Aspergers Syndrome

[Nicholas]

I found an interesting site giving information about a form of High Functioning Autism known as Aspgerers syndrome. Here is some basic information with regards to some history and the types of characteristics present in people with Aspergers syndrome.

Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills. In spite of the publication of his paper in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years has AS been recognized by professionals and parents.

Individuals with AS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting".

By definition, those with AS have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality and their naiveté, those with AS are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying. While language development seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody. Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little professors." However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context.

Source and more: http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aswhatisit.html

[Nicholas]

:blush: Oops, If forgot about my old thread of the same title. Oh well, I'm sure that it doesn't matter.

[Nicholas]

In order to make this different from the other thread I put up, I placed a thread.

[Xavier]

We have a couple at TWeb... :smile:

[Nicholas]

We have a couple at TWeb...

Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

[Stuart Kirkham]

I'm new to this forum, interested in this topic because I believe I have Aspergers Syndrome, also SAD, OCD, and Raynauds disorder. I am 58 years old, happily married and keep myself fit by taking part in Cycle Races. Interesting to read other peoples accounts of this syndrome.
God Bless,
Stuart. :cool: :badger:

[Pilgrim]

Raynauds is not a mental issus though, it's a circulation issue. Are you saying there is some sort of connection between it and the others there? I'd be interested ot hear about that.

[Stuart Kirkham]

Raynauds is not a mental issus though, it's a circulation issue. Are you saying there is some sort of connection between it and the others there? I'd be interested ot hear about that.
Hi,
I suffer from poor circulation and loathe the cold which affects my mood as I become very depressed in the winter months so there may be some connection in my case.
God Bless,
Stuart. :badger:

[Cynic Sage]

I'm an Aspie too, although I occasionally tell people I'm an Autistic Psychopath (Dr Hans Asperger refferred to the Disorder as "Autistic Psychopathy") just to get a reaction out of some people.

BTW: Has this ever happened to you?

Person: "You don't seem to be very sociable, why is that?"

You: "I have a Neurological condition known as Asperger's Syndrome."

Person: "How much longer do you have to live?"

You: "Ninety-or-so years, if I'm lucky."

[wfaber]

Has this ever happened to you?
No, but when I tell people I have AS they look at me like there was something wrong with me.

[Nicholas]

I'm an Aspie too, although I occasionally tell people I'm an Autistic Psychopath (Dr Hans Asperger refferred to the Disorder as "Autistic Psychopathy") just to get a reaction out of some people.

BTW: Has this ever happened to you?

Person: "You don't seem to be very sociable, why is that?"

You: "I have a Neurological condition known as Asperger's Syndrome."

Person: "How much longer do you have to live?"

You: "Ninety-or-so years, if I'm lucky."

:hehe:

[{Tim}]

I'm an Aspie too, although I occasionally tell people I'm an Autistic Psychopath (Dr Hans Asperger refferred to the Disorder as "Autistic Psychopathy") just to get a reaction out of some people.

BTW: Has this ever happened to you?

Person: "You don't seem to be very sociable, why is that?"

You: "I have a Neurological condition known as Asperger's Syndrome."

Person: "How much longer do you have to live?"

You: "Ninety-or-so years, if I'm lucky."
Can't say it has... but then I don't generally go around mentioning it to people very much.


I have AS to a degree, but it's minor enough that I can compensate pretty well in most situations. Or at least, I'm getting better at doing so. :smile:

[Cynic Sage]

Can't say it has... but then I don't generally go around mentioning it to people very much.


I have AS to a degree, but it's minor enough that I can compensate pretty well in most situations. Or at least, I'm getting better at doing so. :smile:

Yeah, me too. Although there is the odd moment of awkwardness and confusion.

[Nicholas]

Yeah, me too. Although there is the odd moment of awkwardness and confusion.

Most of the problems I had were in elementry school. How was I supposed to know that people didn't want to talk about topics such as astronomy unless they said so?

I'm better at it now though.

[Cynic Sage]

Most of the problems I had were in elementry school. How was I supposed to know that people didn't want to talk about topics such as astronomy unless they said so?

I'm better at it now though.

Yeah, you know what's difficult, learning social rules of conduct in your homeland, then going to live in another country with a different social rules. When I was in Jpan it was like that. That and if you offend the Japanese, they won't directly mention it to you. Man, I brought so much shame to Canada without realizing it.:blush:

Growing up, my fixations included:

Bats (elementary school)

Breeds of Dog (elementary school)

Christian Theology/Philosophy (ironically starting in my agnostic/deistic adolescent years)

Comics and manga (the medium of storytelling, lives of famous artists/writers).

Japanese Culture.

[Nicholas]

Yeah, you know what's difficult, learning social rules of conduct in your homeland, then going to live in another country with a different social rules. When I was in Jpan it was like that. That and if you offend the Japanese, they won't directly mention it to you. Man, I brought so much shame to Canada without realizing it.

It couldn't have been too bad. If you had done something really bad you would have been killed by vengeful samurai.

Growing up, my fixations included:

Bats (elementary school)

Breeds of Dog (elementary school)

Christian Theology/Philosophy (ironically starting in my agnostic/deistic adolescent years)

Comics and manga (the medium of storytelling, lives of famous artists/writers).

Japanese Culture.

I can't remember the details of my interests, but I remember the main ones were things dealing with science like astronomy and the environment.

[Cynic Sage]

It couldn't have been too bad. If you had done something really bad you would have been killed by vengeful samurai.



I can't remember the details of my interests, but I remember the main ones were things dealing with science like astronomy and the environment.

Those are good ones to have, at least when you go off and rant people think you're eccentric yet scientific, When I go into a monologue about comparisions between Osamu Tezuka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Tezuka) and Will Eisner's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Eisner) work, people just look at me funny.

[Nicholas]

Those are good ones to have, at least when you go off and rant people think you're eccentric yet scientific, When I go into a monologue about comparisions between Osamu Tezuka and Will Eisner's work, people just look at me funny.

Of course young kids don't deal well with eccentric peers, atleast from my personal experience. I could tell horror stories...

But I do still enjoy being eccentric...

[OfficialPro]

I was diagnosed in 1997 and went "OH so there IS something wrong with me...and that's what it is!"

[Cynic Sage]

I was diagnosed in 1997 and went "OH so there IS something wrong with me...and that's what it is!"

I was diagnosed as a child. Since I wasn't hurting myself or anybody else, the psychiatrist reccomended to my parents not to tell me. It wasn't until High School that I got checked up by a different psychiatrist, and after that session my Dad told me. At first I thought I was some kinda retard. Later I found out I was the kind of "retard" smarter than most non-retarded people. :teeth:

[OfficialPro]

Dude you must be pretty young; I don't think they were diagnosing Asperger's until 1994 (which explains why I wasn't diagnosed until I was pretty much an adult)...

I'm so old. :eek:

[Cynic Sage]

I'm 20 right now.

[dizzle]

OfficalPro - I think you are the first female I have "met" who has been diagnosed with Asperger's. What led to the diagnosis?

[Cynic Sage]

OfficalPro - I think you are the first female I have "met" who has been diagnosed with Asperger's. What led to the diagnosis?
Yeah, Aspie chicks are pretty rare.

[{Tim}]

Dude you must be pretty young; I don't think they were diagnosing Asperger's until 1994 (which explains why I wasn't diagnosed until I was pretty much an adult)...

I'm so old. :eek:
Yeah... my mum went through heaps of specialists of various kinds when I was younger... it wasn't until early high school that I was diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder... which we've since concluded was probably a side effect of the asperger's syndrome, though that wasn't until a few years ago. (And I'm now just about 23, by the way.)

[beau99]

Hey,

I've been diagnosed with a few things including OCD, ADD and depression. Of those, only OCD applies to me, and it's minimal at that. After reading up about AS from many sources, I probably (and most likely) have it. I've told my parents, but they won't do anything about it, including getting me officially diagnosed.

Just thought I'd share.

-Beau

[Cynic Sage]

Hey,

I've been diagnosed with a few things including OCD, ADD and depression. Of those, only OCD applies to me, and it's minimal at that. After reading up about AS from many sources, I probably (and most likely) have it. I've told my parents, but they won't do anything about it, including getting me officially diagnosed.

Just thought I'd share.

-Beau
When did you start talking as a child?

[beau99]

When did you start talking as a child?

IIRC, I started saying nonsense words at about 3 years or a bit later. My first real word didn't come until about 5.

Even at 19, I still have trouble conversing with people. It's been this way my entire life.

[Cynic Sage]

It could be Asperger's. I reccomend getting checked for it.

[Stuart Kirkham]

Hey,

I've been diagnosed with a few things including OCD, ADD and depression. Of those, only OCD applies to me, and it's minimal at that. After reading up about AS from many sources, I probably (and most likely) have it. I've told my parents, but they won't do anything about it, including getting me officially diagnosed.

Just thought I'd share.

-Beau

That sounds just like me. I get depression really badly especially in the winter. The Obsessions grip my mind and of course the devil takes advantage of that. Thank you for sharing .
God Bless,
Stuart. :badger:

[wraizyr]

I know a guy with Aspergers, and another one who I think has Aspergers.

Interesting folks.

[andiwashere]

OfficalPro - I think you are the first female I have "met" who has been diagnosed with Asperger's. What led to the diagnosis?

I swore I wasn't going to post again on the other Asperger thread...so here I am..

As to the female thing, your question to OfficialPro got me to thinking and searching.
-----------------
http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Aspergers_in_Women.htm

"Problems related to the[autism] spectrum are combined with problems of society’s expectations of women. How one looks, what one wears, how one is supposed to relate socially, that a woman is supposed to have a natural empathy towards others, expectations about dating and marriage…” Women are affected by autism in the same ways as are their male counterparts; however, they are doubly challenged by the added assumptions that society places on the female gender.

At the risk of stereotyping, any man who is a rational thinker, and not emotionally in tune with others, is often thought of as having “typical male behavior” (think of the TV show “Tool Time”). A woman exhibiting these same personality traits might be regarded as odd, annoying, cold, or depending on the situation, even mean-spirited. Autism, with its particular effects on personality, causes one to appear more rational and less emotionally responsive or empathetic to others. Women with autism note that these expectations indeed may weigh more heavily on them, just because they are women.

At the first meeting, the group members requested specific topics for discussion, topics that they encounter in daily life or ones which they are currently pondering. These topics included issues that are relevant to women at large such as personal safety; dating and sex; or being taken advantage of when your car needs repair. Other issues they raised were felt by group members to possibly be more significant for women with autism, but common to all--being pressured to conform by getting married; to “act like a lady”; and issues about one’s appearance--to have to “look a certain way”.
--------------------
After reading that - I almost cried. It's like, I don't know, suddenly discovering you're from outer space...and that's why you're weird...and there's others out there.

OK, I feel better now. I swear not to post in this thread again...where did I put that duct tape..?...

[Nicholas]

:bump:

I thought with all the stuff about autism going around some might find some of the information in this thread useful.

[Smokering]

andiwashere: Yup. :) I remember a hilarious exchange on a gaming forum once; it was a theological debate, and I was pushing pretty hard against a particularly obtuse wannabe atheist. After running out of arguments, he then started attacking me, claiming that I'd just ticked the 'female' box to get attention, because I couldn't possibly be female, because my argumentation was 'too logical and aggressive' and therefore masculine. (Funny, yours is illogical and emotional, but I don't assume you're a woman... just an idiot. Silly man).

Certainly I'm pretty uncomfortable around women, except for my two girl friends who are Aspie as well. I prefer the company of males; they're much more likely to be geeky, and/or capable of sustaining an argument for a few more rounds before devolving into 'don't hurt my feelings'. Sadly, a lot of geeky guys are uncomfortable around women, so there are very few people with whom I fit in. Sometimes being female prevents me from having real friendships with men, and my Asperger's prevents me from having real friendships with women, and I'm stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea! Ah well, that's what Star Trek is for. :p

In vaguely chronological order, my obsessions have included hedgehogs, cacti, films (ongoing), literature (ongoing), sunflowers, cooking (ongoing), medieval culture, Star Trek, LOTR, presuppositional theology... Recently I've become moderately obsessed with nutrition and with pregnancy and birth (no big surprise there, I'm pregnant and I like to research!). I don't think I had a lot of support on the cacti thing, but most of my other obsessions fortunately were common enough to gain some vague support. My LOTR obsession, at least, caused me to do many and brave things I'd never done before--even some social ones! DH, who's similarly Aspie, is permanently obsessed with computers and intellectual property issues (Linux geek), plus (recently) Diablo.

Did someone claim Raynaud's (Reynaud's) Syndrome was related to Asperger's? Or did he just coincidentally have both conditions? I wouldn't be surprised if I had it; I have the worst circulation of anyone I know except for my autistic sister! She nearly had to have all her toes amputated at a tender age, because her feet were so frostbitten. O.o DH flinches when I touch him (really, it's because of the cold... I don't beat him!). I should probably get it checked out, since nothing ever comes of my mental resolutions to eat more cayenne pepper.

[Jo Ayanami]

Dude you must be pretty young; I don't think they were diagnosing Asperger's until 1994 (which explains why I wasn't diagnosed until I was pretty much an adult)...

I'm so old. :eek:

That's where my mom ran into an issue with me. I was tested for autism in the early 80's and of course they said I didn't have it. It wasn't until my adult life when I developed an interest in psycology that I read about Aspergers. I've never been diagnosed but I'm fairly certain I have it. =p
Maybe I'll get a professional opinion someday

[OfficialPro]

OfficalPro - I think you are the first female I have "met" who has been diagnosed with Asperger's. What led to the diagnosis?

Well I know of a few other females who have it. So it's not really that uncommon.

It's sort of funny how it came about that I was diagnosed. When I was 3 months old I was in a "cuddle seat" on top of a table, and I had long legs and as babies do I was "pushing" with them and ended up scooting off the table and onto the floor, headfirst. The doctors didn't think I had a concussion, despite landing on brick (there was a fireplace near the table). However, mom thought later on (after years of knowing that SOMETHING was wrong with me--my inability to act socially appropriately was sometimes staggering, leading to only a few tolerant souls befriending me, but nobody knew what it was) that maybe a head injury was my problem. SO I was taken to an expert in head injuries, tested, and the expert (a doctor of Neuropsychology) said that I had Asperger's Syndrome. The symptoms totally fit--once I found out what they were it's like "YUP, I've got it!"

Up here where I am, I don't even think people knew what Asperger's Syndrome was back in the 80s. Certainly not enough of the professionals did. We're a few years behind the USA in diagnosing stuff.

My major obsessions included (and still do):
cartoons (in general)
Transformers (the toys and cartoons)
Video Games
Final Fantasy
Warcraft III
Defense of the Ancients (DOTA Allstars www.dota-allstars.com )
Make-it-so (Star Trek TNG)
Battlestar Galactica (old skool with Dirk Benedict)
Knight Rider (old skool with David Hasselhoff)
Buck Rogers (starring Gil Gerard)
The A-Team
Dukes of Hazzard (old Skool with Tom Wopat)
CSI
Law & Disorder
MAD Magazine
Cats
Horses
Dinosaurs

[Gabby]

I am positive a good friend of mine and relative of my husband has a child with Aspergers Syndrome. He's never been tested as far as I know though and I don't think his parents have considered it. He's seems to cope reasonably though without a diagnosis.

What do you all think, did the diagnosis help? Would you have preferred to find out earlier or your parents to find out earlier?

[JonLanceBarker]

Sometimes I wonder whether I have mental disorders like this...then I remember the only guy I've met whom I know has Asperger's.

I'm not that nuts. :teeth: (No offense meant, AS people!)

[mfoster]

Some folks I know in the autism rights movement, in which I am fairly active, claim to have some "inside" information that the word "Asperger's" may be dropped from the next version of the DSM (the DSM-V), which is coming out in approximately 2012. Autism, Asperger's, and PDD-NOS will, according to this speculation, all be replaced with a new category, "autism spectrum disorder." Then, variations and differences among individuals will be described in terms of dimensions.

[OfficialPro]

I am positive a good friend of mine and relative of my husband has a child with Aspergers Syndrome. He's never been tested as far as I know though and I don't think his parents have considered it. He's seems to cope reasonably though without a diagnosis.

What do you all think, did the diagnosis help? Would you have preferred to find out earlier or your parents to find out earlier?
Oh man I would have given ANYTHING to have found this out 27 years ago.

[T-Shirt Ninja]

A psychologist when I was little said I had really mild Asperger's. My mother to this day doesn't believe him and neither do I (I had hearing problems back then, that could be why he made his case). I think another reason is mainly because I'm INTJ personality that he probably thought I had Asperger's. If you compare the two, they really do look very similar in many instances.

I also met a guy last summer that definitely had AS. I could tell that he wasn't normal, but extremely intelligent from the very start. When his Dad told me that he had it, it finally clicked for me what a strong case of it actually looked like and wiped out any potential belief whatsoever that I actually had it in a mild form.

[apostoli]

I've always had a problem communicating in society. When I was about 10 maybe 11yo I remember having a discussion with my friend, walking to school, about whether we really existed - how we didn't really exist - we were just a dream in someone elses head.

And another time when the sydney Opera house was being built whether or not they'd have wrestling there (as suggested in the papers). To me it was just a building, defined not by what it was called but what it was used for. My friend couldn't see past the words "opera house". I only heard the word building!

I was/am weird.

I don't know if in my case if it was environmental. My mum had a heart condition and I was brought up to believe she would be dead tomorrow. By the age of eight I could cook, clean and iron and was relatively self relient and by the time I was 13yo finally self sufficient, though I should add, I lived in a propsperous western nation. The last words I can remember my dad saying before he died was "bloody woman", she out lived him and most of the generation that she related to.

At ten I could do my brothers junior high school homework but was always behind in my own (mine was boring).

I've never considered myself other than of average intelligence - my school references basically said "could do better if he applied himself".

How do you go about being diagnosed for Aspergers? Or should I accept I'm just a social retard and survive as the asocial person that I seem to be?

[Jo Ayanami]

I keep seeing stuff about a lack of emotion ie being more masculine... are highly emotional aspies rare?

[mfoster]

Aspies can be emotional. (I know I am.) The problem is not necessarily with the feelings. It is with being able to communicate them in the same fashion as do neurotypicals.

Mark Foster

[mfoster]

In terms of being diagnosed, much depends on where you live. In the U.S., one would need to see a clinical psychologist, a counseling psychologist, or a psychiatrist. Diagnosis is performed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV-TR). In most of Europe, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) is more common. Some therapists will use various testing instruments. Others, like my own psychiatrist, base the diagnosis on direct observation and on taking a personal history.

Mark Foster

[Jo Ayanami]

I see. Yeah I can see others not understanding and the challenge in expressing the why to them.
ty

[MetalMark]

I supposedly have it (very mild), but everyone suspects it might be a misdiagnoses, even the psychologist wasn't sure. I'm leaning towards OCD as what I actually have (I looked up the symptoms and most I experience regularly.)

[Whirrled Peas]

I believe I have some of the traits associated with Asperger's, but at the same I wonder why there seems to be a need lately to pathologize everything out of the 'norm.' Why must everything have a diagnosis?

[Meta Knight]

I'm starting to think I might have it in some capacity, though not a serious one. But I'm also an ISTJ, so that may be it.

[mfoster]

If anyone wants to take a test for Asperger's, here is one:

http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

I can personally vouch for it (for what it's worth). I was one of the people who helped the designer develop it.

Mark Foster

[luv1another]

hmm I got that I answered inconsistantly on too many control questions. :ahem:
have you considered that wording things one way and wording them another way can actually mean two diffrent thngs to some people? and some things are not explained well in that quiz....some questions need an explanation.

I know for myself I find someone can ask me the same thing in two diffrent ways and get two diffrent answers.

and from other tests I get that I am border line aspie more aspie than normal but not full on... also being older I think I have adapted to somethings from need.

but my daughter is often telling me I shouldnt have said something or done something :lol: I just dont realise at the time :shrug:

[Darth Executor]

If anyone wants to take a test for Asperger's, here is one:

http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

I can personally vouch for it (for what it's worth). I was one of the people who helped the designer develop it.

Mark Foster

I got this:

Thank you for filling out this questionnaire.

Your Aspie score: 92 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 109 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

What does it mean?

[mfoster]

[quote=Luv1another;2450673]
and from other tests I get that I am border line aspie more aspie than normal but not full on... also being older I think I have adapted to somethings from need.

As an Asperger's autistic, I had considerable difficulty functioning as a child. However, as an adult of 52 years old, my compensations have been considerable.

Mark Foster

[mfoster]

I got this:

Thank you for filling out this questionnaire.

Your Aspie score: 92 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 109 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

What does it mean?

It indicates that, at least according to Leif's test (the aspie-quiz), you are somewhere in between being autistic (or an aspie) and being neurotypical (a non-autistic).

Mark Foster

[Ashley-Cooper]

My voice is so sing-song that I've had immigrants from Germany try to practice their Swedish on me. Ironically, I have higher than usual motor coordination, but this is only true when I'm doing something unusual (like skate-boarding for instance); simply walking normally from here to there, I'm so stiff-legged and awkward that I get stared at. I'm incapable of conversation that isn't centered around some intellectual subject. It just doesn't work. When I try social chit-chat, it always feels like I'm some sort of actor, and I feel like such a phony I want to hide in embarassment. When I try to make full eye-contact with people, it trips me up very badly, and I feel a lot like I'm standing there completely naked. The only reason I test as a strong ENTP on Meyers-Briggs is that I've been making a concerted, painful effort since my late teens to foster healthy interpersonal relations with people, often forcing myself to lay aside my natural feelings about this for the sake of the overall good. Before that, I tested as such a strong INTP that I wondered if I could even be emotionally healthy. Well, it turns out I wasn't. I'm better now.

Let's see, as an adult, I have a problem controlling this...tendency I have to behave with a sort of obnoxious arrogance toward people, and it's very hard to keep in mind that what I perceive to be the truth is based on very different information from what is available to another person. I have to distance myself from the discussion very deeply to keep from accusing a person who disagrees with me of being dishonest with me somehow. However, I've gotten a lot better at dealing with this. I was practicing just the other day by trying to have a mutually respecting conversation with one of the evangelists who come out to my college. It started out just for the sake of exercise, but I found myself saying some things I never would have believed I would say, and I found myself liking this man for his sincerity. It turned out that we had a great deal in common, and I ended up giving him a hug when the time came for me to depart to take care of some business. It gave me a much warmer view toward conservative Christians, and it spurred in me some hope that maybe someday we can all learn to get along.

I have never been formally diagnosed with Asperger Disorder. However, I have a very strong interest in the neurosciences, and at times I have considered myself to be an expert on this particular subject. I think it is quite proper for me to say that, especially during my youth, I suffered very badly from this disorder. I found it very debilitative, and the stress and trauma and distraction that it resulted in so thoroughly destroyed me academically that, at the age of twenty-five, I'm still an undergraduate with at least a year and a half left to go just to get the FIRST degree that I'll need in order to follow the path in life that I most desire. I've gotten a lot better at taking the advice of others and accepting support when it is offered, though. I'm moving ahead, I think.

My advice toward others who have this problem is to just keep throwing yourself at it until you've overcome it. Somewhere in your heart, you've got what it takes. If you're really convinced that you can't overcome your problems, then AS is the least of your worries. That's what I call resignation, and that's a much bigger mother of a problem. And believe in miracles. Even I, an atheist, know how real they are.

[Lizard]

OK. I scored Aspie score 127 out of 200
and neurotypical 90 out of 200

Does that make me an Aspie. I would have said not prior to the test, with a very rudimentary knowledge of AS. However, Since I too the test two days ago, I have been reading up a lot on Asperger and I am pretty sure I've got at least a mild case of it. I think my youngest does too. I would not be surprised if my eldest (though she is a step child) has a few symptoms as well.

[Brandalf85]

Your Aspie score: 44 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 150 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical

[Eru Ilúvatar]

Your Aspie score: 27 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 173 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical


I find it hard to interpret the graph that is generated at the end...any help?

[Nicholas]

Your Aspie score: 144 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 61 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

I wasn't sure about some of the questions, although it seems fairly accurate.

Of course, I know that I have aspergers... and ocd, and adhd, and anxiety disorder...

[Chrs181818]

Your Aspie score: 147 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 50 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

I havent been diagnosied with it, but I have been diagnosed with ADHD, and im pretty much certain i have OCD...

[Ashley-Cooper]

I keep seeing stuff about a lack of emotion ie being more masculine... are highly emotional aspies rare?Okay, first let me debunk this "emotionless male" thing. It's bullhockey. Men have very powerful and intense emotions. They just aren't quite the same as those of women. Seriously, do you think that a man who just took a swing a guy he thought you were hitting on wasn't feeling any kind of hurt? Men may be less likely to attempt suicide, but did you know they had a much higher "success" rate than women? Men DO feel emotions, often in a way that can burn out our souls. Our emotions are different, but they're very much there. You know, one thing I find very ironic about "feminists" is that the same ones who try to paint men as emotionally deficient also delightedly ridicule them for staying broken up over a failed relationship a lot longer than a woman. Men's emotional health is often very much neglected in this society, simply because most of their issues really aren't widely recognized.

You remember Mr. Spock from the Star Trek series, though? Remember that guy? Okay, remember, he was half-Vulcan. Now, there was one episode wayyyyyyyy back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth where we got a good look at the Vulcan homeworld. It turns out that, in reality, the Vulcans devote so much of their intellectual energy to fostering pragmatism and rationality because they know, right beneath the surface, they are emotional basket cases. Perhaps highly gifted basket cases...but basket cases nonetheless. Oftentimes, you get the same issue with people who have Asperger Syndrome. We DO have emotions, and part of the problem is that we feel them with a lot more intensity than most people. They're just hard for some people to recognize because you can't really compare them perfectly with those of either a typical "male" or a typical "female."

Where most people get the impression that we're somehow unemotional is that "falling in love" is not as likely to result in a loss of objectivity. Our friendships tend to be less "emotional" and far more intellectual. Just ask my boyfriend: he complains perennially about how I'm too focused on the MENTAL aspects of love, not so much the contact chemistry of it. That doesn't mean we don't LIKE you. It just means that...we don't get addicted to having you around, at least not on a certain level. Nonetheless, one might end up in a very long-standing relationship with you that just goes on for years and years and years, and you might find some Aspies to be unexpectedly faithful. Don't sell an Aspie friend or lover short. Some of us are capable of a very unselfish and rare kind of love.

Aspies aren't emotionless. We're just...different. And sometimes our emotions have a very sharp edge to them that we can't really face alone...

[Shadow Phoenix]

I'd like to comment on emotionless male also. I think the thing is that we have emotions that are strong, but we do not know how to express those emotions or show those emotions and generally, being unable to know how to express myself, I hope other people will somehow figure things out.

I also agree that we tend to intellectualize much that we hear and see. I constantly watch people and try to think "Why do they do what they do?" A lot of mannerisms I see in the world just don't really make sense to me.

I'll also say this. I watch the world closely and trust is not really the easiest thing. However, there is something I think most aspies would agree with. If you get the trust of one of us, you have a good and loyal friend who will stick with you for anything. People who have known me when I've been in love for instance, have known that I am incredibly loyal at that time.

[MetalMark]

Your Aspie score: 153 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 55 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

[Michelle]

Your Aspie score: 153 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 55 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

Mark, does that come as a surprise to you, or did you already know/think you were and Aspie?

Edited: Oh, I see that you were once diagnosed as a mild case. What do you think now?

[Michelle]

Your Aspie score: 79 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 138 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical

[MetalMark]

Mark, does that come as a surprise to you, or did you already know/think you were and Aspie?

Edited: Oh, I see that you were once diagnosed as a mild case. What do you think now?
I was given 5 hours of tests back in October '07. No one's actually sure :shrug:
Maybe I have something original and they'll name a disease after me!!! :yipee:

[Eru Ilúvatar]

Maybe I have something original and they'll name a disease after me!!!

I nominate Acute Orthodox Metallurgic Marcus Disorder for the name.

[Ashley-Cooper]

Hahahahahahahaha! I'm just like my grandmother! She said everything twice, said everything twice! HAHAHAHAHA! I never would have begun to suspect that one, but it fits like a glove! A glove, I tell you!

And yes, my social views range from ultra-orthodox conservative Christian to somewhere between futurustic and downright scary. I NEVER would have thought this was an Aspie trait, but it makes some amount of sense actually.

The only real mismatch is the physical. I'm actually incredibly coordinated and agile, and I get a lot of comments on it.

Aspie score: 173 of 200

NT score: 28 of 200

Very likely an Aspie!

I have a few objections to the test, though. It still presumes that Aspies are necessarily opposed to socializing. In my case, I like pleasant interaction with other people a great deal, but I also like to take lengthy sabbaticals in which I cut off communications with others entirely, sometimes for months, while I pursue some beloved activity or other.

Such as watchin' collards grow outta the ground! With a bottle of Crown whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in the other! And a little double-barrel shotgun at my side for shootin' rabbits to cook on the stove!

[mfoster]

Leif's Aspie-Quiz does not necessarily assume that aspies are opposed to socializing. It assumes that aspies have some difficulty in reading social cues.

[Truth be Told]

While I'm almost definetly sure I have this syndrome, I apparently don't exhibit many of its symptoms and haven't had too much difficulty with them if they have ever come up in my past life. Body language, linguistic context and facial expressions have admittely been ambigous to me at times (if that even counts, most of the ambigousness occured during childhood), but nothing I suffer from too much.

Actually, I often find myself being extremely charasmatic employing a heavy dose of sarcasm and dark humor to allot of my social interactions with other people. In which case they don't understand allot of the time when I'm being sarcastic and simply screwing around, so I often get accused of being stupid and or I become the target of social repulsiveness (which in a way isn't so bad, why should I have too conform to political correctness when I'm not at work or in an unprofessional environment)?

So as far as understanding contexts and body language, it seems to be the other way around, strangely.

[D. Medvedev Fan]

And yes, my social views range from ultra-orthodox conservative Christian to somewhere between futurustic and downright scary. I NEVER would have thought this was an Aspie trait, but it makes some amount of sense actually.
As for making some sense, how so?

My scores were similar to Brandalfs. I took the test last night. I'm a neurotypical.

[Truth be Told]

As for making some sense, how so?

My scores were similar to Brandalfs. I took the test last night. I'm a neurotypical.

I don't think it wise for people to use online tests to validify or falsify a potential medical diagnosis for obvious reasons.

I mean I could go and test myself, and probably end up within the "neurotypical" range, but the fact of the matter is that I was much worse in my early days (yes early memories). Most of the symptoms and trains of thought have been shed off like snake's skin, but I still have the residual crap hanging around, and it ain't going nowhere. I simply accept that I am typically unempathetic for other people when they may be in need of sympathy and guidance, and so on and so forth. But, despite my awareness of these things, I just don't click in with doing that sort of thing (i.e., not my bag).

Some old symptoms of mine include taking things in literal contexts (almost all of the time), having a lack of "common sense" (that still pursues even today, apparently). Above all, what really confirms I have the disorder is that I developed verbal communication skills at a very late stage in my life (around the age of 4 or 5). The test may say that I don't have this and this and this based on the present timing, but I assure you, I most probably have the disorder, and there is no logical reason for me to deny it or to conceal it by pretending. I don't mind be open about that particular subject anymore.

[Ashley-Cooper]

As for making some sense, how so?

My scores were similar to Brandalfs. I took the test last night. I'm a neurotypical.Simple. The incapability of individuals affected with AS of thinking in subjective, personal terms causes them to be highly drawn to theoretical, objective explanations to phenomena, often resulting in a rigidly formulaic mindset that may or may not be compatible with real life. Ideals will take precedence over practicality.

[AngelDragon]

Everyone I know has Asperger's. They diagnosed it themselves.

[Truth be Told]

Everyone I know has Asperger's. They diagnosed it themselves.

You should change that to most. I don't know about other people you've come across, but I certaintly didn't choose to have this diagnosis on my papers. It's made me a target for stereotypes and discrimination. If I could take it all of the records, I would. It's even preventing me from enlisting in the military.

[AngelDragon]

You should change that to most. I don't know about other people you've come across, but I certaintly didn't choose to have this diagnosis on my papers. It's made me a target for stereotypes and discrimination. If I could take it all of the records, I would. It's even preventing me from enlisting in the military.

I was actually quipping on the fact that Asperger's is one of the most common Internet self-diagnoses and subtly expressing my frustration at the people who go "Dude, I read this thing about Asperger's, and I think I might have it, dude!" based on an Internet article.

But good luck with yours. If it makes you feel better, there's a society out there full of people who honestly think Asperger's is the next step in human evolution, a gift from God and even a sign of aliens choosing the special people they'll keep alive. :tongue:

Oh, and according to that horribly done quiz, I'm very likely to have Asperger's (Aspie score: 130 of 200. Neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 84 of 200). Good thing I don't believe in online quizzes. If I do have it, I was never diagnosed by the three psychiatrists I've seen in my lifetime.

[Nicholas]

I was actually quipping on the fact that Asperger's is one of the most common Internet self-diagnoses and subtly expressing my frustration at the people who go "Dude, I read this thing about Asperger's, and I think I might have it, dude!" based on an Internet article.

But good luck with yours. If it makes you feel better, there's a society out there full of people who honestly think Asperger's is the next step in human evolution, a gift from God and even a sign of aliens choosing the special people they'll keep alive. :tongue:

Oh, and according to that horribly done quiz, I'm very likely to have Asperger's (Aspie score: 130 of 200. Neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 84 of 200). Good thing I don't believe in online quizzes. If I do have it, I was never diagnosed by the three psychiatrists I've seen in my lifetime.

One would think that it would be obvious that people shouldn't self-diagnose for things like this. I was diagnosed as a young child by people trained to know what they're doing.

[technomage]

We have a couple at TWeb... :smile:
Including me. :teeth:

[Polrean]

Considering that the chances of Asperger's syndrome is 0.26 in 1000, I'm surprised that people knowing others with Aspergers, or having Aspergers far outweighs people who don't on Tweb.

[Jo Ayanami]

I was tested for autism when I was a child... aspergers wasn't considered valid, recognized nor tested for at that time. I wonder what the odds are of the sibling of an autistic having aspergers...

[technomage]

I was tested for autism when I was a child... aspergers wasn't considered valid, recognized nor tested for at that time. I wonder what the odds are of the sibling of an autistic having aspergers...
Supposedly pretty good--it's suspected that there is a genetic component, but that component has not (ttbomk) been isolated.

[mfoster]

The trend among most researchers is not to make much of a distinction between classical (Kanner's) autism and Asperger's autism. For instance, there is some indication that the DSM-V (expected to be released in 2011 or 2012) will eliminate Asperger's as a separate category and combine it with Kanner's autism and PDD-NOS into "autistic spectrum disorder." Distinctions would be described in terms of dimensions.

Mark Foster

[Jo Ayanami]

Supposedly pretty good--it's suspected that there is a genetic component
That's what I've understood...

[Truth be Told]

I was actually quipping on the fact that Asperger's is one of the most common Internet self-diagnoses and subtly expressing my frustration at the people who go "Dude, I read this thing about Asperger's, and I think I might have it, dude!" based on an Internet article.

Yes, that's quite true. And many of them probably might have it, but it's definetly not something I'd recommend flaunting around.

Oh, and according to that horribly done quiz, I'm very likely to have Asperger's (Aspie score: 130 of 200. Neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 84 of 200). Good thing I don't believe in online quizzes. If I do have it, I was never diagnosed by the three psychiatrists I've seen in my lifetime.

There's the possibility that you do, you know. It's rather alarming how many people are receiving the diagnosis, and many of them are people you would probably never suspect.

It's also possible that the mix of psychological and biological studies that certain disorders might get "criss-crossed" with another based on similiar behaviors. Allot of my past life was crappy not based on the AS diagnosis (although that was a huge part of it all), but because i have incompetent parents.

In the end, whether or not I really have it, I have to take it as it is. The natural course of evolution dicates how certain genes get placed within a certain group of people within a given population, so arguing about whether or not it exists in me based on definite knowledge would most certaintly be wasting time.

[AngelDragon]

There's the possibility that you do, you know.

Oh, I know. In fact, based on my *snicker* professional opinion, I'd say it's very likely that I have it. It's just that I've seen three professionals before (for unrelated issues, granted) and the subject never came up. But I don't care if I do or don't. If I do, then my anti-social quirks (which never really bothered me very much) are finally explained, and if I don't, eh, I'm just weird. Normalcy is overrated anyway.

[Paul Almond]

Considering that the chances of Asperger's syndrome is 0.26 in 1000, I'm surprised that people knowing others with Aspergers, or having Aspergers far outweighs people who don't on Tweb.
Selection effect. People who know what Asperger syndrome is, or have some kind of connection with it or interest in it, are likely to represent a greater proportion of the people reading this thread than they do of the forum users as a whole.