They say I'm one of them, but I must have missed orientation

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Hey there,

I searched for this discussion forum tonight in the hopes of adding a bit of camaraderie and conversation to my otherwise pretty isolated life.

Over the past couple years I convinced myself that I had Asperger's Syndrome, and upon doing so the last 30 years of my life seemed to make a lot more sense. I felt I couldn't say that aloud without a professional diagnosis, though, so eventually set about meeting with a therapist who specialized in autism spectrum diagnosis. Long story short, I ended up seeing a different psychologist recently, who talked to me for about 15 minutes and said he didn't think I did because I was carrying on a normal, reciprocal conversation with him and didn't answer about WWII history when asked about my childhood. I felt strangely proud that my role-playing of a normal conversation was so passable (and then wondered if that was a neurotypical thought to have), but was mostly just regretful for having wasted a lot of money on that conversation.

So it turns out that I still don't know what planet I'm from, but I strongly relate to the personal accounts in my stack of Asperger's books, and I really believe those are the people I would like as friends. And I'm hoping maybe among them are people who might actually want me as a friend, too.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hey Caprine welcome.

15 minutes doesn't seem like a lot of time to come to a conclusion on the subject. Many of us Aspies can hold a normal conversation in a 1 on 1 setting, it's when we get into groups that we lose our ability to keep our end of the conversation going. I'd seek out the therapist who specializes in autism for an opinion. Just my thoughts on the subject.

I could not agree more with this post. I would highly highly recommend you find a specialist whom is knowledgable about adult individuals on the spectrum. 15 minutes is not even close enough to render a diagnosis. I met with a specialist for over 5 hours over a month's time before she rendered a diagnosis. I don't think this is your fault but if you want a professional diagnosis, the person you spoke to sounds like they have no idea about ASD... so I would recommend contacting local Autism centers in your area and asking for recommendations for adult diagnoses. I'm glad that you have spent so much time researching it though.. and I absolutely love your title- it really pulled my heart and spoke about my own experiences. Oh, welcome, btw!

Yeah... I'd have to agree... Although I didn't go through a barrage of testing, my therapist spent months assessing me before landing on an AS diagnosis. 15 minutes seems like an irresponsibly short time to render a null result under those conditions.

Anyway... Welcome to WP!

15 minutes is way too short indeed.
also, the argument given is a very ignorant idea of what low-functioning autism is, there is nothing in that argument

which has to do with having aspergers.
as the others, i recommend you find an actual aspergers specialist, not one that only works with low-functioning children

Hi and welcome! I don't really care if you have diagnosed Aspergers or only act exactly like you have it. We can become friends anyway.