I'm 21 and I've never had an official diagnosis for Autism or Asperger's Syndrome. I feel I have a lot in common with my Aspie friends, though. And, to be fair, I'm far from being a "normal" person - and it's been that way since my childhood.
I took some tests online, and I'd like to share my results with you:
http://www.thegeeksyndrome.com - I scored 30 points
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/newsweek/au...efault.asp - I scored 37 points
http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php - I scored 135 out of 200
Are the tests accurate enough? In case I do have Asperger's Syndrome, is there anything I should change in my daily routine?
Feel free to ask me questions about my personal life and childhood, if you think that will help your answers. I would write more, but I wouldn't know what's relevant and what makes no difference...
Thanks in advance,
Danilo
Did you have pretend play as a child?
If so, what did it consist of?
Not that I can remember. To be fair, I didn't interact much with other children. When I did, it was mostly talking or playing games like hide and seek.
I used to spend most of my free time playing alone.
Tests like that might indicate a trend, but they aren't particularly reliable.
I don't get the routine question, though. Are you stressed out because of the tendencies you perceive as AS? Are you having social difficulties? Sensory issues? Just being an aspie doesn't really require changes in your lifestyle if you aren't already having problems you need to address.
If you want to find out more, I'd recommend talking to family members and other people who have known you a long time. I got a lot of very useful information from my mother, stuff I didn't remember, about how I was as a kid.
I tend to feel very stressed out in clubs, bars, parties or any social situations that involve more than a small group of friends. I had a panic attack during one of my classes at college yesterday, but that's not very usual.
I don't know whether I should try to socialize and deal with the stress or just not do it and deal with loneliness.
Bleh. I've been a mess lately.
I started taking antidepressants a month ago. They haven't helped so far.
Well, socialize selectively, according to your comfort level. Avoid bars, clubs, and parties, but don't stop hanging out with friends.
Take it one step at a time. Defining your comfort zone will help you even if you don't have AS, and if you do, it might give you a better idea of your limitations if you do seek a diagnosis later.
Antidepressants didn't help me, personally. Getting my life into a routine and having scheduled "downtime" or activities that calm me did. Think about the things that calm you down -- pursuing an interest, some kind of exercise, sleep, reading, whatever -- and make time for them, especially when you have days where you're forced to be more social than you'd like.
If you have sensory issues that leave you feeling overwhelmed, try to address them individually. I'm very sensitive to sound and light, so when I'm on the bus or walking around I have headphones on with music I like and often I wear sunglasses even when it's not extremely bright. Doing this consistently has helped me devote more attention to dealing with social stresses when I need to.
If this is interfering with your everyday life quite a bit, if it's making you miserable and you can't function, you probably should see a professional and see about at least getting some therapy at the minimum. If nothing else, they might be able to help you find ways to cope with the stress, or find a more effective medication.
Thanks for the help, what you've said makes a lot of sense. I'll try that. ^^;
I'm taking Zoloft and Klonopin. Zoloft didn't really help much: sometimes I feel a bit more energetic, buit others I feel even worse than before. I'm having some side effects too. Klonopin... well, I've started taking it a few days ago, but so far it only made me feel sadder and sleepy - didn't solve my panic problem either.
I kind of need to take some kind of medicine, I suppose. My serotonin levels are way too low. "Normal" people should have between 120 and 210 nanograms of serotonin per liter of blood - I have, uh... 30. :roll:
Guys, be very prudent with the f**kin' anti-depressant stuff.
For sure, these f**kin' tablets do NOT make miracles - even if your psychiatrists will do their best to persuade you the contrary.
Moreover, these f**kin' tablets can cause bowel-problems which can even put you in embarassment when you're in the presence of people. Ha! This is the irony of anti-depressants: they are supposed to pull you out of "depression" while causing side-effects which make you even more depressed !
If there are people who are mentally-sick : they aren't the patients but the doctors ! ! ! ! ! !
Worst anti-depressant is PROZAC ! Throw it away before it makes you throw yourself away ! (got it !?!?!?!?!)
In my case, it's not about making miracles... it's more about controlling a chemical imbalance. I agree they're dangerous, though. I'm particularly worried about taking Klonopin. Heard bad things about it.
Are you a diagnosed Aspie?
I don't know what the hell am I, but I'm definitely not an NT. :roll:
I finally took the tests.
Score: 26, 35, 136 "Very likely an Aspie"
I got 23 in the geek test, 43 in the Aspie Quiz and couldn't finish the 3rd quiz for some reason. It kept on taking me back to the start so I don't know what happened. I have an official diagnosis of autism but it was very hard to get.