Aspies For Freedom

I am absolute newbie to this forum. I have registrated because I believe that I have the same kind of mental disorder(asperger) how the most of members. I know for sure that I have some of the symptoms in very clear and unmistakable way, yet other seem to be lacking.

I tried some tests yet the problems is that in too much of the cases I either do not understand questions, or do not know how to answer, or I think that there should some other test, more practical than verbal, in order to know that.

I now post the entire set of questions with my comments.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

I have marked them as CLEAR if and only if have understood question and have no doubts how to answer it. In this cases I have given my answer. In other cases I have presented my comment whether and why I find giving the answer difficult.  In some of these cases I tried to present my answer nevertheless.

I hope that not all members of forum are too suffering from Asperger and I hope they would be able to work out my intention why I am writing this message.

  
1  I prefer to do things with others rather than on my own.          
CLEAR(answer not)

2  I prefer to do things the same way over and over again.          
CLEAR(answer not)

3  If I try to imagine something, I find it very easy to create a picture in my mind.          
QUESTION a little too abstract for me.What is meant by "picture" - a visual image? or a general idea?

4  I frequently get so strongly absorbed in one thing that I lose sight of other things.
CLEAR(answer perhaps not)        

5  I often notice small sounds when others do not.          
CLEAR(answer probably NOT)

6  I usually notice car number plates or similar strings of information.
CLEAR. (answer NOT)          

7  Other people frequently tell me that what I've said is impolite, even though I think it is polite.          
OBVIOUSLY THIS COULD HAPPEN BECAUSE IDEAS PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT WHAT IS POLITE CAN DIFFER, BUT WHAT IT HAS TO DO WITH ASPERGER?

8  When I'm reading a story, I can easily imagine what the characters might look like.          
QUESTION IS NOT VERY CLEAR. SOME STORIES DESCRIBE CHARACTERS IN VERY CONCRETE MANNER, SOME NOT

9  I am fascinated by dates.          
I CANNOT UNDERSTAND QUESTION. Does it mean I am fascinated to date girl-friends?

10  In a social group, I can easily keep track of several different people's conversations.        
I UNDERSTAND QUESTION BUT I LACK EXPERIENCE FOR ANSWERING IT.

11  I find social situations easy.          
TOO ABSTRACT.

12  I tend to notice details that others do not.          
HOW CAN I KNOW?

13  I would rather go to a library than to a party.          
CLEAR(answer yes)

14  I find making up stories easy.
I CANNOT UNDERSTAND AT ALL          

15  I find myself drawn more strongly to people than to things.          
SOMEWHAT CLEAR(probably more to things)

16  I tend to have very strong interests, which I get upset about if I can't pursue.
PROBABLY YES, but the question is not 100% clear          

17  I enjoy social chitchat.
CLEAR(certainly not)          

18  When I talk, it isn't always easy for others to get a word in edgewise.
DIFFICULT TO ANSWER.        

19  I am fascinated by numbers.          
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

20  When I'm reading a story, I find it difficult to work out the characters' intentions.          
HOW CAN I KNOW WHETHER IT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME OR NOT?In order to answer this question I should have some kind of test-book, where I read a story, try to guess characters' intentions and then check my answers in some answer key.

21  I don't particularly enjoy reading fiction.          
DIFFICULT TO ANSWER. MAYBE more yes than no, especially if fiction is in language I am just learning.

22  I find it hard to make new friends.          
CLEAR. I would say yes. but I have absolutely no urge to make friends, therefore I cannot say it is easy or difficult.

23  I notice patterns in things all the time.          
CLEAR. answer - not

24  I would rather go to the theater than to a museum.          
IT DEPENDS ON THE KIND OF THEATER AND MUSEUM. Since I am learning Hungarian language right now I would prefer a museum on Hungarian history/culture to a theater play related to other cultures, while I would probably prefer a Hungarian theater play to a museum related to other things or cultures. And this can change in future very quickly as I move eg. to Finnish or Gujarati

25  It does not upset me if my daily routine is disturbed.          
CLEAR. answer yes

26  I frequently find that I don't know how to keep a conversation going.
HOW I CAN FIND THIS OUT? PERHAPS NOT, if the topic is languages, linguistics, religious studies, oriental cultures, clashes of civilization
          
27  I find it easy to 'read between the lines' when someone is talking to me.          
HOW COULD I KNOW WHETHER HE I TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING "BETWEEN THE LINES" AT ALL? Again I would need some test or experiments where a person speaks to me several times, and I try to guess what he "has between lines" and see if I am right or wrong in my guess.

28  I usually concentrate more on the whole picture, rather than on the small details.          
AGAIN, SOME ADDITIONAL TEST WOULD BE NECESSARY. AS FOR ME, PERHAPS I CONCENTRATE RATHER ON DETAILS, but i cannot really know.

29  I am not very good at remembering phone numbers.
CLEAR. Answer - yes
        
30  I don't usually notice small changes in a situation or a person's appearance.          
AGAIN VERY DIFFICULT QUESTION. IF I DO NOT NOTICE ANY SMALL CHANGES, PERHAPS THERE WERE NONE. HOW CAN I KNOW?

31  I know how to tell if someone listening to me is getting bored.
WHAT IT MEANS perhaps - HOW COULD I KNOW WHETHER SOMEBODY LISTENING TO ME IS GETTING BORED. IF IT IS SO THE ANSWER IS - from the movement of his jaw-bones;
otherwise the sentence does not make too much sense
          
32  I find it easy to do more than one thing at once.    
CLEAR answer - not
    
33  When I talk on the phone, I'm not sure when it's my turn to speak.          
CLEAR, but difficult to answer

34  I enjoy doing things spontaneously.          
TOO ABSTRACT.

35  I am often the last to understand the point of a joke.          
CLEAR, BUT I PARTICIPATE IN JOKES TOO INFREQUENTLY AND THEREFORE CANNOT ANSWER. BUT IT WOULD CERTAINLY DEPEND ON THE KIND OF JOKE, LANGUAGE IN WHICH IT IS JOKED etc.

36  I find it easy to work out what someone is thinking or feeling just by looking at their face.          
IT DEPENDS. SOMETIMES YOU CAN SEE A LOOK LIKE A SMELL OF BALSAM, AND SOMETIMES YOU SEE A LOOK WHICH IS ABOUT TO CONVERT YOU TO ASHES. But

37  If there is an interruption, I can switch back to what I was doing very quickly.
DIFFICULT TO ANSWER.
        
38  I am good at social chitchat.          
CLEAR. answer - not

39  People often tell me that I keep going on and on about the same thing.
CLEAR. Perhaps answer - not, since I have not heard nothing like that.
        
40  When I was young, I used to enjoy playing games involving pretending with other children.          
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

41  I like to collect information about categories of things (e.g., types of cars, birds, trains, plants).          
CLEAR. NOT VERY MUCH.

42  I find it difficult to imagine what it would be like to be someone else.
HOW CAN I KNOW? I CAN TRY IMAGINE TO BE SOMEONE ELSE, BUT I CANNOT KNOW WHETHER THIS MY IMMAGINATION WAS CORRECT. I CAN IMAGINE I AM MY UNCLE JOHN, BUT PERHAPS WHAT I IMAGINE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REAL UNCLE JOHN. WHAT I HAVE TO DO - TO ASK UNCLE JOHN WHETHER I HAVE CORRECTLY IMMAGINED MYSELF IN HIS PLACE?
          
43  I like to carefully plan any activities I participate in.
CLEAR. Answer - not
        
44  I enjoy social occasions.          
CLEAR. Answer - not

45  I find it difficult to work out people's intentions.          
IT HAPPENS SOMETIMES THAT I CAN SEE THE INTENTION OF ANOTHER PERSON THROUGH HIS WORDS, BUT I PRETEND I DO NOT. WHY? I DO NOT LIKE PERSONS WHOSE INTENTIONS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THEIR SPEECH AND I LIKE TO TEASE THEM - THAT'S WHY.

46  New situations make me anxious.          
CLEAR. answer - yes

47  I enjoy meeting new people.          
CLEAR. answer - not

48  I am a good diplomat.          
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? I DO NOT WORK AT FOREIGN MINISTRY I DO NOT KNOW PERHAPS IT MEANS TO BE A SKILLED LIAR IN THIS CASE IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT I AM. I CANNOT REMEMBER THE LAST TIME WHEN I WAS SINCERE HOWEVER ONLY PEOPLE AROUND ME CAN TELL WHETHER I AM REALLY SKILLED AT LYING.

49  I am not very good at remembering people's date of birth.
I AM NOT VERY GOOD AT REMEMBERING NUMBERS, BUT BIRTHDATES ARE PERHAPS EXCEPTION - I EVEN USE SOME BIRTHDATES AS PASSWORDS IN SOME SYSTEMS.
          
50  I find it very easy to play games with children that involve pretending.      
WHAT IT IS?

IF someone has some sensible comments to me please send them to
abdurh_lk(at)yahoo(dot)com, since I do not know when I will open this forum again. Maybe someone can figure from my answers whether I sufer from Asperger or not.

Linas, welcome to AFF.

Importantly: Asperger is not a mental disorder. It is a developmental disorder.

"disorder", karms? I thought you didn't like the term "disorder" and preferred to say "condition".
(don't most of us prefer to say "condition"?).

I must excuse I do not know exact medical terminology.

I think you are right. In order to speak about "disorder" we have to know what is "order". And that is the problem. The "straight" people would say that Asperger is "disorder" but an Asperger could disagree and say that you "straight" are all crazy

While if we speak about "state" or "condition" it always makes sense. A condition does not need to be defined like "orderly" or "disorderly" I can be just condition along other conditions.

Hi Linas, welcome to AFF.   :smile:

Most people would not see the test questions as unclear because they would not notice all the different possible meanings.  They would assume that a question had only one meaning.

It is a common Asperger trait to notice many meanings in language and to want sentences to be clearer.

Linas, are you taking the test in a language that is not your own? The questions are fairly clear, maybe you are misunderstanding them as you are stretching your english skills to the limit.

If you have just a few aspects of a condition, but not many, then it is less likely that you have that condition.
For example you could have some traits of aspergers.

I will quote a concrete example
37 If there is an interruption, I can switch back to what I was doing very quickly.
DIFFICULT TO ANSWER.

The question indeed has only one meaning, yet the problem that I cannot remember all the situations when I was interrupted and whether I could resume very quickly; I presume there were many such cases(depending on what I was doing, when etc.), but there were opposite cases as well; it is very difficult to make an inventary of all cases and to come with a definite answer. And the second thing - what is meant by "very quickly" - second, minute, 10 minutes, hour; or maybe some time period in relation to the period that I was doing the activity or for which I was interrupted; eg. if I was studying French for an hour and then was interrupted for 10 minutes, and I can resume it in 1 minute then perhaps it would be considered "very quickly", and if in 10 minutes then perhaps "not very quickly" and if in 30 minutes, perhaps "very slowly"; but how I can know?

Yet it is not "my" language, but my skills of English are fairly sufficient And I know it from practice; there are some points where I cannot understand the linguistical meaning, but not that certainly is the problem with the most of questions. Some questions are too abstract, eg. about "social situation", but there can be lots of social situations ranging from a friendly chitchat to a funeral.

No. I don't like the word disorder. But in the medical field.. that is what it is known as at the moment (sadly)  :cry:

Autism is associated with asynchronous development and because some children are mute and start talking late or have speech and all sorts of other physical developmental problems (like enuresis, seizures, learning disabilities etc) it is considered a "disorder" when compared to the normal/average developmental milestones.

Yes, but as far as I know Asperger and autism are different things, and I understand that Aspie children do not have the most of these problems that autists have.

I have Asperger's and I had asynchronous development. I have all those things I mentioned in brackets. That is why I mentioned them.

Asperger's is on the autistic spectrum. The only difference with Asperger's and classic autism is language development.

O, I see. I am afraid I have offended you.

You didn't offend me. We all understand that autism and AS is a very complex thing.