Differences between mild Aspergers and severe Autism?

Post Reply New Topic

I've just learnt another thing about what I've been saying about. I don't really know if it's right or not, but I'm not bothered about right or wrong answers here - I'm more bothered about the things I experience in other people on the spectrum:-

I thought I had never met another Aspie woman before - until just yesterday, at work. A 50 year old woman had joined at the beginning of last summer, so she's been working there for about 8 months now. And I had to help the manager sort out some of the applications what were from everyone in the past year who had applied for volunteer or paid work there, and the manager wanted me to put the applications in alphabetical order by the names of the applicants. When I came to this woman's application, I saw that she had written ''Asperger's Syndrome'' in the mental health box. I was so surprised. I knew she had a few social difficulties (you could actually see that a mile off), but I never guessed it was AS because she always talks constantly and expresses her feelings and she's not bothered at all what people think of her, (whereas I'm more shy and sensitive and placid, and I worry too much of what other people think of me, therefore I don't tend to have the right confidence to step forwards and express my opinions much, although I don't find it hard to express my feelings either but I express them in a different way to how she does). She has issues with loud noises, and has always had very big difficulties with friends and relationships, even though she's chatty and friendly.
So my point is, I see what you are saying about everyone on the spectrum are different, just like NTs are from eachother. She's not at all like me, but she's got AS, just like me (I don't know what other disability she might have). I understand how she sees things and the difficulties she faces, and I know that whatever she says wrong or does wrong isn't nasty or intentional. But, she may be a completely different person to me in personality-wise, emotional-wise, and everything else related to your individual needs, but we're still on the same developmental......social.......level......I really cannot explain what I mean. She's different and is more chatty than I am, and I'm more shy and sensitive than she is, but we both still seem to meet in the middle.....do you get what I am saying? I probably haven't explained it properly, and somebody is still probably going to take it the wrong way and think I'm on to something else, but I know what I'm on about, and I've explained it as clearly as I can.

What you said appears to make sense to me.

You're talking about having met another woman who has Asperger's Syndrome and seen how her functioning varies from yours in particular ways, that you're not expressing the same symptoms in the same way?

I don't see anything wrong with that.

@anubuend

I mean this with all seriousness.
I really learned a lot from your posts.
Thank you for sharing your ideas.

I have noticed that the difference between non-verbal and verbal means a lot to others.
Also how independent one is (as in how much assistance one needs) means a lot to others.

For example, due to my sheer ignorance, I never would have guessed some of the struggles that some autistic people deal with.
I have been labeled as aspergers now (I'm thirty-eight) but when I was a child I would labeled as "more autistic" except it the early 80s and I was quite verbal and learned to read at an early age.