My mom told me she thinks I have Aspergers?

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I'm here because of my mother. You see, she came to me two nights ago while I was T.V. in the livingroom. I was avoiding my room since we just moved and I haven't found a place for everything, so I was just avoiding and went into the livingroom to watch T.V... So, my mom comes in and say she wants to talk with me. My all ears. What she tell me is, she thinks I has(or is it have?) aspergers. I guess she had been looking up the sudject or something like that and she tells me I fit a lot of the symtoms.
I pretty much told her I'm 21( almost 22) wouldn't have someone noticed this? They noticed the other stuff; Me being dyslexic, having ADD.

She goes on to tell me that she doesn't think I have ADD that instead I had aspergers all-along, and that they just say I had ADD. She goes on to say about how there wasn't a lot of knowlegde about Aspergers back then, and that I was diagnose back in the mid-90 when every child was other ADD or ADHA.

So, I thought she made a good point. And, thought I did not tell me mother this, I had thought maybe I could have asperger but I thought it was just me being paranoid.

I thought maybe I should research because I knew somewhat of asperger but not alot. Now I found some sites symtoms. But it was too vage. Unitl I found this site where you can post question, which I thought was really nice. So I thought I could explain to you what my mom is seeing...
Bare with me, this is kinda hard to do.

I don't think before I talk. I.E. At the vet, I once told a lady that she had a hyper/bad breed of bog as a puppy but good dog as an adult. I didn't think anything of it, until I got into the car and my Dad told me that was very rude and did you see the look on the lady's face. I swear the lady fave looked the same the whole time.

I correct people. Someone could be telling a story and I happened to have been there when the story takes place. And they say the car is blue and it infact yellow. I will stop the story just to correct them. I don't know why, I feel like it's very important to do.

I'm only saying this because it annoy me to do so. But I have to touch or check my alarm clock before I do to sleep or I'm afraid it won't work. And I have to touch my glass case and remotes just to be sure they are actually there. Even thought I just saw the remotes before I turned off the light to go to sleep and just put my glasses in the case.

I don't like eye contract. I try to make up for it my looking behind the person.

This has always been a big issue with me. I don't connect well with other, and I never could figure that out. Actually as a kid I found it easier to connect wiht adult vs kids my own age. I can remember watching teenager my own age with there friends and trying to figure out what they doing right to have friends and what I'm doing so wrong. I
I've also been told I'm hard to get close to. And can say that kinda true. I do try but I feel uncomforable around people I don't know well. This is a big battle for me because most of the time I don't realise I'm pushing people away.

I have a hard time throwing useful things away. I mean if it trash I thow it away, but I think I use it or it can be useful. I keep it. Thankfully, most its small stuff because I like open space in my room.

I'm kinda getting tried of tying... so, I'm gonna post now. Please tell me what you think?

No, I'm 19 and and was only diagnosed last year



ADD happens to be the most common condition people with AS also have.


These are compulsive rituals accociated with AS

The rest reminds me of AS but I'm still not totally convinced and I would take the lines of people going "sure you have AS!" with a grain of suger. It just doesn't sound that disabling.

yep sounds like you do to me.
expecailly the roleplaying what others do to make friends but somehow it dont work out that way for you.
That is sooo comon for people on here.
eye contact advoidance ..check
correcting people ...check
not reading facial expresions ...check
being "too honest" check
ritualized behaviors..check

Aspergers expresses itself differently as a person grows up from when they were a kid, but most of the symptom lists are geared for children. Teens and adults tend to fall through the cracks if they were not diagnosed as a kid.
Also no two people with ASD are alike...it is a spectrum disorder with so much variation...when you add personality in the mix...each person expresses ASD differently.
We have traits that are common with most of us, but there are some aspies that can almost pull off normal...but underneath it all, it is just an act and an exausting one at that.

welcome to Wrongplanet. Btw, my name is Jojo

Anyway, my dog was a holy terror as a puppy and turned out to be the best adult dog ever.
So I know what you mean by that,

Jojo

Welkome to WrongPlanet.

The WP Kink

I'm 35 and only currently undergoing diagnosis, and this only because I myself asked for it. AS and other HFA syndromes are still not well known enough, especially among teachers and doctors, so it's easy to get unnoticed.



I personally believe that ADD is being over-diagnosed, i.e. that it's often diagnosed when there is actually another root cause for the child's behaviour.



Same here. As a child I've been scolded a lot just like that, for being rude and insensitive when I was just saying the truth.



I have exactly the same problem. Often people will get annoyed that I stopped them to correct a minor and (to them) inconsequential detail for the purpose of the story. But like you I feel that if you take time to mention a detail, however minor it is, you should get it right or not mention it at all.

Similarly, I'm often told that my stories are boring because I add in too many details and too much context. I feel I only add the very minimum necessary to make the point clear, but I'm often told it's still too much. Also, I'm told people then stop paying attention, but I don't see it.



I often do similar things. I nearly always have to check at least once that I actually locked the car or the house door before I can carry on with what I'm doing, even when I know for a fact I did it already.



I always thought I had no problem with eye contact, until a few people commented on the fact that I hardly ever make eye contact with others.



You've just summed up my entire childhood and teens! As a child I always felt more at ease among adults than among kids my age. And as a teenager I never understood how people managed to handle having friends.



I'm somewhat different here. I've been told I'm easy to get close to, but I'm high-maintenance in terms of friendship because I never make the first step (I don't keep in contact, call people, etc., all those things I've been told are necessary to maintain a friendship). So I may not be pushing people away but I'm told I do nothing to keep them close.



Same here. I have a cellar full of the original packaging of most of the things we have at home. I can't get myself to throw it away, as I feel it can still be useful if we move out or would choose to sell something.



I'm not a doctor, so I can't tell whether you have AS or another form of HFA or not. All those symptoms can happen in some form or another among Nts as well, and there are other conditions that can sometimes result in similar symptoms.

However, you seem to have enough symptoms that a form of autism is a definite possibility. So while it's too early to tell anything for sure, it's probably worth investigating. If I were you, I would try to get an official diagnosis. Believe me, the earlier the better, as with an official diagnosis you can start getting help and support that will definitely help you in the future. That's the main reason I am currently undergoing a diagnosis: after 35 years of more or less normal functioning, I've hit a wall, and am having more and more trouble to function in society. Believe me, you don't want to wait until you hit that wall, because then you're in real trouble.

Not necessarily. First of all, you are female and unfortunately it's thought that females tend to be overlooked for various reasons. Second, frequently when someone has other issues, those might take precedent and people might associate other behaviors you have with those issues. For example if you had undiagnosed AS but a diagnosis of ADD, your inability to make friends or maintain relationships might be perceived as the result of an inability to pay attention to others, and thus, due to ADD. Or a melt down might be attributed to frustration due to ADD or dyslexia and so on.



This is true. ADD and ADHD where most definitely overdiagnosed and became the blanket diagnosis for any difficult child....they also liked to couple the diagnosis with a diagnosis of depression.



Well let's see...



People with AS...when they do say things to other people, often say them with good or neutral intentions which might be misunderstood. So your above experience wouldn't be unusual for someone with AS.



I have to admit, people with AS are prone to doing this as well, because there is the truth and then there is...well...something that's not the truth, and a person with AS is often more concerned with the facts than the aspect of the story telling, and many with AS don't understand that correcting others in the middle of a story might occasionally be rude for various reasons.



This would actually be more similar to OCD but it's probably more a trait than actual OCD.



Some people with AS struggle with eye contact. Difficulty with eye contact is not exclusive to AS and not all people with AS have it but it's rather common amongst those with AS.



It's not unusual for children with AS to be able to socialize with adults better than children their own age. It's not part of the diagnostic criteria though. It just happens that adults usually make an effort to engage the child and tend to be more persistent and accepting, and willing to discuss subjects which the child with AS might be more interested.



That would be some minor hoarding and it's not indicated in the diagnostic criteria.



If you and your mother have both independently considered that you might have AS, then you might have AS. If you wish you can pursue an evaluation, just make sure the person who does it specializes in autistic spectrum disorders and AS and does the proper assessment.

This is a continued of my first post! I wanted to say Hi, and thanks to everyone that replyed.

I wanted to add, but forgot to do so in my first post. I have speech probloms. For one I talk fast. But it go futher than that, I'll got to say a word like spectrum and I couldn't say the world. I knew it prefectly in my heard but I couldn't make it out of my mouth. Or if I do get the word out it isn't pronouned correctly.

I also in a program called DRS. It's supposed to help with college help and work.

Thanks for everyone that read my post.

Hi Lilith, glad you have been diagnosed, even though it may feel like the end of the world to some you are at least then able to figure things out better and adapt more readily; especially if you are a kid.

I never got that diagnosis, I never had anyone that bothered to even check what the issue was and why I had such an issue with going to school, had they done this I might now be someone quite different.

This is just a small post to tell you how lucky you are and you shouldn't foget that, welcome to WrongPlanet

Not being diagnosed until your 20s or 30s isn't unusual for females. People assume that because we're female we can't be autistic. I only finally got my diagnosis at 22.

It does sound like you could be on the spectrum. I associate with a lot of what you have said there. You may or may not also have ADHD.

I'd suggest participating in the forums here and reading everything you can about Asperger's Syndrome, and seeing whether or not you can relate. And if you want to pursue a diagnosis (which tends to come down to how much help you need), then to see whether they'd diagnose you . If you want a diagnosis, I think its even more important for us females to see an autism specialist than it is for males. It's really common to have either misdiagnoses, or incomplete diagnoses for us.

That's true, I was only 28 when I was finally diagnosed, and I'm female. Throughout my childhood and most of my 20's, only those who were low functioning got diagnosed with autism, especially if they were also male. As late as the mid 90's a therapist once said that "if there were such a thing as a little bit autistic," that would fit me.

I ran into similar problems, when I was growing up the label "autism" was only applied to those with low developmental functioning, think Rain Man, Mercury Rising, etc you know the drill. My school district was so far behind the times even then you just had "ret*d" and "normal", if you were the first you went to a special school off in the boonies in the middle of the woods, if you were the second you went to the normal elementary school with some special education for dylexia, other reading problems, etc. It wasn't until I was 15-16 that Aspergers was even introduced into the DSM.

I have some compulsive rituals myself, for example I might have to check that I still have certain money (I.E bus fare) even if I just checked it 2-3 minutes ago and put it in my pocket and might feel nervous if I don't check it a couple of times before the bus arrives. I won't go into a restaurant without checking my wallet for money, debit card, whatever at least once or twice. Sometimes doing that again once I get in and sit down. I often will try and sit in the exact same seat on a bus or something I take regularly and might not feel exactly right if I can't for whatever reason.

You might have aspergers, but from what it sounds like, you probably have OCD at the very least. It might be best for you to continue doing your aspergers research, read the threads here and to get an idea if you might have aspergers. If your convinced, speak to a aspergers/autism specialist to see if there's a possibility. If there is, then try go in for a diagnosis.

One thing, if you have aspergers, means your aspie symptoms cause a significant struggle, interference to your life. If you feel it doesnt, you might just be broader autistic phenotype. They are people who have some aspie symptoms yet their milder so it doesnt really affect their life as much, and they likely have relatives who are on the spectrum. When you have aspergers, it is possible to live a normal life but lots of work has to be constantly put in to maintain that NT normality.

That sounds a lot like one my elementary school. Actually non of my elementary schools really never what to do with me. A lot of the schools had part-time special educations programs but I was a full timer. So, I had to be sent away to a different school than everyone else. I remember, I was maybe second grade, the only reason we left the class was for lunch. We had our own small outside area, which a lot of the time we didn't because not all of the student could use it, but the class was K-5 with everyone type of special needs care you can thinks of.

Welcome. Hope you find what you're looking for.

Not necessarily. I was diagnosed with classic autism at the age of 27, and that is supposed to be easier to pick up on than Aspergers (generally diagnosed earlier). I am assuming you are female....might be wrong, but I find women are frequently missed--particularly those who are in their 20s and later (I have no doubt that had I been a boy I would have gotten a diagnosis at the age of 3). I go to an autism group, and only one person there was diagnosed as a child. Everyone else was an adult. One has children older than me, and she was just diagnosed a year or two ago.



This is possible, but of course, doesn't mean it is for certain. A lot of people have been misdiagnosed as having ADHD. A lot more people (or so it seems) have BOTH ADHD and AS. It is also possible that you do have ADHD. If you feel you are being limited in day-to-day life, you might want to go to a psych and be evaluated to see.



Impulsiveness is a sign of ADHD. For me, what I say comes out sounding rude or just out-of-place...but I thought before I spoke. It just sounded okay to me, so I said it. Impulsiveness and not thinking before you speak is very common in some people with ADHD.



People with AS do this...as do people without AS. I do what you said, but I do not know if this is a uniquely autistic thing.



This sounds like OCD. Some people have very mild OCD, but that is what this sounds like. I live with OCD people, btw, and may or may not have it VERY mildly (never been diagnosed with it though).



This can be a sign of AS, but not necessarily.



This is quite common in people on the spectrum. I remember at recess when I was really young, I would go hang out with the lunch ladies on the playground instead of playing with the other kids on the play equipment.



I do this too. My parents' think I am a hoarder (although my room is not as bad as those houses you would see on the hoarding shows). I heard about this before but can't remember if it is was an ASD thing or an OCD thing.

I think the symptoms you mentioned COULD be a sign of an ASD, but they are not necessarily a sign of ASD. It is possible you have ADHD and OCD. It is possible you have those plus, ASD...or it is possible you have something or just ASD, or not. I have no idea because I am not a diagnostician. What you should do, IF this is affecting you enough that you feel it would benefit you, is to speak to a professional about it and see what they think (but speak to one who is either an ASD specialist or at least one who focuses on other things as well but is specifically qualified to diagnose ASDs too. Seeing someone who does not have these qualifications would be a waste of your time.)