Am I "too normal"?

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Hi,
I'm 27, happily married, and have children. Will those things make it unlikely for me to get a diagnosis of ASD?

I was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder several years ago and took 80mg Paxil daily. I saw a psychologist once a month and also saw a psychologist every other week. After four years with little to no improvement I accepted that it wasn't helping and weaned off the Paxil. It was a frustrating experience spending so much time and energy on something that yielded no real results. (I also had a lot of side effect from the Paxil.)

I've suspected that I have sensory processing issues for a while but I'd always assumed I couldn't have ASD. Almost by accident I found an article that cleared up many of the misconceptions I had about Autism. Out of curiosity I took Baron-Cohen's AQ test popularized by Wired Magazine and scored a 37.

I'm not comfortable with self diagnosing but I know I display some of the traits. If I were to talk to a doctor about this would they seriously consider ASD a possibility?

Thanks so much for any feedback or advice that you might have

I'm not medically diagnosed. But, if my experience helps, my feeling when I discovered the asperger (I discovered it because a movie about it, and then I started to look for information), it was like 'WTF! everything makes sense now!'

For a couple of weeks, I was reading about asperger without stop.

If you just have anxiety issues, and then some trait, and then you wonder 'perhaps', well, check it (it's always good to check any possibility) but you probably don't. Something that, by the way, it's good news. Asperger, even if it has its advantages, is not exactly a happy gift.

Well, since you've already been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and saw a psychologist once a month and also saw a psychologist every other week.... That seems like a pretty good foundation for wanting to get tested for Asperger's Syndrome.

Yeah. There's the possibility that if you have social anxiety, it's layered on top of mild Asperger's or sub-clinical autistic traits. Knowing about those might help you deal with the social anxiety disorder.

Autism doesn't have to be extreme and obvious. It can be rather subtle, which is why it's often an invisible disability.

(I'm assuming here that the social anxiety disorder was correctly diagnosed. Confusing adult AS for SAD is an easy mistake to make.)

Honesty Baron-Cohen is a quack.

Moreover, does it matter whether you have a peice of paper labeling you as Aspie or Nuerotypical.

You're still the same person regardless.

You can be 'normal' in some ways and still have AS, others do get married and have children. It's all about your traits.

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The doctor might consider it a possibility. It's always good to find out.

Thank you so much for all the replies. To elaborates a little, I'm really not sure if the social anxiety diagnosis was accurate or not. I think often I'm anxious because I don't know what to say; it's not that I don't know what to say because I'm anxious. You know?

As far as traits that make me suspect autism:
-I've always had very intense interests. I don't talk about them very much anymore because I was yelled at and teased for it a lot when I was growing up. (My husband is one of the few people who doesn't mind it.)

-I can't deal with a lot of social situations. I dislike shaking hands or touching people who I don't know (very) well. I'm not big on eye contact either. People other than my parents and husband rarely understand my jokes and often don't even know that I'm making a joke. I rarely know what to say to acquaintances so I end up not saying anything.

-I can't multitask at all. I have a driver's license but I can't drive on highways because it's too overwhelming.

-I talk to myself constantly. I also pace and chew on the inside of my cheek.

-I'm working on my masters but I know I could never make it through an interview

-I have several close relatives who have bipolar disorder. (I've read articles suggesting a genetic link between BPD and ASD.)

Some of these things do impact my quality of life and treating them as symptoms of an anxiety disorder didn't yield positive results.

Thanks again for your thoughts and feedback.

Wow! 80mg of Paxil. I'm on 30mg and I don't think my stomach could handle much more than that, ha. If you don't mind me asking, because I'm fairly new on the drug, did it help with your anxiety at all and what side-effects bothered you the most?

Anyway, back on topic; I'm almost positive that had I not known about Asperger's syndrome and if I hadn't seen an ASD specialist for the assessment, I would have been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. It sounds like you've got plenty of traits and your social anxiety diagnosis definitely doesn't cover your sensory sensitivities, obsessions and possible stims. I think, wanting to seek more appropriate and effective treatment for your issues is as good a reason to seek diagnosis as any.

We have very similar traits, except the talking to yourself part and masters degree (through this forum I found out about dyscalculia, I believe I have that in addition to ASD).

My wife was diagnosed with SAD initially and now it is GAD and PTSD, but she and myself suspected at least a mild ASD from the start. Her old psychologist simply stated that because she is married, there is little chance she has ASD. I don't really trust that remark judging by modern books I've read and this forum in particular, so I'd like her to get a second opinion from her new psychologist.

I've only had 5 sessions with a therapist so far and she just found out about not driving my last one (she tends to do 90% of the talking, about things not even related to what I tell her, it is very annoying and I think about dropping her). I look forward to when I can take the battery of tests though and know for sure one way or the other.

So, I think it is possible you still could have ASD.