I just don't know if I have aspergers or not... (!)

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Have you been to an expert? How did he/she diagnose you? What kind of questions did he/she ask?
Oh.. the poll... I didn't see that, sorry. But I don't know how to change that. I can't find an edit button for the post but not for the poll...


Yeah, I thought about that while I was typing it. Especially girls' interests seem to be more common/normal.
I find it hard to determine when interests are 'strong' (as opposed to 'normal'). I love to watch documentaries about 'special' people, people that are handicapped or suffer from certain diseases, teenage moms, people that have an interesting live stories. I like a lot of real life series. But I wouldn't say it's an obsessive interest. For example, if I am watching an interesting documentary or tv-serie and my cousin would call me and say 'do you want to go the amusement park with me NOW?', I wouldn't say no to that.
Recently I started to get really interested in the universe and planets. I used to not care at all, I hated chemistry, natural sciences in high school. But recently I realized that our planet and everything on it is really special (sounds really phylosophical haha ). And then I just got interested. And I remember watching 5 or 6 different documentaries on the universe in one night ( I didn't sleep). but it was only this one night that i did it. And I wouldn't say it's an obsessive interest. I still love to read about the universe and black holes and everthing but It's not like I would rattle on and on about it in a conversation with someone. Don't know if it all makes sense, but these are my thoughts and feelings



Thanks very much! What traits/symptoms make you think that it's more anxiety oriented instead of aspergers?

Yes, I have. I have recently gone to my first session, now I am waiting for the second one. So my diagnosis is not clear for now.

For AS part: He asked about understanding idioms and phrases after age 13. Other than that, our talk was mainly about anxiety because I want to talk about that. It does not matter if I have AS or not. I have to deal with anxiety, getting myself labelled with AS or NT does not matter. All of our talk was about anxiety, yet in the end of the session he advised me a book named as ''Emotional Intelligence''. It seems I officially have a bad EQ, regardless of AS.

That's interesting. I always wondered how aspergers was diagnosed, but basically you don't know if you have aspergers yet. Good luck with your anxiety anyway!

Is hypo/hypersensitivity a criteria for someone to be diagnosed with ASD? I don't remember being asked at all about this when I was being diagnosed.

However, I know that sensitivity issues are normal for those of us on spectrum.

It will be in the DSM-5. And its common enough that its being used even as an unofficial diagnostic criteria already, even by professionals.




Reasons I'm thinking anxiety based in particular:
-The fact that what you discussed was worrying about your capabilities or worrying about how you were perceived.
-You mentioned multiple times feeling judged - that's a central point in social anxiety and not a thing in asperger's. (Social anxiety is a common comorbid to Asperger's though)
-Again, like the use of the word judged, you use the word fear. That's another common word in anxiety disorders.

Reasons not Asperger's:
-Early childhood.
-The fact that these traits were developed because of a reaction to how you were treated rather than were innate to you.
-In general your "Reasons you might be NT" combine pretty strongly into suggesting likely not on the spectrum

However really what says that to me is the fact that this is developed. Asperger's, like other ASDs, is lifelong. It's not developed at age 9. It's not developed because of being bullied. You likely do have some autistic traits innately - many people do, and its even more common when you have family members on the spectrum. But what's really relevant to you is what's developed in response to the bullying and the death of your mother.

I don't know much about Avoidant Personality Disorder, but from what others have said on here I think its worth you looking into it more. I do know about social anxiety, and I'd say I'd suggest you'd get looked at by a professional for social anxiety because it seems reasonably likely to have something like that to me (a completely nonprofessional who doesn't even have a special interest in it).

To me, it really doesn't sound like you are on the autism spectrum at all. I cannot pick up anything from your posts that isn't accounted for by anxiety (which could easily have been triggered by the bullying that you went through). I speak from the perspective of someone who made it to my late 30s before being diagnosed and done much reading about the subject of ASDs and participating in this forum ... as always, not an professional or expert...

That's not to say the anxiety you are experiencing is trivial. You are worried enough about what is "wrong" with you so you'd probably benefit from a trip to a doctor to discuss it and see where it goes ... there is the possibility of medication to reduce or help you cope better with your anxiety, or you could be referred for therapy/counselling which could also help (and in your case if it does come from the bullying would probably be quite helpful to you). You could also approach a counsellor privately. If you are at university you may find that your university has a counselling service for students which is free. If it does you should take advantage of it.

Yes, those are some great tips. Thanks

Yeah, thanks. Right now I am trying to find out more about avoidant personality disorder