Me and "ten signs of Asperger"

Post Reply New Topic

Comparing me to "ten signs of Asperger Syndrome" (the signs are from some autism website I stumbled on)

1. Failure to Develop Friendships. Children who have Asperger’s syndrome may have difficulty cultivating friendships. They may not connect with their peers due to a lack of social skills. They may find it hard to talk to other children or to participate in group activities.

me: I feel that our interests are too different and I am too "weird"; I fear rejection because they demand more environmental interface than I am comfortable with; I am extermrly shy. Also, the people I want to be friends with often are not the ones society wants me to be friends with. There is a horrible mismatch between my physical image and my inner self, so people do not react to me right. I do not participate in group activities because it involves too much environmental interface; I have no interest in environmental interface, and I have a major problem with it. Our interests are profoundly different because of that, and because I am too intellectually advanced for them. (Brain in a Jar)

2. Selective Mutism. This occurs when they will only speak freely with people they are comfortable with, and may not speak at all to strangers. Extreme cases last for years. Immediate family members are typically unaffected, as the child often feels comfortable speaking to them.

me:I will speak if I know what to say. I Usually feel that what I want to say would not be appropriate, so I rather not say anything. I have a phobia against socially awkward situations, so I am extremely shy. When in an awkward social situation, or any awkward environmentally demanding situation, I can withdraw all the way in.

3. Inability to Empathize. Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome may find difficulty empathizing with others. As they age, the affected person will learn the accepted social response for interacting with others. While they may react appropriately and say the “right” things, they may not understand why the other person is truly upset.

me: My empathy is strong.

4. Unable to Make Eye Contact or Forcing Eye Contact. People who suffer from Asperger’s syndrome may find it difficult to make and hold eye contact with people they are speaking to. Some believe this condition is brought about from a lack of confidence.

me: I avoid looking at repulsive faces. I am very sensitive to facial appearance.

5. Social Awkwardness. The idea that people with Asperger’s syndrome are not passionate is completely wrong. One common term professionals use to describe people who suffer from this illness is “active but odd”. They may become very socially active, forming close friendships.

me: Me and others are so alien to each other that we mutually avoid each other. Our interests, abilities, tastes, sensitivities, instincts, life histories, etc. are incompatible with each other, so any contact with them would be very awkward.

6. Narrowed Interests. Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome may do poorly in school, but that is not to say they don’t have specific interests. Instead, their interests are likely very narrowed and focused. It could be playing video games, making models, or drawing.

me: My interests are conceptual, never environmental (e.g. never video games, making models, or drawing)

7. Sticking to Routine. Sticking to a routine can be very important for people with Asperger’s syndrome. They may become greatly distressed and anxious when their schedule changes. New situations can be frightening.

me: Not a problem. If I like the routine, I would miss it. If I do not like the routine, I would want it to change.

8. Literal Interpretations. One of the symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome is literally interpreting what people say. The affected individual may not understand sarcasm, instead taking what the person has said as truth. The idea that people with Asperger’s syndrome do not understand humor is wrong.

me: Not a problem.

9. Excellent Pattern Recognition. Another symptom of Asperger’s syndrome is the amazing ability to recognize patterns. Often these individuals’ brains are trying to make sense of their surroundings, so a break in pattern may show itself quite clearly.

me: Conceptual patterns only. The outside world looks like a jumble.

10. Poor Motor Skills. Some people with Asperger’s syndrome may find it difficult to control their gross and fine motor skills. The motor issues may manifest through poor handwriting thought to be caused by poor hand-eye coordination.

me: Only when operating something from the environment. My motor "skills" are better than average when operating my own body.

Do you agree that the "ten signs" describe Asperger Syndrome"? Do the "ten signs" apply to you?
Anybody here similar to me? Do I seem autistic to you?

Thank you for this post!
I really needed to read that, because we suspect my son has Aspergers but we're not 100% sure because there are some major symptoms he does not have e.g. he does not have any obsession over a single topic and his gross motor skills are very good for his age.
Thank you for reminding me that a person does not have to exhibit ALL the symptoms.

I would like to add hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input.

For me it means having difficulty filtering multiple sound sources or loud noise, avoiding bright lights (sun), high pain threshold and problems with the structure, smell and taste of food.

hmm cool, can i join in?

1. actually i had a group of friends in primary school, but to be fair they dragged me in, you see i sort of got to know one of them, then they pulled me in to meet the other 5, i thought "wow this is awesome! i have friends now!" and we were friends all the way through till the end when we went to high school (so about age 11) when they all tried really hard to get rid of me, sitting at tables that had enough seats for them but not me, trying to lose me in crowds, making things up that i had to go to (which i would actually go to but then there would be nothing there) using the excuse of having a class even though it was lunch time, you know all that stuff.

2. im actually a complete "chatterbox" I never stop talking with people i like, my family members and my best friend (who i was put with in high school and we sorta made friends like that "hey have you met inserthisnamehere? he's new, you guys should be friends!" and then we were inseparable being unable to stop talking (to the point of getting in trouble a lot)we are both aspies too . except strangers, i dont talk to them at all really until I become more comfortable with them (when they are a reoccurring appearance over a week or so). seriously, one of my mothers friends brought her son over (same age as me) and i didn't speak to him the entire time, like at all. i kind of feel bad but i couldn't get myself to do it.

3. I sort of do lack empathy in the traditional sense, i do a thing i like to call "logical emotional responses" where i look at the evidence and react emotionally according to the evidence BUT a lot of people seem to react in stupid or completely mad ways that make no sense to me, which actually gets me into arguments with my dad because i can't understand why he'd react that way to things. infact if anyone could help me out, when someone does one of these nonsense reactions....what am i supposed to say that doesn't hurt them?


4. sort of lack this problem...ish, i usually stare through someones eyes rather then at them (if that makes any sense?) or at their nose or forehead, my mother thinks ive never had a problem with eye contact, but thats because apparently staring at someones forehead or nose is actually indistinguishable from eye contact to the other person.

5. hmm not sure what this one means, so im guessing here but basically i am active during a conversation however it can apparently get really awkward because the other person apparently gets bored (or the group i try to talk to). my mother tells me this is because when i enter the conversation I tend to completely change the subject, which according to experiments is the main cause of social rejection so your meant to talk about what they were already talking about, but I can't seem to help it, i know im not supposed to but i do it anyway, kind of annoying really. oh also jokes can sometimes go completely "over my head" which just makes things awkward when i take them seriously.....oops.

6. i actually did really well in my education so far, got good scores in the SAT's in primary school, in high school i got 7 GCSE's (i was lowered down in the amount i was doing to allow for learning support sessions) and i got 3 C's 2 B's and one D (not one direction, but the grade D). and in my college course i got a DDD* which is the equivilant of 3 A grades in A levels. BUT I am very narrow in my interests, while ive never really been interested in academic subjects (just naturally good at them for some reason) im HUGELY obsessed with Video games, its all i talk about, all i do in my spare time and the only thing that could allow me to make any friends (if they were into video games too, we could be friends...possibly).

7. yep, i plan my day, and like everything to be set with not changes being possible. i can get very angry or very upset by changes, it can even go down to minor ones like we go somewhere and stay for a bit longer then we planned and it will still upset me. luckily for people though i dont show it nor talk about it much, so they will probably never know the change upset me (though inside im almost having a bit of a melt down).

8. I have a wild sense of humor, i do puns like crazy, and do jokes about everything (a learned defense mechanism from my father) but i usually only do it if im anxious (basically any time i come into a social situation then). i genarelly have a natural talent for making people laugh. yet i am extremely literal minded, i once screwed up my code (im into IT) in one of my classes because the teacher told me the code like this "open bracket,html, close bracket, enter" so i wrote it like this: <HTML> enter. i was apparently supposed to write it as "<HTML>" then actually press the enter button not write enter. yeah, thats half an hour of my life im not getting back. oh yeah and the time a guy im my class told me i had to go into another class because ours is full. he was apparently being sarcastic but i didn't pick up on that at all so panicked a bit, but i did end up going to my class anyway in the end.

9. I see patterns in almost everything, i can link events and thoughts together that actually have nothing in common, which can also mean i work out who murdered who a while before the show actually reveals it.....annoying, spoiler alert brain!.

10. yep, i have terrible motor skills, my handwriting actually changes every time i write, from bad to worse or even gets a little better. i have shaky hands, its apparently called a "central tremor" that massively interferes with everything. like im terrible at ssb4 because i can't get those finer reactions and movements within the game. its actually really depressing that i can play that game for 2 years and still not be any better then when i started

I'm reading through your list and going " yeah, got that, got that too, yup, that describes me."

Hello everyone, I am also new here. Firstly, I don't have a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome; I am on a waiting list to get evaluated. I still have doubts, perhaps someone here will relate to my answers as I did to yours, and that in turn might bring a little more confidence that I am right about the diagnosis. And so I decided to respond to these points as I found it informative for myself in addition to serving as some form of introduction.


1. Failure to Develop Friendships. Children who have Asperger’s syndrome may have difficulty cultivating friendships. They may not connect with their peers due to a lack of social skills. They may find it hard to talk to other children or to participate in group activities.
I know that I had a lot of problems connecting with my peers when I was young. I recently retrieved old reports from back when I started school in which it says that, from year one in school I had difficulties with establishing friendships. I was percieved as unpredictable, moody and I apparently always wanted to decide the rules in play.

2. Selective Mutism. This occurs when they will only speak freely with people they are comfortable with, and may not speak at all to strangers. Extreme cases last for years. Immediate family members are typically unaffected, as the child often feels comfortable speaking to them.
I don’t know how this was for me as a child, but I have always been anxious as far back as I can remember. I never wanted to say the wrong thing in fear of getting embarrassed. This is true even today, so I'd rather say nothing if I am unsure. As for talking to my closest friends and my family; I won’t shut up most of the time.

3. Inability to Empathize. Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome may find difficulty empathizing with others. As they age, the affected person will learn the accepted social response for interacting with others. While they may react appropriately and say the “right” things, they may not understand why the other person is truly upset.
I don’t really have a solid grip on what it really means the be empathetic. I googled it and read a portion on Wikipedia - “caring for other people and having a desire to help them; experiencing emotions that match another person's emotions; discerning what another person is thinking or feeling; and making less distinct the differences between the self and the other.” I don’t think I am very good at this. Discerning what someone else is thinking or feeling I find myself doing, but it’s through observing rather than something intuitive I think.

4. Unable to Make Eye Contact or Forcing Eye Contact. People who suffer from Asperger’s syndrome may find it difficult to make and hold eye contact with people they are speaking to. Some believe this condition is brought about from a lack of confidence.
I’ve had periods in my life when I have contemplated my issues with eye contact. I am certainly not unable to make eye contact, but I don’t like it. If I force myself to do it while I’m talking I lose my train of thought almost always. I find that with my parents it’s not as bad though.

5. Social Awkwardness. The idea that people with Asperger’s syndrome are not passionate is completely wrong. One common term professionals use to describe people who suffer from this illness is “active but odd”. They may become very socially active, forming close friendships.
When I was younger I was a lot more socially active than what I am now, but I never quite felt like I fit in 100% even though I might have looked the part. Even today when in social situations I feel the same way; outwardly I present as normal (I’ve asked people that know me and they say I am not weird or awkward). But in my mind I know none of it comes without effort.

6. Narrowed Interests. Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome may do poorly in school, but that is not to say they don’t have specific interests. Instead, their interests are likely very narrowed and focused. It could be playing video games, making models, or drawing.
From as far back as I can remember I’ve always been addicted to video games. It comes and goes in waves, but it has subsided more and more the past few years, without apparent reason. Also, I’m an avid watcher of TV-series. Some ten years ago I barely stepped outside for several years, playing video games and watching series was all I did. More and more I’ve added reading about psychology into my days, presumably to better understand myself and other people. I've also picked up photography.

7. Sticking to Routine. Sticking to a routine can be very important for people with Asperger’s syndrome. They may become greatly distressed and anxious when their schedule changes. New situations can be frightening.
I never make a physical list or plan something according to a schedule, but I will mentally project my day. And should something unexpected happen that does not fall in line with what I had planned I tend to not take it too well. I do have limited things going on in my life that are out of my control, and so I am usually prepared for those things to interfere with my day. This helps I find. Worth noting is that the evaluation from school of me as a child that I referred to in point one mentions several times that I became anxious in regards to everything new and unknown to me (still ongoing) - this could speak to breaks in routine being hard for me.

8. Literal Interpretations. One of the symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome is literally interpreting what people say. The affected individual may not understand sarcasm, instead taking what the person has said as truth. The idea that people with Asperger’s syndrome do not understand humor is wrong.
I know this to have happened, but not nearly enough to be a problem for me. I find word based humour such as puns and sarcasm to be hilariously funny. If it does happen though, it’s always when someone I don’t know, or know well, that attempts sarcasm it might take me a few extra seconds to realize it.

9. Excellent Pattern Recognition. Another symptom of Asperger’s syndrome is the amazing ability to recognize patterns. Often these individuals’ brains are trying to make sense of their surroundings, so a break in pattern may show itself quite clearly.
I seem to have quite a knack for understanding new concepts and such pretty quickly. It’s like when I’ve read something, and I’ve understood it, and I know it, I find it hard to relay fluently. It’s almost as if I look at all of it inside my mind and it makes perfect sense to me, but when I try to explain there are no words for it. I find that this one is pretty hard to explain...

10. Poor Motor Skills. Some people with Asperger’s syndrome may find it difficult to control their gross and fine motor skills. The motor issues may manifest through poor handwriting thought to be caused by poor hand-eye coordination.
Possibly. I have what randomeu referred to though, central tremor. My handwriting is okay but I grip the pen so hard that I get radiating pain in my hand. If I relax my hand and write loosely it looks like a drawing I did of a fish on my mothers new wallpapers when I was a child - it didn’t look like a fish.