Was I misdiagnosed?

I was diagnosed with high functioning autism when I was four years old. I am now seventeen. I do have problems relating to my peers, but I have even more problems relating to other autistic people. I get along best with people in their 20s who are NT, but quirky.

When I get along well with people I become a totally different person. It seems like I suddenly gain social skills and I become extroverted. I actually feel energized by interacting with those people.

I think my problems with social skills have more to do with lack of practice, lack of energy and social anxiety than being autistic or "missing social cues." When I make social mistakes I can usually tell that I'm making a mistake. A lot of my social mistakes seem to be more like bad habits or impulse control problems.

One problem I have is talking too much about my interests. I can usually tell if people are getting bored, but I usually have no energy to talk abot anything else. I often leave the conversation to avoid boring them. I know this is another mistake. I just don't have the energy to talk about stuff I'm not interested in and worrying about boring the other person. This behavior probably makes me look like I'm autistic or self centered. If I had more energy I wouldn't be doing this crap.

I have been to "social skills classes". None of them are very helpful. They usually talk about social rules that are obvious to me. I also feel like I don't belong with the other people in the group.

I am constantly worried about people think I am disabled or weird. I often put a lot of effort into looking normal. I think this backfires because this makes me more anxious. I might even be "normal" after all.

I'm really hoping my diagnosis is incorrect. If it is incorrect I will probably be able to live a normal functional life. I suspect I have some mental health issues caused by the diagnosis.

Hi DevilKisses,

It's possible that you grew out of some of your issues. Maybe they were more obvious when you were younger.
You have to know that people with HFA differ from one another. ASD (autistic spectrum) also includes PDD-NOS - it's possible that you would be diagnosed with it today, instead od HFA.
Ultimately it's not about diagnosis - it's about how you feel.

What you say about talking about your interests is very common among ASD folk - especially Aspergers. But the fact that you *know* it will bore others says that your social skills are ok. Everyone makes social mistakes! But if you can see that you did one - you can correct it and you probably won't make it again. Or you will make it less often. It's how people learn. No one is perfect at it from the very beginning.

So relax and enjoy your social interactions Remember that if you ever make a mistake - you can always apologize. Try to forget the diagnosis - it's not carved in stone and it's only someone's opinion from when you were very little.
A bit of advice - if you don't feel like talking about anything else than your interests - don't leave, just ask questions. People loooove to talk about themselves. Even if you only listen and say very little (ask other questions, depending on what they say), they'll be happy with the conversation.

IceBlock wrote:What you say about talking about your interests is very common among ASD folk - especially Aspergers. But the fact that you *know* it will bore others says that your social skills are ok. Everyone makes social mistakes! But if you can see that you did one - you can correct it and you probably won't make it again. Or you will make it less often. It's how people learn. No one is perfect at it from the very beginning.

So relax and enjoy your social interactions Remember that if you ever make a mistake - you can always apologize. Try to forget the diagnosis - it's not carved in stone and it's only someone's opinion from when you were very little.
A bit of advice - if you don't feel like talking about anything else than your interests - don't leave, just ask questions. People loooove to talk about themselves. Even if you only listen and say very little (ask other questions, depending on what they say), they'll be happy with the conversation.

I know that talking about interests too much is common among people on the spectrum. That's why I try to avoid it. I know that I should stay and ask questions. I just don't have the energy. Most of my social skills problems are related to not having enough energy.

maybe yes you're misdiagnosed. i was misdiagnosed too

No,
The signs and symptoms you mention here are that of HFA.I would suggest you to join speech therapy classes to enhance your speaking skills .It is really good that you like to socialize and talk about your interests.

you do sound like you've managed to develop good coping skills and overcome some of your earlier difficulties.. however; you do sound like you still fit on the aspie/HFA bit of the spectrum

The lack of energy you mention = is it present when you're talking about your favourite subject..?

The lack of energy/motivation/interest.. is one of the issues that aspies and those with HFA face.. simply staying still and forcing your brain to concentrate and hold interest in a seemingly useless topic takes so so much energy out of you.. I couldn't even begin to explain how drained i feel when i have to force myself to concentrate on someone that talks in ever-widening circles


ps.. anyone want to chat for ten minutes about hairstyles..?

that's what i managed to do today.. i'm proud of my brain - seriously.