Aspies For Freedom

I think alot of aspies here have INTP or simular personalities.  IIRC there was a poll on it awhile back.  Try not to focus on labels.  You are you reguardless of any label which people may use to describe or catagorize you.

Whether or not they are AS traits, the are just who you are.

I agree with darkcode and john. You need to get to know yourself and accept yourself for who you are. If that inculdes AS traits, then so be it. If it includes INTP (I'm not sure what that is), then so be it. If having a label or two helps you understand yourself and accept it, great. If not, don't worry about it.

(by the way, in the end of your first post, you ask for advice from someone who's been diagnosed. I haven't been. Just letting you know.)

Hi Kalo
I'm not officially diagnosed, but believe that I'm on the spectrum someplace.  I'm also an INTP/INTJ temperament. I can relate to the question of sorting out which traits are just being NT (in the myers-briggs sense) and which are aspie.  Being an INTP, you're not "temperament typical", given that INTPs are about 2-3% of the general population. So how to sort out "temperament atypical" from "neuro atypical" i.e. aspie?

In my case, the difficulty with recognizing faces, interpreting body language, and frequently not getting nuances of language (e.g. sarcasm, irony) are what I'd consider to be aspie traits. Obsessive preoccupations and intense focus could be either INTP or aspie. Feeling awkward with social interactions could be either INTP or aspie. And being considered weird, introverted, dorky, eccentric, etc could be either INTP or aspie.

All this being a long-winded way of kind of agreeing with what others have said.  Labels can be helpful for generating understanding and compassion for self and others. That is, they answer "why" and "how" questions surrounding perceptions of difference.  BUT, the self cannot be encompassed within a label--and shouldn't be, in my opinion.

Well, From reading your posts so far I am absolutely certain your an aspie. Some people have what they call gaydar, well I have aspiedar. And it's beepin'  :wink:

Do allways take stock in what people say about Aspies not read facial expressions. There is some evidence now that Aspies can read facial expressions the same as everyone else. It just because of out narrow field of focus we rarely take notice of other people's face.

"I am mean he could of diagnosed me as having Social Anxiety Disorder, but there were other things that he must of felt over lapped."  You would not have this unless you were always afraid to talk to people because of fears of what you thought other people were thinking.  I have a friend with this who was a vocalist.  She liked to perform but had some trouble with being in crowds of people.  She did have tonnes more friends that I ever had though.  

Why worry about living at home, being asexual?  

I look people in the face when I talk to them mostly because I was trained to do that by a therapist.  I do not get much information from their eye expressions and some emotional and sacrasm escape me.  There are varying degrees of proficiency in this affecting people with AS.  

You sound young, college - age?  Just try to do some performing and get work.

But then you shouldn't feel so uncertain about your diagnosis... it sounds like you have been diagnosed appropriately by the right clinician.

I have met a few aspies who always doubt their diagnosis, even for years, maybe its just personal nature.

I never doubted my diagnosis, but it took me a long while to accept the reality of it though.

Amy, the reason for doubt is because others don't notice it in me and there is a stereotype when diagnosing autism.

I dont understand, what is the stereotype? If you are female then it is supposed to be harder to spot.

I am guessing that as one grows into adulthood a lot of the things I had a hard time with such as socializing, looking people in the eyes when speaking, etc. gets easier to do because eventually you learn them.

I think some people can, some dont.

Maybe he indicated it is a possibility for you to have AS. He should really make you do cognitive tests for AS before he can officially diagnose you. Did he give you a letter or an invoice with a diagnostic code from the DSM or ICD? If he hasn't done this, your diagnosis might just be provisionary or a speculation of possibility.

In my country, psychologists are very careful and hesitant to diagnose unless they are absolutely sure, preferably with a second opinion. I would have liked to believe that this is done elsewhere as well.

Kalo, do you know about giftedness? Here is some info I posted a while back. It might be of interest to you.

http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/phpBB2/v...php?t=2828

Karms said "Maybe he indicated it is a possibility for you to have AS. He should really make you do cognitive tests for AS before he can officially diagnose you. Did he give you a letter or an invoice with a diagnostic code from the DSM or ICD? If he hasn't done this, your diagnosis might just be provisionary or a speculation of possibility."


Cognitive tests are not essential, and are not always, or even often, done. It depends on the country. Your country sounds quite thorough, but to do that for everyone would be more expensive, and some countries have years waiting lists, even for children. I posted a news story about the situation in wales, where I live.

Cognitive tests don't "prove" anything, but they pick up how your brain works, information processing, calculation, theory of mind, especially with language and communication and it can show a pattern of AS related problems if you do have it. The clinician will ask you questions, look at your history and observe your behaviour etc and it is possible for them to rule AS out. The presence of the 'triad of impairments' is also important.

Yuo can see some tests here:
http://www.autismresearchcentre.com/tests/default.asp

The tests used for diagnostic purpose are very expensive and I don't think you will find them online because they will be protected by copyright laws etc. But these should give you an idea.

Maybe you should do all the quetionnaires and show it to your psychologist, maybe you will feel better about your diagnosis then and understand yourself better? just a thought

(off topic)

Aww cute puupy karms!

Sometimes I wish I'd been born a couple of decades later, when so much info to explain things was readily available.   :lol: