Asperger anyone?

[radiance]

Ha ....I'm not officially diagnosed but my wife suspects I might have a mild case of asperger.
This being a nerd forum par excellence I thought there might be others around LOL.

Fire away!

 

[emrr]

Highly suspect here, tendencies real or imagined. 

 

[pucho812]

for a moment I thought I read augsberger and you were posting about speaker.

 

[mulletchuck]

Not to make light of the issue, but...

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s15e08-ass-burgers

 

[riggler]

diagnosed. it's all good.

 

[sahib]

Ha ....I'm not officially diagnosed but my wife suspects I might have a mild case of asperger.

Which means you are normal.

My son is autistic.

Great at soldering etc.

In other words.

He is normal too.

 

[Scodiddly]

Pretty likely here.

 

[Autophase]

i prefer spending all my spare time in my small studio after work instead of talking to people.
Does that count?

 

[adeptusmajor]

Ha ....I'm not officially diagnosed but my wife suspects I might have a mild case of asperger.

Which means you are normal.

My son is autistic.

Great at soldering etc.

In other words.

He is normal too.

My son was diagnosed with A.S.D. (Autism Spectrum Disorder, or "high functioning Autism") last year. He is five now.

The interesting thing that I learned (which I'm sure you know) is that Autism, ASD, Asperger's and the like are not any kind of measurable disease or condition that can be scientifically tested for, but rather a vague checklist of hypothetical situations and traits. If a person answers yes to enough or a certain combination of these traits, then they will be slapped with one of these diagnoses.

The really interesting part for me was that after reviewing this checklist, I realized that many people I know share many of these traits and, if tested, would fall much further onto the spectrum than my son does.

The umbrella of autism seems to be a little too encompassing, kind of an easy way for some specialist to justify their higher rates by offering some recognized diagnosis, without putting more effort into identifying a more specific and identifiable condition that may exist. Kind of a harsh generalization, but this was definitely the impression that I walked away with after months of dealing with these people.

My son's pediatrician disagrees strongly with the diagnosis, but ultimately we go along with it for now because having all of this on paper is the only way the public school system will acknowledge the fact that he might need a little different attention in his learning environment. At least until we can make different arrangements for his education and get him out of the government school/sorting system.

And Aspergers, one of my cousins was diagnosed when he was little. I never quite bought that either, and talking to him now that he is in his early twenties, you would never suspect that he is anything other than "normal". While there are widely varying degrees and some people need more help than others, I think that one of the worst things you could do is treat someone with one of these diagnoses as if they are different, or "not normal". 

 

[etheory]

I think about these social categories quite a lot, probably cause I don't spent my spare hours watching sport like everyone else ;D

I'm sure I have ADD, ADHD, Asperger's, Autism and various other thing in various degrees.
The funny thing is, well, we all do, to some degree or another.

You could reasonably conjecture that people on this forum probably have a higher statistical probability of also having larger percentages of these "diseases".
After all, they spend a lot of time building/designing and intellectually conversing, when "most people" (I can't cite a statistic there, so I cencede this is much a personal perception as it is a "fact") are happy to drink beer and watch sport.

It's just bizarre that people find such labels enough ammunition to categorize someone as "Autistic" or what have you.... It's clearly not that simple. It's a strange societal stance really.

I love mathematics and physics. I even do them in my spare time. I love complex electronics. I love to learn. I enjoy problem solving. I find it difficult to be friends with someone who is very entertaining socially, but isn't talented at their job, or at least willing to work hard at it (though a lot of my colleagues seem incredibly able to endure this phenomenon of their peers just fine!). I'd rather write a computer game than play one. I'd rather make a device than buy one. I work for a company that makes movies for more hours in the day than I watch them, and I write/produce/mix/master music for more hours a day than I listen to it.

Given the links between creativity and phychosis and the links between not being able to sit still and the inherent need to do menial tasks like line things up because you just want to and being Autistic. Well. It's easy to draw conclusions.

I shudder to think given this self-introspection how many "diseases" I could be diagnosed with ;-)

However I am happy. I am in a fulfilling relationship with a female (not that I care what gender your partner is, it bears no relevance to me) who certainly doesn't see me as anything other than someone with different views and passions to many other people.

So whether you are asking the question or not, I LOVE being as "mentally insane" as I am as of yet undiagnosed to be. It's completely awesome.
It allows me to do things that most people don't even realize that they can do. And I can look back on things and say I've done them myself. All traits that people believe they aspire to, yet very rarely bother to try.

I guess it takes crazy people like us to do it then hey?

Power to your children, regardles of their societal label. If you combine their ability to focus on something they enjoy, and adopt the correct stance on what society thinks of their achievements (as long as they are moral achievements), and learn the ability to not let people bring them down. They'll do a lot more good for the world than people diagnosed with being completely normal.

I'm pretty sure Einstein, Newton, Hendrix, Michael Jackson, and whomever else from a broad cross-section you can think of that contributed to society enough to be remembered (though clearly not always for the righ reasons, but all did indeed do positive things) were anything BUT normal. My biggest issue is that the vast majority of people these days would rather model their aspirations on the current pop-star than revelatory thinking of their past.

 

[0dbfs]

Definitely NOT Neuro-Typical as the NT's refer to it.

Cheers,
jb

 

[L´Andratté]

i worked for 12 intense years with mentally handicapped people, among them so called autistic.
after some time i realized, i don´t get it (that autism thing)
and i mostly disagree now with how these people are ´taken care off´...

should go without saying, but i´m saying it anyway:
it is worthy to question what is regarded as normal (or all the other labels),
it is only in it´s own reference frame, which in itself might be totally mad without notice
and often there is a concealed reason for calling things not normal

might be an obvious thing, but people don´t like to look into a mirror
i found the so called autistic people to be good teachers for
those willing to learn about themseleves (me at that point)
btw always hated rain man, bunch of bs ;D

 

[sahib]

i worked for 12 intense years with mentally handicapped people, among them so called autistic.
........................
.........it is worthy to question what is regarded as normal (or all the other labels),
........................

That's why I said Radiance was normal  8)

Establishing a criteria for "normal"  as a blanket cover is obviously impossible. But we can narrow it down and apply to the area of interest. For example. Although he can count and do basic maths reasonably well my son still has not got the concept of numbers properly. Hel'll say something like "my firend's dad bought him a watch and it cost twenty pounds and two thousand hundred". But of course he's no rain man. He is coming out of some of his issues slowly but surely. It is going to take him a bit longer than a "normal" child.

The point of diagnosis is not to label the child but to understand his/her needs and address them accordingly.

 

[MagnetoSound]

You could reasonably conjecture that people on this forum probably have a higher statistical probability of also having larger percentages of these "diseases".

After all, they spend a lot of time building/designing and intellectually conversing, when "most people" ... are happy to drink beer and watch sport.

Self-medication and the vicarious enjoyment of others' achievements aren't necessarily the most healthy of pastimes now, are they. 

 

[dagoose]

My son was diagnosed autism about 6 weeks ago as well. He turned 4 about 2 weeks a go.
The thing that Sahib is telling sounds really familiar as well. A lot of things work differently for him and he gets there, but maybe a bit more slowly then other children, but he gets there. Some other things he is well beyond other 'normal' children. He uses really difficult words and things and he's already really technical and has a a really good memory, he remembers every little detail. Just like i do actually.. so even if i'm not officially diagnosed i always knew that i was different as well but what is different? everybody is different?
The only thing that is really important for my son is structure and predictable things so that he knows what is going to happen, with who, when and how.

 

[helterbelter]

Radiance, how do you feel about the possibility of having Asperger ?

Wim, A friend of mine is recently diagnosed Asperger, and to him it was a release/revelation. It explained to him why he felt so different , compared to "normal" people.

When I was a small kid, I was more or less diagnosed autistic.
It still makes sense to me, and it gives me an excuse to who I am, and how I respond to people in some cases, and how I think about certain ideas.

ADHD, Asperger, Autism.... it's just a name. There are a lot of normal people that will fit this diagnose.

(On the other side....., all the seasoned GDIY members are a little bit fruitcake. Why build something that you can buy readily made for more or less the same price ?!?!?)

 

[kato]

Ha ....I'm not officially diagnosed but my wife suspects I might have a mild case of asperger.

Which means you are normal.

   

I would even go so far as to suggest "gifted."  - just a different sort of gifted - one that society does not reward. While CEOs and executives are gifted in drastically-different ways, their gifts more easily translate into admiration, paychecks, trophy-wives, societal influence, and a standard we are all expected to aspire to.  Both personality types produce talents that simply could not be performed by the otherly-gifted.

If you find that you're not "neuro-typical," check out the book "The Introvert Advantage." It explains how your brain pathway is wired differently, and it will disabuse you of the notion that that's somehow a deficiency.

 

[radiance]

Radiance, how do you feel about the possibility of having Asperger ?

Does not bother me at all...and it's only mild.
OTOH, since knowing this I sense a self full filling prophecy kinda thing...I try less hard to fit in whether as before I would do more effort and most of the time it did pay off..i.e. I stay longer at a certain party or so. But then again, at that time I was more into pharmaceuticals and booze  so that might have helped as well LOL

 

[DaveP]

My son was diagnosed with Aspergers 2 years back at age 34, it was a relief to all of us to know why he had always come at things from left field.  I think he gets it from me.

I have to fight perfectionism and I make myself finish projects to counteract that tendency.
It does give you tremendous focus and attention to detail, which is a definite asset in this line of work and in R&D, so you need to find the right job to suit it really, Oh and get used to the fact that you will never be the life and soul of the party!
best
DaveP

 

[lassoharp]

The interesting thing that I learned (which I'm sure you know) is that Autism, ASD, Asperger's and the like are not any kind of measurable disease or condition that can be scientifically tested for, but rather a vague checklist of hypothetical situations and traits. If a person answers yes to enough or a certain combination of these traits, then they will be slapped with one of these diagnoses.

The really interesting part for me was that after reviewing this checklist, I realized that many people I know share many of these traits and, if tested, would fall much further onto the spectrum than my son does.

The umbrella of autism seems to be a little too encompassing, kind of an easy way for some specialist to justify their higher rates by offering some recognized diagnosis, without putting more effort into identifying a more specific and identifiable condition that may exist. Kind of a harsh generalization, but this was definitely the impression that I walked away with after months of dealing with these people.

The controversy rages on re Asperger's and I do agree that unfortunately there are some psychologists out there who are either just too caught up in the current thinking or are knowingly seeking out diagnoses with a bias to help their careers - the end result being the handing out of a diagnoses to someone who should not be straddled with one and taking medications they do not need.

I recently dated someone with two sons, one autistic, one with Asperger's so I have seen it in person.  My personal non medical opinion as to whether these syndromes are "real" or not should be based on a criteria of how well they are able to function and take care of themselves, have "normal" relationships etc.  Yes, that is subjective and sometimes hard to clearly define but many of those with Asperger's stand out like a sore thumb - something is clearly different about them that asks to be addressed by something other than dosing them with meds and telling them they are special or doomed as the case may be.  With something like Down's Syndrome it's a cut and dry case as to their level of functionality but with Asperger's, even though they often stand out, their functionality is often a hanging question - "But that guy's a flipping genius!?!"  They seem to occupy a gray area in societies eyes and I don't think the current medical community has quite figured out how to best help these people manage their condition.  The diagnoses seem to have even become popular with a hint of chicness to them - "My son the Aspie - the boy genius".    On the flip side, thanks to careless media headline hunting, they have suddenly become suspect as potential mass murderers.  One young man was recently discovered lying on the side of an interstate here locally - his body had been there for days and those who had passed him by apparently thought it was an animal carcass.  Authorities later found out the man had jumped off an overpass bridge, apparently committing suicide.  It was later found out that he had Asperger's.  From my own experience and observations, one characteristic that  I would surely ascribe to strong cases of Asperger's is that they are very delicate emotionally and have poor boundaries towards the outside world.  Our modern medical powerhouse can't cure cancer - not even close - best we can mange is to try and burn it out with radiation and chemicals - not much better than the archaic use of leeches on some levels, but we spend billions on trying to find a "cure",  never seeming to ask what the values of it's personal meaning is to those who have it.  Surely we can afford to spend some money for more programs for those with Asperger's and Autism.


I'll also add that the group that determines whether Asperger's is a true medical condition worthy of medicaid funding has apparently decided to no longer recognize the condition, so no funding is available to seek what little help is out there - mostly more of the same psychologists who want to med shop.  Undoing what is rooted in the homelife is another story - and a huge can of worms at that.