Poll: How many of you have Asperger's/Autism?

[FamoFunk]

Nope.

Cannot stand people who self-diagnose it, either. I know a little nearly 3yo Boy with Autism, and it's really not nice to just go around saying you have it when you've not seen a professional.

 

[Generalissimo]

*sigh* why do so many people call it a "disorder" it annoys me to no end!

OT: i was diagnosed with aspergers SYNDROME. when i was 7, it has slowly diminished over time, but it's still obvioius that i have it.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

Oh, I'm sure this will go over well. >.> Yes, I do have Aspergers, no it wasn't a fucking self-diagnosis. I was diagnosed at about 3/4 years old but my parents didn't tell me about it until I was 17. From that point on, I made it clear I didn't want it getting out, IRL I've never talked about it to anyone outside of my immediate family and even then it's something that very rarely comes up. Looking at the kind of vitriolic knee jerk reactions and accusations that get thrown around at the mere mention of this word in this community, I'm fucking well glad I've never mentioned to it to anyone IRL. I kinda think it would of been better had I never found out in all honesty, kinda killed off what little inkling of self-esteem I may have had left at that point. Oh well.

 

[LordDPS]

.Diaognosed with Aspergus when i was about 8
.Got bullied for being a "retard" at school
.always felt differant then everyone else my age
.started playing games when i was 3
i get pissed of at people all the time. why? all these social graces and slang words. do you know what it is like to be speaking the same language as everyone else but not being understood because your too articulate. i mean i know i grew up in wolverhampton but still...,

 

[Yopaz]

Never had any kind of psych evaluation, but I am sure I don't have autism and I have known 2 or maybe 3 people with Aspergers and I don't see that many similarities between them and me, so I don't think so. However I do have some of the symptoms for Aspergers based on what Wikipedia has to say about it, but that could simply be that I am slightly socially awkward.

 

[Xaio30]

I have self-diagnosed "Read the Wikipedia Article and Identified With It" Aspergers...

Which probably means I'm normal and just like to have a convenient label that also makes it sound like I have special mental powers in exchange for my social awkwardness.

I've got the "Identified at psychiatrist before knowing what it is" kind, which won't stop me from pretending that I have special mental powers!
Bzzt, you're my mind-slave!

 

[XMark]

I think my post earlier in this thread may have come off as insulting - I actually wasn't joking about my own self-diagnosis of Asperger's. I haven't ruled it out even. I'm just aware that self-diagnosed Asperger's is kind of an epidemic on internet web forums.

Which actually does make sense, since this form of communication is the one most palatable to someone of the personality type which is most often identified with Asperger's.

Really though, whatever it is about me, I'm perfectly okay with it. I figure, yeah, I'm kinda weird but everyone who knows me well enough gets used to it so it's no big deal. And anyone who has a problem with me, well, fuck 'em.

 

[TehCookie]

I've never been tested. I'm not normal so I know there would be something wrong, but it's not interfering with my ability to live my life so I don't consider it an issue.

My cousin has aspergers and it is the most bullshit I've ever seen. He's shy and has trouble talking to people, but who doesn't? He has friends, he had a job then moved away to college and is living a normal life. He can still communicate on a functional level.

Not saying the disease is BS, I've seen people who completely fail at communicating or understanding. The over diagnosis is the problem though. It's too over diagnosed. People with extremely mild cases are said to have it and that makes it seem like it's not a problem for people with severe cases. Kind of like depression.

 

[Alcamonic]

Read up on Aspergers and Autims on wikipedia. Didn't feel like I fit into that category.
But my childhood was a mess with horrible social skills, clumsy behaviour and problem with the emotional spectrum (like overreacting with anger or sadness, guess who was teased).

Did a test once, I scored "not likely" whatever that means. But at the time I was fairly depressed and on happy pills, so most of my life was in a fog.

 

[RoonMian]

A lot of people here have Asperger's just because "Asperger's disorder" sounds cooler than "Narcissistic personality disorder".

In my opinion that's the only reason. Get yourself a "cool" diagnosis and grab some attention.

 

[EHKOS]

High functioning Aspergers. I really suck at social interactions but otherwise I'm ok....besides my other crippling mental issues.....>.>

 

[iseko]

I have a few autistic traits but none to serious. At least that is what my mom tells me (she's a psychologist).

Apparently I can not function in situations where I have too much freedom. Simple example from when I was young:
I had to write an interview with a woodland critter. I chose a squirrel. I had to ask it 5 questions. So I handed in my report and I get a 5/10. The teacher asks me: Vincent, why did you only write down the questions and not the answers? To which I reply: How would I know what the squirrel would answer?

It is the simplest example I can give. There are more. I apparently pull this crap all the time.

 

[Maveroid]

I never went through a psychotherapy session for autism and am therefore not diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome!
I don't have any of the Wikipedia-stated traits, except my concentration problems which I've had all my life and, according to one of my teachers, I can't answer questions directly, so I guess I am just stupid.

Did anyone else have to go through these stupid concentration test thingies? God, those were stupid! They had word problems and puzzles all of which were far too easy for anyone my age, I am sure! I hope I didn't leave the wrong impression after I just left the third time around...

 

[penguindude42]

Aside from the mild insanity, my brain is fully functional.

 

[Baneat]

Asperger's is reasonably rare.. I doubt 20% of users actually have it.

 

[Angry_squirrel]

Aspergers syndrome, diagnosed (I don't remember when).

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Asperger's is reasonably rare.. I doubt 20% of users actually have it.

The term Internet Asperger's Syndrome was recently picked up by Jonathan Kimak in a humorous piece for Cracked ("6 New Personality Disorders Caused by the Internet", 6/30/2009). Kimak writes that Asperger's Syndrome, a rarely diagnosed but often claimed disorder, is a mild form of Autism that comes with what seems to be a biological inability to show empathy for other human beings, as well as (and maybe stemming from) an inability to recognize nonverbal cues. They continually do weird, upsetting things because they don't know it's upsetting you. That part of their brain is broken.

People cringe when they hear this term because they know that a large number of the teenagers claiming Asperger's are, in fact, merely dicks.

 

[Something Amyss]

When I was younger, it was suggested I might be autistic, but I'm not. I do have many other problems, though.

it does seem to be..kind of a "thing" here

Indeed, I was surprised the "no" was nearly 80% given how many people talk about it.