I need to talk. If it wasn't online I'd go out talking to random people but I wouldn't feel fulfilled without developing strong bonds... and to do that I'd have to find a nice and trustworthy person in RL who isn't too busy and I can't find people like that, at least I never have yet.

My son has Asperger's. He's 21 now and going to school. He's on the fence about which degree he ultimately wants to pursue but is leaning toward research psychology (autism and spectrum disorders) or some pursuit in the neurosciences.

Unsurprisingly, the most obvious manifestation of his Asperger's involves an intense, often obsessive concern with certain topics that recur in our conversations over and over and over. He's highly intelligent but his intelligence is funneled almost exclusively into the set of topics that interest him at any period of his life. You want to know something about biology, psychological/psychiatric diagnostic criteria, international human rights tribunals and cases, the genres of music he likes, the periodic table, films, and (this is a recent one) which major authors influenced which other major authors (mind you, he seldom reads fiction)? Then he's your man. But don't expect much in the way of engaged conversation on topics outside his wheelhouse.

He struggled a lot socially as a boy -- particularly with his age peers. The exception to his social awkwardness during childhood came in the presence of certain adults because he could expound at length on whatever his topics of interest may have been at the time. The adults were more patient with him than the other kids were, and he got the added bonus of being praised for knowing so much about such things. But the social awkwardness has taken its toll, and he has struggled with depression over the years, often expressing feelings of loneliness and of being cut off from others. His best friends today are all people around his age who either have Asperger's themselves or are otherwise deemed social outsiders or geeks for one reason or another. Again, no real surprise. I'm just glad he has finally found himself a small circle of friends. For so long, he really didn't have anyone his age he could relate to.

People who don't know him well often consider him rudely aloof, but that's just him stuck in his own head. I still can't convince my wife that narcissism isn't a diagnostic hallmark of Asperger's because he strikes her that way. Again, he doesn't mean to be insensitive to people around him and usually isn't even aware that he may be coming off that way. If you can meet him at least half way on his own turf, he is engaging as hell and has flashes of a delightfully wicked sense of humor. But you also have to resign yourself to the idea that eventually the conversation will drift out of your control and take on a life and logic of its own, pretty much dictated by what he feels like discussing.

He is the apple of my eye, and I worry about him more than anyone really knows.

(September 23, 2016 at 3:38 pm)Alasdair Ham Wrote: I need to talk. If it wasn't online I'd go out talking to random people but I wouldn't feel fulfilled without developing strong bonds... and to do that I'd have to find a nice and trustworthy person in RL who isn't too busy and I can't find people like that, at least I never have yet.

I don't naturally come with that 'chit-chat' thing most people are equipped with, simply can't generate conversation like that, unless you've genuinely peaked my interest. I generally don't have anything to say, and I certainly don't just talk to random people.

Hammy, you don't type like you have assburgers. hehehehe

(September 23, 2016 at 1:55 pm)Alasdair Ham Wrote: Anyone here know much about Aspergers Syndrome? It's something I may get diagnosed with soon. I've already been tested by a neuropsych before and I've done a small questionaire and online tests... but no full diagnosis yet but I'll be getting an asssessment and a positive or negative result on a diagnosis in a few weeks time.

So yeah, anyone here know much about it?

I am personally on the Autism spectrum. I'm not sure exactly what you want to know. At this point, all I can tell you is it's more or less a mild version of autism. People can, have, and do live fulfilling lives with it, especially if one finds ways to compensate for societal cues that come naturally for most people, but not for them, people like Daryl Hannah, David Byrne, Gary Numan, Temple Grandin, Susan Boyle, John Elder Robison, Paddy Considine, Daniel Tammett, and the list goes on (and would likely go on further if it was recognised earlier).

Also, I remember an episode of Archer where Lana actually asks Sterling if he may have it, and really treats it like a distinct possibility (this is heavily implied throughout the series, between his uncanny ability to count bullets, even when fired at him, shockingly poor social skills for an ersatz James Bond, monotone voice [admittedly comes with the territory when voiced by H. Jon Benjamin], and storehouse of useless [if sometimes plot-relevant] knowledge). The episode is called "Coyote Lovely" and I wish I could find a link to that scene.

I will say this, make sure you don't have any sort of neurological disorders first. I went thirteen years without treatment for hydrocephalus because my doctors were convinced I was an Aspie with bipolar. Turns out you act a bit weird when your brain is slowly drowning in your own fluids. So just be sure to check all avenues before accepting a diagnosis. Better safe than sorry.

That's actually very sound advice.

I've never been diagnosed with anything, because - despite lacking in social skills - I didn't cause much trouble as a kid and at this point I don't even know how to go about getting some sort of psychological evaluation, but I have to say - people with Asperger's Syndrome and the way they seem to perceive the world, make a LOT of sense to me. I don't know if I'm somewhere on the autism scale, have some sort of personality disorder, maybe I overcooked my brain with drugs, but most people seem hysterical, irrational, difficult to read and rather puzzling to me. Or perhaps I'm just an a**hole...

(September 23, 2016 at 1:55 pm)Alasdair Ham Wrote: Anyone here know much about Aspergers Syndrome? It's something I may get diagnosed with soon. I've already been tested by a neuropsych before and I've done a small questionaire and online tests... but no full diagnosis yet but I'll be getting an asssessment and a positive or negative result on a diagnosis in a few weeks time.

So yeah, anyone here know much about it?

Yep, here. Psychology major and someone with Asperger's. Let me know what you want to know exactly. Haven't checked the whole thread yet.

I've been told I probably have it by a few different people.
None of them qualified to give a proper diagnosis.
It doesn't really interest me to know if I have it or not because it's not going to affect my life either way to know.