Hi.

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Well, the problem is that he also shows signs of Aspergers syndrome. Not as numerous as I do, but the few he has are more noticeable than mine. For instance, he always centers conversations on himself and his interests. Anything I say otherwise goes in one ear and out the other. He zones out frequently. If he is talking about something, he *doesn't let it go*. He'll walk up to me five minutes later as if the conversation never stopped because he can't let the thought go. Sometimes a single thought or concept can swallow him for days and it'll continue coming up spontaneously and persistantly. He's not as socially awkward as I am. He understands to a greater degree how to fit in and be normal in a calm setting, but very minute things will set him off into an angry melt-down, causing him to put holes in walls or doors. He used to avoid going to Walmart because of the crowds. He can only take crowds once in a while (like once a year or less) where we'll go out and really do anything. Restaurants are as bad as he can handle, otherwise he avoids it if he doesn't have to go. I still have to drag him into grocery stores, but I'd say he goes more like five or six times a year now. He's very attached to the computer and is obsessive with story-writing, roleplay, and character-creation. When he's doing any of that, you can't bother him.

I haven't spoken to him TOO much about it, but I mentioned it and showed him a documentary of a kid with Aspergers that shows similar symptoms that made him go 'Whoa, I do that,' enough that he actually bothered to sit through the parts of the video I wanted him to without complaining, and while he's still bothered by the idea, obviously embarassed by it, and doesn't like the concept, he does realize he shares some symptoms with me that are alarming toward that end and that perhaps he shouldn't judge me so quickly.

So we'll see what happens.

I made him take that spectrum test that was posted today that presents a detailed graph on apparent autistic traits. He scored a 175/200. He was pretty alarmed because it wasn't 'on the border' or anything. So he's agreed to get checked out with me and has overall seemed more patient and understanding. He said after reviewing the symptoms, too, and understanding the underlying idea behind the disorder ("social dyslexia"), he's convinced our daughter has it (as I was to begin with). He said the convincing factor was that the test asked questions about habits he has that he knows are odd, but that no other questionnaire or psychiatrist had ever asked him about or attributed to a problem during his diagnoses, such as his tendency to stare at people or not always knowing when to apologize, or how he has to be told quite clearly how to do something and it has to be written down, or he will forget it or not understand it, that sort of thing. He was particularly struck about the symptom of 'specific interests' and not liking being observed while doing them, bothered, interrupted, or distracted away from it. . . and how he loses large periods of time while he's immersed in his interests that are *very* specific. And a lot of other things. It will be nice if we are right about him, because we will have an underlying understanding of how we're similar and how to better live with one another.