Zephyr66

First off, I've taken a leave of absense recently, so a bunch of you probably have no idea who I am. There's been a lot going on in my life recently, so I haven't really been using the net much. But I'm back now.

So anyway, some of you might remember I made a thread in her about how I was diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder, but recently I've been going to another psychiatrist (who seems to know more about what she's talking about) and she's diagnosed me with Asperger's syndrome, a High functioning disorder on the Autistic spectrum.

I'm sorta lazy and I don't really want this whole post to just be an explanation of the disorder, so if you're interested in reading about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger's_Syndrome

So now everything makes so much sense, I've always been really shy and introverted, to the point where I'm pretty much afraid of people and the only times I'm ever comfortable in a social setting is when i'm on drugs(nothing really bad though). I have a lot of odd quirks too: I'm afraid to use the phone (cause I'm afraid someone I don't know might pick up), I spend a lot of time staring off into nowhere and people think I'm nuts, decent music(really anything with melody) almost puts me into a trance whether I'm listening to it or playing it, and the one that's always scared me is that since I was about 16 (I'm 20 now) I've developed a couple different tics that have been increasing in freqency. The first is where my fingers spasm like I'm typing in the air or something and sometimes I do the whole Bart Simpson one hand clapping thing where your fingers hit the palm of your hand. These are mostly voluntary, like an itch, I can control myself doing them, but it makes me feel really uncomfortable not to. The other is a shoulder thing that's sort of like a shivver. That one just comes from time to time and is harder to hide. Another thing is that I'm obsessed with music, I spend 4-6 hours every day practicing bass, guitar, keyboards, harmonica and just about any other instrument I can get a hold of.

I dunno if this thread has a lot of room for discussion, but I noticed there weren't any other threads on this and I thought there should be. Although I'd like to know if there are any other aspies at the TFP? if so, how do you cope?

Fob_Magi

none of the other stuff realy describes me but I have this damn shoulder thing... it drives me crazy.. I can control it too but when I need to do it almost kills me not to do it... like I need to hiccup but can't...

anyways.. not much I can offer on the subject.. just glad I'm not the only freak with the shoulder thing.. lol

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Plummie

I'm glad you are talking to a doctor who can properly recognize your condition. It can be frustrating to have a faulty diagnosis and incorrect means of treatment. So you are on the right track now and hopefully your progress will improve.

I have a good friend with Asperger's syndrome and he is a very successful and powerful patent attorney. He's 43 years old and copes with his issues well. When I first him, I had a difficult time realizing anything was different about him. He does have a couple social quirks but nothing glaringly obvious. It is difficult for him to talk on the phone, because he can't see the person's face on the other end. Seeing people's faces makes it a lot easier for him. Overall he has adjusted very well to being autistic and he doesn't let it alienate him or make him feel any less human. Just keep your head held high and use Chris, my friend, as a positive example. He is brilliant and one of the most amazing people I know.

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lurkette

Wow...I'm glad you got a diagnosis that seems to fit for you. I just got back from a meeting on autism, and one of the things that struck me was the incredible variation in symptoms and severity. The other thing that I found interesting was the theory that people with autism have a hard time conceptualizing the relationships between themselves and others - they basically don't have a strong self-concept, and that's what makes social engagement difficult. Anyhow, I'd be curious about your perceptions about that.

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ngdawg

The first time I learned about Asperger's was as a teacher's asst in a 6th grade English class. The boy was not one of my assignments, but both the teacher and I noticed something....different. He couldn't organize, had great difficulty answering questions-he'd stammer and hesitate, but once he got going, he spoke very quickly and nervously. His handwriting was barely readable, but everything he completed was spot on-almost always A's on tests and in-class work. If he needed you, he'd grab your arm with urgency, but wouldn't look anyone in the eye. It was just happenstance that we realized what was going on-I was reading an article in the morning paper about Aspergers. Later, seeing him on the soccer field, my heart fell. He wouldn't run with the teams, he'd wander around. If the ball came near him, he had to be told to kick it.
I admire your courage and I'm sorry it took this long to find out what was holding you back. I hope the student in my class was diagnosed at that time or before, but we certainly were not informed-we had to work on the assumption and not get frustrated with him.
When my son was diagnosed at 10 years old with ADD, it was like a light went on. He had a name for how he was and we could work with it. I'm sure that light went on for you as well.
Good luck, and I do remember you. Glad to have you back.

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MikeSty

*shrug* I hate to pull a hypochondriac on ya guys, but I think I'm a viable Asperger's candidate The description of the syndrome fits my lifestyle perfectly What should I do?

ngdawg

First thing, you go to your doctor or find one and get a referral, maybe to a behavioral psychiatrist or psychologist who can then quiz you and determine what problems there might be.
I know they're not the same thing at all(ADD and Asperger's), but I found behavioral psychology to work wonders on how to work with your diagnosis, ie; how to cope in social areas, how to manage anger or frustration and how to organize your thoughts better. Too many times, medical doctors want to throw scripts for drugs at you, when there are so many alternatives. Save the meds for diseases and true psychoses, I think. Behavioral science is longer lasting and something you can learn that you will carry always-with no side effects.

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Bryndian_Dhai

Wow, Zephyr... I only know what Asperger's is because it was ruled out on me several years ago. Apparently, I really do have a mild to moderate social anxiety disorder, but I got lucky with a thorough doctor who believed in being sure and ruling out all contingencies.

Good luck with dealing with your tics and issues... I think it is very courageous of you to post about it here and I wish you the best!


All by itself, that sort of sounds like a Tourette's tic. Not everyone who has Tourette's has verbal tics... A good friend of ours has an eye tic and one other friend has a neck/shoulder one. It might not be, but I would have it checked out, just to be sure. I think a neurologist is who would deal with Tourette's but I'm not sure.


See a doctor? *shrugs* I suppose you could live your life without ever knowing, but it would stand to reason that you'd have a much better chance of functioning at a high level with some sort of success if you got it treated.

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ASU2003

I was diagnosed with social anxiety, and could probably have this as well. I had to be told how to make eye contact and practice it with my therapist when I was 23. I really don't show any emotion. I don't have any body language and can't read other people's subtle expressions. I don't like being touched. And I played by myself a lot growing up. I've never been in a relationship. And I only use the telephone when I have no other choice.

I am pretty smart. I did graduate college and got a research job with the government. But, unless I deal with the same people for a few weeks, I have a hard time talking to them.

I am currently reading books on social and relationship topics. I can easily do astrophysics and low level computer hardware design and programming, but having a simple conversation with a new person is very hard for me. Practicing social skills with a therapist, friends, or around town in situations that are friendly and easy is a good way to adjust your behavior and improve your life.

abaya

My 15-year-old cousin definitely has Asperger's, by my diagnosis (I've dealt with lots of them as kids, since I taught high school), but his family has never admitted it or done anything about it. They are Asian and the burden of shame/honor is on them far more than the duty of helping their son adjust and have a social life, so they have always just treated him like normal and not made him do anything different. I don't know if that was a good idea or not. We as Americans love to diagnose ourselves and others with having disorders, and get them fixed as soon as possible... but for my Thai family, that's the exact wrong thing to do. I could never figure it out.

Anyway, he has always been a genius (he's currently a freshman in college, after basically skipping all of high school to do early-entrance) but has never had any friends. Or, the friends he had didn't stick around long because they didn't know how to deal with his quirks (and he has always been in gifted classes with other nerds, but he still didn't fit in). He has several tics, such as hand-flapping and doing the air-typing thing mentioned in the OP, and he used to talk to himself out loud quite a bit too (usually repeating the same thing over and over again). He was obsessed with Star Trek for a long time, though I think he's moved on now. He talks like a college professor most of the time (has always been that way) and is never comfortable around people... usually paces around and never looks anyone in the eye. He has a very hard time expressing any emotion whatsoever, to the degree that he's even aware of it in himself and others.

When he was younger, I used to take him aside to try and teach him how to make friends, how to find something to talk about with his peers, etc. I don't know how much of it stuck. I threw a birthday party for him once and basically made him invite a few kids over, then gave him a soccer ball and got them to kick it around a bit. It was the only birthday party he ever had.

Anyway, don't know why I'm rambling on, but basically I am very familiar with Asperger's behavior and I encourage you (the OP and others here) to pursue treatment for your symptoms. Social anxiety is a terrible thing to suffer through, and I hate seeing my cousin become more and more isolated and entrenched in himself. I fear he will never have a girlfriend, let alone get married, nor will he learn to drive a car or function without his mother, basically. You don't have to go that route.

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MikeSty

Social anxiety pretty much blows, but I'm afraid though that if I pursue treatment for it I will lose my gift of intelligence - my most valuable trait.

It's interesting, I think i can understand just how your cousin feels. I'm not an extreme case like that - certainly wasn't a freshman in college at age 15, yet I'm not the complete social absence. Still, after heavily reviewing the details of Asperger's on WikiPedia, I'm almost positive I have it. Most of my friends agree it fits me like a glove.

It pretty much describes my bizzare fascination with trashy 80's music. When I was a wee lad, I had a very intense interest in lawnmowers, sprinklers, and vacuum cleaners. Those were the earliest ones I can remember. Since then it's changed from all sorts of things - dinosaurs, star trek, ancient egypt ... you know, now that I think, the intensity really went away when my mother remarried and all of a sudden I had a stepbrother.

When I was an only child, I was pretty lonely. Part of that is because i'm shy, part of that was because of my overprotective mother. I just didn't interact at all. I suppose you could blame my social anxiety on that, but it has always seemed like more than that.

Asperger's seems to be the key because of the fact that my brilliance couples with my peculiar social traits. In addition, there are several notes regarding use of pedantic language, literal interpretation and the development of a curious sense of humor. I'm considered to be very verbose and idiosyncratic in my speech :O

Also, i'm no athlete, but I completely lack fine motor skills. I can barely write my own name. The best practice for me has been playing counter-strike, which has really made me a little bit better at sports - something I blow at.

A big hit is the mention of sensory overload. As a kid I was (and still am ) a really, really picky eater. I despise the way most things taste. My favorite foods are always "plain". I dislike condiments for the most part. My absolute favorite food is plain french baugette. I'm also very sensitive to light, to the point where I sometimes wear sunglasses indoors and turn off overhead lights.

I'll stop ranting now - it probably seems like I'm just making symptoms up by this point.

Either way, i'm very interested. If I do infact have Asperger's, it answers a lot of my questions about myself, but poses many more. Intriguing :O

BigTruck1956

Before reading this thread i had no idea that this syndrome existed. Now i think i have it......interesting.



Subtract the 80s music obsession and the light sensitivity and this fits me *perfectly* even down to the sprinkler opsession. As a youngster i was obsessed with these things to the point that i could name specific models numbers after having glanced at them for a second or seeing them from a passing car...
I am also known for my more bizarre than humorous use of words.

Anyway, I'm glad you are able to understand what you have. Take heart in that you may now have a new member in your club.

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abaya

How would it make you lose your intelligence? That doesn't make sense at all to me... it's not like they give you a lobotomy or something. (sorry, bad joke... but really, counseling/cognitive-behavioral therapy is not damaging to the IQ as far as I know... it just helps with social skills and getting rid of those tics).

Those of you who are self-diagnosing as a result of this thread... be careful! We are not trained professionals. What I do find interesting, though, is that there is a huge proportion of kids in Silicon Valley who have Asperger's, probably as a result of their parents being computer nerds who got married to each othere and work there. At least, that was the article put out by Wired magazine several years ago... check it out for more diagnostic information:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9...ergers_pr.html

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And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Valentina

Check out this link...
(and take the test to find out if you, too, may suffer from "Neurotypical Syndrome")

http://isnt.autistics.org/

MikeSty

*shrug* I have no idea. I guess it doesn't make sense. I'm just very overprotective of my intelligence, and until now I've always felt that my intelligence was my tradeoff for being a l00ser.

Aye, I am trying to be cautious I also know that this is not something I want to use as a crutch to lean back on. Nothing is really different than before, I just have a few more answers.

JustJess

There's someone at work who I am convinced has Asperger's. Among the many things that appear odd to me (who doesn't have it), was all of last summer. Every time he would see me out at lunch in our courtyard, he would come and talk to me. He would always talk about movies. I tried to have a regular conversation that included tangents and natural subject changes, but he would pause, and then ask about another movie. Once he discovered that I also like the Simpsons, that was the only thing he wanted to talk about - usually just quoting back and forth and saying "remember x episode?"

Really nice guy, obviously intelligent, but didn't seem to grasp social conversation. I really admire the attempt, however - so I tried to be patient since it almost felt like I was an experiment!

I hope this helps you guys figure better ways of interacting, so you don't feel limited. :*

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