[snickie]

I used to be a member of DragCave for a while. I liked the idea of collecting dragons and only having to log on every few days. (Of course, I became obsessed and started logging on far more often than that.) After I joined the DC forums, I discovered a thread for Aspergers and Autism, and someone there posted a link to the rdos website quiz (which was on version 2 at the time). I'm addicted to personality quizzes and stuff like that, so obviously I had to take it, and when I looked at and posted and analyzed my results (including looking up traits and anecdotes and comparing myself to them), I became obsessed with the idea that I might have Asperger's. Since then I've taken the quiz a number of times again with different input for childhood knowledge as well as some other quizzes.

I'd post all of my analyses and results and stuff, but they're pretty darn long and cumbersome to read, so I'm going to post the links to my posts on the DC forum instead.

First time I took the quiz and an extensive analysis of my results, coupled with my nondesire for an official diagnosis.

Somebody responded and I responded to them (quotes). Their response to my response is on the next page.

I took the quiz again and got a slightly different result. Someone noticed dips in Aspie social and perception on my graph and concluded that I probably wasn't an Aspie due to those.

My reaction to asking a close friend about the possibility of me having Asperger's. I didn't post this before, but one of the points she brought up was that I usually score ISTP on the Myers-Briggs and ISTP is the most common personality type to appear in Aspies. Or something like that.

The last time I took the rdos quiz on version 2, includes results and another extensive analysis. These results probably reflect me most accurately given that my mom actually sat in with me and offered input on things I do or had done in my childhood that I didn't notice or remember. Also, in that discussion, I decided that I wouldn't be opposed to actually having the diagnosis even though all that would follow would be my refusal to take medication and possibly some expensive therapy or classes that use rudimentary exercises to teach me to behave like a normal human being. (Not that I'm discrediting therapy/classes.) Finally, a childhood behavior score thing at the very bottom that I took with my mom and seems pretty consistent with an Asperger's diagnosis I think.

Looking back through the thread I'm noticing some similarities between myself and other people that I haven't bothered to notice before. Someone posted this and I can relate to quite a bit of it. I've quoted only what I can relate to.

That psychiatrist pointed out a few things to me, and this was just from last summer:
- inability to look into people's eyes
- awkward around opposite gender
- inability to reach out to people
- inability to initiate hanging out.

[...]Something stops me from initiating hanging out with people - I never know when, where, how, or who - unless it's very obvious like asking the guy who I've gone on a few dates with to the boat dance - that much was pretty obvious. I need other people to make events....

[...]

[...ADD/ADHD comorbid?...]
- I really cannot focus on stuff that bores me. I'm pretty sure I've been on DC for the past, what... oh dang has it been like 7-8 hours already?! minus cooking my dinner and taking a shower. See what I mean?
I'm supposed to be working on homework but I'm like, screw that.
- I tend to get distracted, sometimes even in the middle of a thought.

I took the Autism/Asperger's quiz here. The first time, before I signed up for an account, I scored 41. After I signed up and took the quiz again I scored 38, which is Autism likely.

Some time ago I found a checklist of common traits of female adult Aspies that someone compiled. Some of the traits and some of the larger categories sounded a lot like me while some of them did not. I might post that at a later date. I'm not sure how conclusive it is, but I do think it's good to have if I ever decide to pursue a diagnosis.

I also recently found a 15-minute YouTube video testimony that I can relate to so much.

I'd elaborate on how it applies to me but I think it'd be easier to show what doesn't apply to me.

However, I think I've given y'all enough to read for now.

One last note: I have considered the possibility of Schizoid or Avoidant Personality Disorders, but given the prevalence of some of these traits in my early youth, I don’t really think either of these are quite as accurate. (To be honest, I'm not even sure Asperger's is accurate. Maybe it's not and I'm just weird.)

I could talk more, but I really should wrap up this post so that some of you might actually read it lol.

[Travelinglady]

Thanks for sharing, snickie. I am thinking the only way to know for sure is to meet with a therapist to talk about past and present behaviors.

[snickie]

That's what I was afraid of, that I'm so on-the-fence that nobody could really give an opinion in either direction. Sure, I could talk to a therapist or a psychologist about it, but that's expensive and I'm a poor college student lol and I don't want to go that way lest they dismiss me and tell me I'm just an obsessive kid who reads too many psychology books. XD

I will say that the only thing my university does to help people with Asperger's is to get them to the Academic Success Center. The only problems I have had in school academically have to do with procrastination on subjects/classes/assignments I don't particularly like, especially those that take a while to do, like long research papers or presentations (I hate hate hate hate presentations). Fortunately, I take mostly classes I like (except for my first semester... I can see where that would have been extremely helpful my first semester). There's also the Counselling Center for the emotional stuff, but as I currently don't struggle with anything that would warrant going there, it's not helpful to me.

[snickie]

(Why can't I edit my posts? The Posting Rules at the bottom left corner of the page says I can, so why can't I?)

So, www.aspergerstestsite.com has another quiz for AS and I took it a while back and subscribed to their newsletter, and I neglected to add that in my OP. The quiz results are below and it only really measures social and some mental attributes.

Thank you for taking the AQ Test

Your AQ Test Score is: 41
The official criteria for Aspergers Syndrome is an AQ score greater than 32.

According to statistical analysis, 26 – 31 Is a borderline score.

86% of people with this score can be correctly classified as having Aspergers Syndrome.

I don't know, though. I know I lack some of the key features such as clumsiness (I was in marching band for four years, and there's no room for clumsiness), comorbidities (the closest might be really really mild OCD or ADHD), and major differences in perception.

[Travelinglady]

As I recall, folks can edit their posts up to four hours after they post them, but not after that. After that, they would need to ask a moderator to help.

Hmmm. I do know the Autism Spectrum runs from very mild (more in the Asperger's term) to severe Autism.

I have read that the term "asperger's" is going to be done away with, in fact.

Perhaps it is best to say that you might fit in the milder range of this scale.

I am not an aspie. But my sons have had friends who are. And I have a friend with it.

Perhaps in the meantime you can find a site to get help with dealing with it. I will hunt myself and try to post back here. Here is just one source. I'm sure there are others out there. http://www.aane.org/about_asperger_s...me_adults.html

Seems to me the main thing is targeting where you need help. For example, someone I know is getting people to help him to make eye contact.

[rosska]

Hey there.

I hadn't seen the video you linked before but it was actually very good. I'm sending a link for that to my family members. I relate to about 99% of what she was saying, one of the issues I really don't relate to is I don't really like touching people unless I'm in a relationship with them.

Though as a child I loved bodily contact with family and friends. I think it was likely the negative reaction to that contact from peers as I got older that made me become uncomfortable with it myself. Just as I have pulled away from social interaction due to years of failed attempts. Like the woman in the video, I prefer one on one social interaction and even then I only have a very small number of people I truly enjoy doing that with.

When she started speaking about eye contact issues I had a little laugh to myself, it's one of the things my psychiatrist first noticed about me and I've always known myself that I don't like eye contact, but when she mentioned it in the video I realised that I was ok looking at her eyes when she wasn't looking at the camera but as soon as she made eye contact with the camera my eyes shot off to the side and started looking at the palm trees! Gave me a little giggle.

As TravelingLady pointed out, Asperger's is part of the Autism spectrum. Not all symptoms are present in everybody on the spectrum and those that are may be very severe in one person and very mild in another. It is never easy to get a 'one test fits all' online really. You do need a qualified psychiatrist to make the ultimate call. A few of the quizzes you've linked to have been taken in threads on this forum by numerous people who are a mix of diagnosed and un-diagnosed and there is a lot of crossover in the results.

[snickie]

I didn't notice the thing about the eye contact, but I do now. It's not bad, I guess I've trained myself to hold eye contact but I have to focus to do it. And then I have to force myself to break eye contact lest I be accused of staring.

I also don't relate too much to the hugging or touch thing. I don't mind hugging (under most circumstances) and I am known by some for giving good hugs, but I don't want to run up to random people and hug them out of the blue. Or even acquaintances. I have to know that it's okay before I can even allow myself to want to hug them.

On a tangentially related note, I did always like the feeling of the heavy thing the dentist always put on whenever taking x-rays to see if I had cavities, and I like sleeping under heavy comforters even in the heat of summer (though I could never be tucked in because I usually move too much when I sleep).



So at this point I should probably divert the topic to diagnosis.
I'm not familiar with diagnostic processes in the U.S. Most of the resources related to that that I found online were for the U.K. and the ones that weren't talked about diagnosing pre-adolescent children (I'm 19).
What should I expect if I decide to pursue an official diagnosis?
What is the process like?
Do you think there is a likelihood of them giving me the diagnosis just based on what you've seen here from me? I don't want to pursue it if the likelihood is low.

[eskielover]

I think since they can now Dx aspergers (ASD) it would be wise for you to go for it. It wasn't dx'ed until 1994...& i am sure that my H ( who i left 7 years ago) is dealing with undiagnosed aspergers at the age of 62. Honestly the lack of emotional connection along with his inability to communicate or take over financial responsibility when i got major sick...destroyed the already BAD marriage...that his attitude issues caused before we ever got married. Maybe if I had known what i was dealing with & didn't just think he was being a jerk on purpose the marriage might have been different. It's important to know what you are dealing with or not.

ASD aspergers is a spectrum condition....so you may possibly be on the low end of the spectrum...but it's best to know with a dx rather than guess.

I moved 2100 miles away from my H (still working on the divorce) & after finding out his inability to financially take care of himself...I filed a report with Adult Protective Services to get him evaluated & get a conservator to take control of his financial situation so I can get out of the marriage.

If you get a dx...you csn get therapy to help you in areas where you struggle rather than end up like my H. He couldnt talk on the phone. He couldn't handle situations out of the norm. Stuck his head in the sand & pretended the things werent happening. He never did talk to the IRS & never told me about the letter because he didnt understand it. Then he quit paying property taxes then quit paying the house payment but would never talk to the lenders..house went into forclosure before i found out. Hospital bills were never handled because when i was sick i was depending on him to take care of things as i would have if it was him..but he never communicated that he wasn't taking care of the issues.

I'm sure your issues aren't this extreme...but it's best to get a dx & get help in the areas that bother your life so you don't end up destroying it years down the road

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I577 using Tapatalk 2

[artyaspie]

Both my partner and I got diagnosed when over forty, it would have made our life together much more understandable if we had known sooner about our aspergers. Finances were always a problem until we moved to Ireland, less stress/less people helps us both a lot to deal with everyday problems, in our relationship I am the one who copes least well with such things.