Noelg From United Kingdom (England), joined Apr 2002, 2326 posts, RR: 21 Posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 875 times:
Hi all
I was wondering if anyone else has any experience of this condition? It is something that I had as a child and although I have "grown out" of some of the characteristics now, there are still a lot that I possess.
Asperger Syndrome is linked to Autism, but is a form of "High-functioning" autism.
Characteristics include having a small group of one or two intense interests (with transport and computers being of particular interest), with social-integration problems at school resulting from that. Due to the intense nature of these interests, the child develops a huge knowledge in that area, and as a result many children find it extremely difficult to integrate with other pupils.
There is also an obsession with keeping things orderly, and list-keeping is popular. Many children go on to work in jobs that require this mentality, such as computer programming.
A lot of people with Asperger's never become sociable and many spend their entire lives alone.
From experience a lot of people interested in aviation have this condition, due to the nature of the interests.
One symptom related to the interests part is that they can change randomly, for instance with me I started off being interested in trains and buses and moved on to aviation later, where my interest has been for 12 years. My obsessiveness with this extends to my collection of safety cards, I used to collect timetables. I feel a need to "collect" as much as I can to do with aircraft, I make lists of aircraft seen, lists of photographs taken etc. If I go to an airport I feel a pressing need to get the registration of every single aircraft on the ground (and not just the majority as most spotters do). I have to make several passes to make sure I've missed nothing!
I found it very difficult to fit in at school, and did not have many friends (my friends seemed to consist of a few children with special needs, which at the time I knew nothing of, but in hindsight I see it). I never had a partner until I was 21, and have been married to Rachel since (4 years now).
She has to put up with my obsessiveness, particularly with aviation, my compulsive list creating (when we go on holiday I need to make a precise schedule, I have to create lists for absolutely everything) and my obsessiveness with keeping things straight and orderly (e.g. measuring things on the mantelpiece to make sure they're the same distance apart etc).
Does anyone else have experience with Asperger's, and how does it affect you?
Kiwiandrew From Mauritius, joined Jun 2005, 5531 posts, RR: 17 Reply 1, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 862 times:
Quoting Noelg (Thread starter): Does anyone else have experience with Asperger's, and how does it affect you?
Hi Noel
While I have never been formally diagnosed , I would not be at all surprised to find that I have a mild form of Aspergers , While I am definitely not an ordered person ( in fact disorder would describe my usual living environment as my longsuffering partner would be the first to tell anyone ) I have always been prone to 'cataloguing' information about my interests , when I was younger I had an almost obsessive ( ok , lets be honest , there was no 'almost' about it ) in passenger ships which mutated into an obsession about airlines/aircraft. My partner knows that if we are travelling somewhere we must always be at the airport early ( bless him , he would be a 'last minute' person if left to his own devices ) so that I can 'spot'.
We were in Portugal on holiday earlier this year and we went to a gay beach near Faro - my partner spotted men , while I spent far more time spotting a/c !
Fortunately he is very tolerant , and is quite good at discreetly shutting me up when I am boring people to death at parties etc ( left to my own devices I would never notice their eyes glazing over ) . Prior to moving to Belgium I spent a number of years working in the travel industry in New Zealand where I at least had a professional excuse for my obsession - it was great !
edited to add : how could I forget my obsession with maps - when I was 10 I got into big trouble for pinching my elder brothers globe ( which he had bought only a few days earlier using one of his first paycheques ) - sticking pins in it and tying little bits of string to them to represent global airroutes - a primitive pre-internet attempt at a great circle mapper I am incapable of passing a map/atlas/globe/airline route map without being immediately seduced by it .
[Edited 2005-12-12 13:21:21]
PS you don't need to tell me that this is tragic - I know
[Edited 2005-12-12 13:22:01]
Moderation in all things ... including moderation ;-)
Oly720man From United Kingdom, joined May 2004, 4763 posts, RR: 12 Reply 2, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 842 times:
Hi Noel
Not sure if I had Asperger's but what might be called late social development. I was obsessed with aircraft when younger and social activities were a meaningless blank. They still are to some extent. At least I now go to social occasions, but memories of them are shortlived as if my brain doesn't recognise what they are, or the neurones aren't developed/connected enough to make any sense of them. There's just some part of my brain where social activities/awareness should be that just isn't working properly, if at all, I presume based on observations of other people. Hard to explain... I suppose you'll recognise it if you've got it.
I am fairly convinced that what I went through was related to wheat/gluten that has been recognised as being responsible in part for social developmental difficulties. I went gluten free in 1998 and it took the best part of 4 or 5 years until I could sense that the primary effects of gluten had gone. There were still the other problems of having been affected for the previous 30-odd years and all the social interactions that didn't happen, hence the blanks.
I am married and have 2 kids so things are a lot better than they used to be... I'd never have imagined it or believed it 10 years ago.
And my job involves a lot of computing.
Man City p3 w3 d0 l0 f4 a0 P9 - hey it may never happen again!
Mir From United States, joined Jan 2004, 13127 posts, RR: 65 Reply 3, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 831 times:
I would not be at all surprised if I had portions of Asperger's Syndrome (in fact, my parents are pretty convinced that I do). Kiwiandrew pretty much described me.
I met 90% of the criteria. It's like I see the world from a slightly askewed perspective. Here's an example. Ten people, of which I am one, witness a car crash and the police obtain witness statements from each of us. Mine would be the only one that doesn't match the others. Others may think I've written about an entirely different crash.
EDIT: Re: the test listed above. Remember...things in blue mean the opposite behavior is present.
Noelg From United Kingdom (England), joined Apr 2002, 2326 posts, RR: 21 Reply 5, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 810 times:
What you guys are saying echoes me actually - especially with the maps! I have always been obsessed with maps (I used to draw ficticious maps just for the hell of it as a child - when everyone else was drawing cars and boats, I was creating fictional towns).....
Quoting Kiwiandrew (Reply 1): I am incapable of passing a map/atlas/globe/airline route map without being immediately seduced by it .
I am exactly the same! Being a travel company we have maps on the walls, and half the time I will pass a map and just stand there staring at it - I get some strange looks!
Quoting Oly720man (Reply 2): I suppose you'll recognise it if you've got it.
It's pretty similar to me. I never really got involved in social activities as a child, and still don't. I don't like interacting with people I don't know, and I get very nervous if I'm with strange people (even now). I was petrified before the A.net AMS meet, fortunately they were all a nice bunch of guys and naturally made me feel at ease - but there's always that nervousness.
It's funny really because all the time you're growing up you never think there's anything "different" about you, and can't understand why people think you're strange. This inevitably leads to bullying - if you don't know what they're bullying you for how can you do anything about it?
Quoting Oly720man (Reply 2): I am married and have 2 kids so things are a lot better than they used to be... I'd never have imagined it or believed it 10 years ago.
Somebody told me something 7 years ago that at the time I just laughed in his face. I was single and had never imagined I'd meet someone. He said "In a few years time you will meet someone and settle down". I laughed in his face, but he was adament. There was no chance I'd ever meet anyone I thought. I have now been married 4 years!
As a child it is something I just wouldn't have believed.
Oly720man From United Kingdom, joined May 2004, 4763 posts, RR: 12 Reply 6, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 799 times:
Quoting Noelg (Reply 5): This inevitably leads to bullying - if you don't know what they're bullying you for how can you do anything about it?
Fortunately I wasn't bullied. Maybe the school I went to, maybe the fact there were other 'plane nuts' as well. And I did live a long way from most of the other people who went to the school so I wasn't involved in any of the usual teen life.
Something that has occurred to me is that people who don't fit but get on with their lives quietly are the most easily ignored by the system and things like this are not picked up on. It's the loud and outgoing people and the troublemakers who get the attention though they're probably the most normal.
Man City p3 w3 d0 l0 f4 a0 P9 - hey it may never happen again!
Jap From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 7, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 788 times:
I have asperger syndrome myself. It was discovered around July, so they were pretty late to diagnose me
How mild it is, the doctors don't know (I still need to go through a LOT of tests), but I am not able to function fully in every day life unfortunately. I can't work as I lose concentration WAY too fast and I simply just sit around, not knowing what to do, where to go or how to do it- ususally, that ends with me, going home early and then, simply just not showing up- I want to help it, but I just can't. Social workers and doctors are trying to get me on permanent benefits (the plan at the moment) or a working place where I get the support I need.
I was bullied, had a depression and a psychosis and was then wrongfully diagnosed with a schizotypical/schizoid mental condition- quite common for "aspies" to get misdiagnosed with this too. Also, it's not very common among girls, so that only made the diagnosing it harder.
I was actually considering making a topic like this as it has certainly affected my life- and I do know a lot of aviation enthusiasts who has asperger, but you beat me to it It's good to see that no one is alone- and it's great to talk about it
EDIT: I notice that a lot of people here are saying "that sounds like me!". Well, a lot of the symptoms are quite normal, but please, don't diagnose yourselves. If you're worried that you do have AS, go to your doctor and talk this through. 90% of the world has one or more symptoms of Asperger syndrome, but that doesn't mean 90% has the syndrome
Noelg From United Kingdom (England), joined Apr 2002, 2326 posts, RR: 21 Reply 8, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 762 times:
Sounds like you have a pretty serious case there, fortunately although it messes you up socially, I have learned to live with my oddness. It was a real problem at school but today I've learned to just get on with it. I used to be ashamed to admit that I was a plane spotter etc, or ashamed to say that I had never had a girlfriend or anything, but these days it is at the stage where I don't really care.
Quoting Jap (Reply 7): If you're worried that you do have AS, go to your doctor and talk this through. 90% of the world has one or more symptoms of Asperger syndrome, but that doesn't mean 90% has the syndrome
I am happy, I enjoy my hobbies and yes although I get obsessive about things I can live with it, and my wife can live with it as well. I've learned not to worry what others think, and indeed now I enjoy telling people about my obsessions. Sometimes they may think I'm a little crazy, but I'm not out there desperately trying to make friends, if you can accept me it's great, if not then I'm quite happy for you to carry on thankyou.
It really isn't the end of the world, as long as people can accept your idiosyncrasies then it really isn't a problem. Working in an IT department certainly helps, as a lot of people here have similar obsessions and 'features' that I do.
Mir From United States, joined Jan 2004, 13127 posts, RR: 65 Reply 9, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 762 times:
Quoting Jap (Reply 7): I notice that a lot of people here are saying "that sounds like me!". Well, a lot of the symptoms are quite normal, but please, don't diagnose yourselves. If you're worried that you do have AS, go to your doctor and talk this through. 90% of the world has one or more symptoms of Asperger syndrome, but that doesn't mean 90% has the syndrome
RNOcommctr From United States, joined Jan 2001, 781 posts, RR: 6 Reply 10, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 761 times:
I am pretty sure my 23-year old step-son has Asperger's. Everyone with Asperger's has at least one narrow interest with which they are pretty much obsessed. My stepson's is computer gaming. He is on the computer virtually every moment is not working or eating or sleeping.
I am interested in the comments you guys have about ordering things... making sure everything is exactly in place. In Eduardo's case (my stepson), he is just the opposite, with his personal hygiene being disgusting and his room absolutely filthy.
Socially, Eduardo has no friends. It is fascinating, however, that he can become a good conversationalist when he wants to. Generally his conversation with us at home is jokes and word-plays (puns, etc.)
Eduardo has no motivation to do anything but play on the computer. He has to be hounded to do chores, and when he does them, they are never done well or completely. He started to pursue a degree in computer programming at the local community college. Although he was good about showing up to class, he didn't/wouldn't study or do the homework.
I think Eduardo meets about 70% of the Asperger's criteria. But it is almost more like there is a malfunction in the pleasure/pain center of his brain; i.e. he avoids anything painful or that has to do with responsibility or pain or inconvenience.
Eduardo lives with us at home (tiny 950-square foot condo) and he has been here three years. His presence at home is causing a lot of stress in my own life and in our marriage. Having said all that, Eduardo is actually a pretty personable, good-humored fellow.
Eduardo has an appointment with a psychiatrist in early January. I hope we will at least get a diagnosis. His general physician and a neurologist have pretty much thrown up their hands and said "I dunno".
Well, I empathize with all of you who are grappling with this problem. You are brave souls and I wish you all the best.
ScarletHarlot From Canada, joined Jul 2003, 4240 posts, RR: 67 Reply 11, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 746 times:
Quoting Noelg (Reply 5): What you guys are saying echoes me actually - especially with the maps! I have always been obsessed with maps (I used to draw ficticious maps just for the hell of it as a child
Holy cows, I have never known anybody else who drew maps of fictitious towns. Me too! I also populated the town with nice little nuclear families and made up lives for them. Thinking back on it, it really was kinda sad.
BigOrange From United States, joined Apr 2004, 2303 posts, RR: 5 Reply 12, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 733 times:
My nephew was diagnosed with it about 4 years ago. He is 12 now, and his obsession is Harry Potter, but he also lacks social skills, and often loses his temper if things don't go his way.
Corey07850 From United States, joined Feb 2004, 2372 posts, RR: 6 Reply 14, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 712 times:
I went to school with a kid that had it and his was fairly severe... He suffered from all the social problems, even speech problems, but his main obsession was collecting. He would collect anything he could, but for some reason he was obsessed with light bulbs. Anytime there was a light bulb out he would go grab it and people would bring light bulbs in for him.... I haven't seen him in years but I've heard he owns his own junk shop/junkyard type place....quite fitting.
My girlfriend goes to Johns Hopkins and knows a student there that has it. The kid is a biology major there looking to go pre-med so that shows it's not really a hindering syndrome.
Redngold From United States, joined Mar 2000, 6907 posts, RR: 58 Reply 15, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 701 times:
I don't have Asperger's Syndrome - I'm "too socially adjusted" - but I have severe OCD which mimicked Asperger's for a while. When it got very bad during my teenage and young adult years, I was very withdrawn and was susceptible to fits of rage. Luckily I'm in remission now.
Borderline Personality Disorder - it's not just for fence sitters. (Slogans courtesy of friends in psych rotations)
Lentigomaligna From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 16, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 694 times:
Quoting Noelg (Reply 5): I used to draw ficticious maps just for the hell of it as a child - when everyone else was drawing cars and boats, I was creating fictional towns
Me Too! Kinda sad, actually
The first time I heard the words Asperger's Syndrome was from my mom who's an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) who suggested that I might have a form of the disorder, I looked it up in the DSM-IV and a lot of the symptoms sounded like me, but far too mild to make any sort of dx I would think-and I obviously wouldn't have the expertise to dx it even if it did apply.
I definitely have my little obsessions, and they do change, but nothing that I would characterize as a "disorder" perhaps more a "quirk" or a personality trait. Common ones for me are aviation, linguistics & law.
I list-keep but I am FAR from orderly-you'd be hard pressed to find someone more disorganized than myself.
I'm also a shy person, but hardly a social recluse. I probably do have some form of Social Anxiety that is worst when encountering new situations. I would say that I was socially delayed rather than impaired. Ironically, I have a really hard time saying no to people, so I'll almost always go to someone's party when asked even when I really have something else that I should be doing.
I thought this was interesting:
Quote: Non-autistics are able to gather a whole host of information about other people's cognitive and emotional states based on clues gleaned from the environment and the other person's facial expression and body language, but people with Asperger syndrome have an impairment in this ability, sometimes called mind-blindness. To be mind-blind is to find it difficult or even impossible to figure out things a person implies but does not say directly (more colloquially, to "read between the lines"). This is not because they cannot imagine the answer but because they cannot choose between the possibilities; the mind-blind person cannot reliably gather enough information to do so or does not know how to interpret the information he or she does gather.
That sounds very much like me, as does the ability to demonstrate an emotional response and use of speech and a gift for linguistic humor which many people use to describe me. I'm also the INTP personality disorder (I knew this before I'd even heard of Asperger syndrome-though a part of me wants to say I have INFP) closely associated with Asperger's. I guess it wouldn't be a stretch to say I have a form of Asperger's.
NoelG From United Kingdom (England), joined Apr 2002, 2326 posts, RR: 21 Reply 17, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 661 times:
I honestly thought there couldn't be anyone else who would make up maps!
I've actually read a really good (fiction) book that picks up a lot about Asperger's. It is called "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time" by Mark Haddon. It is basically the diary of a boy who has Asperger's, while he undergoes an adventure (I won't spoil it for anyone else).
The book is totally uncanny in how it deals with it, and reading that book it could have been about me as a child. An excellent read that I can't recommend highly enough, particularly if you've been there or know people who are there.
Nancy From United States, joined May 2004, 467 posts, RR: 12 Reply 18, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 654 times:
I teach students who are "on the spectrum" which refers to having and autism spectrum disorder which includes autism, aspergers and PDD: Pervasive developmental disorder (you seem to have aspergers or autism but don't quite meet all the criteria.) I've taught students obsessed with obsessed Emiril Legasse, animals, speaking in the exact tones of announcers from various videos, typing, courts and judges, dogs, snow, and lastly the War of the Worlds.
The hardest thing for them is making and keeping friends. They don't understand why something is OK to say in one situation and not in the next, why it's OK for one person and not another and why it isn't OK to say whatever happens to be the truth. There are therapists who will work on these things though, usually speech therapist or behavioral psychologists.They can teach people ways to interpret body language and some fairly routine social interactions. I teach skills like "Listening"
1. Look at the person
2. Think about what he's saying
3. Say "yes" or nod your head
4. Ask a question about what he said
(that's from the skills treaming program)
There's hundreds of these skills that most people learn without direct instruction, but some people need it.
As for motivating people with aspergers, sometimes it works to make lists. If you say clean your room, well what does that mean, how much, for how long, am I dusting under the bed?
So
1. Pick up clothes.
2 sort clothes into clean and dirty.
3 Put dirty clothes in hamper
4 fold clean clothes and put in drawers
5 make bed
6 bring dishes to kitchen
7. Put dishes in sink
8 Play computer game
If you have any control saying first clean then computer game might be the motivation. Schedules might work well too.
Get up
Take shower
brush teeth
put towel in hamper
play computer game
A lot of people with aspergers react well the written lists rather than verbal prompting because verbal directions sound like "blah blah shower ....BLAH BLAH TAKE BLAH!" Oh and by the way none of my students are neat freaks, darn it!
Redngold From United States, joined Mar 2000, 6907 posts, RR: 58 Reply 20, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 622 times:
Nancy -
You (obviously) hit the nail on the head. I realized, well after I was trained and working by myself, that I learned so quickly because everything was laid out in detail. If someone just said to me, "check out books" I might have ended up with cards and checkout slips sitting all over the place for a loooong time until I realized that I should file them immediately.
I learn through visualizing, not through doing on my own. Show me how it's done and I'll probably do it perfectly within a few tries. Tell me to do it, and I might end up doing some things in the wrong order.
I recently started volunteering in a vet services position at the local animal shelter. They said "you can put eye goop in, cut the nails, shave and prep the cat for surgery." My instinct was "put the eye goop in to prevent drying out... check... trim the nails 'cuz I already know how to do that... check... oops the vet is standing over the cat and I haven't shaved or prepped yet." It took me four weeks to realize that, for best results and efficiency, it should go:
1. Put eye goop in
2. Tie down the cat
3. Shave the cat
4. Prep the cat
5. THEN trim the nails (if the vet isn't already there to start surgery - otherwise, I can do it after the surgery is over but before the cat wakes up)
I have enough "common sense" to make it through day to day life, but when it comes to keeping up my apartment, ... uh... well... give me at least three weeks' notice if you're going to visit, because my place looks like a tornado went through.
Borderline Personality Disorder - it's not just for fence sitters. (Slogans courtesy of friends in psych rotations)
Jafa39 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 21, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 600 times:
Quoting Noelg (Thread starter): Asperger Syndrome is linked to Autism, but is a form of "High-functioning" autism.
Some would label you an "Indigo Chld".
Quoting Noelg (Reply 5): especially with the maps! I have always been obsessed with maps (I used to draw ficticious maps just for the hell of it as a child - when everyone else was drawing cars and boats, I was creating fictional towns).....
Ha ha! Me too!
Quoting Noelg (Reply 5): and half the time I will pass a map and just stand there staring at it - I get some strange looks!
You and me are gonna have a ball in AKL, we may never leave the building! I luurrve maps!
Quoting Noelg (Reply 8): but these days it is at the stage where I don't really care.
Thats because you have a girlf mate!
Quoting ScarletHarlot (Reply 11): I also populated the town with nice little nuclear families
Mine were coal-fired.
Noel, funny how the world changes, here we are in the 21st century and someone who is organised and has a hobby is diagnosed with some syndrome or other...have you ever considered the possibility that you may not be the crazy one!!!
After all, you have a wife and a house and a job and a car, how many so called "normal" young men your age are within even a mile of that sort of achievement, hell, how lucky is your missus? a tidy, organised, heterosexual, bloke!!!
USAFHummer From United States, joined May 2000, 10685 posts, RR: 63 Reply 23, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 569 times:
Wow...I hadn't really heard of this before, but after looking over the list of symptoms, at least half of them fit me, and it would answer a lot of questions for me about why I am the way I am...definitely going to mention this to my doctor next time I make a visit...
Greg
Chief A.net college football stadium self-pic guru
Noelg From United Kingdom (England), joined Apr 2002, 2326 posts, RR: 21 Reply 24, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 1 day ago) and read 548 times:
Quoting Jafa39 (Reply 21): You and me are gonna have a ball in AKL, we may never leave the building! I luurrve maps!
Ace - we can send the wives out shopping then!
Quoting Jafa39 (Reply 21): Thats because you have a girlf mate!
Sshh don't let my wife know about that
Quoting Jafa39 (Reply 21): hell, how lucky is your missus? a tidy, organised, heterosexual, bloke!!!
Hmmmm she may beg to differ - I'm organised in terms of planning things and keeping lists, but I am forever losing things and asking her where I've left them, she gets fed up with me for that (I tidy things away and can't remember what I've done with them).
Kiwiandrew From Mauritius, joined Jun 2005, 5531 posts, RR: 17 Reply 25, posted (3 years 11 months 3 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 545 times:
Quoting Jafa39 (Reply 21): Quoting Noelg (Reply 5):
and half the time I will pass a map and just stand there staring at it - I get some strange looks!
You and me are gonna have a ball in AKL, we may never leave the building! I luurrve maps!
when I worked in a travel agency we had one of those huge full wall maps - it was great - I can remember one of my clients once saying how neat it was to have an ethusiastic travel agent , because I used to get up out of my seat , drag them over to the map and run through their itinerary with them actually tracing it all on the map with my finger ( sigh , what a job .... if only it had paid a living wage - but then you can't have everything )
Moderation in all things ... including moderation ;-)
26 Beowulf: Exactly what I was going so say. I read what you all wrote and I even went through this unorderly list; I have to say it not only fits me but a lot o
27 Ilikeyyc: I am really glad to know that I am not the only person obsessed with maps. I have a USA road map unfolded in the living room and I can't help but sta
28 USAFHummer: Yes...I like knowing why things are the way they are, and I find this Asperger's particularly interesting because I have long used some personal even
29 Beowulf: @USAFHummer O.K., what I meant was Asperger's may be used as an explanation and/or excuse for everything that's inexplicable or annoying. My "fear" is
30 Jap: Trust me, it CAN be a hindering syndrome. I am THIS close to go on permanent benefits, mainly because of AS. I will try to get a job, but this will b
31 Jafa39: Exactly, this is why one should never tidy things away!!!
32 Redngold: You're exactly right! Almost everyone in this world carries psychological traits that, if magnified out of proportion to one's total character, would
33 Nancy: Of course many people have traits that could be associated with Aspergers or misinterpreted as being Aspergers. That's why it is important to have a q
34 Cadet985: I know that I have been diagnosed with it (I was diagnosed when I was like 6), but really don't know much about it. You mention one of the symptoms is
35 USAFHummer: Might I ask what sorts of doctors you are visiting to get your diagnosis, and what sort of tests they are performing??? Thanks, Greg
36 Jmc1975: I would like to know too. From what I've seen, it looks like it would be more accurately diagnosed by self and others who know you well. Does anybody
37 Jap: I went to see my physician first- he sent me to a psychiatrist who deals with Asperger syndrome on a regular basis and that was about it... The tests
38 Logan22L: Having read only a portion of these posts, I will say that chemical imbalances are very common. This from someone who has worked in the pharmaceutical
39 USAFHummer: Thanks for the info Jap...most of the stuff Ive seen on it seems to pertain to diagnosis for a child, so finding stuff relating to adult diagnosis is
40 Skidmarks: How spooky is that? I was also map mad at school. Drawing them, looking at them, christ, I had more maps than National Geographic! It's nice to hear
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From United Kingdom (England), joined Apr 2002, 2326 posts, 
From Mauritius, joined Jun 2005, 5531 posts, 
I am incapable of passing a map/atlas/globe/airline route map without being immediately seduced by it .
From United Kingdom, joined May 2004, 4763 posts, 
From United States, joined Jan 2004, 13127 posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
It's good to see that no one is alone- and it's great to talk about it 
From Canada, joined Jul 2003, 4240 posts, 
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