Asperger's Syndrome in Adults?
Question:
I took the test on WIRED and made a 34 on a the test that said 80% of autistics make a 32 on. The average score for non-autistic is 16...
Either I can mess up a test or I need some advice...
I really do get in trouble in conversations. Many people don't understand whatever I really mean. I have a weirdness about eyecontact. And I think I may be asexual...I have to have routine without varying or I forget to do something important. One day, I forgot to eat before I went to work and I'm insulin resistant, so eating is an important step. My family called and told the boss I forgot something and told them to send me home. I said I forgot my medicine...but I really forgot to eat.
What do you think about all this!?!
Answers:
Yes, Aspergers can go unnoticed for years! Especially when, like me, you have it fairly lightly and are just a few years too old for kindergarten screening. (Aspergers was added to the DSM IV in 1994, and I was already in year two by then.) I wasn't diagnosed until I was eighteen, and I'm twenty now. Obviously, I've had it all this time, it just was considered general weirdness and not given a name.
Aspergers isn't really a huge thing to worry about. Obviously, some people are more affected by it and perceive it more negatively, but just look at it this way - having Aspergers, being autistic, doesn't mean you're retarded or damaged or sick. It's not an illness that you can take medicine to cure. It just means your brain is wired up differently.
There are different coping strategies you can use. Instead of eye contact, which I find unnerving and intrusive, I focus on the person's mouth. I'm fairly short, so I have to look up anyway, but this gives a perception that you're making eye contact, which seems to relieve the concerns of non-autistics.
From what you've said - the misunderstanding, the eye contact, and the routines - it does sound like you have Aspergers, or else may be on the Autistic Spectrum - for example, Pervasive Development Disorder - Not Otherwise Specificed, or PDD-NOS, which is essentially similar to Aspergers but without all of the features.
Basically... it sounds likely, but that doesn't need to be a bad thing. Remember that :) Contact me if you need to talk further.
I just looked at the test. First, it's just for fun. Second, it simply looks at different interests. Anyone who is more introverted than extroverted or shy may score high on this test, hell, even someone with severe ADHD, social anxiety or even depression can score high on that test. It's not a diagnostic tool. It's for fun.
Sometimes I forget to eat too, I just get too busy to bother and then the day goes by, though I doubt I'm autistic. I think it's normal to forget or to put off eating sometimes.
If you're really very worried, go to a psychologist, get an evaluation. Of course, there isn't really a cure for Asperger's although there are some therapies to help with functioning in ways other people are more comfortable with, but if you like yourself and enjoy your life the way it is while having survived this long? Who cares!
First you are not asexual because humans require a male and a female to have kids. Also, I have Aspergers and I am barely living with it. I am 24 btw.
The test at WIRED didn't work for me but i found the same test at another page. They put the average non- autistic between 15 and 24 and scores above 34 is labeled "extremely geeky". Yeah, geeky not autistic.
Demon you need to look up what asexuality is. Human asexuality has nothing to do with getting bacteria pregnant. Wikipedia also has a good article on it. Its a sexual orientation and its a common problem that affects many autistics which would include aspies.
I have aspergers and am asexual. Aspergers in general has ruined my life.
Female aspies tend to go by a different set of rules, but when a male aspie marries, there is a common thread whereby he rapidly loses interest in sex. The wife usually complains that he was sexually great before marriage, but a dud afterwards. This indicates that lust was the driving factor, not love. Lust wears off as hormone levels fall, love does not.
In reality, few male aspies marry, but it seems that female aspies marry at the normal rate. In my case, I have experimented with females when I was younger, but I was never able to fall in love with any. I am single and plan to stay that way for life.
As far as the tests, they are similar to what a real psychologist would give you, but are highly dependent on your honesty in answering them. There are more apergers tests out there that you can take if you want. For a more definitive answer, you can look at the DSM criteria and see if you fit it. I believe you can get this on Wikipedia.
As far as seeing a psychologist, that would be your choice. However, it probably can only hurt you because once its made official, it is now called a "Pre-Existing Condition" and some insurance companies will use it as an excuse to deny you coverage.
I was formally diagnosed three years ago, at the age of 48.
When I was a child, Asperger's wasn't even a diagnostic possibility.
Some of what you describe is certainly consistent with AS, but it doesn't have to be. The on-line tests are a clue.
It might be worth visiting a place like Wrongplanet (URL1) and having a look at the forum message boards. (you don't have to announce yourself). If you find you're looking at messages from "like minds" it's another clue that you've found "your people".
I found diagnosis as an adult very useful.
Most people at least in the UK seem to (perhaps fewer medical/insurance issues over here).
It improved the "tool kit" I used for thinking about myself, and about the world.
I'm not sure which tests you've done. This set (URL2) are as good as any I've seen on-line and the page offers other links as well.
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