Exploring Asperger's

[Stella_Omega]

Yes, probably. It's not surprising, just-- I wish there had been a diagnosis back when I was little. Makes me sad.

Thinking about my bad habits in terms of a neural quirk gives me more potential to cope with them and maybe overcome some of them. But damn-- it makes me tired and worn out!

a fairly good test is here; http://www.rdos.net/eng
The guy who runs the site is pretty funny with his neanderthal obsession, but that's okay

You end up with your profile graphed like this;

And theres a PDF to download with more info.

EDIT: that's me now-- I've gained a lot of skills I didn't use to have. My teenaged graph is tragic.

 

[CutieMouse]

The Boy [eldest; 18] was labeled Aspie at 12[?]; the youngest [almost 9] was diagnosed "Autism Spectrum, Unclassified" at 5.

IMO it causes no end of issues with their father (whom I strongly suspect is an Aspie, himself); I prefer to simply tilt my thoughts 5° and meet him there.

 

[BiBunny]

I took the quiz because, yay, procrastination! I ended up with it split pretty much evenly between Aspie and NT.

I question the validity of the quiz, though. A lot of the questions in it could relate to any number of mental/emotional dysfunctions, and I think a lot of them that were clearly supposed to be geared toward "Aspie" personality traits are things that even normal people do sometimes.

But, yes, Asperger's and autism spectrum disorders affect a lot of people. And, yes, diagnoses will definitely make you feel better about some of the things about yourself. I know this for a fact.

 

[intothewoods]

I want to know if I got the pictures "right"? Or what my answers to those mean. I had a strong feeling about each one. There was a big spike for "perception" - what does that mean?

I got more or less half and half. I agree with Bunny. I just kind of figured out that I am overly sensitive or have some sensory issues -- I hate loud noises and jarring noises, hate the TV turned up too loud, stuff like that. Also, I am weirdly sensitive to certain kind of music and movies/plays, books. Like I will be affected for days.

 

[CutieMouse]

I got more or less half and half. I agree with Bunny. I just kind of figured out that I am overly sensitive or have some sensory issues -- I hate loud noises and jarring noises, hate the TV turned up too loud, stuff like that. Also, I am weirdly sensitive to certain kind of music and movies/plays, books. Like I will be affected for days.

That's the sort of thing that's always made me wonder - is The Boy aspie, or was he a byproduct of being unschooled/homeschooled by his nerdy, introverted, slightly subversive mom?

 

[Stella_Omega]

That's the sort of thing that's always made me wonder - is The Boy aspie, or was he a byproduct of being unschooled/homeschooled by his nerdy, introverted, slightly subversive mom?

Well I always wondered that too-- was I simply raised by wolves?

But three hours, now, of intensive discussion with my sister-- who remembers shit like it was yesterday-- and she tells me that I was more the wolf that our parents tried to raise. And I went to public school.
(you should see the graph for my teenage self)

I blame my father's genetics.

That eyes thing-- I just ignored it the second time I tried it.

 

[marieR19]

Didn't take the test, took it awhile back though and it was more-or-less "normal". I think I exhibit some generalized traits, like obsessing about certain things in ways that affect day-to-day life, and especially when I was a kid, not engaging in the same activities the other kids were (but as an Aspie trait?? No, I was just shy, awkward around the "popular" crowd, and hated sports).

I'm actually taking a 6-week (once a week) course on Autism Spectrum Disorders right now. First class was last night, it was more of an intro class which meant most of the stuff I already knew from my own research and experiences, but I think this is going to be really interesting. ASD-diagnoses have seen a serious rise in the past decade or so (2012 statistics were 1 in 88 people!), and apparently my state has a higher-then-normal rate of diagnoses as well.

*HUGS Stella* It's late, but better then never. Hopefully this will help you a lot in the long run.
edit: Have you gotten an official diagnosis yet? I'd be interested in that, because technically doctors are supposed to be phasing out the diagnosis of Asperger's in favor of the more generalized "Autism Spectrum Disorder" (as outlined in the DSM-V). This came up in class and *many* Aspie's have expressed displeasure at this "lumping together".

 

[Stella_Omega]

No official diagnosis-- who the hell can afford one? Not me...

 

[ameliajax]

My 7-year-old son has a foot on the spectrum. Some say he's on it, some say it's all sensory issues, his "diagnosis" has always been PDD-NOS. Pervasive Developmental Delay, Not Otherwise Specified or No Other Symptoms depending on who you're talking to. Not overly helpful.

I should have my husband take that test, I think he's a little Aspie, fo sho.

Stella, I think it can be helpful to have a diagnosis, and it is too bad that they didn't have these kinds of tools, and things like Occupational Therapy, when we were all young. But knowing is half the battle, as GI Joe says. I'm glad you feel you've come a long way from your teenage years. Everyone could use a little work, I think! I personally, from what I know of you, think you're pretty awesome.

 

[ecstaticsub]

What is the difference between being extra quirky and being Aspie? We were told out daughter had traits of Asperger's when she was 6.

She will be going off to college in the fall. I'm worried. She is very smart, I am sure she will excel academically.

But she different. She is one of those kids who dresses differently and behaves differently not because she wants to be different but because she simply is. She is a natural non-conformist which is fine. But it does make her somewhat of a bully magnet. She has friends but I know she is made fun of, too.

How do I protect her once she is out of the nest? I've tried to give her life skills but I think she will have to figure out most things on her own. She is a little stubborn. (she is still a teenager after all )

I need someone to tell me she will be ok.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Yeah, those are aspergers traits-- including the stubbornness.

You can't really protect your college kid, you know...

 

[graceanne]

My youngest has Aspergers syndrome and ADHD along with a list of learning disabilities. I'm homeschooling him this year, because he just can't learn in a social environment, he's too easily distracted. And yes, he's 'weird', although he doesn't know that, as he rarely catches on to people's reactions to him. He's a ten year old boy who, when he sees people he considers friends, climbs into their laps and hugs and kisses them - even if they're also 10 year old boys. This, as you can imagine, makes the other little boys very uncomfortable.

Luckily, bullying hasn't been a huge issue, as, up until last year, he went a charter school full of teachers who used to be special ed and so the kids he went to school with were trained to be kind to him from kindergarten. I'm pretty careful with him outside of the school, because I know how people can be and I've had issues with random groups of teenage boys being mean to him. (Normally, he assumes he got the best of the situation because he screamed at them. There are days where his obliviousness is a blessing.)

Truthfully, the biggest issue is his pain tolerance. He rarely notices if he's injured. When he was five he spilled his hot chocolate and burned himself from elbow to wrist - didn't cry, he just came to me and said 'i burn myself, mama'. When he was 7 he fell out of a tree and broke his wrist. Didn't cry, not even when they set his arm. I'm often at the doctors because he might be hurt and I can't trust his reaction.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Yes, probably. It's not surprising, just-- I wish there had been a diagnosis back when I was little. Makes me sad.

Thinking about my bad habits in terms of a neural quirk gives me more potential to cope with them and maybe overcome some of them. But damn-- it makes me tired and worn out!

a fairly good test is here; http://www.rdos.net/eng
The guy who runs the site is pretty funny with his neanderthal obsession, but that's okay

Is it Aspie behaviour if I want to lecture him on misuse of p-values? ;-)

My partner is professionally-diagnosed Aspie and has found that diagnosis very helpful in thinking about how she interacts with the world.

I have a lot of Aspie-like traits but have deliberately avoided getting a diagnosis; to me it's more useful to approach it as "here's an interesting thing that often happens with Aspies, I wonder if that thing happens with me and if I can use the same coping strategies?" without needing to determine just where I stand overall. (It's a spectrum condition, there IS no clear line.)

 

[graceanne]

I just finished the test, and it said what others have said before - I probably have an auditory sensory disorder, and I'm borderline in a couple of areas, but otherwise I'm not on the Autism Spectrum.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Is it Aspie behaviour if I want to lecture him on misuse of p-values? ;-)

My partner is professionally-diagnosed Aspie and has found that diagnosis very helpful in thinking about how she interacts with the world.

I have a lot of Aspie-like traits but have deliberately avoided getting a diagnosis; to me it's more useful to approach it as "here's an interesting thing that often happens with Aspies, I wonder if that thing happens with me and if I can use the same coping strategies?" without needing to determine just where I stand overall. (It's a spectrum condition, there IS no clear line.)

That's P-much my own reason to take the diagnosis seriously-- even if it is self-diagnosis. And it does help,
because a lot of people have devoted a lot of time to strategies for Aspies-- When I google "being kind of wierd" I don't get much

 

[intothewoods]

My sense was that a big part of Aperberger's was primarily the inability or struggle to read people or get social cues.

I feel like I'm almost too sensitive to people's reactions. I find hanging with super big personalities sort of draining. Well, that one is a different issue, I guess.

 

[Stella_Omega]

My sense was that a big part of Aperberger's was primarily the inability or struggle to read people or get social cues.

I feel like I'm almost too sensitive to people's reactions. I find hanging with super big personalities sort of draining. Well, that one is a different issue, I guess.

There's another syndrome set that goes along with dyslexia that includes something like social hypersensitivity. Are you dyslexic?

(Wheee! Let's all have neurological disconnects!

 

[intothewoods]

There's another syndrome set that goes along with dyslexia that includes something like social hypersensitivity. Are you dyslexic?

(Wheee! Let's all have neurological disconnects!

Ha, no. And I think my sensitivities are relatively mild. The only thing that is really bothersome in my life is probably the sensory stuff. It's not even that bad but I get pissy about it and it's not really fair to my kids (who are just being kids).

 

[BiBunny]

I have all kinds of noise-related issues. The walls/windows of this place don't muffle any noise whatsoever, and my neighbors seem to have to do a Chinese fire drill every time they get in their car. I don't know why in the world people would need to slam doors 9 or 10 times on a 4-door car every single fucking time they go somewhere. It makes me crazy.

I also have very little tolerance for barking dogs and children. Other people think that kind of shit is cute, but it makes me want to stab things. Just. Shut. The. Hell. Up.

If someone is behind me, say at a restaurant, and talking loudly enough that I can still hear them over the conversation I'm having and/or any ambient music, I completely lose the ability to concentrate on anything. When there's anything going on in the background, I can't understand what others are saying to me, even if they're speaking in a normal tone of voice and looking directly at me.

But, yeah, noises that other people seem to be able to ignore (or at least tolerate) will make me go DEFCON 1. I do get migraines, though--as does my mother, who's even more sensitive to noise than I am and also has a particular sensitivity to smells--so I wouldn't be at all surprised if that has something to do with it.

 

[CutieMouse]

Failure to recognize social cues and hyper-focus are common with Aspies. It's the sort of thing one can learn to work around (The Boy has fallen in love with theater/acting - I suspect because it allows him to "try on" various [scripted] social interactions in a safe environment), or sometimes turn into a positive [instead of a negative].

He is so freaking "high functioning"... I personally believe being the eldest of five has had something to do with it. He HAD to learn empathy. He HAD to learn how to deal in a large group. He HAD to occasionally step outside his fascinating little brain and work with everyone else. He still has all the traits; he's just occasionally more aware. I tease him about "being Sheldon" from The Big Bang Theory because ye.gods. does he have his moments...

Stella, have you done any research into nutrition and Asperger's? The Boy on consistent small doses of Omega3 and lean high protein vs The Boy after ramen noodles or dairy is night and day. I read a paper years ago that suggested Aspies are more chemically sensitive [mildly allergic], and that they may need a more consistent "dose" of fatty acids than "normal" people [to limit misfiring of neurotransmitters]. Because he doesn't live with me, I've never really been able to nail down his diet [the way I'd like to], but I have noticed a significant emotional/mental/intellectual shift [in relation to "normal" Aspie behavior] when I've pushed a more alternative [natural] diet. It might be worth looking into.

 

[Bramblethorn]

That's P-much my own reason to take the diagnosis seriously-- even if it is self-diagnosis. And it does help,
because a lot of people have devoted a lot of time to strategies for Aspies-- When I google "being kind of wierd" I don't get much

I used to be very wary of self-diagnosed Aspies, because in techie circles a lot of folk use so-called Asperger's as an excuse for being jerks who just don't make the effort to be nice.

After a while I reconsidered that; nowadays instead of "is that a professional diagnosis" I'm more likely to wonder "so what are your strategies for dealing with it?" That tends to be revealing: IME genuine Aspies usually appreciate the value of social skills and put a lot of effort into working out ways around their limitations.

 

[Netzach]

What is the difference between being extra quirky and being Aspie? We were told out daughter had traits of Asperger's when she was 6.

She will be going off to college in the fall. I'm worried. She is very smart, I am sure she will excel academically.

But she different. She is one of those kids who dresses differently and behaves differently not because she wants to be different but because she simply is. She is a natural non-conformist which is fine. But it does make her somewhat of a bully magnet. She has friends but I know she is made fun of, too.

How do I protect her once she is out of the nest? I've tried to give her life skills but I think she will have to figure out most things on her own. She is a little stubborn. (she is still a teenager after all )

I need someone to tell me she will be ok.

Good news: generally college treats weird people really well - high school is much harder on most non-conformists - in college suddenly smart and offbeat are the new normal. My cousin's an example of someone who's Aspie, and flourishing in college - was dignosed, though her mother met this head on with total denial. I think the diagnosis wasn't completely wrong, but she's probably on the shallow end of it.

She has friends, fandoms to draw, and a likely career in gaming stuff - sometimes those monolithic pursuits work out well. (She's graduating this year) A lot of her relationships are online and long distance, but there's really nothing abnormal about that at this point in time, is there?

She's a little socially "off" but I relate really well to her. She'll probably never give much of a rat's ass about fashion or doing stuff just because other people do. She's completely dry non-partying and straight edge and her mom and my mom are idiotic enough to see this as a failing!

I'm definitely NT, but I have an affinity with people who aren't for some reason. It's funny, I was a lot like her as a kid, but I do read others well and put ever so slightly more stock in norms.

I'm also definitely not triggered by the sensory stuff either, bombs can go off around me if I'm doing something I want to do, noise gets filtered out all the time.

 

[stickygirl]

I have all kinds of noise-related issues. The walls/windows of this place don't muffle any noise whatsoever, and my neighbors seem to have to do a Chinese fire drill every time they get in their car. I don't know why in the world people would need to slam doors 9 or 10 times on a 4-door car every single fucking time they go somewhere. It makes me crazy.

I also have very little tolerance for barking dogs and children. Other people think that kind of shit is cute, but it makes me want to stab things. Just. Shut. The. Hell. Up.

If someone is behind me, say at a restaurant, and talking loudly enough that I can still hear them over the conversation I'm having and/or any ambient music, I completely lose the ability to concentrate on anything. When there's anything going on in the background, I can't understand what others are saying to me, even if they're speaking in a normal tone of voice and looking directly at me.

But, yeah, noises that other people seem to be able to ignore (or at least tolerate) will make me go DEFCON 1. I do get migraines, though--as does my mother, who's even more sensitive to noise than I am and also has a particular sensitivity to smells--so I wouldn't be at all surprised if that has something to do with it.

Couldn't have said it better myself: the crowded room thing is why I avoid big social gatherings cos I just stand there nodding my head when it seems the right time. I can feel my brain trying to decypher all the suddenly random noise coming out someone's mouth and sometimes I get it about five mins later, which isn't great for sparkling repartee...
And I'd go along with the rest of it... thought it was just me

 

[Stella_Omega]

I used to be very wary of self-diagnosed Aspies, because in techie circles a lot of folk use so-called Asperger's as an excuse for being jerks who just don't make the effort to be nice.

After a while I reconsidered that; nowadays instead of "is that a professional diagnosis" I'm more likely to wonder "so what are your strategies for dealing with it?" That tends to be revealing: IME genuine Aspies usually appreciate the value of social skills and put a lot of effort into working out ways around their limitations.

I have to say, over the past few days? I've REALLY WANTED to use it to excuse myself.

The thought that these things I struggle with are actually liked to something that would make people excuse me? OHMIGHAWD.

"No, I can't hang out with you, you bore me-- I'm having an Aspie day."

"Of course I forgot to turn off the light, I'm Aspie. "

"Just leave me alone, I'm surfing the web, as befits an aspie."

hehe...

 

[stickygirl]

I don't profess to know anything about the various manifestations but I do empathise with the way people act: like they're normal but they verbalise or act out what we all think inside. It's like the thoughts whizz round inside them in a loop with no damping mechanism, then just leak out. As if life wasn't tough enough already. I came out 'normal' in the test so I'll go to bed all smug now: a normal transgender