At times I've wondered if I'm Aspergic. Certainly somewhere on the Autism spectrum, and even had an old boss mention (at a closing interview when leaving that particular job) that he thought I showed some signs he recognised from a diagnosed aspergic relative of his.
The thing is, I just don't have the... not "positive", but shall we say... "desirably recompensing" features of AS (or higher-functioning autism) to complement the bits of my personality that are distinctly untrue to the population norm.
Empathy-wise, I know I'm pretty bad, but I don't know if this is the cause or the result of my perhaps far more trivially-caused non-social nature (forums, etc, are places where I choose to participate, but I don't choose to mix with people arbitrarily). I've got terrible facial-recognition, at least the first several dozen times or so that I meet someone (but occasionally I even get myself wondering things like "does my dad have a moustache?" and worrying that I don't know the answer for sure), although I'm probably capable of determining a decent degree of emotion in a face(though it's hard to tell if I'm anywhere near the realisation anyone else would have, by my own analysis alone).
Totally departed from AS-typicality, I know my timekeeping and scheduling skills (and needs) are far from the legendary levels the more severe Aspergic/typical Autistic exhibit, and my level of personal and artefact disorder is somewhat atypical. I don't have the associated sleep problems (aside from the difficulty getting to sleep, but that's followed by difficulty waking, usually[1]). I don't have particularly (that I can tell) insufficient motor-skills, and seem to do alright at things I do a lot (e.g. typing), but don't know if that's a habituation response. I don't believe I've got higher stress levels (much the opposite; which is to say that there's things in my life to be stressed about but I'm frequently aware that I'm not taking many of them as seriously as I should be). While I pride-myself in my perception of spacial relationships (I've grown up with a lot of maps in my life, for a start) I don't think I have unusual levels of that or hyper-sensitivity to such stimuli.
So, I sometimes wonder if I'm AS, on the other hand sometimes I've wondered if ADHD would have been diagnosed for me if I had been born and been growing up two or three decades later than I had been. And, I get more and more convinced that there's no more than a superficial resemblance between my own condition (if I can even be rightly said to have one, and probably not) and any of the so-called disorders.
On the whole, though, I look at it like this... With everyone 'normal', mankind would never advance. In the days of cavemen, the thrill-seekers may get themselves killed off more than the cautious, but some might well discover the new trick of stampeding herds of mammoth over the edges of cliffs and help find a way for the tribe to feed for generations to come, while the thoughtful and introverted wouldn't directly earn the tribe meat and could be fatally oblivious to the approach of something sabre-toothed, but might (obviously before any chance of that fateful day) realise that a tree branch secured just so to another with some cord or fibre would be basis of a trap/animal warning system which could help the whole tribe.
Given everything, I don't think any of us are typical, and I don't really see the need to apply such as the ADHD label to every other kid under 12, although I don't doubt that there are some that need more understanding (and perhaps a little chemical help, with all due caveats...), much as there are kids who are faster/stronger or not so fast/strong, and ones who are distinctly physically/physiologically disabled (and, yet, they may be future Stephen Hawkings). Maybe the "less intelligent ones" (many of whom, from decades ago, might well have been diagnosed these days as aspergic/dylexic/whatever) have something to provide to the Human Village that we (and they) can't yet discern?
And until and unless I'm in a situation where I'm essentially forced into it, I'm not in any danger of going to a friendly shrink and asking him/her to classify me. Apart from anything else, I suspect I might be disappointed by being told "oh, you're essentially normal, just a bit more disorganised and somewhat face-blind", which is quite probably what I am. Plus overly verbose.
[1] As an exception, I'm sitting procrastinating my morning away at the moment (it's still not yet 8:30, and the trip to work won't happen until 9:00, but there are loads of other things needing doing that might be better use of my time) having been up since around 6:00. And, as another probable datum-point, I'm listening to a pre-recorded radio-programme running at double-speed so I can listen to it in half the time.
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Topic: Asperger's: A Poll. (Read 24260 times)