perhaps this is where I belong?
31 Mar 2012, 8:01 am
Hello everyone here at WrongPlanet.
My name is James Pietracatella (Pee - Truh - Cuh - Tell - Uh) , and I'm not entirely sure if I have Asperger's. To give a little background about myself, I am nineteen years old and I was semi-recently (just over a year ago) diagnosed with ADHD. I have been taking medication for my ADHD since being diagnosed, but even with the medication I still have trouble with bringing myself to complete (or even start) tasks that do not interest me. This issue has proven to be quite a hindrance in school, as no matter how I try to look at things school work just never seems to be something I can bring myself to want to complete. Despite this lack of self-discipline when it comes to school work, I still find that I am vastly intelligent; greatly beyond many of my peers. I find that due to my perception of superior intelligence I often find myself being highly judgmental of others to the point that I lack interest in making friends.
While I've essentially always had a certain intellectual edge over my peers, it is a fairly recent thing for me that I tend to avoid making friends due to it. I do believe that the increase in my ego can easily be attributed to my medication (Adderall). I also find it rather peculiar that despite my lack of interest in making friends, I've always seemed to have many people in my life who wanted to be my friend. I have never had much trouble making friends when I did want to because I was always the "class clown". I was never shy to speak out of turn in class to make a joke or comment about something either the teacher or another student said or did. The thing about this that I always found to be odd is that I never quite did so to amuse others, but simply because I could not focus on the task at hand and due to that I had certain troubles keeping my commentary to myself. My jokes always tend to be at someone else's expense as I tend not to care how it would make them feel as long as it was funny to me. Often times, though, others (especially my teachers) couldn't tell that I was joking and assumed that I was just being mean.
The one thing that makes me think that Asperger's may not be what I have is mainly because my social skills were never overtly out of the ordinary. If I meet someone new I'm not scared to talk to them, but at the same time people have often commented on the fact that I don't talk much in group settings. If I do find myself in a group setting where I don't know anybody, I won't ever be the one to break the ice. If I find myself in a group setting and manage to find someone that I do know, I immediately flock to them and have a tendency to somewhat shadow them. I do find that my ability to approach others does increase when I am on my ADHD medication, sometimes to the point that I say hello to random people in passing for no reason.
It seems that I've been rambling on here, and I think I've provided enough background for you guys to at least be able to get an idea of why I think I may have Asperger's, but also why I question that conclusion as well. I encourage anyone and everyone to ask questions so I can come to a more educated conclusion other than comparing my traits to the symptoms stated on Wikipedia and WebMD. If you've made it this far, allow me to thank you for taking this much interest in my story.
richie
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31 Mar 2012, 12:13 pm
To WrongPlanet!! !
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31 Mar 2012, 12:19 pm
It is possible that you may have mild Asperger's. It is also possible that you are not on the spectrum. I suggest you check on the Autism/Asperger's forum here to find the article with links to some online tests you can take. Once you take the tests, you will have more info to work with.
The mild social issues you mention, and your ability to socialize at all are not impossible for some people on the spectrum. Spectrum disorders are neurologically based, and manifest themselves in a number of different ways.
Do you have any skin sensitivities, or sensitivities to bright lights, loud noises, tastes, smells, or touch?
Do you have meltdowns or shutdowns?
Do you have input/output mental processing problems? This often leads to a time lag in our responding to things.
Do you have any motor skills problems?
Do you have trouble making eye contact or physical contact with others?
Do you suffer from depression, or OCD, or other mental health problems other than ADHD?
There are a number of other traits common on the spectrum. I can't remember them all off the top of my head. You need to do more research. Wrong Planet is a good place to start. Check out the articles on our Autism/Asperger's forum, and don't forget to take those online tests.
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AnonymousAnonymous
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Location: Portland, Oregon
31 Mar 2012, 5:19 pm
There are times that I find that persistent loud noises such as air conditioning units bother me to the point of anger. I have been called a vampire by many due to fact that I live in the dark most of the time. I wouldn't say that lights quite bother me, but I do feel much more comfortable in dark settings.
Do you have meltdowns or shutdowns?
Where shall I begin on this one... Even at the age of nineteen I throw tantrums that most would compare to that of a toddler. I become violent to the point that I throw things across the room, punch walls, slam my head into walls, and there is seemingly no way to calm me down. Until the tantrum runs its course, I am apt to snap at anyone or anything.
Do you have input/output mental processing problems? This often leads to a time lag in our responding to things.
Until you mentioned it I didn't realize it, but there are many times that I do inherently lag before being able to respond to question or statement. I often have to quietly mumble what was said to me in order for it to sink in. I also have certain tendencies to begin sentences, and half way through take a pause to think about where the sentence was going before I can finish it.
Do you have any motor skills problems?
Aside from what was mentioned previously about beginning sentences and then having to pause before I can finish, I would say that I have a habit of starting a sentence out speaking very quickly, and by the end my speech will seem sluggish.
Do you have trouble making eye contact or physical contact with others?
YES, YES, YES! I can make eye contact for brief moments, but if I maintain it for more than a few seconds I get this overwhelming feeling as if I'm staring at the person and have to look away. This has gotten better over time, but if I'm around someone who I know is comfortable with me not making eye contact while speaking, I will not do so.
Do you suffer from depression, or OCD, or other mental health problems other than ADHD?
Not that I'm aware of. I spend a great deal of time alone by choice, but being alone doesn't quite make me feel sad or depressed so I can't really say much as far as depression goes.
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