Asperger's Syndrome

[DaJe]

First I'll explain about myself, and then explain what it is. It's a mild form of autism, also sometimes referred to as "The Geek Syndrome". I guess it's not like what you wold normally think about with Autism, it's different. Some people that have it are the most intelligent people you'll ever see. Einstein even hadit. I think there's a possibility I may have it. I was supposed to have an appointment with my psychiatrist last month and I was going to talk to him about it, but it had to be rescheduled and I haven't had it yet. I have been disgnosed with a social anxiety disorder, and since then have been on all sorts of things. I've gotten better with it. I no longer have overwhelming emotions that I can't control. Though I still don't do the best I could around people. I also just had to go do something, so I forgot what I was going to type. So anyways, I still get really nervous and anxious around people, especially large groups, esecially with people I don't know. I keep forgetting what I'm going to say now. That's another problem. One thing about Aspergers is the person may have a speach problem. One problem I seem to have is that I can never convert my thoughts into actual words. When a thought is in my head, it doesn't exist in words, ad I don't know how to get it out. And sometimes I feel like I have to concentrate on whqt I'm saying to get it to come out right. I stumble over my words (I've also made soo many typos while typing this >_>). I really do spend all day every day just on the computer. I'm constantly connected to the people online. I would actually rather just be with my online friends than actual friends. Some of my online friends are even closer to me than friends I actually know. Another thing is someone told me that people wit autism think in a logical way, rather than just being creative. Well, I seem to be creative, but the thing is that I can nevr come up with ideas. I'm very good at just duplicating things. And If I'm told what to create, I can do an amazing job creating it. I just can't come up with theidea myself. I've done painting, I have a painting I did of my cat. but it was just an exact copy of a picture I took. I've been trying to get my website up for 3 years, I'm just trying to think of a design still. I guess it probably just sounds like I'm picking at things and being a hypochondriac. But this isjust how I feel. I'm not qwking you guys for psychological advice or anything. i do have a psychiatrist and I will talk to him about it. I just needed someone else to vent it to.



I guess now I'll start explaining a little bit about Aspergers.


Here's one site with some information on it (http://www.thegeeksyndrome.com). That site also has a test on it, which says if you scored a 25 or higher thawn you most likely have it. Though someone who does actually have it told me that scoring a 25 isn't good enough, and that 30 would be abetter score. Well, when i took it, I scored like a 35. And yes yes, online tests, no one finds them credible.

here's another good site that explains things (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers_pr.html).




I can't really think of what else to say. Look it up on Wikipedia or something if you need for information. I'll just let you guys start saying things in this thread, and the I'll respond to them, rather than trying to cram everything into the original post.

[GT40_GearHead]

when did you first started to notice this things, or when did it become a problem ?

[DaJe]

Well I've known about the social anxiety disorder for years now. But asfor the possible Asperger's, I started thinking about it a few months ago, when i first heard about it. I just haven't felt right. I've been feeling like there's jsut something else. Like there was still something wrong with me. And then I found something that i feel applies to me well.

[XcOM]

sorry for what you've got, but TBH i didn't read it all.

http://www.softspotsoftware.com/pages/common/LetterRack3D/documentation/Return-Key.gif
Please learn to use the return/enter key and make paragraphs

[Ironcat]

1. I have 2 cousins with Asperger's and while you may or may not have it (only you and your Dr. can say for sure) that test was Bullsh!t and way too vague to give even a glancing blow at any sort of diagnosis.
2. XcOM, until you learn to start your sentences with capital letters, end them with periods, and capitalize the letter I when using it to refer to yourself, IMHO I don't think you should be giving people lessons in grammar and punctuation.

[DaJe]

Yeah, I know. Most online tests are complete crap. I'm not using it as a diagnosis or anything. I am going to talk to my psychiatrst.

[XcOM]

@ Ironcat

I didn't mean to come across like that, I myself am crap at grammer unless i spend any length of time checking it, Dyslexia makes for a hard typing.

I appolige for anything i may have said out of line.

I try not to bring Dyslexia into thisngs, but a HUGE chunk of text like that is very hard to read.

Thanks for typing XcOM.

TTFN

[DaJe]

It desn't help that I have to deal with peopkle every day. I didn't take my Zoloft today and I'm feeling overqhwlemd and very nervous right noq,

[Ironcat]

@ X

My fault;
Didn't mean to go off on you... I gotta lotta crap going on here is all.
I come to TBCS to get away from all my real world crap so when I saw someone jumping on someone else it made me get all holier than thou and whatnot.
It's not a good excuse but it's the only one I got. No harm, no foul.

[jdbnsn]

Awww..group hug everybody, don't be shy! :D

[XcOM]

/Hug

[DaveW]

I try not to bring Dyslexia into thisngs


I gotta lotta crap going on here is all.

I typed a huge response but my mouse deleted it. So i'm going to summarise it. Which is annoying, because the original was pretty damn amazing...well, my point?

Everyone has issues, problems, and secrets. A lot of people use the internet to pretend that they're a person without these problems, but you're looking past that stage. You don't even know for certain yet and you've came out and told everyone. A difficult thing to do. A lot of the people on these boards are in the same boat as you, and pretend that their problems and issues don't exist. I'm not saying that's wrong. Why should they say something that might provoke distrust or misunderstanding in the people they know? (I'm not asking anyone to come out here.)

My point, to summarize, is that you know who you are, and probably already understand that identifying the problem changes nothing; you're the same person that you always were. Identification might help with managing it, but that's all. DaJe before = DaJe after.

You always got friends here dude. :)

-Dave

[Ichbin]

Idk if this actually helps or not....and i know i can't even relate, but when i get into a "Modders-Block" (As what im gonna call it) I refer to friends to help me out, give me ideas, and then expand on them. Idk again if this helps at all, but I know that these group of guys (including myself) are MORE then willing to help ya out with creating an idea. Idk. lol. Just thinking out loud ^.^

**EDIT**

Oh! and.. /hug!

[Slug Toy]

A lot of the people on these boards are in the same boat as you, and pretend that their problems and issues don't exist.

this is true. i myself have been diagnosed with SID... severe idiot disorder. its primarily characterized by impulsive acting and speaking without regard for consequence. one benefit is the fact that i have the ability to royally screw up even the simplest things sometimes. that way, people dont depend on me too much.

many times ill find myself putting napkins in the fridge, juice in the cupboard, throwing forks and knives in the garbage... saying completely wrong things. i remember one time my mom was talking to me about the importance of post secondary education, and i was kind of dazed and said "ya... i guess it could go like that." and it turns out that was an inappropriate response. another time i saw a bald eagle that turned out to be a crow with a piece of bread in its mouth... ill never hear the end of that one either.

anyways... i often get on my computer to escape the fact that im an idiot. and when im feeling down... i just read bash.org now and remind myself that millions of others apparently suffer from SID.

[DaveW]

this is true. i myself have been diagnosed with SID... severe idiot disorder.

Grow up. It's not funny.

-Dave

[rendermandan]

Can't we all just get along!

[Eclecticos]

Social anxiety disorder thats was my problem.

It was easily rectified by finding Chics that Attack. . LMAO :D

[xRyokenx]

OMG, just from the description I may have it too... wow... not the only one out there, lol. Wait a sec, how did Einstein chill with his online buddies if he didn't have a computer back then? :D

EDIT: Yep, 29 points on that "quiz"...

[jdbnsn]

I looked at the site that is providing a handy home-test to identify you as AS+. Note 2 suspect things here, 1) this phrase:
Please try our aspergers test, 90% people with aspergers who take the quiz get a score of 25 or higher. What this does not say is X% of people who score 25 or better HAVE AS! Only that folks who already have been diagnosed with the illness answer these pre-designed quizes which "confirm" AS. 2)bottom tab on the left
Products means somebodys making money here, the more people who think they may be AS+ just may pick up a T-shirt or coffee cup.
In the clinical setting, there is no simple set of questions to answer the docs use to diagnose a developmental disorder as complicated as AS or autism. We don't even know how these illnesses work yet, so the diagnosis is made by clinical judgement alone (i.e. go to 10 doctors and 3 will diagnose you as AS+ while 7 will say no way). I would like to warn everyone about tests like these because they are useless and i see them way too much in a hypochondriac society. If anyone thinks they may have a psychiatric disorder which is negatively impacting their lives then they need to visit a psychiatrist (many folks live their whole lives never even knowing they have AS). Otherwise, I advise you to always follow the money and the scent of BS when a website is helping diagnose your illnesses.
Jon

[xRyokenx]

The test really didn't do all that much for me... just reading Dave's description about it led me to think I _may_ have it. Now when I try to discuss this with my parents they'll prolly just dismiss it as me being a dumbass or something... but yeah, the awkwardness around other people is driving me nuts, it's not helping me gain a few friends to go do stuff with that doesn't involve WoW or chatting on here (no offense guys, I've just been sitting around too much, lol)...

[DaJe]

Dave's or DaJe's?

[xRyokenx]

Dave's... I read his post, skimmed through the rest, and prolly might should have read 'em all, but my allergies are set on "Very High" at the moment, and I feel like crap, so I didn't feel like reading all the posts...

EDIT: Nevermind, it was your's DaJe, damn dyslexia, lol...

[DaveW]

I was wondering myself... :D

-Dave

[xRyokenx]

Lol, yeah, I've been out of all week... actually, for the past couple weeks... danged relatives coming over and screwing up the time space continuum... lol, jk, they weren't that bad. :D

[Slug Toy]

Grow up. It's not funny.

-Dave

no, seriously, im not trying to be hurtful. im trying to be enlightening.

i really do have a problem with making bad decisions sometimes, and its cost me friends, money, and many family problems. i CAN be an idiot sometimes. its one of the side effects of being me.

theres something coming out on the discovery channel about cancer some time soon. ted koppel had a hand in making it, and it apparently has an upbeat, and even funny style. if they can now joke about cancer... why cant i try to make people feel better too? it IS a fine line... but dont make the mistake of thinking i dont understand that. i know very well but i always try not to be too serious because unhappiness and moping doesnt get the best results.

and once again, i AM serious about my stupidity issues. thats one of the main reasons i never got a mod off the ground. you should hear the ridicule i get all the time, from my family even. i dont even know if they're joking anymore, but its really starting to hurt. being online helps me because for the most part i can edit what i type... i cant edit what i say or do.

[xRyokenx]

i cant edit what i say or do.


Same problem I have, if you had seen me at work yesterday, you'd have been amazed, esp. since I had been pretty much normal there otherwise... these damned allergies aren't helping either... but yeah, since I know about the little problem you have (understatement of the year), I'ma take it into mind and if you do/say something dumb, I'll know why, and try to not take offense to it. Sound good? :D

[xRyokenx]

Umm... does depression when a story ends, or if you leave a community such as WoW or something for a new one also point out AS? Or is that just me being depressed in general causing that bit of illogical sadness?

[DaJe]

Mainly what Aspergers is about I guess is not being able to deal with people, and not feeling a connection to other humans, and having a hard time communicating with them fully. Not being able to pick up on their signals. With me, I don't understand how people really feel when I talk to them. So I'll say things to them and not really know how they're taking them. And then I'll keep saying more, just trying to hope I'll say something right, but probably just make it worse. I guess I didn't word that right though. But anyways, I did have an incident like that yesterday, and talked to that person today about yesterday, and then talked tot hem about how I'm feeling and all that. Maybe I'll get into that more later.

[nil8]

Go see a shrink. Having mental conditions that predispose you to disconnection from emotion or other people can lead to all kinds of trouble and is often the prerequisite for sociopathic motives, specifically in childhood or teenage development.

Short answer - Go see a mental health professional.
Long answer- See short answer.

[xRyokenx]

I'll prolly go on my own this summer when I can drive, and then take out some loans, my parents really don't believe me when I say anything anymore... stupid retards. That and with being sick I usually feel worse emotionally and right now the way things are going I could do something really stupid without any consideration, hence work this past Thursday, I did not have much self control and totally felt like crap. I hate NC, this place is terrible for allergies and the nearest shrink is like two and a half hours away.

[DaJe]

Go see a shrink. Having mental conditions that predispose you to disconnection from emotion or other people can lead to all kinds of trouble and is often the prerequisite for sociopathic motives, specifically in childhood or teenage development.

Short answer - Go see a mental health professional.
Long answer- See short answer.

I already have a psychiatrist. And I'm making an appointment with him when I can (he's been having back trouble).

[progbuddy]

I seriously think I have this, too. I have only certain interests, and I think differently than everyone else. I have controllable emotions, but I feel like lashing out sometimes because it builds up. I like to procrastinate (a lot), and I seem to think out logical processes rather than trial/error.

[xRyokenx]

Same for me Kev. Certain things just flat out annoy me and I end up doing stupid **** because of them. Here in Eastern NC, in New Bern, the nearest shrink is Greenville (the far side) and takes about two hours to get there. I have a counselor, but I don't really feel like going back to see her for some odd reason...

I vote we all form a community of "nerds" and make our own little self supportive country. Whoever agrees with me say "nay."

[Ichbin]

+rep for being absolutely logical nil.

If you guys have any inkling that you might have something, GO SEE SOMEONE.

[DaJe]

Dammit, even in my original post I said I was going to talk to my psychiatrist about it. It can take a while to actually get an appointment though.

[Ichbin]

But as long as your proactive about seeing one and not shluffing it off.