Mom thinks I have autism?

[justageek]

My mother recently told me that she thinks I'm autistic.

why is this?
well, I'm pretty anti-social, and I have a really difficult time making friends, at that. I avoid social interaction at all costs, and I am easily overwhelmed when placed in new places and I hate crowds. I don't do well when I'm away for the weekend and I have meltdowns very easily. I also am medicated for depression, and have a mild case of brain damage.

 

[Sabertooth]

Unless your mom is an experienced professional in some level of neuropsychology, she really can't say. She can suspect, but it takes a professional to make such a diagnosis. Your brain damage could explain some of your symptoms, too.

It is necessary to have the most accurate diagnosis possible in order to determine the best therapeutic course of action.

 

[justageek]

She is no professional, no. She knows of the "symptoms", however, and I've looked into them. I have most, if not all, of them. I'm also very intelligent in English and have a strong writing expression, and I get A's and B's in school, at the moment. Not that I'm saying people with autism are dumb or not intelligent by any means, I just thought it'd be something to point out.

 

[Sabertooth]

She is no professional, no. She knows of the "symptoms", however, and I've looked into them. I have most, if not all, of them. I'm also very intelligent in English and have a strong writing expression, and I get A's and B's in school, at the moment. Not that I'm saying people with autism are dumb or not intelligent by any means, I just thought it'd be something to point out.

The Aspergers side (of the autism spectrum) tends to have average to above average intelligence, so that is not a disqualifier. That is why my generation went so long without it being detected. People just thought of us as nerds, geeks, eccentrics, etc.

and went with it.

 

[Mayzoo]

Most (not all obviously) Autistics on the spectrum have some degree of expressive speech difficulties. The range of possibilities is huge.

 

[dayhiker]

justageek,
Welcome to the club. Personally, I'm glad I am AS. Ya, I've had to think thru a lot of things and think about how I'm going to deal with them. But over 40 yrs of working on it I've got quite a few situations leaned enough so I now enjoy them. I look had the NTs and this issues they have with their emotions and I'm thinking I'm glad I don't have to deal with that. They are lving in the dark, they don't even know they ahve to put out all this energy to deal with things that I don't have to deal with. Then they think I've got problems!
It was hard when I was young. BUt after obsessing on how to deal with other people for years I can handle it now. I actually enjoy it. They have paterns of acting and since one of my strengths is recognizing patterns I see what they are doing and there buy get a feel for what they are thinking. Ya, its not intuitive like it is for the NT types, but I got there my way. Looking back its been a fun trip, because I like to learn. Also NTs want to fit in so they do what everyone else does for the most part. I thought thry each action and chose to do things for a reason. So when I see someone thinking I'm doing something stupid, I point out the reason I do things. Its almost always a better reason than they have for what they do.

Ya, being AS on the spectrum is a good thing from my place in life right now.