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The Exodus

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So I'm new here and this is possibly the fifth or sixth forum I've been involved with now. I also registered for the depression forum and the social anxiety forum under the same alias, but I thought that I needed something like this as well so I can kind of connect with people that are similar to me to some extent (although I was told that those with Aspergers can differ greatly from each other - variety is the spice of life).

 

I'd like to say now that this is a lot of information about myself, so you don't have to read it all. I do kind of detail my life story here so it's your call (I highlighted the significant detail in red, so just read the text in black if you don't have enough time

 

I should start by saying that I am, I guess you could say, a "pseudo Aspie"; I was marked just slightly under the threshold but still considered to be a sufferer of Aspergers by an Autism forum (not this type of forum, of course). I find that there are many things that I can actually comprehend that possibly points to me either not being a sufferer or just signifying that I'm far lower on the spectrum, such as understanding humour and sarcasm, recognising facial patterns (I scored the average for that on a test online and supposedly far higher than most would when I was tested professionally), and the likes. I'm not expecting everybody on the Autism spectrum to suffer these problems; these are just things that make me feel as though I don't accurately fit in well in terms of how severe my Autism is. I also don't really have a specialist subject, as I've heard some with Autism do, and I'm not the best with computers although I do consider myself tech savvy. I also love studying specific subjects and searching information and trivia on completely varied fields. This is the way I understand Aspergers and Autism, so apologies if it comes across as a little ignorant; I don't understand myself and others with the same condition as well as I should at this time.

 

Where I am at this time, I'm hoping to register for an astronomy course with the OU, which approximates to a third of an honours degree. I've never taken a course in astronomy before so I'm hoping it's not too difficult, but I do have a passion for understanding the world outside our world, and the origins of our existence on a grand scale. I like to specialise in supernovae and black holes, but I don't know how specific a field scientists can enter into. I also currently hold a level three BTEC diploma for software development. I seem rather fickle with what I want to go into, and I still don't specifically know myself, but I'm hoping I'll decide soon.

 

Well, that's a bit of information about myself. I don't know how many people would be interested in reading it but I guess I should just say it's always nice to enter a new forum and get to see new people around and about.

Edited by matzoball
**asked to changed red to another colour as hurting some forum members eyes**

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Hi The Exodus. Your first (red) paragraph sounds a lot like me. I don't understand people all that well but I also have a very dry/sarcastic sense of humour and don't really have much trouble recognising facial patterns. I scored something like 95% on a facial expression recognition test which was apparently higher than average. I'm the same with not really having a specialist subject and I rarely bother talking about subjects that fascinate me with people in real life as I can nearly always spot when someone is getting bored with me. I'm also pretty undecided about what I want to do for a career as I seem to change my mind about it all the time.

 

Out of interest, are you professionally diagnosed with Asperger's? If so, when? I myself was diagnosed in the mid-90s when the concept of Asperger's was relatively new and probably trending among psychiatrists. I keep wondering if my diagnosis was a little hasty on the paediatrician's part. One of the doctors who assessed me did think I actually had PTSD which seems to fit a little better than an AS diagnosis.

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Welcome to the forum, I hope the course in astronomy helps you.

 

Laddo I have autism and Complex PTSD, it is possible to have both.

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Yeah I know it's possible to have both ASD and PTSD but I was just saying just PTSD fits the bill far more than either ASD or both ASD and PTSD. To be honest it's getting to the point where I feel like an alien on this forum

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Laddo you might want to try the MIND website. They have something called elefriends which can also be accessed using a mobile. The site is a lot more basic than this one.

 

Theres also health unlocked which is a group of forums on a variety of different subjects including mental health.

 

https://healthunlocked.com/find

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Welcome Exodus! I have quite a few traits in common with you. It's possible that you have the female-type of AS. (I know around 10% of women have the male type, and it could well be that that applies the other way round too).

Trekster - I also had C-PTSD for around two years (incapacitating severe tics, panic attacks, shaking, regression, saying strange things, etc.) due to gratuitous persecution by a sadistic fool. Eventually things got better; I hope they do for you.

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Thanks for the welcomes everybody. It's nice to have such a good response for a first post.

 

Hi The Exodus. Your first (red) paragraph sounds a lot like me. I don't understand people all that well but I also have a very dry/sarcastic sense of humour and don't really have much trouble recognising facial patterns. I scored something like 95% on a facial expression recognition test which was apparently higher than average. I'm the same with not really having a specialist subject and I rarely bother talking about subjects that fascinate me with people in real life as I can nearly always spot when someone is getting bored with me. I'm also pretty undecided about what I want to do for a career as I seem to change my mind about it all the time.

 

Out of interest, are you professionally diagnosed with Asperger's? If so, when? I myself was diagnosed in the mid-90s when the concept of Asperger's was relatively new and probably trending among psychiatrists. I keep wondering if my diagnosis was a little hasty on the paediatrician's part. One of the doctors who assessed me did think I actually had PTSD which seems to fit a little better than an AS diagnosis.

 

I was diagnosed with Aspergers only about a month or so ago. They thought that it would be best to have it passed over to the autism board because I apparently scored higher than most, but not as significantly as some. This is one of the problems I have with myself, that I feel like it was a false diagnosis or that I didn't quite manage to "qualify" as a sufferer (if you'd even use that term). Either way, I displayed traits of Aspergers so I guess it really depends which way you look at it.

 

Welcome Exodus! I have quite a few traits in common with you. It's possible that you have the female-type of AS. (I know around 10% of women have the male type, and it could well be that that applies the other way round too).

 

Thanks Mihaela. I don't know precisely what type of Aspergers I have, since I never looked into it. I might have to look at that and see what the variations are between the two.

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Hello and welcome.

 

I think that for some diagnosed with autism or aspergers they fit the diagnosis completely. But remember that the probable cause is genetic and neurological and therefore any genetic difference causing a neurological difference is going to manifest itself in any number of ways.

 

It is now being recognised by professionals that rather than a separate box for each diagnosis, that many people have traits of ASD, ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, Specific Learning Difficulties [such as dyslexia], Dyspraxia, Sensory Processing Problems etc etc. So each person can have a different 'salad' of traits that may or may not be enough to tick enough boxes to get a diagnosis in that specific disorder.

 

I think the more 'able' the person is, and the more 'complex' their mixture of traits, the harder it is for those individuals to get the right support and therapy they need when they need it when they are children.

 

So basically it isn't easy.

 

So I understand that some adults may feel a diagnosis has not benefitted them at all and maybe a label of 'eccentric' would be more acceptable to them and wider society.

 

And I also completely understand how some 'neurotypical' children and adults can be so absolutely vile that you wonder how they can be termed 'normal' when our ASD children and adults can be so much better behaved, responsible, kind etc etc.

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Welcome Exodus! I have quite a few traits in common with you. It's possible that you have the female-type of AS. (I know around 10% of women have the male type, and it could well be that that applies the other way round too).

 

Trekster - I also had C-PTSD for around two years (incapacitating severe tics, panic attacks, shaking, regression, saying strange things, etc.) due to gratuitous persecution by a sadistic fool. Eventually things got better; I hope they do for you.

 

Thanks Mihaela for your support.

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