How was life pre Aspergers?

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The only difference knowing about AS has made in my life, is now I can easily find resources that describe my troubles, reasons for what others do, and ways to improve upon myself that I actually understand. Before the most explanation I would ever get on any issue I had was incredibly inadequate.

The fact there is a name for how I am like makes no difference to who I am, it simply makes it easier to find others who actually know what I'm going through.

Before my diagnosis was changed to Asperger's at age 12, I was diagnosed with Mental Retardation, so Asperger's was kind of a step up.

For me, it has been like a breath of fresh air to finally know why I was different from other people. Prior to being diagnosed, I was constantly trying to fit in and feeling poorly about myself about my lack of social skills. After I went on a quest to find out why I was different from most, I was diagnosed with AS. Looking back on alot of my past experiences I found they were colored by my AS. Now that I know, I have more freedom to be who I am without any apologies.

^^ Although Asperger's Syndrome as a label is very happy, I found greater difficulty since discovering of the name I believe, in addition to the possibilty that I have been upon the autistic spectrum. ^^ I was happily diagnosed with High Functioning Autism in February. There are many reasons that I have found difficulty after this event. However, mainly this just feels like an excuse for many problems that I may have. ^^ I found the later section of my childhood rather difficult yet found a way to be happy. I feel that any problem of mine is one that I must face myself. Now I am offered help at University such as extra examination time and funds, and feel very evil indeed. I have difficulty certainly as I take a very long time in examinations as I often become stuck on one part and panic. However this is my little friendly problem. Others also have problems yet work through this themselves and they do not have labels. ^^ I certainly understand why others on the autistic spectrum and with other disabilities deserve additional help. However I feel so awful, and as I have lived my life without this label beforehand, it just feels like an excuse for all of my problems, and that I cannot work through anything by myself without calling for additional help and quoting the label.
^^ And also, although when I was younger I found difficulty in sustaining human friendships, as I have grown older I have accepted my difference and realised it matters not what other humans believe or how they act. ^^ Thus, discovering this label does not bring me any relief of this. ^^ It matters not to me why I am different. All individuals are different.

At first I was depressed to discover that I really have no say over my life, and that AS has made every decision for me, from not playing soccer, to deciding to become talented, to having strong morality, everything which I though was my own developmental and personal decisions was predetermined, my body, mind and being just a puppet along for the ride as I danced AS's strange, repetitive and clutzy dance.

But now I am glad I have a better understanding of life, and I'm working very hard on regaining my lost emotions (I used to have hyper-emotions, way stronger than NT emotions, but I lost them, including my extreme empathy, that's what the world does to you I guess ). I'm able to appreciate nature and beauty again I also understand how I work, and I'm working on a concept, or some sort of "plan", in which I can use my talent to get through life. So things have changed for the slightly bettter

Overall, I've been better.

I carried a lot of guilt over my issues in live...never thinking I had a disorder that caused most all of them as compared to me just being a screw up in general.

I also now better understand what is "wrong" with me and what I can do to compensate. Before this, I struggled to overcome something I never really understood. It was purely guesswork, trial and error...with lots of error.

Before i found out (last two days!) i had a horrible life, bullied in school so i dropped out. then cant get a job cause i cant communicate. oh ya and a decade of drug addiction. ive been clean almost 4 years and trying to understand whats wrong with me. Now that i know about AS its a giant relief. So after? I guess i will find out!

Definitely positive. To echo others here, it's been an eye opener for me. While I still fluctuate between "maybe I do have it" and "maybe I don't have it", I'm getting more and more convinced as time goes on. (I'm self diagnosed as of two weeks ago, and I'm in my 30s).

One thing that I have not been able to associate with is the anxiety / depression side that Aspies are apparently very prone to. Maybe it's because I have never really felt rejected wholesale for who I am, or I just ignored people that did that. From about 7th grade on, I decided that I had two roads I could travel on. I could try to fit in with my peers (and probably fail), or I could just be me without peers and learn build up total confidence in myself. I chose the latter, and I never realized how important this decision was to me.

I have since learned how to have friends, and I definitely gravitate towards the "fewer but deeper" friends model. I have also learned more recently that everyone has a fascinating life story, AS or not; you just need to know how to find it.

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Asperger's is not a life sentence; it's a life explanation.

i_wanna_blue, for me in general life has not changed that much unless now I'm able to better explain many of my quirks to those persons whom don't have a solid understanding of what I'm like as a person.. On the social level there has been little noticeable change in that area of my life, for years have passed and I've constantly pushed myself to not only initiate friendships but, try to maintain them wherein; most of them fall apart like the Titanic . Still, I've come to understand where lies many of the difficulties I have and try to minimize the problems I have and sincerely attempt to make myself a better person within reasonable limits mind you.. On a good note, just being aware that there are millions upon millions of people within the autistic spectrum whom may have greater or lesser troubles in various areas of his/her lives makes me feel more human!! !


ProfessorX

I was very young when I was diagnosed and I used to be socially clueless to the point which I didn't even realise that I was. I got bullied a lot and had no idea why. I only had one fascination at a time and it would basically consume my whole existance, which was gradually becoming quite embarrassing to meas I realised how strange my loved ones must find this. The diagnosis explained all this and helped me get the self-awareness and support that I needed. I now see a psychiatrist about the two medications I take, which are helping me very much, and attend a special school where I have friends and nobody bullies me. Needless to say, I'm much happier.

Life is the same i get ignored most of the time or i speak when spoken to.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's aged 3 so I don't really know what life was like Pre-Asperger's.

However, my parents didn't tell me the full truth until I was 14, at first I never really thought much of it but in the last 12 months I have research Asperger's in detail and now it's basically one of the few things I constantly think of. I can't really share any of my knowledge of it with loved ones because I don't think they have ever full understood what Asperger's entails.