Most psychiatrists aren't experienced enough with AS and other ASDs to diagnose this in an adult, so I don't think you should take it to mean you can't have AS just because he or she never mentioned it or didn't recognise it.
It happens a lot apparently, that AS is misdiagnosed first. Either as ADHD or later on as an emotional or personality issue. BPD is popular as a misdiagnosis because a lot of professionals stick that label on anyone whom they can't fit into any other bucket they know of.
Online Asperger's tests make it look like everyone who is shy and quirky has Asperger's. I think if you want to be sure of your diagnosis you should ask a professional about it or do some SERIOUS research- and do keep in mind that people tend to want to be special; it's all too easy to convince yourself that you have something like Asperger's.
Over the last few days I've been reading through these forums and it seems like the general consensus here is not just that having Asperger's is *okay* but that, in fact, it is somehow *superior*- which is a disturbing concept, and could easily contribute to a person's desire to have Asperger's.
So, be careful. If Asperger's was nothing but a big bowl of fun and sunshine, it wouldn't make as many people as miserable and confused as it does.
I completely agree with that 
So do I. I think the idea that Aspies are "superior" is a sort of reactive prejudice... being told all your life that you are inferior makes you want to swing too far the other way, rather than just saying "I'm worth just as much as any other human", which of course is the real state of affairs.
It's possible--likely, actually--for an Aspie to have mental illnesses in addition to Asperger's. I was diagnosed with BPD, PTSD, and depression; I'm still taking meds for depression but I feel I've overcome all three. (I don't think I had BPD in the first place.)
Mental illness is no joke... it makes your life miserable and doesn't let you use your skills. If your meds aren't helping, you need to get a second opinion, or a third: Do you need the meds? If you do, would a different one be better? Can the dosage be adjusted?
Remember that meds aren't a panacea for any mental illness. They're just meant to keep you stable until you can do the work (and yes, it's hard work) necessary to keep yourself stable on your own. Some meds have to be taken for the rest of your life; others, you can stop taking after you're better; but meds alone, while better than nothing, are nowhere near what you need. If you have a mental illness, you have to take control of your own mind--fight against yourself, if you have to--and do what you need to do to get back into balance. Don't trust docs who just drug you up and don't help you work on whatever you need to learn, because all you'll get is a stalemate, and no real recovery.
I think it's time for you to mention Asperger's to all the professionals who work with you. Maybe your psychiatrist just hasn't thought of it as a possibility yet.
Oh, and I've been off all the medication for two months because the mood levellers I was taking weren't having any positive effects and were giving me very bad side effects.
I do feel better without the drugs, but my unusual behaviour and thought patterns still mean that I am unable to lead a 'normal' life.
Hey it's great that you are off the meds
You do sound very Aspie/HFA to me, and it does sound like something that *should* have been picked up when you were hospitalised. (As in if they noticed you rocking to yourself etc. you'd have thought someone would have made the connection)
But as I said before, therapists etc. that specialise in mental health issues are not usually trained in ASDs enough to recognise them in adolescents and adults. All too many of them still seem to think autism = mute child who rocks all the time and that's it.
I think the problem is that practically all the patients on a mental health ward rock to to themselves/bounce their legs and most of them talk to themselves too.
The thing is that the other patients do it because they are hearing voices or whatever, I do it because it's just what I've always done, and it makes me feel better.
Good point I would guess they'd assume you don't ALWAYS do this, only because you're having "an episode". You certainly don't sound BPD to me (I have a friend who was dx'd with it. I'm not 100% sure it was correct because she deliberately answered the questions a certain way but she certainly acts that way socially), and it is common for Aspies, especially those who have more obviously 'different' behaviour but who haven't had the luck of being diagnosed, to end up in situations like yours.
I have just talked to my mum about Asperger's and apparently people have been suggesting to her that I'm Asperger's for years, she just never connected it to my depression and anxiety. One of her friends has a son my age who is an Aspie and they often comment about how alike our behaviours are.
And she never thought to mention this to you? That's a shame 
She's been telling me stuff about when I was a baby and it's disturbing how typically Asperger's my behaviour was and still is. I was her first baby and she said that she though all babies acted like me until she had my sister. It was only then she realised I was very different to 'normal' kids
Yes when I first approached my parents (before the diagnosis just about general background info, for an ADD referall) my Mum was all "OMG no never there is NOTHING wrong with you". But everytime I see them they tell me stuff about how I used to hum to myself or how I tip-toed all the time etc. etc. 
Great news that she's going to support you though, that is wonderful
Especially "I have panic attacks when I hear people arguing or crying" I have not read anyone else doing that - I do that and start frantically pacing or doing some sort of physical activity to calm down.
I get like that as well, I have learned to internalise it but as a kid my parents were always utterly surprised by how deeply I was affected whenever they even slightly raised their voices against each other, because NORMALLY I was playing with my wooden blocks and totally oblivious. But once my Mum told my Dad off for forgetting something while shopping, and I was sooooo upset and freaked out. They were taken aback because they thought nothing could touch me when I was with my blocks.
My ex had a LOT of issues and lots of moodswings and I was so terrified and shocked by the slightest outburst. To have to be accused of being cold and not caring enough to 'comfort him' (I tried!!!) was the last thing I needed.
At least it would explain the anxiety, depression etc better than manic-depessive.
Manic depression is very common on the spectrum of autism so even if you should have it it is likely just a part of the puzzle
Well thats no reason is it? I like titoing walking because its silent , well more silent then other forms of walkin..
Sure is a reason, it's often regarded as a stim and it feels amazing, IMHO. I'm more into bending/twisting arms and wrists these days but I still remember that euphoric, soothing feeling of bouncing around the living room on my toes (as a girl you can use the excuse of imitating ballet dancers...), and staggering through my bedroom with my feet stuck in plastic cups...
Online Asperger's tests make it look like everyone who is shy and quirky has Asperger's. … Over the last few days I've been reading through these forums and it seems like the general consensus here is not just that having Asperger's is *okay* but that, in fact, it is somehow *superior*- which is a disturbing concept, and could easily contribute to a person's desire to have Asperger's.
If I (speaking only for me!) wanted to feel “somehow superior”, I'd join mensa (no problem for me 
). – You might want to have a look at the problems described in the forum(s) and see if the solutions presented are ok for you – no matter what you've gotten as dx.
Believe me, I don't want to have Asperger's. I don't want to have anything wrong/different about me but there quite obviously is whether it's Asperger's or not.
There is definitely something wrong or different with me. I don't feel a twin diagnosis of ADD and Social Anxiety/Generalized Anxiety Disorder (I do have the second one on the list, but not the first) is going to explain things. I don't always have social anxiety, either. I usually don't have it around people I've known a long time, for instance.
I'm Oppositional Defiant but really the advice I've been given over the years has helped marginally, if at all. There is a link missing and I didn't remove that link manually myself--that "link" to understanding and using NT advice is just not there.
I used to want a social life and friends and all those things but the comprehension, the genuine comprehension of such things, was never really there. Believe me if I could have had better comprehension, I would have exercised my creative interests within the necessary social context.
Indeed, I went into high school with high ambitions, especially creatively (I wanted to get into creative writing and film) but I discovered the social scene was too advanced for me, and thus I wasn't able to do things as I wanted to do them. I was quite social when I entered high school, but it seemed each year that went by, there was more and more that I was just "missing." So that led to a breakdown, and I had to be taken out of mainstream and placed in a program with Special Emotional Needs (what a surpise that is!)
The fact is, I just didn't understand what was going on, or why. I believe egocentricity (from lacking theory of mind) plays a huge role.
I mentioned Asperger's to my psychologist and she agrees that it is very likely I am an Aspie, or have a similar developmental disorder. She said that Asperger's fits with everything I have told her over the last four months, and explains why my problems have existed since I was a very young child.
I had bits and pieces of Asperger's as a young child (in hindsight) but it seemed they all intensified the older I got.
Isn't that why they call it a developmental disorder? The problems show up in different ways through one's development, they're not just there in childhood... they can and often do show up later.
That's how it was for me. The problems got worse later.
Just by the way, What does Aspergers has to do with tiptoieng or other traits like that?
Autistic spectrum disorders are partly characterised by stereotypical movements and sensory differences. Sensory differences often mean we have to get our sensory stimulation on ways different from most NTs. NTs tap their feet or twirl their hair when they are nervous and impatient, we often rock or spin or flap our hands or fingers instead.
And toe-walking is meant to be a sign of neurological differences ("abnormalities") if it is very persistent (I think it is normal for some time during a child's attempts at learning to walk).
Or even IN ways different to most NTs.
