnosed me with Schizoid Personality Disorder and Schizotyal PD and said I had traits of Borderline PD.
I went through a bad depressive patch and had a major meltdown at college and my psychiatrist began asking me questions, beliving I have Dissociative Identity Disoder (used to be multiple personality). He then said ok, I'll put you on medication... you can choose what medication you want to be on (he said this because I knew so much about bipolar and the different meds)..

THEN, when I went to see him, he said 'I'm not going to put you on meds... I need to ask you some questions... what toys did you used to play with as a child? You have issues with relating to peple? You have been very obsesed with your mental health'. etc
then he said 'It's dawned on me that I think you have Asperger's Syndrome, and I am pretty sure about this'.
So... here I am! Diagnosed finally with.. well a proper diagnoses! that I actually relate to!

Charlie x