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Sanctus
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26 Jun 2012, 2:03 pm

I often read that one of the main factors of Asperger's is that you can't "decode" emotions or don't know what others are feeling.

This is not true for me.
I did the online test where you have to match feelings to eyes, and the result was 39 (which I think isn't bad). In everyday life, I even almost have a "sixth sense" telling me who feels how and thinks what. I'm really good at finding out who likes me and who doesn't.

That being said, almost all the other symptoms are there though. I don't like to look into people's eyes, don't like to show my emotions and lack empathy and general emotions.

Is this possible? I mean, I think it's a pretty important part of Aspergers.. do any of you have the same exception?



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26 Jun 2012, 2:16 pm

its a spectrum disorder. you can have any combination of issues. you dont have to have the exact definition of the disorder.


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Jtuk
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26 Jun 2012, 2:31 pm

Sanctus wrote:
I often read that one of the main factors of Asperger's is that you can't "decode" emotions or don't know what others are feeling.

This is not true for me.
I did the online test where you have to match feelings to eyes, and the result was 39 (which I think isn't bad). In everyday life, I even almost have a "sixth sense" telling me who feels how and thinks what. I'm really good at finding out who likes me and who doesn't.

That being said, almost all the other symptoms are there though. I don't like to look into people's eyes, don't like to show my emotions and lack empathy and general emotions.

Is this possible? I mean, I think it's a pretty important part of Aspergers.. do any of you have the same exception?


Some people with ASD score really well on the Mind in the Eyes test. It's not a good screening instrument. It's hard to tell if it's a problem with the underlying theory or just a poorly developed test. I scored a 22 on that test, which is right at the bottom of the normal range. It takes me a long time to complete, so this shows it's intellect, not instinct that gets me the result.

In real-life people don't have words describing possible emotions floating round their face and are prepared to hold it for a minute while I work it out :)

What you described in your first paragraph your sixth sense, sounds like pretty good empathy and mind-reading skills. Of course, one problem with people with very poor empathy is that people with poor empathy don't recognise this weakness.

It is true that not all people with AS have all features. You do have to tread very carefully if you are missing some pretty major ones though, you'll find many more differential diagnoses are applicable. Social Anxiety Disorder for instance.

Jason.



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26 Jun 2012, 2:31 pm

Along those lines, I have an AS friend who took theater, and can now read expressions and some body language quite well (and did very well on the eyes test)

Perhaps it's a skill you picked up along the way, or you may not be impacted by that one :)


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26 Jun 2012, 2:51 pm

Another possibility is that you are misdiagnosed. A lot of doctors have a hard time differentiating between aspergers, schizoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, borderline personality disorder in women, very unusual cases of schizophrenia and combinations of anxiety disorder, OCD, major depression, avoidant personality disorder, psychpathy, alexithymia or antisocial personality disorder only adults or only in children or both. It is more or less general practice to first pick from the common disorders except it is really obvious that some other disorder applies. Full family anamnesis is not always possible or not even done or even contradictory, hence it often leaves lots of room for misinterpretation. Various disorders can show in combination with other disorders or alone such that they are indistinguishable from other certain diagnoses.


Then again we know nothing about you, so it is just one of many possibilities.


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26 Jun 2012, 4:21 pm

Wow, i scored 17. I don't know if it's because i'm bad at it or i want to do it fast because i'm tired haha



friedmacguffins
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26 Jun 2012, 5:53 pm

I have been told that I had a difficult time with these things, in social situations, but didn't believe it.

The test took me a long time, and I felt that it was difficult.

I get the idea that, even if I scored 100%, this would be inconvenient.



lostgirl1986
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26 Jun 2012, 6:02 pm

You don't have to have every single symptom and trait, even if it's a common one.



CyborgUprising
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26 Jun 2012, 8:19 pm

lostgirl1986 wrote:
You don't have to have every single symptom and trait, even if it's a common one.


Exactly! I never flapped my hands and that is by far the most commonly-known symptom.



lostgirl1986
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26 Jun 2012, 9:46 pm

CyborgUprising wrote:
lostgirl1986 wrote:
You don't have to have every single symptom and trait, even if it's a common one.


Exactly! I never flapped my hands and that is by far the most commonly-known symptom.


I don't flap my hands but I wiggle my fingers when I'm reading.



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27 Jun 2012, 9:03 am

my son is undiagnosed, but i am 99.9% sure that he is on the spectrum.

my mom and i realized there was issues when he was little, but were unsure, and worked on things that were obvious, like reading eyes. we used to cover our faces and make expressions at him, and he caught on very well.

that doesn't mean he reads other people well though. with poor eye contact with others, and a dynamic that often moves too fast for him, i don't think he has time to process everything going on around him and decipher body langauge and expression of others very well. him and i are together almost 24/7 and have been practicing for years, we still do.

he really doesn't try much, either because he can't or doesn't want to, i don't really know, plus he gets overstimulated by too much commotion or people, and doesn't tend to make eye contact. even if it is someone he knows very well (including us) he doesn't tend to make eye contact in more public situations even though it is mostly a non issue at home. at home he is very verbal and quirky, very fun to be with, outside of home he is withdrawn, often mute, and doesn't make eye contact. it seems to be getting a little better as he gets older, for that i am grateful, i don't want things to be so hard for him.

"Exactly! I never flapped my hands and that is by far the most commonly-known symptom" < one of the major reasons my son was refused an evaluation



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27 Jun 2012, 9:14 am

lostgirl1986 wrote:
CyborgUprising wrote:
lostgirl1986 wrote:
You don't have to have every single symptom and trait, even if it's a common one.


Exactly! I never flapped my hands and that is by far the most commonly-known symptom.


I don't flap my hands but I wiggle my fingers when I'm reading.


Yay! Finger wiggling :D



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27 Jun 2012, 9:44 am

I don't rock and flap, or maybe only a little, and didn't do them much when I was little either. Another exception is that I don't like wearing sunglasses despite my eyes are a bit sensitive to too much light. I find sunglasses uncomfortabe and they make me feel a bit weird.


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27 Jun 2012, 8:41 pm

About 50% of high functioning autistics score in the normal range on the eyes test.

It's important to remember that the eyes task is easier in some ways than actually reading people in real-life - the expressions that form those still pictures flash by in a few seconds in real life, so if you had to hesitate or puzzle over the expression at all you probably would've missed it in real life.



katwithhat
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27 Jun 2012, 8:58 pm

I have most but not all AS characteristics. I don't rock, unless I'm in a rocking chair, not a hand flapper and I have reasonably good eye contact (unless you're just staring at me). I have no doubt that I have AS though.


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28 Jun 2012, 12:28 am

I scored 12 on this and really just had no idea or instinct towards any of them. I found it quite surprising.