# Asperger's Syndrome?



## SwiftFire87 (Apr 18, 2009)

Is it possible that many of us might have this? 

It is a form of autism and deals directly with social behavior or something to that extent. I think I might have it. 

Impaired social reactions are a key component of Asperger's syndrome. People who suffer from this condition find it difficult to develop meaningful relationships with their peers. They struggle to understand the subtleties of communicating through eye contact, body language, or facial expressions and seldom show affection towards others. They are often accused of being disrespectful and rude, since they find they can’t comprehend expectations of appropriate social behavior and are often unable to determine the feelings of those around them. People suffering from Asperger's syndrome can be said to lack both social and emotional reciprocity.

Although Asperger's syndrome is related to autism, people who suffer from this condition do not have other developmental delays. They have normal to above average intelligence and fail to meet the diagnostic criteria for any other pervasive developmental disorder. In fact, people with Asperger's syndrome often show intense focus, highly logical thinking, and exceptional abilities in math or science.

There is no cure for Asperger's syndrome, but cognitive behavioral therapy, specialized speech therapy and counseling can help alleviate many of the condition’s more troubling symptoms. If they learn to develop the appropriate coping mechanisms, people with Asperger's syndrome are quite capable of getting married, having children, becoming gainfully employed, and leading independent lives.


----------



## Banzai (Jun 4, 2009)

Yes - I think I have this as well - I took this quiz (not sure how reliable it is but worth a try and it seems quite good) - http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php.
I scored over 160/200.
:|


----------



## SoloSage (Feb 26, 2009)

Banzai said:


> Yes - I think I have this as well - I took this quiz (not sure how reliable it is but worth a try and it seems quite good) - http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php.
> I scored over 160/200.


Just took the quiz - got 134 out of 200. It says: "You are very likely an Aspie." Oh, well...


----------



## Toad Licker (Nov 2, 2007)

I scored 61 of 200 which is about usual for me on these tests.


----------



## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

Got 107. Explored the idea with my psychiatrist and even a 2nd opinion and everybody, including myself, are pretty convinced that I DON'T have AS.

You need to be careful with tests like these, Asperger's isn't really as broad a diagnosis as all these questions would suggest. Some of the more critical questions are like the following:


Do you expect other people to know your thoughts, experiences and opinions without you having to tell them?
Are you good at predicting how someone will feel?
Are you good at interpreting facial expressions?
Do you often talk about your special interests whether others seem to be interested or not?

It's easy to self-diagnose problems like depression, anxiety, etc, but it's important to talk to a psychiatrist before sticking the Asperger's label on yourself...


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

SwiftFire87 said:


> Is it possible that many of us might have this?


To be frank yes. There will be some members here who have undiagnosed ASD. But the majority won't.

There is another questionnaire (the AQ) here developed by researchers in Cambridge.

Scoring at or above 26 means a person has a significant number of autistic traits. This isn't diagnostic but used to provide an indication as to whether a referral might be required. 80% of those diagnosed Asperger's/HFA scored 32 or above while only 2% of the control group did. People diagnosed with SAD or OCD scored higher than controls overall but lower than Asperger's/HFA overall.


----------



## Lumiere (Jun 13, 2009)

I scored 147 on the first test and 63 on the Cambridge test, but I don't think I have Asperger's. I think a lot of my score is due to SA.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Lumiere said:


> I scored 147 on the first test and 63 on the Cambridge test, but I don't think I have Asperger's. I think a lot of my score is due to SA.


That's strange, the Cambridge test only goes as high as 50. I score 42.


----------



## Lumiere (Jun 13, 2009)

odd_one_out said:


> That's strange; the Cambridge test only goes as high as 50. I score 42.


Sorry, I meant my neurotypical score on the first test was 63 out of 200.
I scored 34 on the Cambridge test.


----------



## Tangent (Jul 1, 2009)

My neurotypical score is 58, my aspie score is 137, it says I am "very likely an aspie". Hmm.


----------



## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

There is generally a key difference between people with SA and people with Asperger's. People with SA tend to desire social contact but, obviously, feel really anxious about it. Social phobics want to treat their problem because they don't really like the isolation they're enduring.

Aspies, on the other hand, tend to prefer the isolation. Half the time they aren't even really socially anxious... they can be very outgoing and talk your ear off about something that happens to interest them. They just have a hard time realizing when nobody cares.

So I guess the major question is... are you on a board dealing with social anxiety because social interaction is something you genuinely want, or does it only matter to you insofar as it gives you a sense of normalcy?


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

^ There will be a very large area of overlap on that so like most of the traits it must be considered in its wider situation. But I was told during my assessment with the ADOS (a diagnostic instrument for autism) that not being upset about my solitude as a young child in the playground can be associated with autism.



LaRibbon said:


> Yeah I think there is a big overlap of SA and aspergers. I have done both those tests. and scored normal. But I have heard criticism of the AQ - apparantly it's more of a measure of social introversion / discomfort than autism. That's probably why a lot of SAers score so high on it.


The social domain produces inevitable overlap with SAD. Social discomfort and difficulty are part of the core social domain of autism so there's not much getting around that. But the Asperger's/HFA group still scored significantly higher than the SAD group on the social interaction factor. The AQ also includes questions in other domains of autism, reducing the overlap with SAD. The study that included those with SAD and OCD found none in these groups scored above a certain point but 50% of the ASC group did and there was a significant group difference.

On an individual level there's no guarantee a high AQ score means being diagnosable with autism. It was designed largely to provide an indication for general practitioners as to whether a referral might be warranted.


----------



## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 57 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 137 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical










That's a neat quiz. I was actually diagnosed with AS when I was younger, but I personally don't feel that I fit into the criteria at all. On that AQ test I scored "less autistic than average" (can't remember my exact score though), and on other Asperger's Syndrome tests I always score non-autistic. I was never really "treated" or "conditioned" to "grow out of it", so I personally think it was just a misdiagnosis. When I look back on how I used to behave as a child, I don't think I really fit the criteria then either. It's not like I just "grew out of it", I don't think I really had it in the first place.


----------



## DuncanThaw (Jun 19, 2009)

I have taken both of these tests (the one that Banzai referenced, and the one that odd_one_out referenced); I scored 171/200 on the first, and 39 on the second. These scores seem fairly high.

It is quite probable, though, that the fact that I'm so acutely, insistently introverted led to these high scores. I have only had limited experience with mental health professionals (and they refused to give me any official diagnoses, when I asked, which really confused and hurt me), and it seems their assessment was that I was anxious (socially in particular, but also generally), avoidant and depressed (based on the medications prescribed). No mention was ever made of Asperger's.


----------



## Little Willow (Oct 26, 2008)

I'm considered on the spectrum. A big difference is that i sometimes don't recognize emotions (like I don't know if someone's joking or not). It's difficult to live with. Also, physical awkwardness is typical.


----------



## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

LaRibbon said:


> If you don't mind me asking, why did they think you had AS?


Because I used to do things like putting my toys/things in a certain place in the room and didn't let anyone move them, I used to make inappropriate comments (knowing full well they were inappropriate though, which completely negates the autisticity [made up words are awesome] of that behaviour), and I guess they needed an excuse for my "bad" behaviour at school (certain people would try to provoke me and they'd get more than they bargained for when I'd attack them back violently, so they'd act like victims and get me into trouble).

Not really autisticy behaviour if you ask me. I didn't have set routines, obsessions with certain topics, difficulty with body language/speech, motor problems, lack of empathy (I'm probably more empathic than most people, even though I don't usually show, but that's because I'm worried about it being inappropriate, basicly it's an SA thing) or any other behaviours associated with autism or Asperger's Syndrome.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

DuncanThaw said:


> I have taken both of these tests (the one that Banzai referenced, and the one that odd_one_out referenced); I scored 171/200 on the first, and 39 on the second. These scores seem fairly high.
> 
> It is quite probable, though, that the fact that I'm so acutely, insistently introverted led to these high scores. I have only had limited experience with mental health professionals (and they refused to give me any official diagnoses, when I asked, which really confused and hurt me), and it seems their assessment was that I was anxious (socially in particular, but also generally), avoidant and depressed (based on the medications prescribed). No mention was ever made of Asperger's.


The experience you've had with the mental health system is pretty typical. Even if autistic traits are apparent it's common for them to not recognise them for what they are and not make a referral. Many are poor at communicating with the patient about diagnoses and treatments.

Most mental health workers are inadequately informed about autism and this includes psychiatrists. People will accumulate many diagnoses or treatments, often inaccurate or wrong, before they're able to get assessed for autism for which they usually have to fight.

I went through various levels of mental health services and no one ever mentioned autism. When I discovered it I ended the inappropriate (and harmful) therapy I'd been receiving and consulted my doctor who then fought hard to get me assessed (because provision for adults is terrible).

For adults it's tough to obtain a proper assessment and can cost hundreds. Many were already adults when Asperger's was first included in the DSM (I was about 16). For those seeking an assessment it's advisable they consult a specialist in who's experienced in diagnosing adults. General mental health professionals are usually not qualified to make such a diagnosis.


----------



## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

I've had a very different experience in Canada. Everything was free and done without any red tape.

After not really responding to treatment, my psychiatrist decided it would be prudent to re-assess me. We did explore the option of asperger's and other developmental disorders, especially considering how far my problems go back, but neither of us felt like it was the right diagnosis. Just to be certain, she referred me for an assessment with a pediatric psychiatrist, who also concluded that a developmental/autism spectrum disorder would be inappropriate.

So... far from needing to fight for it, the possibility was pretty fully explored despite the fact that everybody found it very unlikely. I realize not everybody has the same experiences though...

And while I've been given a fair bit of official diagnoses, both psychiatrists have made it clear that the labels aren't really important. They're useful for communicating my problems to other doctors, health insurance, or whatever, but treatment really needs to be individualized to each person's specific situations.


----------



## _AJ_ (Jan 23, 2008)

Your Aspie score: 52 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 149 of 200


----------



## britisharrow (Jun 18, 2009)

I was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome about three weeks ago, this has forced me to reconsider my objectives when it comes to social anxiety. As there is no treatment to make someone 'not autistic' or 'neurotypical' my therapists have agreed with me that a more realistic goal is for me to accept who I am as an autistic person.

Some people here may suffer from autism and be undiagnosed, however it is likely that the majority suffer from social anxiety and are not autistic. Impaired social ability is a major component of Aspergers, but there are other symptoms and characteristics with which some people here will not identify.

If you feel you have Aspergers then you could mention it to your doctor, however it is not something to be wanting, because basically what it means for me is that I will always have this alienating feeling regardless of drugs or therapy. The most I can do is come to accept that and to accept myself for who I am.


----------



## antonina (Oct 25, 2008)

*people with autism do want friends*



meyaj said:


> There is generally a key difference between people with SA and people with Asperger's. People with SA tend to desire social contact but, obviously, feel really anxious about it. Social phobics want to treat their problem because they don't really like the isolation they're enduring.
> 
> Aspies, on the other hand, tend to prefer the isolation. Half the time they aren't even really socially anxious... they can be very outgoing and talk your ear off about something that happens to interest them. They just have a hard time realizing when nobody cares.
> 
> So I guess the major question is... are you on a board dealing with social anxiety because social interaction is something you genuinely want, or does it only matter to you insofar as it gives you a sense of normalcy?


I had to address this quote as I am a special education teacher and work with students who are diagnosed with autism. These students DO WANT TO HAVE FRIENDS. They just can't understand why people are upset with them. I think dealing with bullying and rejection probably has turned adults with autism and asperger's off to attempting social interactions because they can go so wrong. People need to try to develop more awareness. I have noticed when I work with these kids I need to spell everything out literally. I tell them that what they are saying is hurting someone's feelings. I then explain why. I notice that they didn't mean to do this and they don't want the person to be mad at them. They just don't have social awareness. They need people to be literal and direct with them.


----------



## antonina (Oct 25, 2008)

*Don't feel bad about it*



britisharrow said:


> I was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome about three weeks ago, this has forced me to reconsider my objectives when it comes to social anxiety. As there is no treatment to make someone 'not autistic' or 'neurotypical' my therapists have agreed with me that a more realistic goal is for me to accept who I am as an autistic person.
> 
> Some people here may suffer from autism and be undiagnosed, however it is likely that the majority suffer from social anxiety and are not autistic. Impaired social ability is a major component of Aspergers, but there are other symptoms and characteristics with which some people here will not identify.
> 
> If you feel you have Aspergers then you could mention it to your doctor, however it is not something to be wanting, because basically what it means for me is that I will always have this alienating feeling regardless of drugs or therapy. The most I can do is come to accept that and to accept myself for who I am.


You sound pretty down about it but it doesn't have to be a terrible thing.
There are some pretty talented people with asperger's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_on_the_autism_spectrum

You can still do many things. Asperger's also can give you some gifts like a super focus. Also many computer programmers have it.

You are right about learning to accept yourself though.


----------



## britisharrow (Jun 18, 2009)

antonina said:


> You sound pretty down about it but it doesn't have to be a terrible thing.
> There are some pretty talented people with asperger's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_on_the_autism_spectrum
> 
> You can still do many things. Asperger's also can give you some gifts like a super focus. Also many computer programmers have it.
> ...


Your absolutely right, it is something that can be managed and there are many successful people who are autistic. Thanks for the link to that list.


----------



## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

antonina said:


> I had to address this quote as I am a special education teacher and work with students who are diagnosed with autism. These students DO WANT TO HAVE FRIENDS. They just can't understand why people are upset with them. I think dealing with bullying and rejection probably has turned adults with autism and asperger's off to attempting social interactions because they can go so wrong. People need to try to develop more awareness. I have noticed when I work with these kids I need to spell everything out literally. I tell them that what they are saying is hurting someone's feelings. I then explain why. I notice that they didn't mean to do this and they don't want the person to be mad at them. They just don't have social awareness. They need people to be literal and direct with them.


Sorry if I was spreading misinformation. I have 2 cousins with the disorder, and have talked about it a lot with my psychiatrist and a pediatric psychiatrist, and that was my impression of it. I think one key difference though is that a lot of people with SA are almost hyper-tuned into the emotions of people. Would you agree?

I don't find myself having a hard time putting myself in other peoples' shoes at all. If anything, I've always seemed to have a much higher degree of empathy than my peers. My understanding is that people on the autism spectrum have a great deal of trouble with this.

I'm sure as a special ed teacher you're familiar with Simon Baron-Cohen's "Sally-Anne" theory of mind test. One thing I'm really not clear on is until what age this typically works on a person with Asperger's. I would imagine an adult has usually figured out the whole theory of mind thing by then, even if they don't intrinsically "get" it.


----------



## Banzai (Jun 4, 2009)

Duke of Prunes said:


> Your Aspie score: 57 of 200
> Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 137 of 200
> You are very likely neurotypical


Could someone help explain to me that graph/results please?
What does it mean, "neurotypical talent" and "aspie talent" or "aspie activity pattern" and "neurotypical social"? And what is it talking about when it says "hunting"?


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Banzai said:


> Could someone help explain to me that graph/results please?
> What does it mean, "neurotypical talent" and "aspie talent" or "aspie activity pattern" and "neurotypical social"? And what is it talking about when it says "hunting"?


Here's a summary the quiz designer wrote for each (sorry it's long and for the latest version),

"Aspie talent": This group contains intellectually related Aspie traits. Typical traits are related to interests (e.g. having strong interests; hyper focusing; having periods of contemplation; collecting
information; good long term memory related to interests; figuring out how things work; making connections between things; strong-willed; stubborn). Other traits are related to information
processing (e.g. noticing details; finding patterns; unusual imagination; solving problems in unusual ways; unique ideas). Some people have special talents (e.g. numbers; language;
computers; music).

"Neurotypical talent": This group contains neurotypical intellectual talents. Often these are defined in terms of Aspie disabilities. Typical traits seem to be adaptations to cooperative living (e.g. giving and
remembering verbal instructions; learning from others; describing events; summarizing events; taking notes; keeping track of several conversations; learning things on demand; learning by
imitation). Other traits include multitasking and attention (e.g. doing several things at the same time; rapidly shifting focus; getting back to things quickly), getting a quick picture of one's
environment (e.g. generalizing; getting the overall picture), remembering where things are, grasping abstract concepts and organizing daily life.

"Aspie Compulsion": This group contains obsessive and compulsive Aspie traits. Typical of this group is a preference for sameness (e.g. routines; lists; schedules; sitting on the same seat; going to the same shop;
wearing the same clothes; eating the same food; always doing things in the same way). Related traits include getting frustrated when interrupted and a need to prepare oneself before doing
new things. Some people have strong attachments to objects and like to collect and organize things and may need precision or symmetry.

"Neurotypical compulsion": This group contains socially related compulsive traits. Key traits are to enjoy social interaction (e.g. meeting people; involving others; games; crowds; large social networks; hosting events;
being a leader; gossip; cheering). Other traits are related to social conformity (e.g. having views typical of peer group; preferring to socialize with others of the same age and gender; interest
for fashions; wearing jewellery; wearing makeup; taking pride in ones appearance, style, image and identity; status seeking; climbing hierarchies).

"Aspie social": This group contain Aspie social traits. Important traits are a highly variable activity level with higher than normal motivation threshold. Other traits include atypical relationship & courtship
preferences (partner obsessions; not giving up on relationships; preference for friends of the opposite gender) and sexual preferences. Unusual eating and sleeping patterns as well as having a
hard time with authorities and social hierarchy are other traits.

"Neurotypical social": This group contains neurotypical social traits. The absence of the traits is often described as a dysfunction. Key traits are adaptations for living in changing social groups (e.g. smalltalk;
social chitchat; shaking hands; saying 'hi', 'thank you' and 'sorry'). Related traits are adaptations for socializing with strangers (e.g. being comfortable with strangers; enjoying talking
face-to-face with strangers; maintaining large social networks; easy to get to know; talking in public; enjoying uninvited guests). Other traits are related to friendships and relationships and
expressing feelings in typical ways (e.g. making and maintaining friendships and relationships; looking at people you talk to; enjoying hugs and touch; being emotionally close to others;
describing and talking about feelings) and cooperative activities (e.g. team-sports; group endeavours; teamwork; using others expertise; working while being observed).

"Aspie communication": This group contains communication related Aspie traits. Key traits in this group are related to atypical nonverbal communication (e.g. odd facial expressions; odd posture; odd prosody;
smiling at the wrong occasion; being accused of staring; using unusual sounds in conversations; blinking or rolling eyes; clenching fists; grinding teeth; thrusting tongue; blushing). Related
traits are stims (e.g. wringing hands; rubbing hands; twirling fingers; rocking; tapping eyes; pressing eyes; fiddling with things; pacing; flapping hands; biting self or others; chewing on
things; picking scabs; peeling skin flakes; examining hair of others; singing). Tics are also here and are often confused with stims (e.g. stuttering; sniffing; snorting; coughing; echolalia;
echopraxia). Other traits include general communication differences (e.g. not verbalizing thoughts; talking softly or loudly; turning words around; talking to oneself; odd pronunciation; not
separating 'I', 'we' and 'you'). Some people also prefer to look a lot at people they like and not at all at people they dislike.

"Neurotypical communication": This group contains typical nonverbal communication traits. A key trait is the ability to interpret and show typical nonverbal communication (e.g. facial expressions; body language;
courtship; timing; reciprocity; turn-taking; prosody). The absence of these abilities lead to secondary problems (e.g. unaware of how to behave; unaware of boundaries; being misunderstood;
missing hidden agendas; being unaware of others intentions; misinterpreting figures of speech, idioms and allegories; literal interpretation; unable to return social gestures and courtesies: not
knowing when to apologize; saying inappropriate things; seemingly poor empathy).

"Aspie hunting": This group contains passive hunting traits. One part of the traits is related to preferred habitats (e.g. slowly flowing water; caves; woods; liking mist or fog). Another part seems to be
close-contact hunting traits (e.g. jumping over things; climbing; chasing animals; biting; enjoying spinning in circles; strong grip; strong hands; physical endurance; enjoying rodeo riders).
Some other traits are related to sneaking (e.g. sneaking through the woods; sneaking up on animals; walking on toes) and general hunting tactics (e.g. mimicking animal sounds; digging;
throwing small things; building traps; fascination for fire; sniffing)

"Neurotypical hunting": The traits in this group are related to cooperative hunting. These traits are often described in terms of dysfunctions. Typical traits are recollections of environmental information (e.g.
positions of things; scores in games; order of words, letters and digits; map reading) and passing on information to others (e.g. passing on messages; knowing left from right; dates and times
of events; remembering appointments and events; reading clocks and calendars; carrying over information between contexts). Other traits are related to trading and exchange with others (e.g.
calculating change from a purchase; knowing what to bring to appointments; remembering sequences of past events; remembering formulas; filling out forms).

"Aspie perception": This group contains perception-related Aspie traits. These traits commonly become disabilities, but their core seems to be more sensitive senses (e.g. touch; sound; tactile; smell; taste; light
and glare; humidity; changes in air pressure; wind; heat; electromagnetic fields) or less sensitive senses (e.g. pain). Related to this are instinctual reactions to sensory information (e.g. being
distracted by sounds; being afraid of motor-bikes; being afraid of floods or fast running streams; disliking stomping). Other traits are difficulty filtering out speech from background noise
and using peripheral vision.

"Neurotypical perception": This group contains neurotypical motor abilities and perception traits. The absence of these traits is often referred to as clumsiness. A key trait is the ability to interpret spatial information
(e.g. judging distance, speed and acceleration; keeping track of positions of objects; predicting motion; concept of time; optimal pressure to apply). The absence of these skills leads to
secondary problems (e.g. poor fine and gross motor skills; poor body awareness; poor body control; problems with ball sports; poor hand-eye coordination; poor balance; poor handwriting;
dropping things).


----------



## Banzai (Jun 4, 2009)

^ thanks for that.
For the "aspie talent" and the "neurotypical talent", the first time I did the quiz, I scored 8.4 and 1.1 (above average, below average) and was extremely disappoointed but after reading that, it's not so bad after all


----------



## Kelly (Dec 12, 2003)

28 out of 200.











Have a nice day,
Kelly


----------



## quietgal (Oct 18, 2007)

Your Aspie score: 100 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 98 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

*









I guess I'm in the middle? It doesn't surprise me...
*


----------



## locsaf (Sep 3, 2009)

,


----------



## Fuzzy Logic (Sep 16, 2009)

126 out of 100 - Very likely, apparently.

Hmm, I am was going to book an appointment with my GP regarding my anxiety and if there are any drugs/treatments he can perscribe. I may take the oppertunity to ask him about this as well.

Personally I don't feel obliged to seriously consider these kind of things based off such a questionaire. The questions themselves lead you into making a positive diagnosis because they make you dredge up any particular instance in which you seemed to behave as they describe.

It so happens that my mother suggested I might suffer from this condition, but I have never been convinced. For one thing, my problem seems to be that I read too much into social situations rather than me not being able to read them. Hardly the sort of behaviour you would expect of someone who is supposed to be autistic.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

^ There are many abstracts to access. Here are a couple showing SAD has some association with subtle difficulties reading facial expressions and intentions.

Recognition of Facial Affect by Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with Social Phobia (2001) 
Susan J. Simonian , Deborah C. Beidel, Samuel M. Turner, Jennifer L. Berkes and Jonathan H. Long

Abstract This study compared the ability of children with social phobia and children with no psychiatric disorder to accurately judge facial affect. Fifteen children and adolescents with social phobia and 14 control children were asked to identify emotions depicted in slides from the Pictures of Facial Affect. In addition, they rated their level of anxiety on a pictorial Likert scale prior to and upon completion of the facial recognition task. The results indicated that children with social phobia had significantly poorer facial affect recognition skills than normal controls and reported greater anxiety upon completion of the recognition task. Multivariate analysis revealed significant differences between groups in the number of errors based on the type of facial affect. Post-hoc analysis indicated that deficits were most pronounced for facial representations of happiness, sadness, and disgust. The results are discussed in relation to an integrated model of social skills training that includes facial affect recognition training as a integral component in treatment programs for children and adolescents with social phobia. Directions for future research with larger samples of more ethnically diverse children and adolescents are presented.

Social-Cognitive Factors in Childhood Social Anxiety: A Preliminary Investigation (2001) 

Robin Banerjee & 
Lynne Henderson

The present study addresses the social cognition of socially anxious children, with particular emphasis on their ability to understand others' mental states in interpersonal situations. The heterogeneous sample used in this preliminary investigation consisted of 63 primary school children in England and the USA. The English children were from a mainstream classroom of 8- to 9-year-olds, while the children from the USA ranged in age from 6 to 11 years and had been selected by school district officials for a variety of social interaction difficulties. All children completed measures of social anxiety, shy negative affect, and various social-cognitive abilities, and teacher ratings of social skills were additionally available for the USA subgroup. Results showed that feelings of social anxiety are not associated with any basic deficit in the understanding of recursive mental states which concern facts about the physical world. However, there was evidence that socially anxious children-particularly those with high levels of shy negative affect-do experience specific social-cognitive difficulties in understanding the links between emotions, intentions, and beliefs in social situations. Providing further support for this link, socially anxious children were rated by their teachers as poorer than non-anxious children only on social skills that require insight into others' mental states. Directions for further examination of this complex interplay between cognitive and emotional factors in the development of social anxiety are discussed.


----------



## Jurexic5 (Jun 23, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 139 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 71 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie










I don't know if this is right, I may have answered a few questions incorrectly.


----------



## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

Just thought I'd add this, if it helps at all.

My psychiatrist referred me to a pediatric psychiatrist for a consult. We felt that Asperger's was very unlikely but he gave me an assessment scale to give to my parents to fill out based on when I was a young child. Although I get in Aspie territory in a lot of these online tests, my score on this scale was EXTREMELY low - clearly not an Aspie. It seems to be a more appropriate test, even if it's not one that can be fully answered by oneself.

I found the scale online if anybody is interested, here: http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aspergerscaleAttwood.html


----------



## epril (Mar 24, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 149 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 72 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

Doesn't surprise me; both my girls are Aspies. I very much enjoy the company of aspies or aspie-ish people too.


----------



## epril (Mar 24, 2009)

antonina said:


> I had to address this quote as I am a special education teacher and work with students who are diagnosed with autism. These students DO WANT TO HAVE FRIENDS. They just can't understand why people are upset with them. I think dealing with bullying and rejection probably has turned adults with autism and asperger's off to attempting social interactions because they can go so wrong. People need to try to develop more awareness. I have noticed when I work with these kids I need to spell everything out literally. I tell them that what they are saying is hurting someone's feelings. I then explain why. I notice that they didn't mean to do this and they don't want the person to be mad at them. They just don't have social awareness. They need people to be literal and direct with them.


Well said.


----------



## ThatWierdGuy (Feb 20, 2010)

The .pdf will break down the score. I had nothing unusual except a high social phobia score, and some mild ADHD.

No Asperger's.

The most interesting thing is that I'm an INFP. Strange because I've been called cold and logical. I scored really high on perception.


----------



## kraigg (Apr 25, 2009)

Here's mine.

Not sure what this means, besides being somewhat in the middle, but tilting towards Aspie. And far towards Aspie when it comes to social, compulsive and especially communication.

Your Aspie score: 128 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 84 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
Your MBTI type: ISTJ

*







*


----------



## Smitten (Oct 30, 2006)

.

Your Aspie score: 119 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 79 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie...I doubt it. 
Your MBTI type: ISFJ... I usually get INFP or INFJ


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

SwiftFire87 said:


> In fact, people with Asperger's syndrome often show intense focus, highly logical thinking, and exceptional abilities in math or science.


Aye there are many abilities. I'm in science. I've a highly systemised thinking style. I've also been found to have (by a researcher) exceptionally high levels of focus and hypersensitive hearing. I also have artistic and other abilities and extreme attention to detail.



SwiftFire87 said:


> If they learn to develop the appropriate coping mechanisms, people with Asperger's syndrome are quite capable of getting married, having children, becoming gainfully employed, and leading independent lives.


I stretched my coping mechanisms to the maximum for all my adult life and was/am (it's also been noted by my doctors) resourceful and strong. But I'm very disabled by it and its lack of recognition in the society in which I (chuckle) live.

Using your categories ...

Marriage - I've never desired this but wouldn't marry if I wanted to due to the difficulties I have with relationships, processing emotions, and becoming easily dependent on partners for basic functioning in a childlike way.

Children - I can hardly cope with my own life let alone be responsible for another's even if I wished. I wouldn't be able to fulfill their emotional needs.

The above 2 don't really matter to me but the following 2 do.

Gainful employment - I'm usually employed well below my skill and qualification level. Interviewers don't like my demeanour. Colleagues and supervisors misunderstand me. I have to battle sensory and anxiety issues each day. Despite this I've had some adequate employment experiences which, combined with a lack of spending, were enough to financially support me comfortably. But I can't support the required functioning levels for extended periods and am currently more disabled after battling with some systems to get justice.

Independent life - I had this for a brief time but went into a decline, losing weight due to my anxiety, sensory issues, and executive dysfunction. My friend found me underweight and unable to take care of basic tasks adequately such as housework, taking meds, shopping and a host of others. My friend's taking on the role of carer. We've become intimate but my relative lack of independence leads me to feel trapped around her, affecting our relationship. My doctor's referred me to Social Services. I'm going to employ a personal assistant through them but this'll only be for a few hours a week, which isn't enough for an independent adult life.

Apparently I am pretty average for someone with Asperger's (including the effort it took to get diagnosed and in being continually refused help).


----------



## Fuzzy Logic (Sep 16, 2009)

The initial symtoms of the flu are virtually identical to those of malaria, however the two diseases are completely different. You cannot draw on similair symtoms and conclude there is a connection between two disorders. This applies to SA and AS as much as anything else.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Trawling through research articles over the last few years has revealed these conditions share many overlaps. Some of their etiologies overlap. High levels of social anxiety have been found to occur in people with Asperger's (references can be provided on request), with one study showing this is more so than in other conditions such as OCD, ADHD, separation anxiety, affective disorders, anorexia and psychotic disorders. Social anxiety is a frequent comorbid of Asperger's.

The presence of high levels of social anxiety in Asperger's has important implications for treatment. Also, autistic symptoms but not the full diagnosable condition in those with SAD has been mentioned and suggestions made that this be taken into account during treatment.


----------



## andy0128 (Dec 19, 2003)

I think i might have it. I read quite a lot about it in the past and like with a lot of these things there are varying degrees. I'm sure there are many people with more severe AS than me. Getting diagnosed with this or social anxiety is not something that i feel is necessary for me.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

The traits associated with autism blend into normality and are found throughout the general population. There's no empirical basis for drawing a line between autism and normality. But clinicians have to draw a line somewhere and part of this specifies the traits cause significant impairment in important areas of functioning. Many people have autistic neurology but function pretty well and are considered to have a subclinical form of autism referred to as broad autism phenotype (BAP). Autistic traits are frequently found in psych conditions - there are symptom and causal overlaps.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

LaRibbon said:


> I think maybe there are two types of SAers, some who are very very mildy on the autistic spectrum (or not so mildly) and another group who are hypersensitive to expressions etc. I know personally I look at eyes rather a lot...


SAD's a diverse condition and finding valid subgroups such as the ones you suggest would help determine more appropriate and better tailored treatments.


----------



## Catty (Jan 4, 2010)

Your Aspie score: 155 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 69 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
Your MBTI type: ISTJ

I think I may have autism then. Someone else on another site suggested I have that even when I said I've got social anxiety.


----------



## liketowrite (Mar 1, 2010)

*Good Book re: Autism/Asperger's*

Temple Grandin's "The Way I See It"

Definitely check this book out. It's basically a first-hand account of what it's like to be inside the head of someone with Aut./Asp's.

I found many similarities between the things she wrote about (i.e. don't like loud shopping malls, huge crowds of people) and myself. There's a good bit on "sensory issues". Loud noises, too much stimulation (talking, listening) etc. can really cause a person with A/A to become uncomfortable. I find that I can only take large groups of people "in small doses". 2 - 4 hours tops, depending on the noise level and how much freedom I have. If i space to kick around a soccer ball (like a family reunion) then I can handle it (as exercise decreases the hypersensitivity A/A people have to their environment: the book talks about this: in my case, whenever I'm playing a sport, jogging, whatever I forget about the world and who's thinking what about me and so on). So I totally agree that SA fits in there somewhere. Whether or not all people with SA are cut and dry cases of Asperger's - I doubt it. But they do say that everyone runs the spectrum - for example OCD fits in there, as does ADD - and so we're all a little dysfunctional in one way or another.

One important thing to remember is that most people with Asperger's (and high-functioning Autistic people) are quite intelligent. They think Albert Einstein was and Bill Gates is. I know in my own experience there seems to be a direct correlation between the socialization of a person (a person with a high degree of socialization would talk a lot, chatter away, get loud and boisterous whereas a person with lower socialization would be more reserved) and their intelligence. Think of the smart people you know - they're usually quiet, reserved people. So in that case there's nothing really wrong with having SA or Asperger's or being socially awkward. One important thing that Grandin mentions in her book is that it's REALLY important for people with SA/Asperger's to find jobs that ALLOW THEM TO WORK INDEPENDENTLY. I've stumbled upon this reality for myself only recently and so I'm slowly picking out career plans for when I'm done university where I can work by myself.


----------



## supersoshychick (Jun 4, 2009)

hmmm 133/200


----------



## march_hare (Jan 18, 2006)

Your Aspie score: 118 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 78 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
Your MBTI type: ENFP
*









I frequently wonder if I've got Aspergers... I just seem to be very incompatible socially with other people, anxiety aside.
I'm really bad at maths though  I don't think I'm a terribly logical thinker.
Also, I'm pretty sure I can read other people's emotions. Mindyou lately I've been paranoid about people's motives and whether I can actually understand any of the social cues I see at all. I think that might be because I've taken an interest in politics lately and it's amazing and terrifying to see how incredibly charismatic and convincing a person can be whose real sinister motives are cleverly hidden.
*


----------



## lyricalillusions (Nov 29, 2008)

They've changed this since the last time I took it. There are a lot more question now. I usually get 179. Once I got 165 (approx.) & once, when I lied on some of the questions to purposefully get a lower score, I got 144.

This was my score this time:
Your Aspie score: 177 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 24 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
* 







*


----------



## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

Are asperger's syndrome people, good with languages or bad ?


----------



## Catty (Jan 4, 2010)

People like those with Asperger's don't have empathy. I cannot feel what other people are feeling, for example. Yet I do care and sympathise. I've been unable to understand if someone is happy unless they tell me or express it. 

At the moment I'm waiting to hear from a specialist who can diagnose AS and autism and who wants to meet me. Asperger's isn't like social anxiety because it's a different condition. People can ovecome SA as it's a setback/illness even but not asperger's as it's a genetic trait.


----------



## Indigo Flow (Oct 3, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 135 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 67 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
Your MBTI type: ISFP

:/


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Your Aspie score: 82 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 112 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

Now I just have to find out what that score means. I gather that my score is shockingly normal for a guy as odd as myself.

*







*


----------



## Major Kunasagi (Dec 7, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 154 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 49 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie









Interesting on my in-depth review at the end it said the low neurological talent is related to ADD (which I was officially diagnosed with awhile ago). I'm kind of glad to have found out what I probably have, but its kind of a bummer there's not much I can do about it other than force myself into social situations and hope to not make an awkward fool out of myself. Hopefully my boyfriend will stop trying to tell me that I'm not trying at all socially and that I really genuinely cant help it for the most part.


----------



## Wanthelp (Apr 18, 2010)

Somebody help me interpret this result


----------



## plastics (Apr 11, 2010)

It told me that I had both AS and neurotypical attributes. Which I would agree with, I forget what the real diagnosis is for AS. However, I know that any of the sensation ones, I should have been normal on, because I don't think I have abnormal sensations to things, like sounds don't bother me. I don't really have an obsession either. I have no trouble with eye contact even in the most anxiety ridden situations. 

What happens to me is that I can't estimate things. I'm really bad at directions, like I have no sense of where things are and where I'm at. I have trouble reading clocks. I can't estimate distance and height and stuff, but I mean I know if something is tall or small..but if someone asked me a number, I would have no clue. That might have to do with me just not being very smart at math or something, because I'm really bad at math in general and measuring. I also can't tell how much time has passed. I also talk to myself entirely to much, but I don't do it in public (at least I hope I never did).


----------



## Colhad75 (Dec 14, 2009)

I am a diagnose Aspie. Aspergers is a high functioning Autism. The severity of it varies greatly on the spectrum.


----------



## growingwings (Apr 14, 2010)

This could land me in hot water, but I have to say something after watching this thread for a while. Hopefully this will help some of you who have wondered if you have Asperger's. While I am not a diagnostician, I am getting my masters in special education and work with many children who have autism spectrum disorders. Here is what you should know:

Asperger's involves a triad of primary characteristics:
1) difficulty with social interaction
2) restricted interests or repetitive behaviors
3) language differences (This is not listed in the DSM-IV, but many experts agree it should be considered part of the diagnostic criteria.)

Asperger's is a developmental disorder, which means that characteristics often become apparent in early childhood.

AS can not be reliably diagnosed by one test found on the internet. 

You should also know that Asperger's will likely not be a separate diagnostic category in the new edition of the DSM. It will be included with autism as an autism spectrum disorder. 

I hope this information helps! Please do not invest a lot of time and worry into trying to figure out if you have Asperger's. Many of us with social anxiety have social skills that are just fine, we just get nervous using them!


----------



## Colhad75 (Dec 14, 2009)

growingwings said:


> You should also know that Asperger's will likely not be a separate diagnostic category in the new edition of the DSM. It will be included with autism as an autism spectrum disorder.


There's actually some opposition to this, the name Aspergers is being abolished. It should be termed as Autism and Aspergers Syndrome, while they share similarites, they are different diagnosis in their own right.

As someone with Aspergers, I will keep the diagnosis I was given.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

I told my friend they're merging the diagnoses into one autism spectrum disorder category and she said it didn't seem right for practical purposes. Despite how they might specify severity levels she didn't think it was helpful.

I use either term but mostly use autism. I use Asperger's specifically when broad information on severity's helpful.



growingwings said:


> This could land me in hot water, but I have to say something after watching this thread for a while.


Why would your factual information land you in hot water?


----------



## toffeexo (Feb 20, 2010)

I've researched asperger's and looked into it quite abit, but I can't relate to any of the symptoms. However, I can relate to all of the Social Anxiety symptoms.


----------



## Disconnecting (Nov 19, 2009)

Colhad75 said:


> There's actually some opposition to this, the name Aspergers is being abolished. It should be termed as Autism and Aspergers Syndrome, while they share similarites, they are different diagnosis in their own right.
> 
> As someone with Aspergers, I will keep the diagnosis I was given.


I've been following this too. The opposition is understandable.


----------



## Deathinmusic (Jun 5, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 121 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 90 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits










Just what am I supposed to make of this?

I guess that graph means that on the intellectual side I'm more of an Aspie whereas on the physical side I'm more of a neurotypical.


----------



## cmate (Apr 26, 2010)

*more info*

Interesting - where did you get that image? Some kind of test online??


----------



## Catty (Jan 4, 2010)

Hi there, I've been assessed by the doctors to find out if I've got aspergers syndrome. No I haven't! All it was down to was social anxiety.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Deathinmusic said:


> Just what am I supposed to make of this?
> 
> I guess that graph means that on the intellectual side I'm more of an Aspie whereas on the physical side I'm more of a neurotypical.


There should be a long description provided for each category. But it's not a professional test and not specific to Asperger's (but to neurodiversity - says the developer). I can't say more or the developer might start arguing with me online again.


----------



## SFOD (Dec 10, 2009)

I have Aspies, and I'm pretty sure it caused my SA too. You should ask your doctor if he will get some psychiatrist to asess you.


----------



## christvswarhol (May 12, 2010)

It is interesting to see the differences in our scores...........


----------



## christvswarhol (May 12, 2010)

Deathinmusic said:


> Your Aspie score: 121 of 200
> Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 90 of 200
> You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits


I got aspie score of 162 of 200
neurotypical: 53 of 200
Very likely an aspie.......

It's good to compare.........


----------



## lucyinthesky (Mar 29, 2009)

I always worry I have this. I have 40 something on that wired test I think. I think it might just be the overlap with sa though.


----------



## caflme (Jun 7, 2009)

odd_one_out said:


> To be frank, yes. There will definitely be a number of members here who have undiagnosed AS/autism. The majority, however, will not.
> 
> There is another questionnaire (the AQ) here, developed by researchers in Cambridge.
> 
> Scoring at or above 26 means a person has a significant number of autistic traits. This is not diagnostic, however, but used to provide an indication as to whether a referral might be required. 80% of those diagnosed AS/HFA scored 32 or above, while only 2% of the control group did. People diagnosed with SA or OCD scored higher than controls overall, but lower than AS/HFA overall.


I scored 31


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

caflme said:


> I scored 31


----------



## cmr (Apr 8, 2010)

My sister has autism spectrum disorder, and after looking at asperger's she definitely could have that...

As for me, I can relate to a lot of asperger's/autistic symptoms because of my SA.

I got a 59 out of 200 on the Aspie-quiz...


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey (May 23, 2010)

meyaj said:


> Aspies, on the other hand, tend to prefer the isolation. Half the time they aren't even really socially anxious... they can be very outgoing and talk your ear off about something that happens to interest them. They just have a hard time realizing when nobody cares.


I am probably an Aspie, given that description and my elementary school social life. I would talk my buddies ears off about cars. That really was my only real interest back then. At least I have more than ONE interest now lol.

And, yes, I have major trouble with "reading" other peoples body language and trying to understand the proper etiquette in social situations (especially with women, I do stare at them sometimes).

However, I am perfectly comfortable in conversing with my college mates, since we have the same interests (computer programming).

I still have major problems with knowing when people don't care to listen to me babble on about my interests for what seems like an eternity.


----------



## catlover88 (Jun 10, 2010)

Just wanted to post my results. This is interesting. I took a psychological evaluation five years ago and it said I was normal. Guess they were wrong :-(

Your Aspie score: 142 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 67 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie


----------



## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

catlover88 said:


> Just wanted to post my results. This is interesting. I took a psychological evaluation five years ago and it said I was normal. Guess they were wrong :-(


The results you get from this single, somewhat unspecific and unreliable test does NOT prove your psych eval wrong :lol

Seriously... take these online tests with a grain of salt. Or a spoonful, for that matter.


----------



## Belshazzar (Apr 12, 2010)

147/71

I can identify with a lot of the characteristics listed, but I don't think I have it. I've been diagnosed with ADHD inattentive, which is where the similarities come from. My conjecture, just a pet theory, is that the autism spectrum is actually rather large and that ADHD will one day be considered to fall on the mild end of that spectrum as more about its biology/neurology is learned. Just looking at the high occurrence of it in people on the autistic spectrum and the overlap of symptoms.

I think that SA is in this case is often secondary or subordinate to the autistic/asperger traits. A lot of my problems with SA come from trouble with understanding people (like remembering verbal instructions) or not knowing how to act. But I enjoy solitary activities and don't experience anxiety about it, so it's the double whammy of being "shy" and "introverted."

Like anxiety, I think autistic traits fall on a wide continuum and I happen to be aspie-like but not enough to cross the threshold. Unlike anxiety, though, I think these traits aren't something that could or should be "cured," just that their negative effects be managed. From an evopsych perspective, it would be advantageous to have people with such traits (just think of every obsessive inventor/scientist). And there are so many posts on these boards along the lines of "wish I didn't have SA." But a lot of people on the autism spectrum don't want to change. I feel the same way -- I wish I could get rid of my SA but the aspie traits are really just part of my personality and I would feel violated if my psych told me that they needed to be corrected somehow.


----------



## aricu (Aug 27, 2009)

*Do any of you stutter?*

Do any of you stutter?


----------



## Sapphiress (Jun 15, 2010)

someone had brought the possibility of this up to me before.. I was sadly suspecting it may be true.. now I just took both the quizzes and didn't score very likely, but that could be my subconscious or conscious dishonesty in taking it lol... I have no clue what my real deal is hah.. but I got a 17 on the short one and a 73 out of 200 on the aspie one..


----------



## Colhad75 (Dec 14, 2009)

I don't know how a website can accurately diagnose Aspergers. Putting you through a questionaire is not going to reveal anything.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

aricu said:


> Do any of you stutter?


I experience long pauses and blocks to speech which can be part of that. In some situations such as doctor's appointments and interviews I can hardly speak and have to make written preparations. I also experience it when alone and practising lines or something.

My speech consists of frequent hesitations. If I've memorised my answers to interview questions (that is, I know the questions in advance) I can sometimes reel them off without pausing. This happened during a psych evaluation last year - they probably thought my speech difficulties mild or nonexistent which is ridiculous. My doctors know firsthand their severity.

Yesterday during another appointment I paused for an extended time. She waited for me to resume, which I did. I'm no longer embarrassed by this. I just find it disabling in how people respond to it. When it happens during meetings and interviews it gives a bad impression. One person was shocked about my writing because he'd assumed I did not have proper thoughts. Many people assume lack of intelligence. The disability is a product of these assumptions.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey (May 23, 2010)

aricu said:


> Do any of you stutter?


I used to. It got pretty bad at one point and had to go through speech therapy, but now I just ignore it and continue speaking.


----------



## shychick2 (Oct 20, 2008)

I'm being referred to be assessed. I do have some traits, but it's whether that is autism or not. My therapist decided after 6 sessions that there might be something in it. We struggled and when she talked to me as if I was autistic it went a lot more smoothly.


----------



## rockfeller (May 13, 2010)

Your Aspie score: 138 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 56 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

*







*


----------



## purpleoover (Jan 25, 2011)

Duke of Prunes said:


> Your Aspie score: 57 of 200
> Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 137 of 200
> You are very likely neurotypical
> 
> ...


how can i take the test?


----------



## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

purpleoover said:


> how can i take the test?


http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

Also, I just took it again and got this:


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

aricu said:


> Do any of you stutter?


One of the few problems I've never had.


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

SwiftFire87 said:


> They struggle to understand the subtleties of communicating through eye contact, body language, or facial expressions and seldom show affection towards others.


I'm pretty sure I get the subtleties of non-verbal communication. Though if they totally eluded me I guess I wouldn't really know as how would I know if I missed something that I'm not aware is even there?

I'm not one who's very subtle in my own communication most of the time, though I'm fully aware that I'm often am about as subtle as a smack upside the head.

As for affection, most would never believe this, but I actually can be very affectionate and actually crave affection at least in certain situations.



SwiftFire87 said:


> They are often accused of being disrespectful and rude, since they find they can't comprehend expectations of appropriate social behavior and are often unable to determine the feelings of those around them.


I know a lot of people find me to be rude, though I'm aware that I can be a sarcastic pain in the ***. I think that comes from being so very bitter for so very long. Think of the character Dr. House; Hugh Laurie (sp?) does an excellent job of playing a rude misanthrope, which I do too but I don't have to act.


----------



## antonina (Oct 25, 2008)

I noticed in some of the other posts they mentioned that people on the spectrum "seldom show affection" towards others. I work with ASD students in my class and many of them actually will come up and hug me on their own. I don't think we can say that all ASD students don't show affection. Some of my students are tactically defensive so I think this also is a reason why some of them don't show affection. They are all very different though. It's important to get to know them individually and not as a label.


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

Toad Licker said:


> I scored 61 of 200 which is about usual for me on these tests.


I have an official diagnosis(actually MANY) of aspbergers....but heres how i did on the test.....

Your Aspie score: 100 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 121 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

*







*


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

*







*


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

Here's mine. I get similar scores, give or take. I'm guessing many introverts will get similar scores?

Thank you for filling out this questionnaire.

Your Aspie score: 159 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 39 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie


----------



## BOBBB (Aug 15, 2010)

Your Aspie score: 108 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 88 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

idk what any of that means :/


----------



## Slaveofreality (Aug 24, 2010)

Your Aspie score: 76 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 116 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical










I thought for sure I was going to get a higher Aspie score.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

I always get high in the Aspie/neurodiversity range but the score varies between test versions. One odd thing is I always score really high on AS perception but almost as high on NT perception. My friend's taken this test and had both Aspie [88] and NT [108] traits and the radar plot looked pretty symmetrical around the origin. On the AQ my friend scored 22 (mine's around 42).


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

I'm actually really surprised by some of the scores. I would have expected people with SAD to have much higher Aspie scores. Rightly or wrongly I assumed most people with SAD are introverted and I expected introverts to be more Aspie-like. This is really confusing me. My current psychiatrist is also confusing me because he doesn't even think I have SAD. I wish I had access to psychiatrists when I was younger; but, I never thought anything was wrong with me, until everything crashed on me.


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Kon said:


> I'm actually really surprised by some of the scores. I would have expected people with SAD to have much higher Aspie scores. Rightly or wrongly I assumed most people with SAD are introverted and I expected introverts to be more Aspie-like. This is really confusing me.


There are better results to look at in this thread. It's for the AQ.


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

When I look at both of these tests, it's really surprising to me that more people with SAD don't score over 30 or even 40. To me this suggests that a lot of people with SAD are actually far less introverted than I would have guessed. Maybe I'm mistaken but I can't see how an introverted person could score less than 30? I wonder who has it tougher: an introverted person with SAD or an extroverted person with SAD (assuming relatively similar levels of anxiety)?


My scores:
Agree: 2,4,5,6,9,12,13,16,19,20,21,22,23,26,33,35,39,41,42,43,45,46: 1 point
Disagree: 1,3,8,10,11,14,15,17,24,25,27,28,30,31,32,34,36,37,38,40,44,47,50: 1 point

Score: 45


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Kon said:


> When I look at both of these tests, it's really surprising to me that more people with SAD don't score over 30 or even 40. To me this suggests that a lot of people with SAD are actually far less introverted than I would have guessed. Maybe I'm mistaken but I can't see how an introverted person could score less than 30?


The AQ , short for autism spectrum quotient, is used to measure the spectrum of autistic traits throughout the population, not just clinical samples. Therefore if you think of the thesis you linked to on introversion and the hypothesis of it being on a spectrum with autism at the extreme, it'd make sense that those introverts with less strong autism traits/no clinical autism would score below the mean score of the Asperger's group, which was about 36.

SAD's associated with introversion but most with SAD wouldn't have enough autistic traits to meet the threshold for an autism diagnosis. But on the AQ they are found, along with people with OCD, to be further along the autism spectrum than the general population (see study I linked to on page 1). You'd expect their average score to fall in between the Asperger's one of 36 and the control one of 16. In the AQ thread on SAS I linked to above you can't check diagnosis and control for age, IQ and so on, or exclude undiagnosed autism, so valid conclusions can't be drawn about SAD populations. But the average scores there are very high (no lower than 23 for any page), the overall average being about 26.

You have the following averages. AS = 36, SAS sample = 26, and control group = 16. All these spread around the means and you get about 20% of people with Asperger's scoring below the selected cutoff of 32.


----------



## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

Kon said:


> Here's mine. I get similar scores, give or take. I'm guessing many introverts will get similar scores?
> 
> Thank you for filling out this questionnaire.
> 
> ...


'hows that similar to mine???
btw i cant read the graphs lol thats how badly retarded i am


----------



## Syncsolo (Oct 26, 2010)

Your Aspie score: 110 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 98 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

Hmm Ok.


----------



## Giraffe (Sep 7, 2010)

Your Aspie score: 138 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 78 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

Not surprised.


----------



## bmwfan07 (Jun 3, 2007)

Your Aspie score: 56 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 147 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical

Funny, I was absolutely convinced I was an Aspie for a few months. But that was purely OCD obsessing.


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

rctriplefresh5 said:


> 'hows that similar to mine???
> btw i cant read the graphs lol thats how badly retarded i am


You were diagnosed with AS and yet this test gave you a lower Aspie score. That seems to suggest that this test may not always be a good diagnostic test for AS. Personally, I would have thought this test and the other one are really good tests for measuring introversion, more than anything else? I'm an introvert and score very high on both.


----------



## bmwfan07 (Jun 3, 2007)

Kon said:


> You were diagnosed with AS and yet this test gave you a lower Aspie score. That seems to suggest that this test may not always be a good diagnostic test for AS. Personally, I would have thought this test and the other one are really good tests for measuring introversion, more than anything else? I'm an introvert and score very high on both.


No. Introversion itself has little, if anything, to do with social adeptness, pragmatics, or one's interactions with the world. These are better explained by a developmental disorder such as Asperger's, which is what this test actually measures. Introverts can be extremely cunning, manipulative, socially adept, and apparently "normal." Aspies and autists, however, are generally none of these. Most personality disordered people are, in fact, introverts, and these are some of the most manipulative and, superficially, socially adept people.


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

You may be right but if you look over at the questions in those Aspie tests and the wiki definition of introversion, there seems to be some overlap:

_Introversion_ is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". Introverts are people whose energy tends to expand through reflection and dwindle during interaction. Introverts tend to be more reserved and less outspoken in large groups. They often take pleasure in solitary activities such as reading, writing, music, drawing, tinkering, playing video games, watching movies and plays, and using computers, along with some more reserved outdoor activities such as fishing and hiking. In fact, social networking sites have been a thriving home for introverts in the 21st century, where introverts are free from the formalities of social conduct and may become more comfortable blogging about personal feelings they would not otherwise disclose. The archetypal artist, writer, sculptor, engineer, composer, and inventor are all highly introverted. An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though he or she may better enjoy interactions with a small group of close friends. Trust is usually an issue of significance-a virtue of utmost importance-to an introvert choosing a worthy companion. They prefer to concentrate on a single activity at a time and like to observe situations before they participate, especially observed in developing children and adolescents.Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and engagement. They are more analytical before speaking.
Introversion is not necessarily the same as shyness or the social outcast. Introverts choose solitary over social activities by preference. Whereas shy people-who may be extroverts at heart-avoid social encounters out of fearand the social "outcast" not by choice, but because no one will invite them to social activities or befriend them so that they can be social.

Here's a paper discussing this possible link between introversion and Autism:

http://etd.fcla.edu/CF/CFE0003090/Grimes_Jennifer_O_201005_MA.pdf

What do you guys think?


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

@bmwfan07. It's pertinent to think in terms of spectrum traits here, so while introverts may have social skills defined within neurotypicality (that is, nonautistic) it doesn't mean they're in general as socially adept as nonintroverts on the same measures. For instance modern measures of introversion include items that indicate social unease, issues with prosody, social withdrawal, absorption in solitary interests, finding socialising difficult and taxing, blanking out in social situations and preference for narrow interests. These are abundant in Aspie Quiz (and also the AQ). (By the way Aspie Quiz is not specific to Asperger's, by its developer's admission - he says it measures neurodiversity - and has not been validated using clinical samples.) 

In the literature there are studies showing the majority with high functioning ASDs have at least one personality disorder. Are you considering any PD in particular? 

Many with Asperger's are "apparently normal" and that can cause problems - the term doesn't mean much. For instance many introverts are not deemed normal and there's discrimination against them as a group. Introversion isn't unitary and there may be subgroups based on the various factors comprising conceptualisations of introversion (such as in social attributes, cognition and activity). As mentioned in the above link the different possible balances of each factor within the introversion category may be correlated with particular psychiatric diagnoses.


----------



## Anasthasiya (Jan 30, 2011)

My score on AQ Test is 42, and on Aspie Test I performed: 
Your Aspie score: 168 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 34 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

I am always pretty high on these tests. I have a diagnosis of Asperger's tho. 
The difference between social phobia and AS, since I have experience with both, is that when you have only Social Phobia, you think you can't communicate out of fear, you fear situations, you are seen as having low social skills because of the anxiety. You then are able to communicate, can understand body language, voice tone, subtle communication cues, but are unable to respond because of fear or make mistake then.

When you have Asperger's it is different. Then it is like you don't have the skills needed from when really young, but do not fear the communication. Just can't respond because you do not understand it and basically don't know how to respond even when you're trying to learn it so hard. Get it?

Indeed people can have both, like I do, and in me it is reason the bullying, criticizing and judgments placed on me because of the low social skills I have because I have Asperger's. I also didn't fear situations when really young, until some later grade of primary, but I never could really make friends, nor was I interested to. In first grades I wasn't, I was like in my own world, but later I wanted, but couldn't. And later I began to fear the communication because it didn't 'click' in my head on how to do it. 
When you don't know the thing, you come to fear it after time, especially if everyone is telling you there's something wrong with you because you can't.

When there's only SP with no AS, it is not like that. You know how to communicate, but fear it because of bullying or any other reason. Or you can be shy and can then fear it as well. Also lack of experience etc. But not as with AS. 

AS itself does not include just communication and socializing. It includes also the need for order, inflexibility, repetitiveness, sensory sensitivity, literal thinking, trouble understanding non-verbal communication...
I have these, this is not an easy life, I am mild to moderate on AS spectrum. And I know what AS means really well. Actually I hate what's going on with all the self-diagnosis and all, because it is a serious thing, at least for me. Because I know what I am going through. And have a professional diagnosis, also been told by some other people who work with me or know me well. 
It is a thing that is seen, not so hidden. If you want, you will clearly see. Even in person that doesn't have a diagnosis. He might just seem weird, creepy, but you'll know something is definitely going on by the weird and troubled behavior. 

If you think you have Asperger's, go see a professional and talk about that matter. 
And people, don't try to diagnose yourself by self-tests, you could likely be wrong. Better to learn about what the thing really is (not just the criteria) and try to talk to someone familiar with it about that, the best it would be if an autism spectrum specialist, because they pick it up almost immediately when they see you perform and talk with you even a bit, and are most times accurate. 

Anyway, why is here aon the nets a whole so much confusion going on about these kind of disorders, or how else you'd like to call them, like AvPD, AS, being an introvert, shyness, social phobia... because if you look at it as a whole, you see that all of these are quite different things, although some symptoms may overlap. 
I could also find myself in a whole bunch of different disorders, but... when you then look closer, you just come to say 'ehh, that's not me at all', because the whole picture of the disorder does not apply to you at all, but you could match the whole criteria, just for a bit different reason or because some symptom written can have double meaning, and you likely saw it just from your own view and no what's the real reason for or if it is not just similar thing to what you have or you didn't know anything about how it is to have the disorder, development and all.


----------



## bmwfan07 (Jun 3, 2007)

Kon said:


> You may be right but if you look over at the questions in those Aspie tests and the wiki definition of introversion, there seems to be some overlap:
> 
> _Introversion_ is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". Introverts are people whose energy tends to expand through reflection and dwindle during interaction. Introverts tend to be more reserved and less outspoken in large groups. They often take pleasure in solitary activities such as reading, writing, music, drawing, tinkering, playing video games, watching movies and plays, and using computers, along with some more reserved outdoor activities such as fishing and hiking. In fact, social networking sites have been a thriving home for introverts in the 21st century, where introverts are free from the formalities of social conduct and may become more comfortable blogging about personal feelings they would not otherwise disclose. The archetypal artist, writer, sculptor, engineer, composer, and inventor are all highly introverted. An introvert is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though he or she may better enjoy interactions with a small group of close friends. Trust is usually an issue of significance-a virtue of utmost importance-to an introvert choosing a worthy companion. They prefer to concentrate on a single activity at a time and like to observe situations before they participate, especially observed in developing children and adolescents.Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and engagement. They are more analytical before speaking.
> Introversion is not necessarily the same as shyness or the social outcast. Introverts choose solitary over social activities by preference. Whereas shy people-who may be extroverts at heart-avoid social encounters out of fearand the social "outcast" not by choice, but because no one will invite them to social activities or befriend them so that they can be social.
> ...


You can't possibly expect an ADHDer like me to read what appears to be a thesis of some sort. 



odd_one_out said:


> @bmwfan07. It's pertinent to think in terms of spectrum traits here, so while introverts may have social skills defined within neurotypicality (i.e. non-autistic), it does not mean they are in general as socially adept as non-introverts on the same measures. For example, modern measures of introversion include items that indicate social unease, issues with prosody, social withdrawal, absorption in solitary interests, finding socialising difficult and taxing, blanking out in social situations, and preference for narrow interests. These are abundant in Aspie Quiz (and also the AQ). (By the way, Aspie Quiz is not specific to AS, by its developer's admission - he says it measures "neurodiversity" - and has not been validated using clinical samples.)


What studies or research has indicated that introversion is associated with "social unease, issues with prosody, finding socializing difficult and taxing, and blanking out in social situations?" "Social withdrawal" and "solitary interests" are a bit ambiguous, as there are many introverts who are quite heavily involved in and love certain aspects of dealing with the public, managing huge companies, giving lectures and speeches, and otherwise involving themselves in "non-solitary" interests with active social engagement. Yes, they may need to "recharge" afterward by themselves by reading, jogging, working on a solitary project, etc. And I believe that by itself is the most sensitive indicator of introversion, but not necessarily all the other questionable traits that you somewhat arbitrarily ascribed to introversion.

Also, it's worth noting that many "extroverts," including me, have mental disorders, including ones that hamper social interaction--among them social phobia, ADHD, and avoidant PD (yes, avoidants can be extroverts, in the colloquial sense of the word).

So, while I agree that introversion-extroversion traits exist on a spectrum, I believe they are entirely separate and apart from mental disorders that seem to correlate with or imply certain indicators of introversion vs. extroversion, as these personality types are likely the result of or adaptations to a developmental disorder, particularly in the case of ASDs, and not the cause. It's actually a bit of a red herring.



> In the literature, there are studies showing the majority with high functioning ASDs have at least one personality disorder. Are you considering any PD in particular?


I'm not sure whom you're asking, but I would bet that schizoid PD is one of the more common PDs in people with ASDs. Still, I believe this extra diagnosis is largely unnecessary; I believe the ASD can explain most of these tendencies and does not require the potentially harmful assertion that, in addition to these already painful disorders, one has a "disordered" personality. No one has anything to gain from this type of diagnosis, except the overzealous practitioner feeling a sense of accomplishment.



> Many with AS are "apparently normal", and that can often cause problems; the term does not mean much - for example, many introverts are not deemed normal and there's discrimination against them as a group. Introversion is not unitary and there may be subgroups based on the various factors comprising conceptualisations of introversion (e.g. in social attributes, cognition, and activity). As mentioned in the above link, the different possible balances of each factor within the introversion category may be correlated with particular psychiatric diagnoses.


I would agree that there is definitely a bit of a stigma regarding introversion. But, again, that doesn't imply anything for mental disorders, which again, exist separately from introversion or extroversion, as measures of personality.


----------



## Giraffe (Sep 7, 2010)

Aaaand 34 on the AQ.


----------



## notna (Aug 24, 2010)

149-200

I have a therapist that I see most weeks, Should I tell her. If I should tell her can someone please tell me too say too her 

Cheers


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

Anasthasiya said:


> The difference between social phobia and AS, since I have experience with both, is that when you have only Social Phobia, you think you can't communicate out of fear, you fear situations, you are seen as having low social skills because of the anxiety. You then are able to communicate, can understand body language, voice tone, subtle communication cues, but are unable to respond because of fear or make mistake then.
> 
> When you have Asperger's it is different. Then it is like you don't have the skills needed from when really young, but do not fear the communication. Just can't respond because you do not understand it and basically don't know how to respond even when you're trying to learn it so hard. Get it?


This is the part I don't understand and confuses me. With Asperger's what is the reason for not understanding social stuff? When you look closely at it, here's one possibility that seems to blur the difference between the social anxiety seen in AS, Social Anxiety Disorder and HSP:

"The lack of social interaction in autism may therefore *not* be because of deficits in the ability to process social and emotional cues, but because a sub-set of cues are overly intense, compulsively attended to, excessively processed and remembered with frightening clarity and intensity. Typical autistic symptoms, such as averted eye gaze, social withdrawal, and lack of communication, may be explained by an initial over-awareness of sensory and social fragments of the environment, which may be so intense, that avoidance is the only refuge."

This part seems to describe my own problems with social interaction very well. I don't particularly feel like I'm going to be humiliated but that I will mess up because there are so many things to be considered in any social interaction. I feel overwhelmed and I can't think quickly enough and I'm not sure what to say. I do this even with friends. But unlike some descriptions on Aspie forums, I kinda think I understand social interactions but I don't know which is the right decision to make and why I have to do it. Most people seem to be able to weed out stuff and make much more quicker social decisions. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense? Either way I don't think the differentiation is as clear as it might first appear, especially for introverted SADers, I think. Just my opinion.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010743/pdf/fnhum-04-00224.pdf
http://neuroskeptic.blogspot.com/2011/01/grand-unified-theory-of-autism.html


----------



## Kris10 (Oct 14, 2009)

I got a 32 on some test I took. Which is high...

My family thinks I have it and now I'm starting to realize it. Ever since I was little I would rock back and forth all the time. I wouldn't talk and I'd have anger problems. I also use to align my dinosaurs all perfect from color to size...and i would solve hard puzzles easily and stack things at a very young age.

I still catch myself rocking back and forth if I'm thinking really hard or if I'm trying to calm down. I also lack empathy...and I HATE loud noises!!!


----------



## theCARS1979 (Apr 26, 2010)

It dont mean you have Asperger's Kris. you may just have social phobia , and symptoms of Asperger's. Right away they want to put labels on people
Steve


----------



## CozPoz2802 (Mar 23, 2011)

I got:
134 out of 200 (aspie score)
62 out of 200 (Neutrotypical score)

And 34 on the Cambridge test

But I also got 'very severe' social anxiety on that test, so I'm confused...

Do I have both? Or just one?

:S


----------



## Jcq126 (Jan 11, 2010)

People need to not get confused with having SA/being shy to having Aspergers. I'm paying out of my pocket to go have a professional Asperger evaluation tomorrow. It's not just having social issues, don't forget the sensory issues and everything else. Sensitive to sound, light, etc, meltdowns, getting overwhelmed easily blah blah narrow special interests etc.


----------



## ForgetMeForever (May 3, 2011)

*From the Aspie Quiz:* www.rdos.net/eng
Your Aspie score: 136 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 72 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie










*The Broad Autism Phenotype Test*
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-broad-autism-phenotype-test
This questionnairre is designed to measure the mild autistic traits present in people who are not actually autistic but have a genetic predisposition to autism.

Autistic/BAP
*You scored 117 aloof, 82 rigid and 99 pragmatic*
You scored above the cutoff on all three scales. Clearly, you are either autistic or on the broader autistic phenotype. You probably are not very social, and when you do interact with others, you come off as strange or rude without meaning to. You probably also like things to be familiar and predictable and don't like changes, especially unexpected ones.

You scored 117% on aloof, higher than 73% of your peers.
You scored 82% on rigid, higher than 29% of your peers.
You scored 99% on pragmatic, higher than 68% of your peers.
You scored 3% on diagnosis, higher than 26% of your peers.

_I don't know that I agree with the rigid score, I don't think of myself as rigid. The rest of it is probably correct though.
_

*From Spectrum Quotient (AQ) test (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001).*
www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

Agree: 4,5,6,7,12,13,22,23,26,33,39,41,43,45,46: 1 point
Disagree: 1,3,8,10,11,14,15,17,24,25,28,30,32,37,38,44,47,48: 1 point
*Score: 33*

*From: Empathizing Quotient and Systemizing Quotient - Revised (EQ SQ-R) tests (Wheelwright et al., 2006).*
http://eqsq.com/eq-sq-tests/
Respondent Average EQ Average SQ Brain Type
Males ............ 39.0 ....... 61.2 ..... Systemizing
Females ......... 48.0 ........51.7 ..... Empathizing
*Your Score* ..... 33 .......... 61 ....... Extreme Systemizing

_I think I empathize with people, I just don't express it the same way as most women. I agree that I am more Systemizing though._ Which is why I don't really relate to so many women, I guess.


*6. Understanding facial expression test: The 'Reading the mind in the eyes' test (Baron-Cohen et al.). * Average score is between 22 and 30. 
If you have ASD, you might have difficulties understanding facial expression. 
http://glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/Faces/EyesTest.aspx
*Your score: 30
A typical score is in the range 22-30. If you scored over 30, you are very accurate at decoding a person's facial expressions around their eyes. A score under 22 indicates you find this quite difficult.*
*The correct answers for the ones you missed are:
2: upset
4: insisting
14: accusing
17: doubtful
18: decisive
23: defiant*

_I did better on the "Understanding Facial Expression Test" than I thought I would. So that means, when I suspect someone is bored or angry or impatient...I could be right. Doesn't make me feel better.

_ 
*7. Face blindness / Prosopagnosia test: The Cambridge Face Memory test (faceblind.org). *
http://www.faceblind.org/facetests/

Out of 30 faces, you correctly identified 28.
You were familiar with 30 of the people in this test.
If we exclude the ones you were unfamiliar with, you got 93% correct.


_I was diagnosed with severe social anxiety and depression at age 29 or 30. If I can ever afford to see a therapist again I'll bring up these scores and ask their opinion, I guess.
_


----------



## Rossificus (Apr 27, 2011)

I find it difficult to judge the right emotional response I should give to a general situation. I often find people silently judging me because I'm acting a little odd, yet I can't figure out why. One thing I have noticed is that I often start talking too soon, before the other person have finished and I don't even realise it. I often find it difficult knowing when the right time is to speak. When it's pointed out to me I get sad and angry with myself, I don't mean to be rude at all.


----------



## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

I can't take the face recognition one (faceblind) because I was sheltered from the media... literally did not have a TV or radio in my house, never saw movies, never was allowed to listen to any music other than classical or hymns... so yeah I don't know culture!


----------



## Spindrift (Mar 3, 2011)

Your Aspie score: 67 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 135 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical

Bully for me.


----------



## Rossificus (Apr 27, 2011)

Revenwyn said:


> I can't take the face recognition one (faceblind) because I was sheltered from the media... literally did not have a TV or radio in my house, never saw movies, never was allowed to listen to any music other than classical or hymns... so yeah I don't know culture!


That's a plus point in my opinion! I try and stay away from the media as much as possible because basically, It's evil.


----------



## Condottieri (May 7, 2011)

I feel like aspergers is such a loosely used term these days. It's like, "Oh he/she doesn't go to parties? Must be aspergers!" In all seriousness I've considered the possibility but since I was a very social child and didn't have much difficulty communicating with my peers (at that age) it's probably SA.


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

Condottieri said:


> I feel like aspergers is such a loosely used term these days. It's like, "Oh he/she doesn't go to parties? Must be aspergers!" In all seriousness I've considered the possibility but since I was a very social child and didn't have much difficulty communicating with my peers (at that age) it's probably SA.


Couldn't the same thing be said of SAD? I mean many "normal" introverts hate social functions, etc. My most recent psychiatrist doesn't believe I have SAD. He thinks that real SAD is quite rare. I'm not sure I buy this view?


----------



## MojoCrunch (Mar 25, 2011)

Your Aspie score: 149 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 60 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
*







*


----------



## justagirl9 (Jun 13, 2010)

150, 26. I don't have any health care & (of course) am uncomfortable & forget what to say when I see a doctor. So during the last week I've been trying to figure myself out. Maybe I think that if I write it down and then show it a MD they can pull it out of me. I always thought I was "normal" until I was teased in HS but I found something I wrote as a young child and then I started remembering all sorts of things. I think I might have Asperger's or something like it and because no one knew to do anything about it (and I got good grades in school) that everyone just kept pushing me for years to act right. I'm realizing that it's not just my fear, even when I'm almost comfortable around someone, my own family for instance, I have to be told how to treat them. Like when my sister would be upset about something she would have to say "(my name) come over and hug me" & then I would hug her awkwardly because it feels unnatural to me. Plus other things I've been reading, like the rocking stuff, that is so me. When I was young I didn't like to just sit around and figure out how to play, I was always constructing activities for myself and the other kids, I think that I thought this would give me some sort of control over the situation.


----------



## justagirl9 (Jun 13, 2010)

plastics said:


> What happens to me is that I can't estimate things. I'm really bad at directions, like I have no sense of where things are and where I'm at. I have trouble reading clocks. I can't estimate distance and height and stuff, but I mean I know if something is tall or small..but if someone asked me a number, I would have no clue. That might have to do with me just not being very smart at math or something, because I'm really bad at math in general and measuring. I also can't tell how much time has passed. I also talk to myself entirely to much, but I don't do it in public (at least I hope I never did).


I'm like this too. I've never really been able to read maps. When I go somewhere with someone I always keep an eye out for signs & stuff but I'm pretty sure that I couldn't find it myself. I always thought autistic people were great with numbers (which I suck at) though. I have to figure out how to get places by landmarks instead.


----------



## Godless1 (Aug 1, 2008)

Your Aspie score: 144 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 63 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

Detailed results suitable for printing (PDF) (The file is only retained for one hour. Download it if you want to keep it.)










Yup.


----------



## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

Your Aspie score: 162 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 37 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
*









w00t some progress.
*


----------



## shadowmask (Jun 22, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 109 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 96 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits


----------



## Condottieri (May 7, 2011)

Kon said:


> Couldn't the same thing be said of SAD? I mean many "normal" introverts hate social functions, etc. My most recent psychiatrist doesn't believe I have SAD. He thinks that real SAD is quite rare. I'm not sure I buy this view?


Probably so, I'm your typical armchair psychologist so what I say doesn't hold much value.

A lot of mental problems tend to have overlapping symptoms making the actual diagnosis difficult. Distinguishing between someone who has SAD and someone who is introverted is probably more a matter of choice than feeling for the individual. Someone introverted chooses not to go out, and might feel slightly uncomfortable when they are out as a result. Whereas someone with SAD would like to go out but feels mentally incapable or functionally impaired when they are out.


----------



## zarathustraisalive (May 26, 2011)

I am on Paxil right now and have been for the past... two months. I have not seen any changes. I'm still excruiatingly awkward around people. My problem is that I dislike people, and this makes me sort of aloof and awkward in social situations. When I do try to be social, it's not that I'm shy, but rather I find people confusing, and go along with the flow regardless, but end up in situations I would rather not be in. For this reason I occasionally isolate myself. I don't think I have social anxiety to be honest! I honestly don't feel shy, per se, but rather, I just extremely dislike people. As I said when I try to be social, I can get around it, but at the cost of who I am, because I just don't know how to be myself and be social at the same time. I often feel fake while socializing..... not just "shy"... I honestly think I have AS. Do you guys feel really shy and stuff?


----------



## zarathustraisalive (May 26, 2011)

Anasthasiya said:


> My score on AQ Test is 42, and on Aspie Test I performed:
> Your Aspie score: 168 of 200
> Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 34 of 200
> You are very likely an Aspie
> ...


So you are saying if someone has Asperger's, you could instantly tell that they have it by their "weird behaviours"?? (I don't mean to say they're weird, just lack of words!) or um.. out of the ordinary... way of being? My cousin has it, and I really never thought there was anything "weird" about him growing up, he has always been my friend. But everyone else seemed to think he was "odd". And I didn't understand why. The only thing I noticed was he used to tip toe while he was walking lol.


----------



## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

I didn't get diagnosed with it till I was 19 after many mis-diagnosis', many meds, and being sent to a mental institution. I wish I was diagnosed as a child though. It is so much easier to be taught how to interact and learn social cues when you're young. I developed major depression and social anxiety as secondary conditions over the years. Good movies about people with AS are Adam and Mozart and the Whale.

That is a short documentary of what it is like for someone with AS to try and cope with ****.





 - Part 1





 - Part 2





 - Part 3


----------



## Fantas Eyes (Mar 23, 2011)

Your Aspie score: 48 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 157 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical

*







*


----------



## ReincarnatedRose (May 20, 2011)

plastics said:


> It told me that I had both AS and neurotypical attributes. Which I would agree with, I forget what the real diagnosis is for AS. However, I know that any of the sensation ones, I should have been normal on, because I don't think I have abnormal sensations to things, like sounds don't bother me. I don't really have an obsession either. I have no trouble with eye contact even in the most anxiety ridden situations.
> 
> *What happens to me is that I can't estimate things. I'm really bad at directions, like I have no sense of where things are and where I'm at. I have trouble reading clocks. I can't estimate distance and height and stuff, but I mean I know if something is tall or small..but if someone asked me a number, I would have no clue. That might have to do with me just not being very smart at math or something, because I'm really bad at math in general and measuring. I also can't tell how much time has passed. I also talk to myself entirely to much, but I don't do it in public (at least I hope I never did).*


I don't find that survey reliable for people who have SA. Many of the Aspergers behavior traits can manifest themselves in people who suffer from SA because when they are overcome by anxiety they become socially stunted. Not to mention that a lot of the behaviors listed can also be present in many "normal" non-Aspergers (and non-SA) people for a variety of reasons, none of which have to do with any kind of condition or disorder.

Aspergers and Social Anxiety are two vastly different conditions. Perhaps a very small minority of SA sufferers may have that, but the vast majority will not, and if anyone has serious questions about this condition when they look at the conditions logically (and do some online research), then they need to go to a doctor and get a proper diagnosis because using a survey like this can be very misleading.


----------



## TeddieAnn (May 2, 2011)

SoloSage said:


> Just took the quiz - got 134 out of 200. It says: "You are very likely an Aspie." Oh, well...


I have many autistics in my immediate and extended fam, so I think I may be mildly autistic.

I just got a 186 out of 200. That was informative. lol


----------



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Your Aspie score: 159 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 48 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie


----------



## jimity (Jan 12, 2011)

I know the difference between having mild autism and not having autism. I can switch between autism and non-autism. Social interaction feels so natural and easy without it.


----------



## EnchantingGhost (May 23, 2011)

I was just wondering this! I'd never even heard of AS until about a year and a half ago. I started to intensely research it because I'm interested in social disorders and how they work, since I obviously have one myself. But the more and more I found out about AS the more and more I start to believe there's a possibility I could even have it.


----------



## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 62 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 131 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical










 
I thought I'd be less neurotypical.


----------



## Diacetylmorphine (Mar 9, 2011)

Your Aspie score: 116 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 87 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

*









Interesting.

*


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

EnchantingGhost said:


> I was just wondering this! I'd never even heard of AS until about a year and a half ago. I started to intensely research it because I'm interested in social disorders and how they work, since I obviously have one myself. But the more and more I found out about AS the more and more I start to believe there's a possibility I could even have it.


I've been grapling with this issue for almost a year. At first, I thought I might have AS but my psychiatrist wasn't convinced. More recently my psychiatrist is suspecting I might have AS and now I'm not fully convinced. I have sensory issues and obsessions/interests and some social difficulties but I don't think I'm socially blind. I'm not as good as the average person but I don't think that's enough. While I don't take an active interest in other's conversation when socially interacting, I'm aware if I go off tangent, even though I feel like talking more about my interests/myself. I kind of don't listen when conversing but I'm aware of it and catch myself. My psychiatrist said that people on the spectrum tend to talk at you not with you (not engaging in a clear interactive two-way conversation). I'm not sure about this but here's an interesting paper trying to categorize AS into different types including socially anxious ones. I'm not sure how valid these categories are?

*Socially Anxious Social Communicator(SASC):*

They try to blend in or subtly fade out and others are likely to describe them as shy. They function "under the radar" and often try to appear to others as "fine" but avoid many social situations outside of their family. Those identified as SASC have a highly developed social radar; in fact you could argue they interpret the information they receive through their social radar with exaggeration. Rather than recognize that people have thoughts about each other in mostly benign ways, the SASC is often highly concerned about any thoughts another person is having, even if the SASC logically understands that he or she also routinely has small thoughts about others when around people. This group, we hypothesize, is born neurologically to experience more anxiety and to intuitively doubt their social abilities. 

Their resistance to interacting in situations that make them uncomfortable can mean they appear to be more socially limited than they actually are. When comfortable or in their social element (usually around family and close friends), they appear much like a NSC (Neurotypical). However, when their social anxiety emerges, it appears to diminish their access to their social cognition and they appear much more like a WISC (the next group described). The huge shift in their social behaviour from appearing comfortable around others to appearing highly uncomfortable and disconnected from others marks the SASC. When feeling socially anxious, those who are in the SASC group over-focus on their feelings of anxiety and need to retreat from others, leading others to resist interacting with them. This then affirms the need of SASCs for their social anxiety: a catch-22.

http://www.socialthinking.com/images/stories/pdf_files/st_scp_1.26.10.pdf


----------



## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

^ That's me.

*Edit from the future 2013*
After rereading and learning about myself and reconsidering my past I believe I'm more a WISC. Possibly on the cusp of WISC and SASC.


----------



## sparky10 (Dec 30, 2008)

^^ me aswell:yes


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Kon said:


> I'm not sure about this but here's an interesting paper trying to categorize AS into different types including socially anxious ones. I'm not sure how valid these categories are?


They haven't been validated. I see some glaring problems but they're useful observations. I remember the authors weren't classifying Asperger's alone but social communication ranging from normal to profound autism. The main Asperger's group was the Emerging social communicator (ESC) group, with some falling in the Weak interactive social communicator (WISC) group. I appear somewhere in between these groups (maybe solid ESC) - more on the ESC side but not enough to fit well.


----------



## Snuffy (Oct 5, 2010)

Your Aspie score: 158 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 48 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie


I used to have a profile on an Asperger's site/forum a few years ago, thinking I might be on the same wavelength, but many of the posters seemed to be so arrogant, combative and rude that I left. Maybe SA-Aspies are just a bit less abrasive and more empathetic than those without SA. (I recall being pretty cocky and belligerent, too, when I was little - before the SA really kicked in...)


----------



## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

Simulation of what it can be like walking down the street with autism (but first without - the tedious part you have to watch for a minute first). I identify fully (and it doesn't even cover being overwhelmed by the other senses) because I live it.


----------



## sparky10 (Dec 30, 2008)

This is an interesting video odd one out, thanks for uploading it!


----------



## caflme (Jun 7, 2009)

Your Aspie score: 114 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 114 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

odd_one_out said:


> Simulation of what it can be like walking down the street with ASD (but first without - the tedious part you have to watch for a minute first). I identify fully (and it doesn't even cover being overwhelmed by the other senses) because I live it.


For those with such sensory issues do you find that sound is by far your worst stimulus? There are times where I've thought that being deaf wouldn't be so bad. I've even thought it would help with SAD but I highly doubt it?


----------



## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

I would honestly go crazy without sound. I think it would be worse than being blind for me. Music makes such a big impact for me, helps me focus. It is a scary thought hearing nothing or just like the sound of a seashell all the time. I can tell where everything is with sound it is just extremely hard to filter things out. Like talking to a person in a conversation within a large noisy area like a restaurant is difficult. All the peoples conversations, the sounds of spoons clanging, tables being cleared, people making reservations across the room, the damn kid wanting to go home because they don't have grilled cheese, the people in the table across talking about the movie they watched. The worst part is trying to concentrate during all that.


----------



## Snuffy (Oct 5, 2010)

Kon said:


> For those with such sensory issues do you find that sound is by far your worst stimulus?


Sounds are probably the worst triggers for me, too - the ones I can't control, anyway. Since my early teens, I don't even try to sleep without earplugs anymore.

Noisy people at work mean that I periodically have to play musical chairs - hunting for a seat that's far enough away from them while still being in a lower-lit section that's not too much out in the open... Unfortunately, our department got moved to a tiny part of the call center last year that always has the heat cranked up into the 80s (-thank God for my fan) and on top of fluorescent lighting, it _also_ has _skylights_, of all the stupid ideas...

I did manage to secure a darker, comfortably quiet corner a few months ago, but a _very_ noisy guy (-won't go into detail here), later decided to start sitting at the pod directly in front of mine... And I had moved there to get father away from him in the first place! <insert frantic screaming here>

On top of that, he wears the most disgusting cologne/body-spray/deodorant/whatever-the-hell-it-is that I've ever smelled in my life on a guy. It literally makes me feel sick, so I have to turn my fan around as soon as he comes in, trying to blow his stench back over the divider (-so much for cooling _me_ down, as desperately needed). Nobody else seems to mind his "scent", of course - and he somehow hasn't noticed how I react when he's around, or is too much of a di*k to care. I'm afraid to ask him to move as he probably wouldn't take it in a subtle way, and he's got one of the loudest voices on the floor... Or worse, talking to him about it might lead me to explode into a scene, due to pent-up anger.

Out of all of the available seats, the one I have now would still be the perfect for me, if he'd only stayed where he was when I moved there! <more inner screams>

(Gee... Maybe this is what they call a "meltdown"?) :mum

I'm just so sick of my ridiculous sensitivities. No wonder I hate leaving my apartment so much. It's the only place that I can really be comfortable and _in control_.


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

Snuffy said:


> I'm just so sick of my ridiculous sensitivities. No wonder I hate leaving my apartment so much. It's the only place that I can really be comfortable and _in control_.


I think I could get by with most of my sensitivities if I wasn't surrounded by people and the noises they make. It's as if my nervous system is still stuck in the Paleolithic state and wasn't evolved to deal with densely-packed human interaction/technology/noises/smells/sounds.


----------



## Snuffy (Oct 5, 2010)

Kon said:


> It's as if my nervous system is still stuck in the Paleolithic state and wasn't evolved to deal with densely-packed human interaction/technology/noises/smells/sounds.


That does make sense. My reaction to triggers feels frighteningly "primitive", too... Senseless, out-of-control inner rage and/or panic.


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

I really like this pdf. The Nesse references also discusses the evolutionary advantages for anxiety.

*Abstract: *This article reviews etiological and comparative evidence supporting the hypothesis that some genes associated with the autism spectrum were naturally selected and represent the adaptive benefits of being cognitively suited for solitary foraging. People on the autism spectrum are conceptualized here as ecologically competent individuals that could have been adept at learning and implementing hunting and gathering skills in the ancestral environment. Upon independence from their mothers, young individuals on the autism spectrum may have been psychologically predisposed toward a different life-history strategy, common among mammals and even some primates, to hunt and gather primarily on their own. Many of the behavioral and cognitive tendencies that autistic individuals exhibit are viewed here as adaptations that would have complemented a solitary lifestyle. For example, the obsessive, repetitive and systemizing tendencies in autism, which can be mistakenly applied toward activities such as block stacking today, may have been focused by hunger and thirst toward successful food procurement in the ancestral past. Both solitary mammals and autistic individuals are low on measures of gregariousness, socialization, direct gazing, eye contact, facial expression, facial recognition, emotional engagement, affiliative need and other social behaviors. 

The evolution of the neurological tendencies in solitary species that predispose them toward being introverted and reclusive may hold important clues for the evolution of the autism spectrum and the natural selection of autism genes. Solitary animals are thought to eschew unnecessary social contact as part of a foraging strategy often due to scarcity and wide dispersal of food in their native environments. It is thought that the human ancestral environment was often nutritionally sparse as well, and this may have driven human parties to periodically disband. Inconsistencies in group size must have led to inconsistencies in the manner in which natural selection fashioned the social minds of humans, which in turn may well be responsible for the large variation in social abilities seen in human populations. This article emphasizes that individuals on the autism spectrum may have only been partially solitary, that natural selection may have only favored subclinical autistic traits and that the most severe cases of autism may be due to assortative mating. 


http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP09207238.pdf


----------



## Snuffy (Oct 5, 2010)

Kon said:


> I really like this pdf. The Nesse references also discusses the evolutionary advantages for anxiety.
> 
> http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP09207238.pdf


Very interesting read. I had to chuckle over: _"Comparing non-autistic and autistic individuals then may be more like comparing a dog (a pack animal) to a cat (a largely solitary animal)..."_ Reminded me of how, as a child, I would sometimes follow my cat around on all fours as it prowled around in the yard - imitating his movements, right down to the rump-twitch before a pounce. Even taught myself to purr basically like a cat at one point, using the throat, but I lost that odd "ability" as I got older and figured I should stop practicing it. :teeth Looking back, these things must have seemed awfully strange to my family (and nosy neighbours), but it felt very natural for me to emulate cats. I love animals in general more than humans, but I've never really had an interest in/appreciation of dogs... Perhaps there's now an explanation for it (-other than being strongly disgusted by how they smell).


----------



## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

Snuffy said:


> Very interesting read. I had to chuckle over: _"Comparing non-autistic and autistic individuals then may be more like comparing a dog (a pack animal) to a cat (a largely solitary animal)..."_ Reminded me of how, as a child, I would sometimes follow my cat around on all fours as it prowled around in the yard, imitating his movements, right down to the rump-twitch before a pounce. Even taught myself to purr basically like a cat at one point, using the throat, and proudly displayed it to my mother - but I lost that odd "ability" as I got older and figured I should stop practicing it.


Me too. I like imitating animals. I thought cats look the coolest/slickest. I like watching how they apporoach prey. In general, I prefer "loner" animals and "loner" people to social ones. For example, I was obsessed with Clint Eatwood's character when I was younger and Richard Tyson's character when I got older.

I preferred cats to dogs and tigers to lions because of that "loner" aspect. I've often found the whole concept of man being a social animal almost repulsive and see it as a weakness. I find extremely sociable people as kind of "sheepish"/weak. I know it's stupid. Having said that I also have SAD and it confuses me as to why I have it. Maybe SAD is a positive thing in introverts like ourselves because it prevents us from being too rude, impolite, arrogant, etc. and suffering the social punishments. I like this passage posted by another member:

"Feeling anxious in social situations serves to remind each of us to pay attention to the effects our behavior have on those around us. If we didn't think about the effects of our behavior on others, we would probably get into trouble more often than not. We wouldn't bother dressing nicely or being polite. We might always say exactly what's on our mind, without considering whether it might be hurtful. Feeling anxious in social situations protects us from offending other people and from having other people judge us in negative ways. In fact, many of us find the qualities associated with mild shyness (e.g., modesty, a lack of pushiness) to be attractive. It is normal and often helpful to feel shy or socially anxious from time to time."


----------



## LadyDarkness (Jun 5, 2011)

I was told I may have Asperger's Syndrome. The only criteria that really don't fit for me are not understanding non-verbal cues, because I do understand them and being content to be alone. I am not content to be alone, I just feel like people will reject me. Other than that, I guess I do fit many of the characteristics.


----------



## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

SA + ADHD can mimic mild ASD, so if you don't have all of these sensory problems that people are going on about, it might be worth reconsidering.

I had the ASD ("features of Asperger's" because I was lacking some symptoms) label forced on me as a child because my outward behaviour (holding myself back socially because of the SA, and inattention/hyperactivity from the ADHD), and it completely destroyed my childhood and education. None of the behavioural support they gave me was of any benefit, and I could never identify with people who actually had the condition.

It wasn't until I discovered SA that I realised why I was so socially awkward (I never identified the feelings that caused me to behave like that as anxiety before), and it wasn't until I realised that there was more to ADHD than kids climbing all over the furniture and running around in circles that I realised why my organisation, listening skills, concentration and frustration threshold were so poor.

Just something to consider for SAers looking into Asperger's.


----------



## awkwardAndShy (Jul 18, 2014)

meyaj said:


> There is generally a key difference between people with SA and people with Asperger's. People with SA tend to desire social contact but, obviously, feel really anxious about it. Social phobics want to treat their problem because they don't really like the isolation they're enduring.
> 
> Aspies, on the other hand, tend to prefer the isolation. Half the time they aren't even really socially anxious... they can be very outgoing and talk your ear off about something that happens to interest them. They just have a hard time realizing when nobody cares.
> 
> So I guess the major question is... are you on a board dealing with social anxiety because social interaction is something you genuinely want, or does it only matter to you insofar as it gives you a sense of normalcy?


I was diagnozed with SAD but I suspect aspergers too. BTW I feel both ways at certain times


----------



## catfreak1991 (May 24, 2014)

Diagnosed with this a while back. I'm not sure any more... sometimes I'm lonely, but the more I try to put myself out there, the more disappointed I am. I don't know if it's my expectations that are too high or what, but I'm definitely more comfortable on my own. 

I tend to either say or do something that pisses other people off without immediately realizing it.


----------



## Riri11 (Mar 24, 2013)

I have joined "wrong planet" along time ago. It's actually a pretty good website for support for those of you who suspect you might be aspeis..

I however have never been diagnosed, because I don't believe that I am "sick" for simply being different.. I dont want to get diagnosed either


----------



## AlishaDawn (Jul 20, 2014)

When I was younger I got tested for Aspergers because my Mom thought I had it and they said I didn't due to a few traits that I didn't have (I'm not sure what the few were) but my Mom still thinks I have it.

When I saw a psychiatrist last year he had said he thought I had traits of Aspergers but not full blown.

I got 128 of 200 (aspie) and 92 of 200 (non aspie).


----------



## The Radiant Hero (Jul 20, 2014)

I have Aspergers Syndrome and it's incredibly difficult for me to socialise. And do not put me in a face-to-face conversation. I will most likely not look at you because I just...can't. That doesn't mean I don't like talking to you though. We get misunderstood so easily, lol.


----------



## ioancristian (Jul 21, 2014)

The Radiant Hero said:


> I have Aspergers Syndrome and it's incredibly difficult for me to socialise. And do not put me in a face-to-face conversation. I will most likely not look at you because I just...can't. That doesn't mean I don't like talking to you though. We get misunderstood so easily, lol.


I don't know if i have Asperger syndrome or not(haven't been diagnosed) but i sometimes think i do. Though i don't have problems with eye contact, i have issues with body language and don't "know" how to socialize properly. I had problems with eye contact when i was little, but "grew out" of it(though i don't know how much to make eye contact with someone, to not seem very awkward)


----------



## ioancristian (Jul 21, 2014)

I know it may sound like a dumb question, but where can i go and see if i have Asperger syndrome or not. I don't know if i have it, but i think i do(i have a fair amount of traits). Can any psychiatrist or psychotherapist be of help? Or am i to go to someone who is specialized in autism disorders?


----------



## Draconis (Jul 24, 2014)

I have a question if I may. How does Asperger's get diagnosed for adult people? I mean like 27 -ish -years old-adult. Do you have to do some test? Do they call on your relatives, parents? That would be a disaster, since they don't know the first thing about me. I would like to know the gist of it. Thanks.


----------



## McFly (Jul 15, 2014)

You can have it done by a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is what I have learned from others. I have not had the test done officially though, I did the online tests and the results did not surprise me, so I don't see the need to have an official certificate of aspergers since it is not considered a disability. 
No, they won't tell anyone, there is patient client confidentiality. They can only disclose this if there is a court warrant if you committed a crime and they want your mental history.


----------



## Draconis (Jul 24, 2014)

George McFly said:


> You can have it done by a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is what I have learned from others. I have not had the test done officially though, I did the online tests and the results did not surprise me, so I don't see the need to have an official certificate of aspergers since it is not considered a disability.
> No, they won't tell anyone, there is patient client confidentiality. They can only disclose this if there is a court warrant if you committed a crime and they want your mental history.


I did all of the online test I could find. All of them say that the chances of me having Aspergers ranges from extremly high to "pff , you are definitely asperger, and probably a few other things too". I don't need or want a certificate. It's more of a curiousity thing, and I have an extreme need to get to know myself (which apparently is a symptom aswell)


----------



## Observant Rock (Jul 16, 2014)

More often than not, autism and social anxiety cannot coexist.


----------



## ioancristian (Jul 21, 2014)

Observant Rock said:


> More often than not, autism and social anxiety cannot coexist.


Why not?


----------



## JezZar (May 28, 2013)

I honestly use to think I have this. But Now Im begining to think that Aspergers like most other autistic disorders are simply extreme forms of social anxiety. Haven't you noticed that so many symptoms overlap?? 
It's simply a more destructive form of dealing with inner problems which at root seem to all be the escape of some anxiety. So rather than label ourselves with all these things, maybe we should just look deeper within and notice that all these different illnesses are simply different manifestations of similar problems.


----------

