My first day here... with a few questions

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Hi, everyone.

First post, been lurking a few weeks. I want to learn more about AS and figure out if I have it. I'm male, 32, excel in athletics, sciences, and business. I'm an engineer and my few friends say I'm the kindest most considerate person.

I totally suck socially. I have difficulty paying attention to speakers, no matter how hard I try. I usually talk at people, not with them. Whether it's a potential friend, girlfriend, or coworker, my first word should be "goodbye". I'll inevitably say something offensive but it makes mathematical sense (in my mind, at least). I regularly make my mom cry and I rarely understand why. It's horrible, knowing each time I visit I'll accidentally hurt her; she's the sweetest woman in the world.

Anything mildly unpredictable bothers me A LOT... whether it's waiting for the bus, sitting in traffic, or ambiguous requirements at work.

A few years back I started my "Empire of Loneliness" and I've never been happier. I won't make plans. I live alone and spend my time grooming the yard, maintaining the house, building/fixing cars + random devices, and cooking extravagant meals. I have total control and total freedom.

So my questions (if you've made it this far)
- Does this sound like AS to you? (I can tell you more if you like)
- Who can diagnose this? Who do I go see? Would I be better off not knowing?
- Are people here forgiving? Like, if I accidentally say something offensive? I never want to hurt anyone.
- Any tips, questions, or comments, please fire away.

(and 5 hours later I'm done my post... my delete key is always the first to wear out)

hey ScottyMac, welcome
just a quick word from someone with ADHD. (i can feel my attention slipping away)
In my amateur opinion this sounds like AS to me. i would say it's worth hanging around here & getting some detailed answers, they will come now that you've posed such an eloquent question.
regarding wrong planet & forgiveness, most people i've encountered here are generally pretty forgiving, if nothing else they understand having said the wrong thing themselves..
good luck & "have a nice day"
Fudo

Scotty, you sound like an Aspie to me too.

I went to a psychiatrist who has the reputation of being good with ADHD, because I suspected I had that. I was indeed diagnosed with ADHD, but also with Asperger's. I suggest you find a psychologist or psychiatrist who specialises in Asperger's or in autism, as the others (in my country anyway) are not always good with diagnosis.

You don't really need to get a formal diagnosis unless your work life is impaired (in which case you can claim some form of disability compensation in some countries), or unless you suffer from anxiety, OCD, ADHD or something else which might require medication.

Seeing a psychologist who specialises in Asperger's can be useful with the miscommunication problems you have with your mother. I am seeing a psychologist to help me with the relationship with my business partner.

Welcome to the forums.

lol
Don't worry that's quite common around here.
I don't know if you're an aspie or not, but you sound like a nice guy,
so I hope you'll stay around to figure it out.

Welcome!

It's nice to meet you, ScottyMac. Welcome aboard the Wrong Planet.

To WrongPlanet!! !

whether u r a certifiable aspie or not does not matter that much. do u have aspie traits? have u lived some of what we lived? welcome in, you are part of our community my friend!!

So, I took some AS test online last night, didn't think much of it at the time... but I was pretty much 100% Aspie on the intellectual side and 100% NT on the physical side. My circle graph looked like a BMW logo; I wish I would have saved the link.

What do you guys think of those online tests? I looked at 3 or 4 tests where you answer 1-5 or 1-10 (what the heck?), a few more with questions I couldn't understand, and finally found this one with clear questions and simple answers - http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php If NT's are answering questions 1-10 and not true/false, I'm not worried about some NT stealing my engineering job.

AS wasn't recognized when I was in school. My parents and teachers told me to try be more social. Thanks for welcoming me, guys. I'll be around here a bunch.