Asperger Syndrome Support Group
Asperger syndrome - also referred to as Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's, Aspergers or just AS - is one of five neurobiological pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and is characterized by deficiencies in social and communication skills, normal to above normal intelligence, and standard language development.
I have been told a few times that I should be tested for autism. Or told that I act autistic. So I sat down with my friend just now and wrote down my "quirks". Here is the list. Can you tell me what you think?
1) I don't get hints.
2) I don't get jealous about anything.
3) I don't use eye contact. If I feel I MUST use it, I can NOT look people in the eyes, I look at the bridge of their nose. Looking people in the eye gives me the creeps.
4) I am highly uncomfortable in social situations. My son says I rock back and forth and my friend said she has seen me doing this too. I do not notice it.
5) I have a hard time understanding puns and idioms, cliques, jokes, etc
6) I have a hard time verbalizing what I want to communicate, I can write it down more effectively.
7) I have a hard time reading body language. For instance, when my husband is stressed out I don't even know and just stand there wondering why my kids just ran out of the house.
8) I have a difficult time understanding people's intent in situations.
9) I have a very difficult time with noise. It makes me feel overwhelmed. I have to have quiet in the morning until I feel I can handle the noises.
10) I tend to have tunnel vision and hyperfocus on a task. My friend just said "you have an amazing ability to concentrate on one thing, unlike any other female I know. In that respect in your ability to concentrate, you are very much like a man." My friend mentioned that I do not listen to music. Occassionally I use music as white noise to block out the sounds of the city/ marina. It has to be specific music with a specific beat/ rhythm though. When in the country, the bugs and frog noises drove me insane... literally.
11) I can not multitask. Period.
12) My son says I go into a sort of trance where I am in my own little world and no one can reach me... my mom said I did this when I was little too. I call it "zoning out". I do this when people are talking to me too.
13) I don't like to be touched without first knowing who is going to touch me, where and why. If someone touches me unexpectedly,
my skin crawls, I get creeped out.
14) I sometimes have a hard time putting my feelings into words or finding the words to say what is on my mind.
15) At times, I respond emotionally inappropriate. I feel happy but I am crying and teary eyed today, as an example.
16) When I can not think about what I was supposed to be doing, I tend to walk back and forth between two points until I remember what I am supposed to be doing. If I am interrupted during my walk I get extremely overwhelmed and can't handle it.I get overwhelmed easily. It doesn't take much to overwhelm me and I have to recoil into myself to handle it.
17) When I was a child, my favorite place to play was in a closet away from everyone else. Today, I go to my van where I feel safe, secure, alone, isolated, confined and unstimulated.
18) I have to have things on a routine or I will forget that I need to do them. I like to do things the same way over and over and I can't stand it when anyone does it differently.
19) I have a horrible sense of time. Like what is today, what time it is. I have to check every single day to see what the day is or I do not know. If I am in my world for 2 hours, it will feel like 5 minutes. I have no concept of time... how long it should take something to get done or how long I have been at
something.
20) I like to have things in multiples of 3's. It's not hideously strict... but I threw this in here b/c I cannot have 20... it must be multiples of threes.
21) I must have a list, and a reminder to do the list... and a timer to go off to keep me on task and not is what is on my mind. I have been knowm to forget to feed my children, for example.
22) I have a hard time doing a job unless it is at 100% or done the way I envision it in my mind. If I can't do it 100%, I will not do it.
23) At times I feel like my entire body is vibrating or numbish and I have to shake to keep it from feeling that way. I don't like the feeling. It bothers me.
24) I have to have my foods prepared a certain way. Anyone making my food differently will be asked to make it the way I will eat it or I won't eat it. Even a scrambled egg must look a certain way.
1) I don't get hints.
2) I don't get jealous about anything.
3) I don't use eye contact. If I feel I MUST use it, I can NOT look people in the eyes, I look at the bridge of their nose. Looking people in the eye gives me the creeps.
4) I am highly uncomfortable in social situations. My son says I rock back and forth and my friend said she has seen me doing this too. I do not notice it.
5) I have a hard time understanding puns and idioms, cliques, jokes, etc
6) I have a hard time verbalizing what I want to communicate, I can write it down more effectively.
7) I have a hard time reading body language. For instance, when my husband is stressed out I don't even know and just stand there wondering why my kids just ran out of the house.
8) I have a difficult time understanding people's intent in situations.
9) I have a very difficult time with noise. It makes me feel overwhelmed. I have to have quiet in the morning until I feel I can handle the noises.
10) I tend to have tunnel vision and hyperfocus on a task. My friend just said "you have an amazing ability to concentrate on one thing, unlike any other female I know. In that respect in your ability to concentrate, you are very much like a man." My friend mentioned that I do not listen to music. Occassionally I use music as white noise to block out the sounds of the city/ marina. It has to be specific music with a specific beat/ rhythm though. When in the country, the bugs and frog noises drove me insane... literally.
11) I can not multitask. Period.
12) My son says I go into a sort of trance where I am in my own little world and no one can reach me... my mom said I did this when I was little too. I call it "zoning out". I do this when people are talking to me too.
13) I don't like to be touched without first knowing who is going to touch me, where and why. If someone touches me unexpectedly,
my skin crawls, I get creeped out.
14) I sometimes have a hard time putting my feelings into words or finding the words to say what is on my mind.
15) At times, I respond emotionally inappropriate. I feel happy but I am crying and teary eyed today, as an example.
16) When I can not think about what I was supposed to be doing, I tend to walk back and forth between two points until I remember what I am supposed to be doing. If I am interrupted during my walk I get extremely overwhelmed and can't handle it.I get overwhelmed easily. It doesn't take much to overwhelm me and I have to recoil into myself to handle it.
17) When I was a child, my favorite place to play was in a closet away from everyone else. Today, I go to my van where I feel safe, secure, alone, isolated, confined and unstimulated.
18) I have to have things on a routine or I will forget that I need to do them. I like to do things the same way over and over and I can't stand it when anyone does it differently.
19) I have a horrible sense of time. Like what is today, what time it is. I have to check every single day to see what the day is or I do not know. If I am in my world for 2 hours, it will feel like 5 minutes. I have no concept of time... how long it should take something to get done or how long I have been at
something.
20) I like to have things in multiples of 3's. It's not hideously strict... but I threw this in here b/c I cannot have 20... it must be multiples of threes.
21) I must have a list, and a reminder to do the list... and a timer to go off to keep me on task and not is what is on my mind. I have been knowm to forget to feed my children, for example.
22) I have a hard time doing a job unless it is at 100% or done the way I envision it in my mind. If I can't do it 100%, I will not do it.
23) At times I feel like my entire body is vibrating or numbish and I have to shake to keep it from feeling that way. I don't like the feeling. It bothers me.
24) I have to have my foods prepared a certain way. Anyone making my food differently will be asked to make it the way I will eat it or I won't eat it. Even a scrambled egg must look a certain way.
I'm not going to say whether you are, or are not Autistic. I'm not a doctor, and not qualified to tell you.
But I've read enough over the last eight years, and see enough there in your list to say that IN MY OPINION, it certainly would hurt to get tested.
Two of my three sons were just recently diagnosed, and though there is no cure, understanding their behaviors and learning how to deal with it is making life a lot more tolerable than it used to be.
If you are Autistic, it would help you a whole lot if your family knows, and learns more about it.
The more people dealing with Autism (IF that's what it is) know, the better prepared they will be to accept and deal with it.
Now that I know about my sons, there is a synergy that's begun to develop between us (their parents), and them.
It's worth finding out. Go talk to someone. A lot of what you describe sound like OCD too, but, of course Autistics can display some of those traits.
The only really reliable way to know is get tested. Go to a professional, and tell them everything you wrote here as well as what others have been telling you.
Take care.
Supposed to read:
IN MY OPINION, it certainly would NOT hurt to get tested.
Hate for you to misunderstand that!
I commend you on wanting to find out the truth. It is something you should consider getting proper diagnosis. I have just recently found out that I have AS which really opened my eye. If you seriously think this might be a sincere diagnosis then you should see a psychiatrist about it. Then you can get the proper treatment.
my bf has aspergers and he isn't really able to handle crowded places very often. sometimes even close family will overwhelm him and he will have to take time out and go find a quiet place sometimes crowds also overwhelm me. We both can't stand loud noises.
In school I had a very hard time concentrating on the teachers and the subjects. I think my teachers in grade school thought I was lazy and just didn't want to pay attention or they thought I was 'retarded' and unteachable. i think i came out of it a little bit when we moved to the city, however i did graduate in 1988. i was ranked in about the upper 300 lower 200 in class. i think i need to be tested for both autism and a.d.d.
I am presently self-diagnosed with AS because I believe that there are enough similarities between me and the descriptions of AS as presented by professionals like Dr. Tony Attwood that I believe my self-diagnosis is a sound one. But I don't know to what extent you have had access to information, and I don't think I should offer any conclusive opinion about anyone other than myself.
If you have access to professional assessment, I believe it would definitely be worthwhile. It is definitely among my goals for when finances are no longer a barrier.
If it's AS, at least you will know, and can get more info. on it. If not, maybe it will be something which can be aided by medication.
Either way, information is power!
I am autistic and considering how similar the list is, I would say you need to get tested. It is always better to know and I would get a specialist. You might want to let them know why you are getting tested, that might help with insurance.