Hi. I'm 28 and I'm from Latin America. Until a few days ago I never really knew what AS exactly was. After reading about it, I felt most of it described myself perfectly and so became interested in the subject. I found this site while looking for online tests. I joined yesterday to post on the scientific tests thread (can't link it due to low post count).
I wrote a little bit about myself in that thread so I'll quote it:
nkrtn wrote:
I'm 28 and have never been diagnosed with AS. When I was in school I was sent to specialists twice as they suspected ADD. None of the specialists agreed. I always had excellent grades, but my behavior was often puzzling to my teachers. I've been seeing a psychologist for over 6 months due to stress and depression and he has never mentioned AS to me. He has talked to me about autism and likened some of my problems to those of people who have it so maybe he does suspect it.
I've always felt a little different, but never really cared about fitting in anyway. I've made some friends along the way, but sometimes they struggle to understand me. I haven't talked to one of my best friends in over 2 years simply because I don't feel like it. These kinds of attitudes would really upset my ex-girlfriend, but were always completely natural to me. Girls don't take long to discover my oddities. Only 2 of them have managed to stay with me for over 6 months. All of the girls I've been with have asked me to be in a relationship with them. They knew I liked them but I never realized it was reciprocal until they told me. I could never tell a girl I have feelings for her.
While I struggle profusely with body language, I have no problem whatsoever with figurative language. I taught myself to read at a young age and would stay up until very late reading. Is it possible this is trained? From what I've been reading in the last couple days, problems with figurative language seem to be a trait common to all Aspies. What should I make of this?
Sorry for the long write up, but I just recently stumbled upon some information on AS and instantly identified myself with most of its characteristics. I would really like to hear some opinions about my situation before my next visit to the psychologist as I simply can't get this off my mind.
I'm really into numbers and this is the area I used to work on until I had a breakdown some years ago. The work was easy but I just couldn't cope with the life that went with it.
I'm very passionate about music and currently play bass in a band. I've been playing various instruments ever since I was young. I don't make enough to live on my own though, so I live with my parents as I couldn't handle having a roommate even if he was my best friend. The other thing I'm passionate about is film, but it's a bit of a touchy subject as I wanted to pursue a career in it but my parents wouldn't pay for it and I couldn't afford it. I had to go with a career in engineering instead.
I'm hoping to learn more about AS and talk about it with my psychologist and possibly other specialists as it's very important to me to know if I have it. I think knowing oneself is essential to being able to approach things in the best manner.
17 Sep 2012, 1:34 pm
