Hello

[Franz]

Hi... I'm a 42-year-old bloke who thinks he may have Asperger's. I've applied for an assessment at a centre that's near me, so we shall see.

 

Till recently, I'd never particularly thought I might have Asperger's, though I definitely have a geeky manner, and obsessive tendencies. I've been through a rough time over the past few years due to a resurgence of bad social phobia and an obsession about eye contact and stuff; this prompted my parents to suggest I might have Asperger's. The more I think about it, the more I think they may have a point.

 

In the Asperger's test I scored 27, so quite a lot higher than average, though not spectacularly high.

 

The Aspie traits I have are: obsessiveness; self-absorption; high sensitivity to environmental disturbances; irritability; social awkwardness; a sort of intellectual single-mindedness that makes me embarrassingly excitable about things that interest or move me.

 

The Aspie traits I don't have are more on the emotional side. I don't think I lack the ability to read people's moods and facial expressions, although sometimes paranoia makes me over-interpret these. I appreciate linguistic nuance, I enjoy "deep" novels and poetry, and (on good days) I am creative with words. Also, I can be quite empathetic with people who are sad or distressed.

 

I've had social phobia most of my adult life, but there was a period when, mainly thanks to medication, I was less panicky around people. However, I was still shy during this period, and I was struck that I didn't find social activity as satisfying as most people seemed to. It's not that I don't need people, but I tend to want to get to know other people more deeply than they want to know me.

 

When I was a child, I used to clasp and unclasp my fingers rapidly when I was excited. I gather this is a symptom of Asperger's.

 

I'd be interested if any of this resonates with others here.

 

Thanks,

 

Franz

[Franz]

OK, I was too verbose I guess.

 

Maybe I'll be more welcome in another forum.

 

Bye.

 

Franz

Edited October 21, 2011 by Franz

[smiley1590]

i also have social anxiety officially diagnosed with A.S i used to find leaving house difficult due to this which still can be hard challenge just lately again! i'm also hate answering or making phone calls dread it makes me feel anxious start shaking and sweating! i also enjoy poetry and also write my own on A.S experiences i have had and continue to think and feel one way to express myself! i have had 2 published so far and one day would like to write my own poetry book to spread more understanding and awareness on AS!

 

XKLX

[Kathryn]

Blimey Franz, that's a bit of a snap judgement!

There are many innocuous reasons why people don't respond quickly to posts .

 

Some of us have lives away from the forum; some of us like to read a post, think about it and come back later to give a considered response, and some of us don't have an answer at that moment and so prefer to say nothing.

 

I would have welcomed you but if you aren't staying I guess I won't waste my time.

Edited October 21, 2011 by Kathryn

[darkshine]

Blimey Franz, that's a bit of a snap judgement!

There are many innocuous reasons why people don't respond quickly to posts .

 

Some of us have lives away from the forum; some of us like to read a post, think about it and come back later to give a considered response, and some of us don't have an answer at that moment and so prefer to say nothing.

 

I would have welcomed you but if you aren't staying I guess I won't waste my time.

And then there's people like me who just don't see it for an eternity (its a checking what I missed on the "recent topics added" page day - some days there are loads and things just get shunted down the list and I hate checking manually by opening each topic for unread threads but eventually the day comes around where I check them all) anyway... point is that sometimes it can take a couple of weeks for responses to come in - I assume people do what I do too and see it on a trawling day and I though I was impatient

[RainbowsButterflies]

There are also those of us who have health issues and sometimes don't get on every day and can therefore miss a post. Sometimes you need to have a bit more patience!