Howdy, would you call me an aspie?

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I'm 36, female, married and have a 4 year old daughter. I've always had social difficulties and been "odd." I had more problems in childhood in adolescense than I do now. Somethings like fitting in and so on matter more in school. I have researched AS in the past, but felt like other conditions, such as Social Anxiety Disorder or Avoidant Personality Disorder fit me better. But my 4 year old reminds me so much of how I used to be it's scary. I'm wondering if possibly we have mild AS. I should also mention that both me and my daughter have a hearing loss in one ear, which makes it hard to hear people in noisy situations such as on the bus or in a restaurant. That can also impact us socially of course.

As a child, I often felt like I was looking from the outside on everything going on around me without really being a part of it. Many social situations baffled me. For instance, I remember how confused I was when someone called me on the phone just to talk. I had no clue what to say. And people would comment on how quiet I was. I would say something like "I don't really have anything to say right now." I wasn't trying to be rude, but that's how it was taken I guess.

I remember doing some bizarre things as a child. I used to eat paper. I have no idea why. I remember sitting in a corner hiding from my mom so I could eat paper. I have no idea how long that lasted. I also would take thread or string and wrap it tightly around my fingers. Some type of stim thing, I guess. Also, don't remember how long I did that for or why.

As for obsessions, I read a lot. I know a bunch of Jeopardy-type trivia. I spend too much time on the Internet. But I never focused for very long on one subject.

The only other bizarre behavior I can think of is sometimes I say thing out loud that I don't mean to say. Almost like some kind of tic, but I don't think that's what it is. Usually, I'm by myself or in the car. It rarely occurs when I'm in public, and if it does, I don't shout or say things loudly. They usually make no sense, like I'll say "I hate chocolate," which isn't true. NO idea where that comes from, but I've done that since I was a kid.

I had no idea what I was "supposed" to wear, what music was cool, etc. I still don't, but now I don't care I never dated or had a boyfriend till I was almost 21. But I have a good relationship with my husband. We have been married over 10 years.

I have learned how to deal with normal social situations, though I still get nervous and probably seem strange at times. I still get that "outsider" feeling. But I've never been able to develop a career. Right now, I'm pretty happy as a stay-at-home mom. I used to work at the library as an assistant, will probably go back to doing that when my daughter gets a bit older. But it's always bugged me that I don't think I'm stupid, but if I was suddenly in the position where I had to support myself and my daughter, I couldn't do it.


Ok, this is getting long. Do you think I have AS, or am I just socially awkward? I guess now that I've found this site, I'm mainly curious. I don't really feel the need to get any sort of treatment at this stage of my life, though I'm sure some good social skills training would have helped me as a child. I'm mainly interested in helping my daughter.

Thanks for reading this.

Welcome to WP!

Tim

ermm...i'm not one to hand out a diagnosis but you have most of the symptoms. one thing that i didn't see was the horrible motor function like most aspies have or at i least i have(clumsiness).

It might be cool to check out some of the links on this site, if you haven't already, where there are tests you can take. I found the tests helped me greatly on determining things about myself. Welcome to WP!

Not all people with AS have poor motor skills.

Oh... and welcome to WP. Enjoy your stay.

Hi and welcome to WP . Sounds as though you certainly meet the criteria. Despite difficulties, it sounds as though you have done wonderfully to self-manage and now have that lovely family!

In regard your daughter, it can be difficult to get an accurate diagnosis before age 6 unless a child is clearly showing a large number of autisic traits as those patterns of behaving may also relate to other conditions. Testing intellect and giving clear and accurate diagnoses and statements about a child's developmental profile before 6 is an inexact business. If you suspect there is a likely problem with your daughter's development, then Early Intervention services should be called upon. This allows both yourself and the EI workers to gather information through therapy(OT/Speech etc if required) and educational interventions in regard your daughter's development that will assist a later formal assessment.

Exact labels are not important. The profile of any individual can change significantly as children develop and mature into adulthood. The more structured and tighter early intervention in terms of social behaviour, the better the outcomes in adulthood.

Lovely to have you with us. You will find alot of wonderful support among those here

Oh, and thanks everyone for the welcome

Ping Pong!! Oh god I love that game, despite the fact that I suck at it. Oh, and Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hi confused, and welcome.

Not sure about a DX but I'd say read about it, and read how other people here experience AS, and see if it 'fits' with you, and your life history. Sometimes you just kinda know.

Hope you find the forum useful (and it's fun too )

Well, I checked out a few on line tests. They say no asperger's, but I'm always scoring pretty close to the line. So maybe I'm you're next door neighbor

re: thread title: Ok... you're an Aspie! </humor>

Seriously, I couldn't tell you for sure... not qualified to diagnose. I'd suggest seeing a psych versed in Aspiedom if you want a for-sure/nope diagnosis.