Asperger's Syndrome

[gryphon]

There is a lot of for lack of a better term...half facts out there about Asperger's.

Not too many people fully understand the condition and people with it often face stigma.


I feel people should be free to ask what they want from someone who can provide some insight even if its not a lot.

Last January I was diagnosed officially with Asperger's. Since then I have become more...active in learning about it and wanting to help clear up misconceptions.

If anyone is confused about what Asperger's is or has a child with Asperger's and wants some advice of any kind, As a person with asperger's any information I can provide will be given. If you just are curious about some details, I can answer from the perspective of someone with the condition.

[gryphon]

And if anyone is curious, no people with Asperger's are not like sheldon from big bang theory.

[MortgageQueen]

My brother has asperger's. Aside from not being hyper. . .he is actually a lot like Sheldon. He also finds him terribly funny. One thing of note with Sheldon is his friendship "rule book". It makes sense, as many people with aspergers (and I say many, because there is a very wide range!) find it difficult to "read" social cues or feelings from other people.
How do you deal with that Gryphon? I know my brother grew up more or less mimicking others in order to fit in. I feel bad because he must have felt so alone.

[gryphon]

My brother has asperger's. Aside from not being hyper. . .he is actually a lot like Sheldon. He also finds him terribly funny. One thing of note with Sheldon is his friendship "rule book". It makes sense, as many people with aspergers (and I say many, because there is a very wide range!) find it difficult to "read" social cues or feelings from other people.
How do you deal with that Gryphon? I know my brother grew up more or less mimicking others in order to fit in. I feel bad because he must have felt so alone.

I cant read social cues so I often ask others what they mean. I have a hard time understanding things. I didnt have alot of friends growing up but again I wasnt diagnosed until my 20's/

its hard to explain but I gradually came out of my shell in university

[trishka]

Asperger's presents in many ways and varies, which is something that people don't always realised with AS. People do associate someone with AS as being like Sheldon, and while there are some who are very much like that, there are others who are not even close. I do not have AS but I have two friends who do. They are in their late 20s and both of them are very different in their behaviours. They both are considered high functioning but one of them cannot detect sarcasm. He's getting better but we still need to explain it to him that we're being sarcastic. One of his 'quirks' as he calls it, is that he likes to find patterns and solve puzzles and he's been able to translate that into a job as he works in an area dealing with fraud and other illegal things. He is not very social outside of our group of friends whereas my other friend is incredibly social.

Gryphon, I'm glad you were eventually able to come out of your shell.

[gryphon]

The thing is, since high school I have been increasingly more willing to start a conversation with someone I dont know and in recent years Ive formed many long lasting friendships because of that.

Im more outgoing now and have a lot more firends but at times I can still be shy.

Im nervous about calling people if I need something but what has helped with that is my calling up amazon numerous times when something is wrong with an order. it ended up giving me more confidence in my self

Another thing about me is that I lack subtlety at times. I can be brutally honest ( though I lie a lot to others as well, ( being honest here)) and i also have problems with sarcasm and often have to ask what people mean.

As a result I hated being teased as a child and it gave me some anger issues Im working through.

[MortgageQueen]

Good for you Gryphon . . .for working through this stuff. Keep up the good work. I admire you for not putting your head in the sand or isolating yourself. You will be happy for it as life goes on.

[trishka]

The thing is, since high school I have been increasingly more willing to start a conversation with someone I dont know and in recent years Ive formed many long lasting friendships because of that.

Im more outgoing now and have a lot more firends but at times I can still be shy.

Im nervous about calling people if I need something but what has helped with that is my calling up amazon numerous times when something is wrong with an order. it ended up giving me more confidence in my self

Another thing about me is that I lack subtlety at times. I can be brutally honest ( though I lie a lot to others as well, ( being honest here)) and i also have problems with sarcasm and often have to ask what people mean.

As a result I hated being teased as a child and it gave me some anger issues Im working through.

I'm glad you're doing so well. The little steps, like you calling amazon, is a great way to slowly build up your confidence to speaking with someone.

The being teased is something that is hard to deal with. Both of my friends are the older siblings and their younger brothers would often defend them and it led to more issues with being teased as now they needed their younger brothers to defend them.

[i_forget]

Keep up the great work.

I know how hard it is for you. I see my boys struggle still from time to time, but having strength to face things helps overcome those fears.

[gryphon]

Asperger's can lead to some issues in families particularly with families who dont know how to respond toa child with asperger's. a different approach is needed.

[MortgageQueen]

You may find comfort in the fact that families, friends, etc. have difficulty understanding any condition, be it a physically limiting, psychological, or intellectual.
They simply can't imagine what it's like within the limited realm of their experience. What people don't know or understand, they often mock, because it puzzles them.
What it comes down to is you may be trying to overcome your limitations, but they can't get past ​theirs!

[Patty Smyth]

I think it was pretty obvious from the beginning that Susan Boyle was awkward and unsure about the whole fame game. Hopefully now that she has been diagnosed it will help her cope. Why does it take so long to be diagnosed? It seems they are labeling everyone with a disorder of being autistic these days and yet she displayed symptoms and went undiagnosed for this long?

http://www.people.com/people/article...764150,00.html

Susan Boyle Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome


Susan Boyle says she has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism – and feels relief at finally having the right label for her condition.

Boyle told the Observer newspaper that she saw a specialist a year ago, who told her she had Asperger's and an above-average IQ.

Boyle, 52, had learning difficulties as a child, which she was told were the result of brain damage from oxygen deprivation at birth. She struggled in school and was bullied by other children.

"I have always known that I have had an unfair label put upon me," Boyle said in the interview, published Sunday. "Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself."

[gryphon]

its not that it goes undiagnosed, its that people are misdiagnosed

[gryphon]

and remember there isnt a total consensus on the matter

[Patty Smyth]

and remember there isnt a total consensus on the matter

Strange that they told her she lacked oxygen at birth and that did it. I am wondering if that was a cop out diagnosis because they couldn't be bothered or were just truly ignorant.