Do I have Asperger's Syndrome?

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I'm going for the official diagnosis first, but I'd like a second opinion. I'm not sure where to begin. I'm a girl who has been officially diagnosed with ADHD, depression, and anxiety. I'm medicated for all three and have been coping pretty well. I'm almost 15 now. I'm a very outgoing person and love to sing, paint, draw, and write. I am very social and am passionate about words; consequently, I've become very eloquent and proficient in explaining my feelings. People fascinate me. However, I've had some pretty big difficulties with human interaction since I was very little. Some educators and family friends (who have children with AS) have been certain that I have AS for about seven years now. I've talked to my psychiatrist about this and she intends to refer me to get a diagnosis, but I'm not sure what that procedure is like nor am I sure if I match any criteria for AS or ASD.

I'll list off a few of my "quirks", in no particular order, since I'm not sure what to make of them.

-I was speaking in complete sentences by the time I was around 9 months old.

-I knew how to read by the time I was one and a half without any outside help.

-Mom had to cut all of the tags out of my clothes when I was little because they irritated me.

-I would only wear cotton leggings and shirts until I was 7 because everything else was uncomfortable. I wouldn't wear jeans until I was 10.

-Things like eggs, yogurt, bananas, smoothies, etc. make me throw up when I try to eat them. The texture is repulsive.

-I was identified as "gifted" by the State of California when I was 7.

-I have had a lot of trouble making friends. I used to always waltz up to strangers and ask them to "be my friends". I didn't understand why people looked at me funny.

-I've lost a lot of friends, too. I used to hurt feelings unintentionally very frequently. I've never been able to maintain more than 3 close friendships at a time.

-I used to be obsessed with cats (I would pretend to be a cat and eat grass out of the yard) and horses, but I had an especially long dolphin phase. I wanted to be a marine biologist from the time I was 5 to about 10.

-I have perfect pitch, musically speaking. I love to sing and do musical theatre.

-I get bothered by weird things, like when too many things are moving in my peripheral vision or when things are not aesthetically pleasing.

-I am not remotely organized but become very distressed when people move my stuff around or try to clean for me.

-I have a tendency to overshare. Big time.

-I've been ostracized by several peer groups in my lifetime.

-I am also much too trusting and am dismayed when my "friends", who I glorify, betray me.

-I have a very hard time understanding when people are being unkind or nasty to me.

-I instinctively blame myself when things go wrong.

-I apologize very frequently, even when I haven't done anything wrong.

-I am very unsure of my sexuality. I am attracted to fairly androgynous individuals, especially this one girl who was my best friend last year. I was absolutely in love with her for a year but that didn't work out when she wasn't straight. I also had a crush on a male friend (who now identifies as female) for a year.

-I can intuitively figure out what other people are thinking sometimes, due to a lot of practice and focus.

-Humans and human psychology fascinate me. I read up a lot on psychology and personality tests so I can understand other people and myself better.

-Speaking of which, I am an ENFP, and an Enneagram 4w3.

-I say strange things sometimes that I realize don't make any sense after the fact.

-Sometimes these things are pretty innapropriate. (For example, when asked what I want to do for dinner, I sometimes say something absurd like "virgin goat sacrifice sounds lovely, thank you.")

-I frequently make compliments that I later on realize sound kind of weird, about people's eyes or laughter or skin or smile, or the way they speak. Those are things I really notice, is all.

-I have very whimsical soliloquies sometimes that don't make sense to anyone and "talk out loud just to hear myself talk"

-I love certain words and will write them over and over again and say them to myself (I have lists of my favorite words on my wall.)

-My notes in school are all done in 4-5 different colors of pen with a lot of arrows and lines and doodles, always in different palates that I deem aesthetically pleasing. They're overwhelming for other people but make sense to me and help me retain information.

-I love having conversations with aspies

-I make a lot of weird noises (siren sounds, gurgling noises, bird sounds, gibberish) and say the same words over and over again and sing at innappropriate times.

-I can behave myself very well though and am great at talking to adults. I'm only obnoxious around family and friends at this point and even then, thanks to my AdderAll, I've gotten better at restraining myself.

-I confuse people.

-I can't sleep at night unless I've shaved my legs. I also can't sleep with a shirt on.

-I love to perform and make people smile and laugh.

-I practice conversations before I have them.

-I've been told that I give incredible advice and insight. I am very empathic. I am also a very loving person but can be smothering.

-I love words and the way they sound. I write a lot of poetry (spoken word and verse) and love making words flow and feel alive. I have a wide vocabulary.

-I like children and dogs.

-People do scare me. I don't usually get along best with people my age. I get along with intellectual individuals, people older than me, younger than me, and people with AS pretty well.

-I am really really bad at making small talk and ask people things like "what is the meaning of life?" instead, which doesn't end well.

-I do weird things just to see how people react sometimes.

-I am incredibly expressive and animated. I have a "rubber face". My emotions are VERY intense and sometimes I have "episodes"

-I have been told that I'm very self centered and obsessive.

-I am agnostic-atheist in my religious beliefs.

-I am not very coordinated at all.

-I have had MAJOR difficulties with sleeping since I was very little.

-I fear being alone above all else and think that love and interpersonal connections between people are the meaning of life. (woo, so sappy.)

And I should end that there. This is becoming too long already, sorry!! I just need some insight. I know AS manifests differently in girls but I don't know how. I need input from people who have had experiences with this kind of thing and I would like to know what the diagnostic process is like if that is okay. ^^ Thanks!! !

IMO, just wait to be referred and get assessed. Nobody here is going to properly be able to tell you their opinion due to confirmation bias when these kinds of lists are made. Best of luck.

^Same as calstar2.

Judging from these points, and assuming they are all true, it would seem there are many things that match up with the diagnostic criteria as well as certain traits common among those on the autism spectrum. However, it is hard to tell without actually knowing the person how likely it is, which is why a lot of people here will probably just say that they can't provide any reliable yes or no answer about it, because they can't.

My suggestion is to research Asperger's and collect a lot of information about it, and see if it seems to match up with anything in your life. Also, ask other people (that know you well and that you trust) about the traits to see if they agree. It seems you've already collected a good amount of information about yourself, and probably about Asperger's as well.

The only other things you can do are to take the online quizzes (which are only indicators), or go see a professional for an evaluation. The evaluation will be the most reliable obviously, I am currently in the process of doing the official evaluation myself. I already saw a professional who said he was sure I had it, and he gave me a provisional diagnosis that said so, but I still want to do the full thing to eliminate as much doubt as possible. Some people are fine being self-diagnosed, I am not one of them; just do whatever works for you I guess. Good luck.