Do i have aspergers?

[sponge.bob]

Hi, I don't know if this is the right website for this but I'd really like some help. I believe I may have aspergers and I've thought this for quite a while. Ever since I was a child I displayed many signs. I was extremely emotional and would cry over small things. I was terrible at socialising and my "friends" would always tell me how weird I was. I still struggle to make friends, but it's even harder to KEEP friends. I also used to become obsessed with certain things, usually forms of media (and I still do). These have included mostly TV shows and celebrities. For example, I had a 2 year long Eminem phase. I felt the need to gather as much facts as I possibly could about him, and I would also exclusively listen to his music. My current "phase" is Tom and Jerry, which I definitely don't fit the target age range for. I don't know why I like it so much, but again I feel the need to gather as much information and consume as much content about it as I can. I think about it every 5 minutes. And that is how all my other obsessions have been like. I'll be surprised if anyone reads this post but if someone does, all I want is a bit of clearance from someone who understands, because there is no one who I know personally that I can talk to about this. Thanks

 

[Luc Ienn]

So far, kind of sounds about right, but I’d like to delve a bit more.

Don’t feel the need to reply to all of these! But, some things to consider:

-Do people sometimes think you’re a total jerk for reasons you don’t understand?
-Have people said you seem blunt or don’t have tact?
-When interacting with people, do you get exhausted by them over time and feel the need to withdraw?
-How are emotions? Do you have periods where you feel the need to let out a bunch of pressurized feelings that you’ve left unchecked, or sometimes a small thing causes you to lose control without any warning?
-When your emotions are strong but not strong enough to let out, ever feel like you’re shutting down?
-If asked to do something you don’t really want to do, how hard is it for you to gain the motivation to do that thing?

-Lastly, is your tongue a bit too large for your mouth? Like, to where you have marks on your tongue from your teeth?

Some of these might apply, some may not. The tongue thing might be fully pseudoscience but there’s been some studies done on that, oddly. This also isn’t a litmus test, I’m just curious if they are experiences you’ve had

 

[Rodafina]

Hi @sponge.bob.
Welcome to the site. None of us will be able to actually tell you if you are on the spectrum or not, but you may see that you relate really well to some of the challenges and successes that people here have had. I would suggest you stick around and read as much as you can, ask questions, and hopefully all your answers will come to you over time.

Let us know if you need any help figuring things out on the site.

 

[Crossbreed]

...all I want is a bit of clearance from someone who understands, because there is no one who I know personally that I can talk to about this.

As @Rodafina says, no one here can give you a diagnosis, but if we knew which country you are in, someone might be able to point you towards accessible resources on the matter.

(Feel free to poke around here, too.)

Also, are you still in school? A school counselor may be able to give you a free assessment, depending on your country.

 

[MNAus]

One thing I'd caution is that, as with horoscopes, it can be easy to get caught in confirmation bias when you're searching for answers. Be careful looking at lists of 'symptoms' and trying to identify if it fits as a lot of them are non-specific, common at some level with most people and unfalsifiable. There are some ok 'quizzes' out there which might help give some direction but there's also a lot of absolute crap, especially social media posts with "5 signs you might have" and similar. They're basically clickbait for young people who are having trouble figuring out where they fit in the world.

Of course self-diagnosis is possible, but as a complete generalisation I think you're more likely to accurately self diagnose later in life when you have a LOT more evidence at hand. For those a little younger I think, if possible, a formal diagnosis would probably be of better help. Saying that, it costs a lot and if you're still a dependent it will likely need your parents knowing. Perhaps a middle ground would be to see a decent psychologist for a couple of sessions and ask them for their thoughts. It would be a formal diagnosis, but they might give you some ideas.

Finally, you can always read here and see what works for you. If you associate deeply with a lot of what is written here then you may well be on the spectrum, but more importantly you'll have some company to discuss life's challenges, whatever the cause.

 

[Luc Ienn]

The other folks have been saying an important detail I left out, I regret to admit. I’ll follow up with a personal example that might make some sense and further prepare your quest for answers.

Lately, I suspect that I have a combination of my confirmed autism, and potentially unconfirmed ADHD. I do not want to say that I have ADHD, but I have been looking at things that help people with AuADHD (the combo of the two). Some of them help, which is nice, but it’s not enough for me to work off of. I need to get properly screened for ADHD, and I cannot treat myself as if I have it because some of the techniques I found online for dealing with it seem to work for me. The list of questions I posted earlier, that’s stuff to use for self reflection, but it’s only a first step.

IMO, everyone owes it to themselves to get screened for potential neurodiverse traits. Even if you end up unsure if you are on the spectrum, you should still do so anyway. That’s my belief, though, and can be a little unreasonable. It’s a little idealistic as well, not taking into account what resources you have available for yourself.

If you have family, friends, or loved ones that can help, it’s worth bringing up that you want to learn more about yourself and could use the support. You might find some ways to get a screening that way if it’s not something easily accessible.

 

[MNAus]

One thing I'd caution is that, as with horoscopes, it can be easy to get caught in confirmation bias when you're searching for answers. Be careful looking at lists of 'symptoms' and trying to identify if it fits as a lot of them are non-specific, common at some level with most people and unfalsifiable. There are some ok 'quizzes' out there which might help give some direction but there's also a lot of absolute crap, especially social media posts with "5 signs you might have" and similar. They're basically clickbait for young people who are having trouble figuring out where they fit in the world.

Of course self-diagnosis is possible, but as a complete generalisation I think you're more likely to accurately self diagnose later in life when you have a LOT more evidence at hand. For those a little younger I think, if possible, a formal diagnosis would probably be of better help. Saying that, it costs a lot and if you're still a dependent it will likely need your parents knowing. Perhaps a middle ground would be to see a decent psychologist for a couple of sessions and ask them for their thoughts. It would be a formal diagnosis, but they might give you some ideas.

Finally, you can always read here and see what works for you. If you associate deeply with a lot of what is written here then you may well be on the spectrum, but more importantly you'll have some company to discuss life's challenges, whatever the cause.

Just wanted to be clear. By "social media posts" I mean TikTok and the like, not the posts at this site. You know the type I mean

 

[sponge.bob]

So far, kind of sounds about right, but I’d like to delve a bit more.

Don’t feel the need to reply to all of these! But, some things to consider:

-Do people sometimes think you’re a total jerk for reasons you don’t understand?
-Have people said you seem blunt or don’t have tact?
-When interacting with people, do you get exhausted by them over time and feel the need to withdraw?
-How are emotions? Do you have periods where you feel the need to let out a bunch of pressurized feelings that you’ve left unchecked, or sometimes a small thing causes you to lose control without any warning?
-When your emotions are strong but not strong enough to let out, ever feel like you’re shutting down?
-If asked to do something you don’t really want to do, how hard is it for you to gain the motivation to do that thing?

-Lastly, is your tongue a bit too large for your mouth? Like, to where you have marks on your tongue from your teeth?

Some of these might apply, some may not. The tongue thing might be fully pseudoscience but there’s been some studies done on that, oddly. This also isn’t a litmus test, I’m just curious if they are experiences you’ve had

Thanks so much for replying!! I didn't delve as deep as I could've in my first post because it was getting very long, but a lot of the things you listed apply to me as well, especially the social ones. There have been times where I almost lost friendships because people thought I was being rude, meanwhile I had no idea why they were even upset with me. I've also been told I'm very blunt and straight to the point. Sometimes at school, especially in classes where we're mostly just talking to each other, I find I have to get up and go to the bathroom to just sit in a cubicle myself and listen to my music. It's like I just don't have enough energy to keep conversing, so I need to recharge I guess? With emotions, I've been very tearful since I was younger, although now I cry less and in private. Usually I see or think about something that bothers me, think about it too much, then it's just a storm of other negative thoughts until I start crying. As for the tongue thing, it does kinda feel like it's taking too much space, and I sometimes bite it when eating.
Thanks for replying anyway, these points are very helpful!!

 

[sponge.bob]

Hi @sponge.bob.
Welcome to the site. None of us will be able to actually tell you if you are on the spectrum or not, but you may see that you relate really well to some of the challenges and successes that people here have had. I would suggest you stick around and read as much as you can, ask questions, and hopefully all your answers will come to you over time.

Let us know if you need any help figuring things out on the site.

Thanks for replying. I know I can't expect a diagnosis from this website, I just wanted to see if other autistic people have similar experiences to me. I could've worded it better I suppose!! I'll be sure to stick around anyways and hopefully some answers will come to me over time.

 

[sponge.bob]

One thing I'd caution is that, as with horoscopes, it can be easy to get caught in confirmation bias when you're searching for answers. Be careful looking at lists of 'symptoms' and trying to identify if it fits as a lot of them are non-specific, common at some level with most people and unfalsifiable. There are some ok 'quizzes' out there which might help give some direction but there's also a lot of absolute crap, especially social media posts with "5 signs you might have" and similar. They're basically clickbait for young people who are having trouble figuring out where they fit in the world.

Of course self-diagnosis is possible, but as a complete generalisation I think you're more likely to accurately self diagnose later in life when you have a LOT more evidence at hand. For those a little younger I think, if possible, a formal diagnosis would probably be of better help. Saying that, it costs a lot and if you're still a dependent it will likely need your parents knowing. Perhaps a middle ground would be to see a decent psychologist for a couple of sessions and ask them for their thoughts. It would be a formal diagnosis, but they might give you some ideas.

Finally, you can always read here and see what works for you. If you associate deeply with a lot of what is written here then you may well be on the spectrum, but more importantly you'll have some company to discuss life's challenges, whatever the cause.

I've thought about this a lot, at one point I thought that believing I was autistic was making me "act more autistic". I came here because I don't think people I know would understand, especially my parents. I've told friends what I think and they said they don't believe I have it, that I'm just overthinking. Although I feel its more-so they don't want to be friends with someone with this "negative" label. I don't think my parents would believe me either. I think just knowing that I have it is what makes me feel better, because it means I have a reason for acting the way I act.
Thanks for replying, you make some great points!!

 

[Dadamen]

Try to make AQ and RAADS-R tests. They are good online screening tools.
Having no friends and obsessions definitely is a sign.

But I believe that those symptoms actually cause each other. I sometimes wonder: Do I have obsessions because I don't have friends or I have no friends because of my obsessions.

 

[Gift2humanity]

Hi, I don't know if this is the right website for this but I'd really like some help. I believe I may have aspergers and I've thought this for quite a while. Ever since I was a child I displayed many signs. I was extremely emotional and would cry over small things. I was terrible at socialising and my "friends" would always tell me how weird I was. I still struggle to make friends, but it's even harder to KEEP friends. I also used to become obsessed with certain things, usually forms of media (and I still do). These have included mostly TV shows and celebrities. For example, I had a 2 year long Eminem phase. I felt the need to gather as much facts as I possibly could about him, and I would also exclusively listen to his music. My current "phase" is Tom and Jerry, which I definitely don't fit the target age range for. I don't know why I like it so much, but again I feel the need to gather as much information and consume as much content about it as I can. I think about it every 5 minutes. And that is how all my other obsessions have been like. I'll be surprised if anyone reads this post but if someone does, all I want is a bit of clearance from someone who understands, because there is no one who I know personally that I can talk to about this. Thanks

Yeah, it is the right site for you, welcome.
I am late diagnosed Asperger's.
I saw myself in parts of your posts. Easily upset. "Friends" treated me badly as a kid, as did family. I was called weird by my dad from as young as I can remember. I found keeping friends hard. I was and still am obsessed by many different things. I guess you know Eminem is Asperger's. Of course someone will read your post. I hope my post helps you feel understood more.

 

[sponge.bob]

Try to make AQ and RAADS-R tests. They are good online screening tools.
Having no friends and obsessions definitely is a sign.

But I believe that those symptoms actually cause each other. I sometimes wonder: Do I have obsessions because I don't have friends or I have no friends because of my obsessions.

I've taken the RAADS-R test and my score indicated I MIGHT have autism, which is what I've been told by almost every test I've taken. It's left me extremely confused and that's one of the reasons I came here.
I do have friends, but in the past I've had friends who didn't really like me as much as I thought and thankfully no longer speak to. But even though I have friends the obsessions still come, and they never go. The obsessions are definitely the biggest indicator for me

 

[sponge.bob]

Yeah, it is the right site for you, welcome.
I am late diagnosed Asperger's.
I saw myself in parts of your posts. Easily upset. "Friends" treated me badly as a kid, as did family. I was called weird by my dad from as young as I can remember. I found keeping friends hard. I was and still am obsessed by many different things. I guess you know Eminem is Asperger's. Of course someone will read your post. I hope my post helps you feel understood more.

Thanks so much for replying, it really makes me happy to know someone has had similar experiences to me. And yes, Eminem has talked about having Aperger's before. One of my favourite songs of his is Legacy, in which he talks about his experience with Asperger's and how he learned to accept & use it to his advantage. I've never heard a more relatable and inspiring song... which of course is yet another indicator for me haha
Thanks again for your reply, it means a lot

 

[Gift2humanity]

Thanks so much for replying, it really makes me happy to know someone has had similar experiences to me. And yes, Eminem has talked about having Aperger's before. One of my favourite songs of his is Legacy, in which he talks about his experience with Asperger's and how he learned to accept & use it to his advantage. I've never heard a more relatable and inspiring song... which of course is yet another indicator for me haha
Thanks again for your reply, it means a lot

I'm so glad my reply means a lot to you.
I will look up the lyrics of "legacy" by Eminem.
I started following you on this site, hope that's ok.