Hello...

[Danny]

*whispers* hello there... My name is Danielle but you can call me Danny... I am fifteen years old and I suffer with both Aspergers and High-functioning autism... which to me is like some sort of bonus? I haven't exactly been doing much at all on this site, well I have not been doing anything since creating this account... w I have been troubled by a lot of people in the past... online or in real life... this has caused me to become extremely worried about what other people may think about me... such as, for example, the types of words and poor punctuation I am using... I often feel that I carry some sort of special magic that enables to me offend more than one person and becoming paranoid over what I might have done to upset them..

I am absolutely scared of causing chaos and when it comes to replying to threads... I have been hesitant for quite a while now and, well, I have finally managed to reply to a post but... I am hoping that I haven't already caused damage to anyone because that would be horrible! I am the type of person who cannot handle upsetting others, as I have already made very obvious. I think one of the main things that cause is the fact that I cannot make sense, I somehow end up using words inappropriately, not explicitly but... I hope that I am making a tiny bit of sense here..

As a random fact, my brain is in the process of healing at the moment due to some types of health problems which in worst cases can cause slight injury to your brain... not good..

But, anyway... enough of that.

I have first heard of this website after having it recommended to me by a person who specializes in Autism. She said that this was a wonderful site where people can accept you for who you are... I have already been peaking through a few good pages on here and I have found quite a few people who I may be able to relate to...

I just hope that someday I might be able to get to know some of the amazing people on here, it would be nice to find someone who you can think of as a friend.

I am sorry for the long introduction, most of it was aimless rambles but at least I have finally found the courage to do this...

...So, goodbye, I hope you have a pleasant night/day and to be filled with happiness instead of darkness, have a wonderful week.

 

[Turnip]

*whispers*Hi I'm fairly new here myself; welcome! Oh, and why are we whispering?

I suffer with both Aspergers and High-functioning autism... which to me is like some sort of bonus?

Doesn't everyone who has asperger's have autism? Not picking on you, I just mean that it doesn't seem to me like a special bonus.

the types of words and poor punctuation I am using... I often feel that I carry some sort of special magic that enables to me offend more than one person and becoming paranoid over what I might have done to upset them..

You capitalise the word "I", write coherently and used paragraphs... so nothing dire that I can complain about (not that I would) - I wouldn't worry too much about your punctuation, this is the Internet. And I fear that the special magic you describe is somewhat normal for "aspies", probably most of us have felt or do feel like that.

Hope you can overcome your fear and feel like post in the threads here comfortably, I'm sure no one will be upset.

 

[Brent]

Welcome

 

[Ereth]

Don't worry, Danny!

I see nothing wrong with how your post is written, and you've done nothing to upset anybody. You sound very sweet, in fact. I hope you make yourself at home here.

 

[Judge]

Hi Danny. Welcome! I thought it was a very good introduction. Well done.

 

[Paige]

Hi Danny I'm new here I am 20 and have Asperger's Syndrome.

 

[Sev]

Welcome to the Forums!
I'm around your age as well Danny, the forums and the people here are really great. I'm sure you will find something you can relate to, and possibly a few friends.

 

[Turk]

Hi there Danny,
Jump right in, the waters fine. As you know, the outside world, is full of those sorts of judgments. You can be yourself in here Danny, without fear of rejection. We above all others, understand how our words can be considered, inappropriate.
Cheers
Turk

 

[Vanilla]

Welcome

 

[Danny]

*whispers*Hi I'm fairly new here myself; welcome! Oh, and why are we whispering?


Doesn't everyone who has asperger's have autism? Not picking on you, I just mean that it doesn't seem to me like a special bonus.


You capitalise the word "I", write coherently and used paragraphs... so nothing dire that I can complain about (not that I would) - I wouldn't worry too much about your punctuation, this is the Internet. And I fear that the special magic you describe is somewhat normal for "aspies", probably most of us have felt or do feel like that.

Hope you can overcome your fear and feel like post in the threads here comfortably, I'm sure no one will be upset.

Turnip, even if I have not done anything to you, I just have to give you my most earnest apologies. When I first received your comment I took a part of it and instantly thought of it as nothing more than a threat or insult should I say. It was a small line and a huge judgment to make. I jumped to a conclusion, too fast and it felt like I was mentally avoiding to look at you, as if you were speaking to me and I refused to listen to the rest of what you had to say, to give myself time to look at the actual meaning behind it. I now realise that you were merely sharing your own opinion, letting me know what you thought of the "special bonus". You would not mind if I quickly just gave you a more clearer insight into what I originally tried to explain? *chuckles* sorry about this.

Me, as the odd person I am, used to believe that people who are on the autistic spectrum... when it came to having HFA and Aspergers, in my eyes it would have been more common to see someone suffer with one condition or the other. It is possible for people to have both but it would be a tiny bit uncommon? I mean, there is a good amount of people who may have both but still, I am thinking about this in the size of a grape? Yes, I know, Danny has been caught up with her own words.
But, still. If this helps in any way? I know that you are not brain-dead and I will not think of anyone like that, never. I am just wanting to make sure that if you did not entirely know what I was going on about?

But, no. I am terribly sorry about this and I am also quite thankful too! Without this, I probably would have never acknowledged how bad I would jump to conclusions. So, thanks for teaching me something.

I will let you be now, goodbye my fellow acquaintance.

(Note: If some of this sounds weird, I am really tired at the moment, so yes...just throwing that in there and I appreciate that you have posted on this thread)

 

[Danny]

Welcome

Hello and thank you.

 

[Danny]

Welcome to the Forums!
I'm around your age as well Danny, the forums and the people here are really great. I'm sure you will find something you can relate to, and possibly a few friends.

Hello and thank you for making me feel welcomed, just like all of the other lovely users on here. I have spent a couple of hours on here and, so far, I am really starting to sense a lot of security here. It makes me feel safe and I am beginning to find freedom being in this place, on the "glorious" internet. Haha! I am feeling quite excited and I cannot wait to start posting even more in here, the community.
So, again, I thank you and all of the others and I hope you all will enjoy the remaining hours of the weekend. Goodbye for now.

 

[Turnip]

I just want to apologise. I am really sorry my post came across as a "thread or insult" to you, even initially and I'm glad you realise that this was not my intention.

Anyway, I want to try and explain what I meant by the part that you mentioned and I hope that's OK with you, as I feel maybe if I'm at all right it might help you feel more at ease with you diagnosise? Below I have taken the first part of High-functioning autism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -

High-functioning autism (HFA) is a term applied to people with autism who are deemed to be cognitively "higher functioning" (IQ>70) than other people with autism.[1][2] Individuals with HFA or Asperger syndrome exhibit deficits in areas of communication, emotion recognition and expression, and social interaction.[3] There is no consensus on the definition[1] and HFA is not a recognized diagnosis in the DSM-IV-TR or the ICD-10.

The amount of overlap between HFA and Asperger syndrome is disputed.[1] While most researchers agree that the two are distinct diagnostic entities, others argue that they are indistinguishable.[1] Alternatively, the term high-functioning autism may be used by some researchers to refer to all autism spectrum disorders deemed to be cognitively higher functioning, including Asperger syndrome, especially in light of the removal of Asperger syndrome as a separate diagnostic from DSM-5[4].

Characterization

High-functioning autism is characterized by features very similar to those of Asperger syndrome. The defining characteristic most widely recognized by current psychologists and doctors is a significant delay in the development of early speech and language skills before the age of 3 years.[2] The diagnosis criteria of Asperger syndrome exclude a general language delay.[5]
...snip...​

So with respect to the above having a Asperger's and HFA diagnosis either means:

• You were diagnosed by a professional that holds Asperger's is a subset of HFA (thus all person's they diagnose with Asperger's they classify as having HFA)
  
• You received the diagnoses by different professionals, by different criteria, or at different times

To my understanding, a single professional that maintains that the two terms refer to separate conditions, would not diagnose anyone with both, as the criteria used would then based on picking one condition over the other, possibly even somewhat arbitrarily, eg. if there is evidence of a speech delay, then they'll typically rule out Asperger's and go with HFA instead, ignoring the other criteria.

Anyway, please know that I'm not trying to take anything away from you, I just remember having a hard time with understanding the relationships between the terms when I was a teenager (before the Internet made such knowledge more accessible) and wanted to try and help. I was diagnosed as just having "Autism Spectrum Disorder" and it was explained as being "like Asperger's" so I do know what it feels like to have a different label from everyone else...

 

[Danny]

I just want to apologise. I am really sorry my post came across as a "thread or insult" to you, even initially and I'm glad you realise that this was not my intention.

Anyway, I want to try and explain what I meant by the part that you mentioned and I hope that's OK with you, as I feel maybe if I'm at all right it might help you feel more at ease with you diagnosise? Below I have taken the first part of High-functioning autism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -

High-functioning autism (HFA) is a term applied to people with autism who are deemed to be cognitively "higher functioning" (IQ>70) than other people with autism.[1][2] Individuals with HFA or Asperger syndrome exhibit deficits in areas of communication, emotion recognition and expression, and social interaction.[3] There is no consensus on the definition[1] and HFA is not a recognized diagnosis in the DSM-IV-TR or the ICD-10.

The amount of overlap between HFA and Asperger syndrome is disputed.[1] While most researchers agree that the two are distinct diagnostic entities, others argue that they are indistinguishable.[1] Alternatively, the term high-functioning autism may be used by some researchers to refer to all autism spectrum disorders deemed to be cognitively higher functioning, including Asperger syndrome, especially in light of the removal of Asperger syndrome as a separate diagnostic from DSM-5[4].

Characterization

High-functioning autism is characterized by features very similar to those of Asperger syndrome. The defining characteristic most widely recognized by current psychologists and doctors is a significant delay in the development of early speech and language skills before the age of 3 years.[2] The diagnosis criteria of Asperger syndrome exclude a general language delay.[5]
...snip...​

So with respect to the above having a Asperger's and HFA diagnosis either means:

• You were diagnosed by a professional that holds Asperger's is a subset of HFA (thus all person's they diagnose with Asperger's they classify as having HFA)
  
• You received the diagnoses by different professionals, by different criteria, or at different times

To my understanding, a single professional that maintains that the two terms refer to separate conditions, would not diagnose anyone with both, as the criteria used would then based on picking one condition over the other, possibly even somewhat arbitrarily, eg. if there is evidence of a speech delay, then they'll typically rule out Asperger's and go with HFA instead, ignoring the other criteria.

Anyway, please know that I'm not trying to take anything away from you, I just remember having a hard time with understanding the relationships between the terms when I was a teenager (before the Internet made such knowledge more accessible) and wanted to try and help. I was diagnosed as just having "Autism Spectrum Disorder" and it was explained as being "like Asperger's" so I do know what it feels like to have a different label from everyone else...

Apologising to me? Oh, you don't have to be sorry for anything, it was something that was brought on by me which I ended up feeling guilty about afterwards. No worries here! And yes, I honestly do understand quite a bit more than I have before. Labels can be bothersome at times, when you are confused about what category they fall into... I ended up getting diagnosed by one person who had given me the two labels during the same time who classed them as separate conditions? I am only remembering this faintly, but, no. I think we should just mentally shake hands over the interest and put this matter to rest. The air had been cleared and now everything can fall back and relax...

Also, thank you for the very interesting discussion here. It's fun to learn about new things.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Hi Danny, I'd like to invite you to try out the How Do You Feel Today thread. It's the most popular thread on this site for those who are loyal regulars, is the thread with the most guarantee of an atmosphere of acceptance and support, and is a good place to become familiar with this community.

 

[Danny]

Hi Danny, I'd like to invite you to try out the How Do You Feel Today thread. It's the most popular thread on this site for those who are loyal regulars, is the thread with the most guarantee of an atmosphere of acceptance and support, and is a good place to become familiar with this community.

Hello there, invitation was accepted. Thank you for recommending the thread for me as I have been needing ideas on where to head to.

 

[Aspie@60]

*whispers* hello there... My name is Danielle but you can call me Danny... I am fifteen years old and I suffer with both Aspergers and High-functioning autism... which to me is like some sort of bonus? I haven't exactly been doing much at all on this site, well I have not been doing anything since creating this account... w I have been troubled by a lot of people in the past... online or in real life... this has caused me to become extremely worried about what other people may think about me... such as, for example, the types of words and poor punctuation I am using... I often feel that I carry some sort of special magic that enables to me offend more than one person and becoming paranoid over what I might have done to upset them..

I am absolutely scared of causing chaos and when it comes to replying to threads... I have been hesitant for quite a while now and, well, I have finally managed to reply to a post but... I am hoping that I haven't already caused damage to anyone because that would be horrible! I am the type of person who cannot handle upsetting others, as I have already made very obvious. I think one of the main things that cause is the fact that I cannot make sense, I somehow end up using words inappropriately, not explicitly but... I hope that I am making a tiny bit of sense here..

As a random fact, my brain is in the process of healing at the moment due to some types of health problems which in worst cases can cause slight injury to your brain... not good..

But, anyway... enough of that.

I have first heard of this website after having it recommended to me by a person who specializes in Autism. She said that this was a wonderful site where people can accept you for who you are... I have already been peaking through a few good pages on here and I have found quite a few people who I may be able to relate to...

I just hope that someday I might be able to get to know some of the amazing people on here, it would be nice to find someone who you can think of as a friend.

I am sorry for the long introduction, most of it was aimless rambles but at least I have finally found the courage to do this...

...So, goodbye, I hope you have a pleasant night/day and to be filled with happiness instead of darkness, have a wonderful week.

 

[Aspie@60]

Hi Danny, I'm new to this site as well, but have found it to be a warm and welcoming site. Okay, so you have Asperger's, high-functioning autism. You're also 15 (ugh, those teenage years were awful for me, too). You'll outgrow being a super-sensitive teenager, but most of us here have experienced disappointment, confusion, disillusion and, I guess, generally have wondered "what's wrong with me" since our first attempts to be social beings. I'm 60 years old now, and have wondered what was wrong with me since Kindergarten. You have the advantage of knowing right now, today, that there's really a reason. Try (I know it's hard) not to worry about others' reactions to you. You'll never be able to be anyone but you, and it's best just to put your wonderful self out there, explore and enjoy all those talents you have that others won't ever have, and get on with life.

You don't need to respond to this post. We're all here for you and each other, and it's hard to hurt our feelings. Carry on!