Could I have ASD2?

[Outdated]

How are you ASD2 if you are social? Were you extroverted, but with poor social skills? Or have repetitive behaviors and special interests fit you to level 2?

ASD2 is my official diagnosis, I didn’t decide that, a panel of psychiatrists and psychologists did. I have always been introverted and socially awkward but that changes with large quantities of alcohol. Then I can become the life of the party, and I often did.

I can’t hear anything anyone is saying in crowded or noisy venues, but with enough beer I was the one that was doing the talking and so I didn’t have to listen much. I have always been very sensitive to people’s body language and that allows me to understand people far better than the words they speak.

Back in the 80s and 90s life was a lot simpler for me in many ways and a lot of my deficits were much more easily masked. I struggle to absorb verbal information so phones are useless to me, but back then no one had phones. I also can’t watch training videos, I struggle to understand them, but they didn’t exist back then either.

My only real special interest was computers, before they came along I read books, a lot of books.

 

[Progster]

I was diagnosed with "moderate Asperger's syndrome" under the DSM IV. I have no idea how that would translate in the new DSM 5 system. I feel that I fluctuate. At the time of diagnosis, I needed a lot of help, at other periods of my life I have been more stable and not needed so much support, though I do still have issues.

 

[Human Avatar]

Me too as well . Some days it is very bad for me . It all depends how much stress, socializing and overworked I am .

 

[Ella Spell]

Could anyone here give a couple of examples of RRBs? I’m having trouble understanding.

Restricted Interests:

These are our "special interests" or areas of hyperfocus. They need to be intense enough that an observer can't get the person to discuss or do a different subject, or the intensity of the fixation would keep the person from being able to function properly in society (going to work, school, directing their own leisure time while not ignoring their other needs like personal hygiene / self-care)


Repetitive Behaviours:

Stimming, clapping, rocking, grinding teeth, chewing items (I chew pens), BFRBs like skin picking, nail biting, hair pulling or tweezing, hair twirling, cracking knuckles, playing wtih toes, biting inside cheeks, nose picking, etc. Can also be routine behaviours like doing things in the same way daily.


I needed to be medicated (Risperidone), to stop the intensity of my stims and BFRBs because they were classified as self-harm. I stim even when I sleep, causing sleep disorders.

 

[Human Avatar]

I was at the dentist last week and they informed me my bruxism has returned from when I was a child . I did not even realize I was doing it again . Now I have to wear that damn mouth thing again when I sleep .

 

[Progster]

My mum and other various people keep coming up with odd quirks or issues with communication that I apparently have, things that I was totally unaware of, so I think that I'm more affected than I originally thought.

 

[Human Avatar]

My mum and other various people keep coming up with odd quirks or issues with communication that I apparently have, things that I was totally unaware of, so I think that I'm more affected than I originally thought.

If only we can observe ourselves from the outside as people see us . I suspect we would be shocked by how different that perception is

 

[Ella Spell]

I was at the dentist last week and they informed me my bruxism has returned from when I was a child . I did not even realize I was doing it again . Now I have to wear that damn mouth thing again when I sleep .

I can't sleep without mine because I've become accustomed to the sensory feeling. When I don't have it, it feels so weird I hyperfocus on the weirdness and can't sleep.

I get the custom ones from my dentist and they're rock hard like glass. I have to run them under hot water before use to soften them. They're damaged and deformed within the first week or two from biting and grinding. I used to get the softer ones but I could bite holes straight through them on the first or second night. They always fell apart and posed a choking hazard. I'm a super-grinder.

* For sleep I also need about six blindfolds piled on top of each other to block any possible light from waking me up. I'm used to the feeling of the six elastics on the back of my head so now that's a necessary stim too. I also need 30 db foam earplugs and a weighted blanket.

 

[Human Avatar]

I can't sleep without mine because I've become accustomed to the sensory feeling. When I don't have it, it feels so weird I hyperfocus on the weirdness and can't sleep.

I get the custom ones from my dentist and they're rock hard like glass. I have to run them under hot water before use to soften them. They're damaged and deformed within the first week or two from biting and grinding. I used to get the softer ones but I could bite holes straight through them on the first or second night. They always fell apart and posed a choking hazard. I'm a super-grinder.

I didn’t even know they have harder ones . That is interesting because I am afraid I will bite mine and choke.

If I leave earth I don’t want to via mouth piece.

I will pay more attention to mine ,and inquire about the one you specified.

 

[Human Avatar]

@Ella Spell

My goodness . That sounds very rough indeed just to get some rest .

I guess it’s not a bad as Temple Grandin Squeeze Box though

 

[Ella Spell]

Nightguards come in different materials. The glass (ish) ones that I get last about a year or two. They're very smooth and stimmy. I've discovered I don't need to put it under hot water because if I just hold it in my mouth for a few seconds it will soften enough to fit over my teeth. Then I just wash it in the morning.

I've had upper and lower ones. For a while I used both at the same time but I normally just use lower. This is gonna sound gross, but the upper ones have the open areas facing upward meaning they kind of fill up with saliva dripping down. Ewww. It's not really obvious but enough that it grossed me out.

There's also a dental appliance called a splint, used to stop grinding. I'm not sure what they're all about since I don't have one.

 

[Suzanne]

Diagnosed with ASD2 leaning towards 3.

All what I went through as a child, I am still going through as an adult and the only difference is that I am more aware now, due to knowing that I have Aspergers. However, there were certain times in my childhood that supported me being not as stupid as most considered me to be.

I learned to read at 9, because a "family" member decided it was embarrassing for me to not be able to read at that age and by the time I went back to school ( due to sickness), I went from not being able to read, to receiving an award for the best and fasted reader in the entire school! This lead me to believe, had I had a decent upbringing, there would have been no "learning difficulites" has I was stamped with and have tried to fight off the tag of: you are stupid.

When one is tested, "professionals" always start with childhood, because one just cannot suddenly develop ASD

I had no interest in friends either as a child. If anything the very idea frightened me, because I had no concept of what it was about. Also, hated break times, because I just could not join in with my peers. And this has carried on to my adulthood.

 

[Ella Spell]

I'd be a 3 if I wasn't fortunate enough to have privacy in my own home, without having to work. If I had to live with extended family, roommates or strangers, in a big apartment complex, or in a group home, I'd struggle so much from social-sensory I'd completely shut down (or melt down, as the case may be.) Likewise if I ever had to go back to work. My nervous system is fried and there's no way I could deal with the stress or EF of having to regulate myself all day every day.

My friend is dx L3 and we're similar in every way. I think autistic burnout intensifies our need for support service. I've been in burnout for over a decade and I don't expect to recover from it but I manage really well with the status quo of being home and relaxed in my own safe space, with no real obligations beyond my front door.

 

[mysterionz]

My formal diagnosis is Asperger’s [(which isn’t used anymore due to merge into ASD)/level one ASD, however I feel at times my support needs linger into level 2.

 

[Rodafina]

Restricted Interests:

These are our "special interests" or areas of hyperfocus. They need to be intense enough that an observer can't get the person to discuss or do a different subject, or the intensity of the fixation would keep the person from being able to function properly in society (going to work, school, directing their own leisure time while not ignoring their other needs like personal hygiene / self-care)


Repetitive Behaviours:

Stimming, clapping, rocking, grinding teeth, chewing items (I chew pens), BFRBs like skin picking, nail biting, hair pulling or tweezing, hair twirling, cracking knuckles, playing wtih toes, biting inside cheeks, nose picking, etc. Can also be routine behaviours like doing things in the same way daily.


I needed to be medicated (Risperidone), to stop the intensity of my stims and BFRBs because they were classified as self-harm. I stim even when I sleep, causing sleep disorders.

Thank you. Can definitely relate!

 

[mysterionz]

Thank you. Can definitely relate!

yay.. *slow clap*

 

[Ella Spell]

So, you had cardiac arrest at 32? You maybe should have been thinking what is it like to raise a child before making your children. It is surely stressful and there is no way back once you born a baby. You have to care for it at least 18 years.

Wait, what? I just saw this.

My kids were already born when that happened. They were 6,6, and 4 and I'd been raising them on my own for nearly four years. I'm still caring for them even though they're close to 30. Two with ASD / ADHD / PSTD, one of whom has a permanent, disabling physical health condition. The adopted one is ADHD / ODD and was a crack baby. He's living independently now but I still support him financially.

I don't know what you're trying to suggest here. My children didn't cause the nervous breakdown or my strokes. That was from the stress of working full-time without any accommodations, and later from violent trauma and assault. My children are my world and they saved my life. Otherwise I would have given up long ago.

The only person who should have "thought what it's like to have a child" before doing so is my exhusband. He married me for money knowing he was gay and hiding it. He abused the children, left me working full-time to care for them with no assistance, disowned them, broke court orders, failed to pay support, was in contempt of court, and actually sued his own kids before defaming their character under oath. He's court-ordered to need anger management and psychiatric care but he doesn't go.

He's the one who should have thought twice, but thank you very much for exposing your judgmental input and lack of empathy for single parents and their kids.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I suffered a clinical nervous breakdown when I was 32. My adrenal system collapsed because I had depleted all my stress hormones including adrenaline and cortisol, from overproduction and overuse. This was attributed to years of heightened anxiety.

My BP was 60/40. My heart stopped beating the first night on telemetry because it had no energy or electrical signals from my adrenal system. I had to be resuscitated with a crash cart. I was in hospital about 2 weeks, but then had no choice but to return to work full-time again.

I never experienced perimenopause because I had a complete hysterectomy and bowel resection to repair significant internal injuries from SA. I needed reconstructive surgery to rebuild my pelvic organs including my kidneys. My new bladder is made of bovine tissue. I went back to work after that too, since I had no choice.

On my first stroke I finally qualified for LTD. There's no way I could work at all anymore because my sensory issues are so bad I can't even tolerate daylight through a curtain. Going outside is next to impossible until it's pitch dark.

My dear Ella Spell. I’m so sorry you have had to go through all that. What a courageous person you are.

 

[Au Naturel]

I agree with Moogwizard. This sounds really harsh and extremely judgmental.

Relitigating the past and pointing fingers of blame changes nothing and accomplishes nothing. It causes hostility. Or depression. Or both. Neither is useful. We only point fingers because it makes us feel superior to the person being blamed.

The past is the past and the attention needs to be on improving the present and the future.

 

[Rodafina]

Relitigating the past and pointing fingers of blame changes nothing and accomplishes nothing. It causes hostility. Or depression. Or both. Neither is useful. We only point fingers because it makes us feel superior to the person being blamed.

The past is the past and the attention needs to be on improving the present and the future.

I don’t understand.