You are very sociable, you can't be aspergers ....

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I am now confused because I have been told by several people that I can't be aspergers because I am too sociable. Basically, I can socialise very well when I put my mind to it and have access to liberal quantities of alcohol. I enjoy doing this about once a week and no more. Does this mean I am unlikely to have aspergers?

I haven't gone for an official diagnosis because I lead a successful life. I sometimes think too that diagnosis may be given without too much thought (by the psychologists) and would then not mean a lot.

Point is, I am thinking I might just have a straightforward case of introversion coupled with OCD and not aspergers. There is no question about me being OCD.

Anyone out there who can cast some light on this?

It's means that you like socialising, and can be good at something you are naturally not, when you work for it with the aid of a drug. This doesn't mean that you are not Aspergers.

I have been told that as well and find that to be true, I however have had a diagnosis from several medical professionals....

i enjoy socializing, but not all the time - but it IS something i have to actively think about - which tires me out and at times stresses me out as well. i am aware that a lot of what i have learned to do in social situations is just that - what i have learned to do. enjoyable yes, but energy consuming also...

like you said: "I can socialise very well when I put my mind to it" and i will admit that the booze does help, up to a point anyway... - although i could argue that it's when EVERYONE ELSE is on booze, not so much myself....

as for " I sometimes think too that diagnosis may be given without too much thought (by the psychologists) and would then not mean a lot.", it was years from first contact thru meetings tests and followups and checks on health and health records etc etc etc to receiving a diagnosis. it is not something that's just handed out like sweets. it means a lot in that i am more aware of my strengths and limitations and that i receive the legal rights i am entitled to (something that neither my college, SAAS nor the DWP seem to quite grasp yet).... anyhoo....

I don't think you are Asperger either, he died in 1980. BAM BOM TIS

I get told this as well. But then that doesn't mean I'm not an aspie. I come away with some really inappropriate stuff sometimes and can be very clumsy socially, but then because I turn it into a joke, no-one really notices, they just think I'm funny and odd.

Not only can I socialize just fine when I put my mind to it but I've always assumed that I couldn't even though I thought I could because of my diagnosis.

Basically I denied my own reality. "I just think I can socialize". "I don't realize how poorly I'm doing so I think I'm doing well but I'm not".

One time at co-op I was talking with my classmates and I mentioned that I wanted to be a social worker but I was afraid that not having the social skills would get in the way.


They all acted shocked and said "what are you talking about?". "You're social skills are just fine".


It's possible to be sociable and have AS. For me my on paper diagnosis makes me doubt myself but apparently I'm just fine when I'm trying. Anyone can fake it. A sense of humour can also help.

If you meet all the other AS diagnostic criteria, it seems kind of arbitrarily exclusive to not allow you assistance or your diagnosis.

Same!

Technically he could still have him...

Having autism doesn't mean you can't socialize and don't want to do it. It just means there is an impairment in social interaction and communication and repetitive behaviors. I know someone with autism and he is very sociable but he goes off into monologues and talks about the same things but he has different interests. But because he does, it never gets boring.

I met another autistic guy last night at one of my autism groups who is moderate autism and has a low IQ and his parents have been told he doesn't have it because he wants to be with people and do stuff with them. He isn't withdrawn. He wants social contact but he doesn't really socialize, he is just there.

Of all the autism groups I have gone too, there was social interaction so none of us must not be autistic. (sarcasm)

The first "specialist" who tried to diagnose me also thought I was too social. Turns out, they were just not used to diagnosing adults. Many of us pick up some social skills along the way, to the point where we often blend into NT society. Some of us learn to make small talk (which I can do, but it's uncomfortable and I don't like it), and some of us can learn to make eye contact.
I've always had friends, sometimes a lot, sometimes a few. Most of my friends are people who share my special interests. They tend to be introverted and eccentric, and I don't really stick out in their company. Accordingly, I can have a good time at a party, especially if I know most of the people. (Put me in a room full of NT strangers, and I'll get reclusive and probably angry.)

So, OP, you could still have ASD. I psychologist I later went to knew what an undiagnosed, reasonably well-adjusted adult with ASD looks like, and told me that some such people are fairly well-socialized. I am one of them, and you might be as well.

SIDENOTE: The above-mentioned "specialist" tried to gauge my ability to make smalltalk by asking where I lived and grew up, and then told me about her neighborhood. I jumped right in, because local geography is one of my special interests! I didn't realize what she was trying to do until much later. She just happened to have picked one of the few common chitchat topics that I can discuss!

Those several people have a point, I somewhat agree with them.

You can't be blind if you can see.

Ah, but some people who are legally blind have some visual perception.

You can be an autistic extrovert. It's not very common, but it isn't like extroversion and autism are mutually exclusive. It would make sense that if you're extroverted, you might be more socially adept than you would otherwise be, because you have more practice.

But, honestly, if you need to drink to be social, you're probably more socially inept than you realize.

It depends on the quality of the practice and the usefulness of feedback obtained during that practice. Often, the only feedback that can be gleaned from inept social interaction is "What I did didn't work", which is not always particularly useful in inferring what might work.

I take it that these "several people" are not mental-health professionals.


Then you can not say for certain that you have AS in the first place.

Actually, Fnord, you can certain that you have Asperger Syndrome without an official diagnosis.

There are simply too many obstacles in place for an official diagnosis for us to discriminate against the self-diagnosed.