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[Tiruin]

My memory misplaced a few bits -_- Hello DSM 5. Not DSM 4 recollections. :I

Like some above have said, this doesn't change who you are.

This. Always this.
It's a basic note as medical ethic to note this, if in the case the person is troubled by the diagnosis (or in many other terms anyway).
You make who you are--as a diagnosis describes what is happening, only. You're more than just a diagnosis. :3
Treat the information as a bonus--you know a lot more about yourself, what may be influencing you, what feelings you may be experiencing. . .
Because a common idea with diagnosis, is relating (subconsciously or not) the idea to a sickness, a disease, or a disassociation with the norm. Which...generally shouldn't be done due to the self-image effects and possible interactions with others (ie Conforming to diagnosis). Speak with others, sharing the same views and experiences.

Research the topic. Many symptoms are shared by many terms, though each have their own specific basis and mechanism. Ask your psychologist what you could read on, and what they can suggest for you (and others to educate themselves on), too!

Hey, there's a reason we've all been drawn to this forum, amiright?

...I liked the community. Found out it was likeable over the years. So I stayed.
_{Also my first forum. \o/}

[inteuniso]

If you want to label yourself as having Asperger's, go for it. If you don't, don't bother.

It took me 5 years after coming (back) to the US to be diagnosed with ADHD and identified possibly with SDD-NOS. Everywhere else, I'm just kinda weird. I guess what I'm trying to tell you (or anyone who needs to know this) is that don't let random strangers define you. Who you are IS who you are, and you're a lot more complex than a list of symptoms grouped together. The truth is that you have a variety of mutations in your DNA combined with the rather strange place and time we're living in that led to ancient traits coming out into the light in an interesting, unprecedented manner. There is a reason for it, because EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.

[PyroDesu]

As someone who recently went through the process, you probably won't have just one appointment. Mine took quite a few, with a variety of tests from replicating images from memory to a 4-500 yes-no questionnaire.

Also, at least in my experience, don't expect a concrete answer. There is no, 'yes, you are a High Functioning Autist' or 'no, you are neurotypical'. Diagnosis on a spectrum doesn't work like that. My personal report, as I recall (might be wrong, don't have the papers in front of me and it's been a while since I looked at them), indicated a strong possibility of being a high-functional autist (Asperger's, the new DSM removed the name).

What I found more telling was the breakdown of cognitive abilities. Slower mental processing, higher working memory, that sort of stuff. Doesn't say anything about a lack of affect or empathy, or social anxiety, but does reveal a bit about how you process things.

[4maskwolf]

Oh hai mastahcheese!

You know what my advice is?

Don't stress about it.

You say it's like reading a list of your personality?  Well, then if you are in fact diagnosed with it you know what that means?

It means you're perfectly normal for how your brain is set up.

You were already like you are before.  The diagnosis won't change that.  All the diagnosis is is a label of some traits you share in common with other people, and an indication of how your brain is set up.

Can you change the way your brain is naturally built?

Not really.  Not any more than I can make myself not understand math and science easier than my classmates, or any more than I can make myself analyze novels with the same seeming ease everyone else does.

A fun fact about me: I have ADHD.  My personality type on the Myers-Briggs is, fittingly enough, ISTP.  Which means I have incredible difficulty seeing any task through to the end because there is always some new shiny thing I think up to chase after, and as soon as I get close there is some new shinier thing off in the distance.  It's a royal pain in the ass, if you ask me.  Like, seriously.  I can't stay focused long enough to actually get things done properly.  But it's an innate part of me and something I have to cope with.  We all have things that we have to cope with in our lives, but I think that, at least to me, naming it actually makes it easier to cope with.  Because I know it's not just me that has this type of problem, and that the way I function is within the realm of normal, to the extent that normal can even be defined.

That was probably long, pedantic, and meaningless, but to boil it down: don't stress too much.

[Vector]

Oh boy... I had an ISTP friend with ADHD in high school. I feel you man.

[Tiruin]

. . . >.>
Sometimes, my words fail me in making an introduction or making a dialogue-post, but generally they came along the question of 'how do I explain this idea to others, and how can they see..what and where I see it'?
(Also English is currently bad at the moment. Please forgive...err, misspellings. And grammar.)


Communication. To those in relationships, its sometimes hard to convey the same idea and emotion when perception differences exist--one thing may, in a point to the other, be totally perceived differently, and the manner by which one can convey the idea to the other is...lost in translation, due to the sensation in itself being very different than the 'norm'.

Advice sans stress--education would help a TON. Talking to people working in these fields, or others with experience in the same feelings also help. For referencial purposes, here's a video link on differences(?). The basepoint is not judging--and the other base point being that there are many ways to communicate, and it is to the boundaries of imagination to poke at how to communicate. (link mentioned above continued here).  Point is: Whatever happens--its a diagnosis. Its a diagnosis, and in no way does this inhibit you, truly. It's just being different. Nothing bad in being different. By that, I mean that while the diagnosis may seem fully encompassing you? There's a lot more on ya which emphasizes the innate potential everyone has.

This...is also part of what I meant by the 'judging others' thing earlier in a post. :/ There's a conventional method of communication that we usually miss, because we've skimmed or concluded a 'portion' -- that upon looking back, realize that that portion is actually something, really, expressively, important.
For example, 'I ask something, {and I don't see a requisite response [ie Nods//Body language]}, so I'll take that as a yes?'. Sometimes its misunderstanding: people are pretty normal in thoughts, but it doesn't...come off correctly, sometimes.

I think I'm going off a tangent here. :/

Anyway, secondary point is around communication. Another referencial video << This one pertaining to brain damage (belaying any assumption put here, I'm not inferring this to MC//OP or anything. -_-)), wherein the story goes that, despite the damage to a cognitive portion of the brain affecting areas of perception, there are alternative methods which tell you that 'there's no dead end' when facing a problem or circumstancial worry.
...Hopefully my point isn't lost somewhere in between up here.

Spoiler: Disclaimer (click to show/hide)

I may be reflecting or projecting a bit on the...uhh, the  on the stigma carried against psychological cases a bit in my tone above. I think. Like when looking at schizophrenia--it has become a somewhat 'slang' term, I believe, in the west (schizo?), used to describe anyone looking or being "crazy", despite the diagnosis in itself not pointing to crazy.
A lot of misunderstanding. And its really annoying me that way that this misunderstanding still prevails in certain areas (not implying anything towards anyone, just...ranting(?) here?). ._.

[Capaverde]

So, my therapist brought up the possibility that I could have Asperger's.

I looked it up, to get some more information on it, and I came across the list of common symptoms of Asperger's, and... it was basically like reading a list that described my entire personality, and explained just about every single problem I have. From my uncontrolled muscle movements and stutter, to my social awkwardness, tendency to take everything seriously, and just about everything else. Even the mannerisms in which I fidget.

I don't have an official diagnosis of Asperger's yet, but I'm going to see a psychologist that deals with things like that to see about a proper diagnosis.

The idea of this has been making my depression act up, and I've been failing to be productive for the past couple days because of it.

I'm guess I'm posting about this in the hopes that people could offer advice or help regarding this, or even just information about it.

Asperger's patients fidget when feeling uncomfortable, unsettled, or unease. They tend to take things seriously because they don't have their priorities very straight, they either need someone/something to point them out or somehow look into themselves deep enough to decide what they are. They feel awkward for not knowing how to interact with others, not knowing about their own expectations and the expectations of others towards them.

[penguinofhonor]

Are you a spambot?

[Tiruin]

I don't think spambots edit.

That, and just because his style is 'quote > post' =/= spambot. He's giving his honest opinion, is what I see.
Silly penguin.

...Though his opinion needs to move towards constructive ideas instead of...noting an observation and then concluding from an observation. (What I'm saying is more detail and conciseness, instead of saying {x} because {y}, with the {y} not being fairly detailed in itself) Because all that can be easily misinterpreted for someone not with a disorder.

And the judgement of Asperger's undergoes a very... detailed process.

[Capaverde]

I'm waiting for his response on if he has noticed these things and what he has done about it. Even if he doesn't have Asperger's he has the symptoms, which was what I addressed.

[penguinofhonor]

I guess that reply is enough to show he's a real person, but you never know what things those newfangled spambots can do. I saw a newly registered account making exactly enough posts to upgrade to Bay Watcher and look more legit, with replies that are generally sort of relevant to the thread but not too helpful, and ignore the vast majority of the thread. I thought it could be a bot scanning for keywords and constructing real-looking replies. I've seen them do more impressive things than that.

[Muz]

I had Asperger's. The problem is that having a 'known mental condition' makes you feel inferior in some way.

But everyone else is fucked up in some way. Some people are psychopaths (check out the symptoms for psychopathy; it's not psychosis). Some people wish they were the opposite sex, or like the wrong sex. Some get angry too easily. Some people are fucked up in the worst possible way - they're completely mundane.

Anyway the coolest people in the world are outliers. Asperger's pushes you more towards being more of an outlier. It's better than plain autism. It comes with some savant like skill.

Just enjoy who you are.

[Parsely]

I almost don't believe that these conditions (ADD/ADHD, Asperger's) are actually a sickness. Any one of those traits on their own could be considered "normal". This won't change anything about the way I feel about Mastah, he's still my pal.

[Urist Arrhenius]

I just feel very depressed right now, but you guys are helping. Thank you.

I know it's rough being told you might "have something," because suddenly it feels like "normal" is completely inaccessible. But honestly, Asperger's isn't something that is going to take away any of the acceptance or success you've found, within in this community or elsewhere.

One of the most successful people I know has Asperger's. He is of course a little socially awkward because of it, but we all love him to death and are incredibly impressed with all he's accomplished. He was my year in school, and I'm just about to enter graduate school while he's already partial owner of a business and owns his own house.

[Sappho]

Autism is not a disease, an illness, or a disability. Some parts of it can be disabling, depending on the person and their environment, but the fact that people automatically treat it as something that is "wrong" with someone (or especially as something that needs to be "fixed" or "cured") is actually extremely harmful and inaccurate. Every time I see some parent tell their sob story about the moment they got the bad news that their child was autistic, I want to slap the shit out of them.

Also, "asperger syndrome" is really not a thing. It was named when they didn't understand how autism works and how different people with autism can be. It's just autism. People with autism are as different from one another as people without it. Some can talk, some can't. Some get sensory overload, some don't. Some have great social skills, some have none. The most important thing is not "diagnosing" whether someone has this "problem," but rather helping them understand how their brain works differently from other people's brains - and helping the so-called "normal" people better understand how the autistic brains work, so that people can stop saying they are "sick" or "disabled" or "wrong" and instead work on finding ways for different types of people to better understand and interact with each other. Autistic people don't have any more problems than so-called "normal" people, it's just that the problems are *different* from the problems other people have. Stuff that's easy for other people can be difficult for us, but stuff that's difficult for other people can be very easy for us. It's just a difference.

I've heard people in my life say "why should I accommodate your need for quiet?" and my answer is "why should I accommodate your needs for eye contact during a conversation, for having your emotional state acknowledged every time you tell a story, and for useless small talk?" The answer to both questions is: because we live in a society that only functions when people accommodate each other's needs. Some needs are just more common than others.

I'm a perfectly functional 30-year-old independent autistic adult. I have severe sensory overload and anxiety issues, but a combination of carefully controlling my schedule and social interactions as well as educating the people close to me allow me to keep those issues under control and live a very happy life. Meanwhile, I'm also a highly intelligent, hard-working, honest, responsible, caring, talented individual. Anyone who wants to tell me I'm disabled can go suck eggs. Anyone who wants to tell me I'm not autistic (or, even worse, that I'm not autistic "anymore") just because I'm able to manage my own life can stick those eggs in an orifice that was not designed to accommodate them.

MC, I'm going to send you the materials I told you about right now, while I have a spare moment. I know it sounds silly, but really, try not to worry too much. Right now you're in a process of learning, understanding, and trying to accommodate differences, while simultaneously trying to handle the issues you have. It's a lot to deal with, but you'll get through it. You've got support.