difficulty in distinguishing aspergers from introversion and shyness

[Musicprophets]

has anyone else ever second guessed themselves on their asperger's diagnosis? my reasons might be different from others, but my main area of underdevelopment is socialization. i have a history of poor socialization in all types of situations, events, high school..lol. and i have noticed/been told of various sensory problems i encounter at times. but socialization is my main problem and the one thing at my young adult age can't get a clear, good grasp on.
so my real question how do you all distinguish aspergers from introversion and shyness?
introversion is obviously different from aspergers. i mean intros do have friends and are relatively successful and confident in major areas/challenges of life. shyness can be cured with some training and self esteem boosting, but aspies seem to fall in both introversion and shyness
i guess i need a medical/psychological/literal meaning of shyness and introversion. any thoughts?

 

[swill8295]

Yeah, there's a bit more to HFA and AS than shyness. Not only can HFA and AS types be shy and introverted, but they are also known for being eccentric, having strange delays or not understanding obvious jokes at all, real difficulty reading facial expressions, no stop gaps, obsessive and very narrow interests, and bizarre handflapping or body contortions to get rid of stress (usually more typical in HFA than AS). A shy person can read peoples facial expressions when they get to know someone, but an AS type or HFA type may never be able to read your facial expressions no matter how much he knows you. You very possibly could get diagnosed with AS, but no guarantees on that.

 

[matthewmastrom]

I wouldn't get too caught up in definitions. Everybody is unique! Psychologists get carried away with trying to classify people. Autism is definitely a spectrum, but for things like Asperger's Syndrome, it can be so mild that if you are questioning whether you have it, you probably shouldn't even worry about whether you have it or not. Just try to be self-aware so that you can recognize it if there are certain things about you that are the result of having a non-typical brain, or if they are merely part of your personality... But whatever the causes of who you are, you are who you are for a reason!

I don't know if I'm really autistic or if I am just weird and shy and obsessive like AS people. Frankly I don't care that much.

 

[vic74]

I personally believe that any kind of self evaluation is always great. I think that you should get a medical opinion first and then take things from their. If you've already been diagnosed, then my advise is to find people who are close to you whom you may interact with and ask them if they feel that you may possess any of those traits that are synonymous to AS. Believe me, they would be able to give better insite on any of your character traits and any little quirks you may have much better than any text book definition ever could. And this is coming from a woman who is married to an AS man. I hope I've been some help to you. If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a personal message.
God Bless.

 

[hannahfievel]

Hello,

Hmm, I can definately say that in my "family" mom's side...there are "alot" of those with both autism and aspergers people.

The autistic family members are on the higher scale of "doing and learning" but we have just come to find out...there are alot of families with different levels of both, and this family of mine...well, we are weird, but fun! And, since we found this stuff out, done alot of reading and self diagnosing and would definately recommend having a doctors opinion first.

My aunt had my daughter scared to death, she kept telling her, my grandson was autistic, so I told her...before you just jump on auntie's bandwagon, because one of her grandchildren is autistic...Go have the boy checked out. First they said, he had sensory issues, but now they say he is ADD/ADHD so "now" where do you go with two different doctors with two different opinions? We are both a little frustrated with how confused "school teachers thoughts" can take precidence over what doctors say, because one opinion is from a teacher observing him...she is one that said he has sensory problems. So, then she told my daughter...have him evaluated...so she did...and now the original teacher "doesn't agree with the Doctor"! So, now what do you do?

I will say...If my grandson has "whatever" then my whole entire family is wacked out too! He seems pretty normal to me...but what the heck would his nana know? But, I am tired of how they just bounce kids around from place to place..."trying to put them on meds"! Does this bother anyone else...that "meds" are always on their minds, always on their minds? Good song hey? Well, I will see what some of you can add that may help, thanks, your sister in Christ, hannah