IanOSU
Member
Hi everyone!
My name is Ian, I'm 22 years old. I am looking forward to meet people sharing similar experiences with me here! I have just been diagnosed with aspergers syndrome 2 days ago after 4 years of counselling and medication. I was relief.
I was born and raised in Taiwan. I was a quiet kid, very awkward socially. My parents noticed some unusual traits in me but they always dismissed them as me being shy. childhood was hard for me as I tried as hard as I could to fit in, but always came up short.
when I was 14, I left home to go to the US for highschool in Dayton, Ohio. having no social awareness at all, I did not realize how bad of an idea that was. I was out of my comfort zone. between language barrier, social difficulties, and the brutal environment in American high school, I found myself forced to adapt. quickly. I became an observer, learning social skills through watching other people and imitate them. but of course I was still being laughed at on a regular basis.
my big break came when I graduated high school and moved on to THE Ohio State University. August 2011, I officially became a Buckeye. and that was when I first learned about mental illness through a counselling session. I started going regularly, and started seeing a psychiatrist. I was given a ton of cognitive behavior training (CBT if I remember correctly) and medication that did not work. they misdiagnosed me as major depression and general anxiety. I was given zoloft then switched to prozac, which I later learned both were terrible for ASD.
Fraustrated at this point, I went back to what I knew best, watch and learn. At the same time I became obsessed with mental illness related topics. finally I found what worked best for me. sports and fitness. through basketball I found myself incredibly calm when I stepped on the court. I grew more confident as I became a better player. through football I experienced for the first time in my life what "being in the zone" feels like, my mind and body were in sync and time slowed down as I focused on making the play. it's an incredible feeling. Also going to the gym regularly for an hour and a half long workout worked very well for me. I was able to channel my frustration and aggression through lifting weights. as I got fit and started eating healthy, I felt better physically as well as mentally.
2 years ago I returned to my home country, Taiwan. Through a long processed, the psychologists there finally put me through a 3 hour psychological test. the results came out "high probability in ASD, in my case, claim: aspergers." my doctor explained that given how hard it is to diagnose aspergers in adults, this result is as close as it gets, although it's not official.
Finally, the biggest irony of my life is that my mother is a professor of special education with a PhD from the University of Virginia. you'd think she would've diagnose her own son. but to me that shows how crazy and complex ASD can be.
I'm here to learn about others experience with aspergers and seems like this is a good place to discuss the latest research as well!
My name is Ian, I'm 22 years old. I am looking forward to meet people sharing similar experiences with me here! I have just been diagnosed with aspergers syndrome 2 days ago after 4 years of counselling and medication. I was relief.
I was born and raised in Taiwan. I was a quiet kid, very awkward socially. My parents noticed some unusual traits in me but they always dismissed them as me being shy. childhood was hard for me as I tried as hard as I could to fit in, but always came up short.
when I was 14, I left home to go to the US for highschool in Dayton, Ohio. having no social awareness at all, I did not realize how bad of an idea that was. I was out of my comfort zone. between language barrier, social difficulties, and the brutal environment in American high school, I found myself forced to adapt. quickly. I became an observer, learning social skills through watching other people and imitate them. but of course I was still being laughed at on a regular basis.
my big break came when I graduated high school and moved on to THE Ohio State University. August 2011, I officially became a Buckeye. and that was when I first learned about mental illness through a counselling session. I started going regularly, and started seeing a psychiatrist. I was given a ton of cognitive behavior training (CBT if I remember correctly) and medication that did not work. they misdiagnosed me as major depression and general anxiety. I was given zoloft then switched to prozac, which I later learned both were terrible for ASD.
Fraustrated at this point, I went back to what I knew best, watch and learn. At the same time I became obsessed with mental illness related topics. finally I found what worked best for me. sports and fitness. through basketball I found myself incredibly calm when I stepped on the court. I grew more confident as I became a better player. through football I experienced for the first time in my life what "being in the zone" feels like, my mind and body were in sync and time slowed down as I focused on making the play. it's an incredible feeling. Also going to the gym regularly for an hour and a half long workout worked very well for me. I was able to channel my frustration and aggression through lifting weights. as I got fit and started eating healthy, I felt better physically as well as mentally.
2 years ago I returned to my home country, Taiwan. Through a long processed, the psychologists there finally put me through a 3 hour psychological test. the results came out "high probability in ASD, in my case, claim: aspergers." my doctor explained that given how hard it is to diagnose aspergers in adults, this result is as close as it gets, although it's not official.
Finally, the biggest irony of my life is that my mother is a professor of special education with a PhD from the University of Virginia. you'd think she would've diagnose her own son. but to me that shows how crazy and complex ASD can be.
I'm here to learn about others experience with aspergers and seems like this is a good place to discuss the latest research as well!
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