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JohnnyBucaneer
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11 Apr 2021, 8:40 pm

Recently I went through a bout of neuropsychiatric testing. I was diagnosed with CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder).
The Psychologist and Audiologist who diagnosed me with it told me that it could explain many of my problems with social
communication (i.e. misreading or not recognizing social cues, discomfort in social situations, etc.) However, a couple of days ago, I decided to take
an empathy test out of curiosity, and I scored an 11 out of 80. This surprised me, as I had always thought I was a reasonably empathetic person,
but then I realized that I was not as much empathetic, but more compassionate. The test said that people who scored below 30 were generally diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome/ASD. I did some research into Aspergers and found that almost if not all the symptoms and criteria for diagnosis matched up with me, including repetitive behavior, sensory sensitivity, misreading of social cues, and extreme fixation on a couple of interests. I wanted to get some opinions about if I do have Aspergers, why I might have not been diagnosed with it, and what to do about it from people on the spectrum, so I made this post. Some extra background information, I was also classified as gifted, and I think that some idiosyncrasies can stem from that, so I am not sure if that information might be useful.



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11 Apr 2021, 9:31 pm

Obviously diagnoses from strangers, across the Internet, would have questionable credibility... Tests done on you by professionals would seem more credible.

However, there is a short test on the Internet that might interest you: Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ).

I think one thing to remember is that if you are diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome that the diagnosis doesn't change anything about you except whether or not you know you have Asperger's Syndrome. With or without the diagnosis, before or after the diagnosis, you are the same person. When I got my diagnosis the only thing that changed is I understood my life better.

But whatever is your diagnosis, it is probably something you would like to know, that you would find interesting, and--with any luck--that would give you self-knowledge you might find useful.


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CarlM
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11 Apr 2021, 9:36 pm

I think the online tests are a good screening tool to see if you might be ASD. They are here: Set Of Scientific Tests Related To Autism Spectrum Disorders
I like the AQ.


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12 Apr 2021, 7:45 am

Only you can determine if you have some of the neurological variants that combine to be what is called Aspergers. This may result from a more complex, sensitive, or faster neurology. It can accentuate a focus sometimes that the expense of peripheral concerns that can be seen as being insensitive.

Here is a brief pdf booklet that might be useful;

http://christianpioneer.com/blogarchiev ... e_2017.pdf

The videos by Tony Attwood on Youtube can also be interesting.

Regardless of getting an "official" diagnosis, this can be a good site to exchange ideas and learn skill development and management strategies.



JohnnyBucaneer
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12 Apr 2021, 11:23 am

Thanks for you replies, I understand that the diagnosis would not change me, but make me understand my brain better. I do believe I have Aspergers, even if the Psychologist who diagnosed me with CAPD does not, and either way, both diagnoses explain to me why I have always thought other people were strange.



JohnnyBucaneer
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12 Apr 2021, 12:00 pm

UPDATE:

I took the Autism Quotient Test you recommended and scored a 46 out of 50 (High Likelihood of Aspergers).



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12 Apr 2021, 12:21 pm

The test is just a thing on the Internet, not a doctor--but I got a 40 and proceeded on to a formal diagnosis so it sounds like your suspicions are well-founded.

It may be a matter of what professional you see. And, at your age, whether you can see them at all; I got my assessment when I was 64--I could hire and pay a Psychologist myself (I expected to pay all of the cost but followed my insurance providers' rules and was pleasantly surprised when they later reimbursed me for some of the cost).

An Autism assessment has to be done by someone who does Autism assessments. In the U.S., that encompasses Asperger's Syndrome. The Autism assessment can be done by a Psychologist who does Autism assessments (not all of them do). Usually children are the ones assessed for Autism--from my standpoint you are incredibly young, but I don't know how a Psychologist would see you. (Yeah. I know you can hold a job, pay taxes, and all that--but I have shoes older than you!)

I guess you need to figure out if and how you can get to an appropriate professional.

(Don't fret, though. If you are holding your own in life then a formal assessment can probably wait.)


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JohnnyBucaneer
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12 Apr 2021, 3:33 pm

I did work with a psychologist, and he said he did not think I have Aspergers, even though I now see all these symptoms. Why is that?



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12 Apr 2021, 3:48 pm

The only thing I can say with any confidence at all is the Psychologist probably said that because they probably thought it was true.

 - Were they right? I have no idea.
 - Were they familiar with Asperger's and/or Autism? I have no idea.
 - Did they test you for Asperger's and Autism? I have no idea.
 - What is CAPD? I have no idea.

From a brief glance at the Internet, it appears that CAPD and ASD might be difficult to distinguish. Professionals need to make these kinds of diagnoses.


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12 Apr 2021, 5:10 pm

Maybe the psychologist didn't conduct the right kinds of tests to determine whether you are on the spectrum.

Being gifted can help you unconsciously hide autistic traits.

Also, some traits of AS can be caused by CAPD, so maybe the psychologist noticed your AS traits and decided that CAPD explains them better than AS.

What you can do is ask yourself whether your AS traits seem to be mostly related to auditory processing. For example, are your repetitive behaviors mostly related to helping you focus on what people are saying or managing auditory over-stimulation? Do you lack eye contact because looking away makes it easier to focus on what people are saying? Do you avoid or struggle with socializing because it's noisy? Are you bad at decoding emotions because you cannot process prosody? Etc.



JohnnyBucaneer
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12 Apr 2021, 5:20 pm

I would say my repetitive behaviors are mainly based off of auditory stimulation and to focus on what people are saying, but my struggle with emotional decoding and social cues seem to be based off of Aspergers like causes. I also don't do well with understanding what people are saying, as I score around a 30 to 45% average of understanding words on my CAPD therapy program.



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12 Apr 2021, 7:25 pm

What was taht empathy test you did, Johnny? Can you post the link here?



JohnnyBucaneer
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13 Apr 2021, 7:51 pm

"Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) and Autism" from Chicago based Steinberg Behavior Solutions might interest you.

From what they say it appears to me that if you have both ASD and CAPD the diagnosis would be the dominant one.


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JohnnyBucaneer
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13 Apr 2021, 9:05 pm

So do you think this means I have both Aspergers and CAPD?



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13 Apr 2021, 9:16 pm

Double Retired wrote:
Professionals need to make these kinds of diagnoses.
Maybe.


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When diagnosed I bought champagne!
I finally knew why people were strange.