My initials spell J.A.W. and I use to be called "Jabber Jaws" when I was little, thus, my screen name.
I'm in my mid-thirties now, have 2 college degrees in Marketing and Management. These have done me no real good as I sell bedding now...I blame this mostly on my condition and some on the economy.
My diagnosis is sort of hybrid: I saw a special on Asperger's about 7-8 years ago. They talked about watching mouths instead of eyes. I thought everyone did this...did some reading and research and have found many many traits that I always assumed were "normal" that appear indicative of Asperger's. I was have relationship issues and was seeing a psychologist at the time, we talked and agreed it was highly likely that I have Asperger's...BUT..he would not refer me for formal diagnosis due to the fact that I'm highly functional and it would negatively affect my ability to get or pay for medical insurance. When I was unemployed for 5 years I asked my medical doctor (thinking I may be able to get some assistance in finding work) he said, "there's really no way to tell if it is Asperger's or if you are just shy." I think he is very lacking in his understanding of the syndrome.
Also, I'm gay. I've been with my partner for going on 14 years...he's got many issues with depression, addiction, etc. and I suspect AS as well. I had always attributed my "feeling different" to being gay...though I was not "out" until my mid twenties. In school I was originally suppose to be held back as I was slower than the other students (took longer on test, but out scored ALL other students). My parents transferred me to a public school where I was then put in the Talented/Gifted program. I did not do very well in high school as I basically quit doing homework and got by on test scores. I acquainted myself with the school "rejects" (nerds, geeks, sissies, etc) and acted as the unofficial leader/bodyguard. I attribute this to my special interest in martial arts, bodybuilding, and overwhelming sense of justice.
I starting working young and always made manager within months. I seems to have a way of finding more efficient ways of doing things and listen more to front-line employees and customer's more than management...and have a way of not limiting my thought to the desires of my superiors. This has caused conflict at times, but more appreciate my ethics and candidness.
I don't think I have a solid special interest right now (which makes me feel like my life in constant turmoil and chaos) but I am enjoying researching AS/ASD and also ancient societies. I've been really intrigued with recent (just a couple of months ago) research possibly linking autistic traits to genomes passed on from Neanderthals. Seems, our ancient cousins liked smaller social circles, more intrigued with mechanical improvements, and enjoyed musical instruments more than their Cro-Magnon friends of the time.
In the above interests and scanning of youtube to pass the time at work, I ran across a few Asperger vlogs. One of my top three favorites was a our good friend and administrator Calvert, which has lead me to participate and share my stories in this forum....as I usually read....but have NEVER participated in until now. Thanks.
:notworthy:
Oh, I hope to post some pics soon, but my personal computer has crashed (blue screen of the great Vista) and have not had any quite time to fix it.:S
I'm in my mid-thirties now, have 2 college degrees in Marketing and Management. These have done me no real good as I sell bedding now...I blame this mostly on my condition and some on the economy.
My diagnosis is sort of hybrid: I saw a special on Asperger's about 7-8 years ago. They talked about watching mouths instead of eyes. I thought everyone did this...did some reading and research and have found many many traits that I always assumed were "normal" that appear indicative of Asperger's. I was have relationship issues and was seeing a psychologist at the time, we talked and agreed it was highly likely that I have Asperger's...BUT..he would not refer me for formal diagnosis due to the fact that I'm highly functional and it would negatively affect my ability to get or pay for medical insurance. When I was unemployed for 5 years I asked my medical doctor (thinking I may be able to get some assistance in finding work) he said, "there's really no way to tell if it is Asperger's or if you are just shy." I think he is very lacking in his understanding of the syndrome.
Also, I'm gay. I've been with my partner for going on 14 years...he's got many issues with depression, addiction, etc. and I suspect AS as well. I had always attributed my "feeling different" to being gay...though I was not "out" until my mid twenties. In school I was originally suppose to be held back as I was slower than the other students (took longer on test, but out scored ALL other students). My parents transferred me to a public school where I was then put in the Talented/Gifted program. I did not do very well in high school as I basically quit doing homework and got by on test scores. I acquainted myself with the school "rejects" (nerds, geeks, sissies, etc) and acted as the unofficial leader/bodyguard. I attribute this to my special interest in martial arts, bodybuilding, and overwhelming sense of justice.
I starting working young and always made manager within months. I seems to have a way of finding more efficient ways of doing things and listen more to front-line employees and customer's more than management...and have a way of not limiting my thought to the desires of my superiors. This has caused conflict at times, but more appreciate my ethics and candidness.
I don't think I have a solid special interest right now (which makes me feel like my life in constant turmoil and chaos) but I am enjoying researching AS/ASD and also ancient societies. I've been really intrigued with recent (just a couple of months ago) research possibly linking autistic traits to genomes passed on from Neanderthals. Seems, our ancient cousins liked smaller social circles, more intrigued with mechanical improvements, and enjoyed musical instruments more than their Cro-Magnon friends of the time.
In the above interests and scanning of youtube to pass the time at work, I ran across a few Asperger vlogs. One of my top three favorites was a our good friend and administrator Calvert, which has lead me to participate and share my stories in this forum....as I usually read....but have NEVER participated in until now. Thanks.
:notworthy:
Oh, I hope to post some pics soon, but my personal computer has crashed (blue screen of the great Vista) and have not had any quite time to fix it.:S
