Aspies For Freedom

Only a psychologist is competent to diagnose Asperger.  And he or she has to do it in person, not over the Web.

We can't give you anything better than an opinion.  Certainly not a diagnosis.

I do not believe in self-diagnosis any more than I believe in self-cancer-surgery.  

In my case, I am AS because three separate evaluations, a year apart, said so.

BPD may seem like an unusual, maybe even ridiculous or untreatable illness to you but take heed. I had a sister with the disorder and she didn't make it. She turned to alcoholism and bulimia and complications with her health took her life.

At that time she looked perfectly healthy and was very, very young.

I remember one time watching "Girl Interrupted" Wynona Ryder with her and her saying that the character was very much like her.

Basically, there was a pattern of instability that she was only sometimes aware of, in which there was a hollow inward feeling of self that was compensated by having too many relationships. The alcoholism also started at a very young age.

We're all human, and so to some degree, we can all relate inwardly to multiple diagnoses. Sometimes I wonder if having the media of the internet doesn't do more harm than good. On one hand it could create more awareness, on the other, it seems that young people should have better things to worry about.

This sounds like my sister.

About the rest, I couldn't be sure. I wish you the best of luck in finding a self help category.

However, if finding this diagnosis is for denial of BPD, then take heed that BPD is a real diagnosis that others really can see and in which doctors really can help. Don't talk yourself into non-treatment

Hang in there. You'll find your place. Don't let others make it for you.

Thank you.

Dear Fragglerock

I think that we have all experienced most of what you list and describe in some capacity - you are far from alone!

Two things. I am self-diagnosed having read about Asperger by chance and then researching it myself, largely on the web.

I found this the best route for me. I have never wanted to geta  formal diagnosis given that it would give me a label that I may feel conscious about (negatively).

However, knowing that I have As, what the symptoms are and so being able to self redress, has proved enormously beneficial.

The second point is the cross-over with other conditions. For me concentration difficulties are inherent with AS, is this not ADHD?

I think that formally labelling people on the spectrum is incredibly difficult, even for clinical professionals.

Personally, I think that almost everyone has elements of As in their character to some degree.

We are not "that" different!

Kornik


Hi

I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder 4 years ago (I'm now 24) and recently with OCD. But most people I know believe my behaviour to be more Asperger's than BPD.
I haven't looked it up on the Net much, as that's never a good idea to try and diagnose yourself.
Here and some examples of what I'm like/ what my behaviour is like, that stand out a lot. I wonder if these are AS characteristics, or if anyone can identify with this.

Never liked being hugged as a child, would pull away and would never instigate affection
Would never hold people’s hand, would just offer my hand but never grip
Didn’t crawl, but pushed myself on my back
Walked at 16 months
Talked early
Didn’t like playing with other kids, liked to do stuff like puzzles and draw on my own

I have a hard time with empathy, except when it comes to animals I feel differently towards them
My brain explodes if I have too many instructions or information and I just ‘shut down’ or have to find somewhere quiet to have a cry or just quiet time (tricky when in work!)
Get stressed easily, especially when I was in school and really underachieved, despite having a fairly high IQ
Used to cut myself when things got ‘too much’. I found it soothing and calming
I have total lack of fear with my own safety, but am really cautious
People say that my accent changes all the time and I change the way I speak
I cannot for the life of me do ‘chit chat’. I find it so uncomfortable. I prefer discussing things I like rather than discussing emotions etc
Have a hard time verbalising my feelings. Tend to go into a rage or completely shut down and get depressed
Expect others to understand how I feel or what I’m talking about and get frustrated when they don’t
Have no common sense
Being in crowds is ‘too much’. Too much to look at and I get distracted. If I’m talking to someone on a busy street I tend to look around me too much and can’t concentrate on the conversation
Cannot make eye contact at all. My eyes feel like they’re burning if I try to. It makes me uncomfortable
I find it impossible to judge distance, height and weight
Often don’t notice if people are upset. I don’t feel connected to other people’s emotions. I feel almost like they’re actors just saying what they’re feeling, I can’t understand that they’re saying what they’re saying because they feel that way
Undersensetive to pain
Hate having my personal space invaded. I tend to talk to people as far away as I can, because I find standing close to people too weird
Always shaking my foot, tapping my fingers, especially if nervous or trying to concentrate
Get stressed out if I’m made to do things I haven’t prepared myself for. I’m not a spontaneous person
Really really bad impulse control
Always saying totally inappropriate things and getting told I’m weird for saying them
Have a hard time telling a lie, I tend to smile as it makes me uncomfortable
I have OCD with hand washing, repeating phrases and words in my head and rituals

Thankyou
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Just the fact that fragglerock is here asking questions shows that the "experts" are not infallible.  When I was a child, therapists were not educated about Asperger's.  Still, many are not, particularly the old school types.  There's no way I could have been diagnosed, when young; Asperger's wasn't even in the DSM.  In a way I think young people today are lucky in that they will be set on the right path and not so much at risk of being misunderstood.

I think it is common for female aspies (you are female, correct?) to be misdiagnosed as BPD.  We tend to be more emotionally volatile and demonstative than the males, and (maybe) are more prone to cutting as self-injury, which to a psych. is a hallmark of BPD.  I never understood why I cut myself until I read about autism and stimming.  I realized that head banging and deliberate cutting were pretty much the same thing; repetitive, intentional self injury to self-soothe.  I didn't understand that high functioning autistics stim.  I assumed the "high functioning" part meant "no stimming, especially not self injurious stimming."

Strangely I was never diagnosed with BPD despite the fact that I cut myself (past tense, I have managed to stop).  Pretty much every psych. I saw was puzzled by me, said that they couldn't understand me, and were at a loss over how to help or identify my "problem."

lol, most of fragglerock is mostly like me... hehe.

except for cutting myself

Sorry, it didn't come out right, though I do think plenty of people accept their doctors' word like zombies.

I just meant that if the professional were very thorough and competent, fragglerock would not have been left with so many questions, and resort to us for an opinion (not that there's anything wrong with that, but ideally she should be able to discuss it with the practitioner).  Also: since there are at least 3 people in her life who think she has AS traits, yet the practitioner didn't even broach the subject, this makes me consider that s/he must not be entirely competent or observant.

No, the rest of the world simply refuses to speak properly.