Is there such thing as 'mild' Aspergers?

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paulsinnerchild
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18 Jan 2009, 3:01 pm

I was told aspergers is a mild for of autism so a mild form of aspergers could well be diagnosed with PDD-NOS of soughts. Many psycologists who are not sure diagnose the gray areas with that particular disorder.



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18 Jan 2009, 3:47 pm

Aalto wrote:
Yeah, I have it mild, I've been told. It's a spectrum thing so obviously there are mild cases. When I was younger I'd be loudly swearing, throwing chairs around and being restrained but now people tend to be surprised if they find out.


ditto.. now i am the total opposite, i am quiet and not so prone to violence and such...



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09 May 2009, 8:01 pm

Yes, I was diagnosed with a ''mild variant'' of Asperger's Syndrome 3 years ago.


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09 May 2009, 8:49 pm

I don't have any social awkwardness. I communicate with body language a lot and I have regular "moments" with NT's where we just look each other in the eyes and laugh as if we were thinking the same thing.

I can read other people easily through their body language, behaviour, voice etc... I can see through people and I notice their small, hidden little secrets most NT's don't notice. NT's usually see a persons public face only, I see who they really are and this sometimes from just studying someone for a short time. Others have confirmed my ability to "profile" people and understand how they function.

I'm a good dancer and even though I'm useless at anything involving a ball, I have very good coordination and I'm much more nimble than a lot of NT's. People who knew me as a kid described me as "sporty" back then. I never thought of myself that way but other's clearly did.

I don't have any problems taking care of myself and looking good.

I can easily manipulate NT's of lower intelligence.

People have described me as having majestic charisma, instant and almost overpowering, and some have described me as having a face and voice which are very "alive".

I can easily communicate with strangers I meet without them suspecting I have AS.

So, yes I think there is light AS. I clearly have light AS.



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09 May 2009, 9:15 pm

I don't think there's such thing as "mild AS". The genetic part of AS is consistent, and the rest of our social difficulties come from experience. So yeah I guess it also depends on how often you go outside and contact people and such. Someone who's obsessed with Pokemon would be worse off socially than someone who's obsessed with MMA for example.



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10 May 2009, 2:20 am

According to Wikipedia NLD (Non-Verbal Learning Disorder) can be considered mild Asperger's Syndrome.


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10 May 2009, 7:26 am

I'm definitly mild, although my anxiety with people makes it feel worse.
The only people that see it are other aspies or people that specialise in those fields. And you can't tell just by talking to me you've really got to get to know me before even a bit shows up.
I usually find that the more they know about AS the more they see. even then it's not alot.


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mechanicalgirl39
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10 May 2009, 8:50 am

Yes there is definitely such a thing, like most disorders there is variation in how severely it affects you.

Quote:
But I think even mild AS people can have some symptoms badly. I, for example, have it mild but still really struggle socialising and have very severe obsessions (SpongeBob SquarePants.)


I have those too. My mind will run on one theme for ages at a time, and I have to really force myself to concentrate on something else.


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nothingunusual
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10 May 2009, 10:36 am

I was told I'm mild too. Which is probably correct.

Emotionally, I think I'm alot more in control than some others with AS. But maybe that's because I'm in the passive group or because I'm female. I never had any problems with extreme frustration or aggression. I've always had shutdowns under extreme stress, but never a meltdown or a tantrum (even as a child). Any sensory issues were never a major problem or affected my functioning either. And I'm not socially inappropriate in that stereotypical 'invading a persons space' or making huge faux pas. I'm not too literal either and grasp most turns of phrase.

I can pass as 'normal'. Obviously, since I'm a late diagnoses. Most people just see me as shy, quirky, anxious or nerdy. I'm odd, but not so odd that they think there might be a name for it.


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10 May 2009, 11:25 am

Half a year ago I got diagnosed with aspergers at the age of 22. Both for me and my social surroundig it was a diagnose that could hardly fit into the picture of my life. Some people might consider me as being pretty social. Although most people will describe me as being pretty odd, they would never consider me as someone on the autistic spectrum.

However, when I started a research on aspergers I found that indeed I do have a lot of aspie traits. And these traits were more severe when I look back in time. I got sensory issues, some problems with non-verbal communication such as eye contact, and I tend to escape in routines, especially when stress increases. When stress increases I could, and very rarely still can, lose myself in agressive outbursts.

Aspies can learn a lot, they are masters in the camouflage of their disabilties. And so am I. My issues might even be just as sever as before, I am still learning every day to hide them. Furthermore, impulsiveness (e.g. agressive outbursts) decrease with increasing age, and this is the case for both NTs and aspies. Indeed, this must be the reason why it is so extremely hard to diagnose aspergers in adult life.

So in my opinion, you have aspergers or you dont. However, some aspies may seem to be a "mild one", just because they have learned how to hide their disabilities.



misslottie
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10 May 2009, 12:24 pm

yes. this is what non expert people say i have because i can fake smiles, and a conversation for 5 minutes!! ! tehy just dont see me bangining my head against the wall afterwards!

'you dont look aspergers- you must have a mild form!'

but seriously, yes, i think so.



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10 May 2009, 12:59 pm

seems everyone beat me to it, but yes you can have "mild" aspergers.. it's a spectrum :)



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10 May 2009, 1:50 pm

Autism People notice your oddness within 1 minute.
HFA: Within 10 minutes
Asperger's Within 30 minutes
NLD Within 1 hour
NDD-POS Within 8 hours
BAP ?

This is just to show what we all know already, it is a spectrum. We want to make sure we aren't "just" looking for an excuse for our failures; or is it we are afraid we don't "belong" here either (like we never belonged anywhere else).


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10 May 2009, 2:37 pm

i'm afraid i don't belong here i think.. i'm undiagnosed so i'm unsure what to think, not that diagnosis always helps.



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10 May 2009, 3:19 pm

Yes, the psychologist who diagnosed me described me as relatively mild. I think that my AS traits manifest more in my thought patterns.

I don't have excessive and obvious stims, or any motor/movement issues beyond being slightly clumsy, which any NT person could just as easily be. I am more bothered than average by noise, but not to the point where there are sounds that have me covering my ears and crying or having a complete meltdown.

I do become regularly obsessed with things. Have a great deal of difficulty holding a conversation unless there is a specific topic to stick to. Do not (apparently, given the reactions of others) always know what is an appropriate topic and what isn't. Can have trouble reading expressions and knowing when people are joking or being serious. Unexpected changes upset me, and I need to be 'warned' in advance when something different is going to happen to I can mentally prepare for it. I like order and schedules; predictability. My sense of humor seems to be quite different than a lot of people's.

themonkey wrote:
I've red people with asperger actually thinks they are 'milder'' than they really are.


That may be true to a degree. I could never work out why people would begin to talk to me, and then after we had exchanged a few sentences, I could see their approach change, and they would start talking down to me, in a way that made it obvious that they thought they needed to simplify things because I was 'not all there'. I had no idea what would give them this notion so quickly. But the psychologist who diagnosed me wrote in his report that visually I alternated between very 'flat' and pulling odd expressions, and alternated between a very monotone voice and an odd pitch. I did not realize this. I had always thought that I looked and sounded perfectly normal, and I was really quite shocked and depressed to find out that I apparently do look strange.



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10 May 2009, 4:14 pm

of course. it is a spectrum. it runs from personality type through to more extreme expressions of autism.

in some areas i am high functioning - although i have never been able to work traditional jobs with people long-term or function in a group sucessfully for more than a few days. I end up with meltdowns, confusion, abusive outbursts and frustrations connected to an inability to read or comprehend other people and their alternative way of doing things.

I do work on my own and my special interest is my career.

I am allergic to the majority of people en masse.