I was wondering if I had Asperger's

This is not something I would have ever considered had this not been brought to my attention by an online friend who seems to have Asperger's. He says I just strike him as being an Asperger. Whatever that means. Well, last night I took a little more in-depth look at it and found I do display many of the symptoms, yet simultaneously, not exhibiting other key symptoms. For example, many Asperger's experience a sensory overload; I don't have such a problem. When taking tests, I don't mind the noises, though I knew someone who did. She could go from being a sweet girl to Satan in a matter of seconds if someone made noise during a test. That annoyed me to ne end. The only time I get bothered during a test is when almost everyone else is done and I feel incredibly rushed and have an obligation to finish it soon. I doubt that has anything to do with Asperger's, but meh. I can also perceive high-pitched noises that bother me. Like the screeching of a car's brakes bother me. And people who really emphasize the S's in their words like when it whistles. It drives me up the wall.

I found that, like my friend, I hate getting my food mixed up. If it gets contaminated then I refuse to eat it. Like say there's a hamburger helper meal but a side of corn is served as well, if any of the meal has touched the corn then I refuse to eat the corn that has been contaminated. I also don't have the problem of social communication. I can talk to people resonably easily but my friend explains to me that Asperger's can frequently adapt eventually. I don't ever approach people though, I wait until they talk to me. I also hate public speeking, but then again, so does just about everybody. I am a bit of a loner though. I'm not a misanthrope, but I do tend to be a bit anti-social and I hear that Asperger's frequently obsess with the computer; I do that. But more on that later. I can handle even handle social functions just fine, but I don't like being in close proximity to people. If there's a crows somewhere then you'll see me inch move away and kinda hang out on my own. Or if someone sits by me in lunch, even if it's somone who I get along with, I have to move over a seat to be comfortable.

Also, some Asperger's are big on physical stimulation. I don't think it's all that big a deal, but I LOVE massages. Perhaps even more than most people.

But on the note of social interaction, I used to be much worse. I was always ridiculed because I was the odd child. I was shy, quiet, supposedly smart, etc. Like other Asperger's, I exhibit a high vocabulary. Well, I'm running out of things at this point. The only other thing I can think of is I also didn't start speaking until a later age, and I do tend to be obsessive about things. I know balance is key, but meh. I just have a tendency to obsess over one thing and get it done. Typically though, it just does more harm than good and it seems that less gets done as a result.

My friend thinks I'm a borderline case. I dunno. One reason I hate these mental disorder labels is you can find one for just about everyone on this planet. That's why I'm reluctant to accept this label.[/i]

Actually, I did remember a few other things I forgot to mention. I was always a very literal child. Still am, actually, but I can understand expressions now. If people said an expression like "just a minute" or was being sarcastic, then I'd take it pretty literally. Of course, I grew up in a sarcastic household so I caught on eventually. Ironically, I have now become a sarcastic person. Funny how that works, huh?

Dark Bowser wrote:For example, many Asperger's experience a sensory overload

For this you would be looking for something more along the lines of panicing, becoming physically agressive, or just very disturbed at certain sounds. This is because the autistic brain has something called Sensory Intergration Dysfunction and is unable to properly filter out stimuli that a normal brain could. Personal examples from my childhood include panicing and throwing fits when smoke alarms went off until my mom took the batteries out of them, vacuum phobia to the point I would move them out of sight when I became old enough, and wearing noise canceling headphones at home as an adult because I can't concentrate with the air conditioning and fans on in the house.

Dark Bowser wrote:Also, some Asperger's are big on physical stimulation. I don't think it's all that big a deal, but I LOVE massages. Perhaps even more than most people.

Self-stimulation is more along the lines of finger & arm flapping, ear flicking, full body rocking, making grunting noises, etc. The types of stimulation have to be done to yourself and certain conditions must be met (anxious, bored, done almost nonstop)

Dark Bowser wrote:The only other thing I can think of is I also didn't start speaking until a later age, and I do tend to be obsessive about things. I know balance is key, but meh. I just have a tendency to obsess over one thing and get it done. Typically though, it just does more harm than good and it seems that less gets done as a result.

If you weren't using single words by age 1-2 or communicative phrases by age 3-4 this would rule out Asperger's by default because it doesn't have the same verbal language delay as standard Autism.

Also, the DSM restricted interests section really means perseverations, or interests such that they are all encompassing and exclude almost everything else. If these interests go on for at least a year or two, take top priority in your life, and you spend the majority of the day thinking about the topics then your obsessions might meet the restricted interests criteria.

opivy22 wrote:For this you would be looking for something more along the lines of panicing, becoming physically agressive, or just very disturbed at certain sounds. This is because the autistic brain has something called Sensory Intergration Dysfunction and is unable to properly filter out stimuli that a normal brain could. Personal examples from my childhood include panicing and throwing fits when smoke alarms went off until my mom took the batteries out of them, vacuum phobia to the point I would move them out of sight when I became old enough, and wearing noise canceling headphones at home as an adult because I can't concentrate with the air conditioning and fans on in the house.

Hm. I don't think I have that problem.

opivy22 wrote:Self-stimulation is more along the lines of finger & arm flapping, ear flicking, full body rocking, making grunting noises, etc. The types of stimulation have to be done to yourself and certain conditions must be met (anxious, bored, done almost nonstop)

Uh........I don't think I do that either.

opivy22 wrote:If you weren't using single words by age 1-2 or communicative phrases by age 3-4 this would rule out Asperger's by default because it doesn't have the same verbal language delay as standard Autism.

Could you please elaborate? I don't know anything other than I didn't start speaking until a late age. I would babble, and I think I worried my parents that I wouldn't be able to speak. But when I did start speaking I used sentences. Or something like that.

Also, the DSM restricted interests section really means perseverations, or interests such that they are all encompassing and exclude almost everything else. If these interests go on for at least a year or two, take top priority in your life, and you spend the majority of the day thinking about the topics then your obsessions might meet the restricted interests criteria.[/quote]

Well, I don't take it quite that far, but yes, I have come close to being that obsessive about certain things. Like the computer for one.

Could you please elaborate? I don't know anything other than I didn't start speaking until a late age. I would babble, and I think I worried my parents that I wouldn't be able to speak. But when I did start speaking I used sentences. Or something like that.

Hmm well I don't know a lot about childhood speech development, but I do know there is a selection on the Pervasive Development Disorder Assessment Scale that mentions frequent babbeling, so you might meet the resolved criteria for that if you were babbeling beyond an age you should have. On the topic of speech delays and autism, a normal child normally uses single words or phrases of speech by age 1-2 (they can say dada, dog, etc)and communicative phrases or telegraphic speech by age 3-4 (me want see bike, me want milk, and other very basic sentences that aren't grammaticly correct, but have the base concepts in tact). One of the requirements for Asperger's Syndrome is that the person reached the normal speech milestones with few or no delays. This is not the case with standard Autism, in which case the person may be years behind in speech milestones or may never begin speaking.

In short, if you weren't using basic communicative phrases by age 3-4 it would be impossible for you to have Asperger's Syndrome, but there is a very good chance that you are High Functioning Autistic, although there are many other medical and neurological disorders that also cause speech delays.

Well, I don't take it quite that far, but yes, I have come close to being that obsessive about certain things. Like the computer for one

The obsessive interests can take the place of self-stimulation on the DSM or the person can have both. Depending on the nature of your speech delay and the nature of your social issues it could be possible that you are either High Functioning Autistic, or maybe even have Asperger's if the speec delay wasn't significant. As you can probably tell from my posts Autism is a rather complex subject and it requires a combination of testing and several different doctors (always neuropsychologist, your psychologist, psychiatrist, and maybe even your neurologist if you have one) discussing the results. It's not a light diagnosis like Social Phobia so it's rarely handed out to adults that seem to have a few problems here and there, but otherwise function well in the world.

I don't have any psychologists or anything of the sort, but I am majoring in Psychology and hope to go all the way for a Doctorate.

I'd really have to ask about the speech delays, exactly, and such. Because I don't know when I first started using words and sentences.