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I'm pretty sure this website sees a lot of people claiming to have Asperger's Syndrome, both diagnosed or undiagnosed, especially with how nearly common it seems on the rest of the internet. Feel free to add me to that list.

The name's Vincent. I was diagnosed with AS, clinical depression, and anxiety disorder roughly eight and a half years ago at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, during the 5th grade, following a massive outburst of anger and verbal self defense against students that had been bullying me for months. Of course, I had no idea what it really meant back then, I just knew that I wasn't fitting in very well. After a long explanation of it to my family, followed by extensive research both online and in the libraries by my mother, I've been trained to more effectively socialize.

At this point, I'm fairly certain that I seem mostly normal to other people, if slightly off. I still tend to speak in an excessively polite and precise manner, which I honestly feel is a trait I want to keep, as it helps me feel more unique.

Of course, my disorder doesn't define who I am. Only my actions and speech can do that, and I recognize that. I do not expect special treatment because I'm "different" in any way. I prefer to make an impression as a person rather than as a statistic.


People have told me that my voice is very inspiring, and I am exceptionally convincing as a speaker. I've gotten my local youth council riled up for the sake of feeding the homeless. I'm normally quite shy, but I'm a good speaker, because I mean every word I say, and I say it in a way that sinks deeply into a person's mind. I can't really replicate it on command, since I only do it when I myself am feeling motivated, though, but hey - I've been practicing.

In person to person contact, I like being friendly and witty - making puns that aren't immediately visible, pointing out irony, etc. I don't allow myself to speak or think negatively of others. I still think badly of some people, but I'm working on that. I think it helps me with being a generally friendly person, and being well liked. If I can make somebody happy, I will attempt to do so. It doesn't always work, but at least I try.




tl;dr, I'm Vincent, I have been officially diagnosed with AS, and I'm glad to be here.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

vincent, hi. you have such a positive attitude. it can only help you.

Hi Vincent, my name is Caitlin. I'm new to this forum as well. I was diagnosed with AS this past April. I have always known I am different due to the incessant bullying I endured all through school up until college. I was already doing some research into ASDs and when I was 15 I started noticing behaviors in myself that we're we're quite close to the symptoms I was reading about. It wasn't until AS came into the spotlight in the media that I started really researching it and realizing all that I was reading almost described my entire life. Then I started looking into the differences in how females with AS manifest in the behaviors associated with AS and all of the sudden everything I was reading sounded like it was written about me.

I referred myself for assessment for AS this past spring semester of my senior year of undergrad. I now have the answer I was hoping for, I do have AS. I'm proud of my diagnosis. I would not be as successful as I am if I didn't have AS. I hold the belief that all autism no matter the severity is a gift. A gift to see the world differently from others I to try not to judge or think bad of anyone. I like to accept everyone for who they are. I am a very honest person, sometimes way too honest. What are your special interests? Mine are horses, wildlife conservation, forensic science, and animal behavior.

@horsegurl4190 - sure, you may see your ASD as a gift now, but hopefully you'll be singing the same tune when you want to socialize and then realize, "Hey, I can't go out and socialize because I don't do small talk and socializing is an unnecessary torturous bore."

I like the dynamics of English, debate, and psychology.
I'm a part time philosopher, part time artist, part time musician.


ASD can be a gift if utilized correctly. We have abilities beyond the scope of the average person. Of course it comes at a price, and many of us don't feel that it was worth the benefit, though I think that somebody with a specialized skill set would be more beneficial to that industry than the average person.

Hello Azereiah, I hope you enjoy your time here on WrongPlanet!

To be honest, I speak to Aspies/Auties in the same way that I would to a normal person, it's just I know that if I express myself oddly or strangely on here, people would understand. That's why I joined this site all those years ago. Ah... The memories.

*Ahem*, time to move swiftly on from self-obsession... I can't afford to be THAT Aspie around here, people will start to think I only talk about ME.

@redrobin62 I do still have many social anxieties, but college worked miracles for my social life. Before college I had no social life at all, so when I got to college I decided the only way I was going to have friends and a social life is be like everyone else and just start walking up to people and saying hi and striking up a conversation. That decision was the best adaptive decision I've ever made. I have a pretty great social life now and tons of friends. My job is really helping with the public speaking aspect of being social because I talk to visitors to the park all the time everyday. Sure I agree social impairments can cause a lot of pain, trust me I know, but if you go just a tiny bit out of your comfort zone I found you can all of the sudden get a fairly good social life.

@Azereiah Cool philosophy is something that interests me as well and also music. I took a few philosophy classes in undergrad. I liked that those classes really made me think about my perspective on things. What kind of music do you make? My interest in music is because when I am not always expressing my true feelings, I can play a song on my ipod that expresses them for me.

Yes if the talents of an ASD are utilized correctly we can do great things with our special talents. Your right though they do have to be utilized correctly in order for this to happen. I think the advantage I had on my side was that growing up I was not diagnosed so instead of spending their time getting special interventions for me as a child, my parents just raised me based on my strengths and interests and supported those. Actually one of my theories of why I had very little symptoms growing up that my parents never really noticed anything is that I have owned and ridden horses all my life. Horses have shown to help kids all across the spectrum with sensory issues, balance issues, social issues, and more. I think my contact with horses and like minded horse people I could get along with may have masked some of my issues. Due to college and my job I have not rode a horse in over a year and I'm starting to notice behaviors, which I never noticed before, such as I'm way more OCD about organization and things having their place.

Hey Az! Figured I'd hit you back on your post as well. Nothing like a gaggle of newbs. I'm gonna try to absorb some of your positivity via the intereweb.

Let the philosophical debates begin!

I'm not a dedicated musician, but I dabble in electronic music and heavy metal (all types). I don't record thing very often though - and most of what I do record ends up being deleted later on because my perfectionism gets in the way.



I was raised amongst animals, and I helped with the Siamese Cat Rescue center of Virginia when I was younger. During my teen years I volunteered for the local animal shelter and helped with the management of Collie Concern dog rescue, which has more recently been shut down due to volunteer issues. Every kind of animal is able to help with mental disorders, be it autism, depression, or schizophrenia. They depend entirely on us for their happiness, and as such, help arise compassion in their caretakers. They ease anxiety.
Animals help teach proper empathy more than books and teachers, if you ask me.

Horses may be slightly different than most domestic animals due to being intelligent herbivores and having to have developed in a different way from predatory species such as cats and dogs. Not sure though, I haven't had much contact with horses.