Anybody Else Here Have Autism?

my half brother has Asperger's and he's literally the coolest guy i know. I look up to him soo much, he's like 21 though so a little older than me. He's been through University and has his own place, he doesn't drive, i think i heard that the Asperger's has something to do with that, but he seems totally able to just take public transport wherever so i dont think he minds. I love him to bits though, and judging by his facebook he has plenty of friends and gets on just fine. There's those moments where i see him be particularly analytical which is really nice to see. And he has this obsession with rocks, so of course he studied geology and i think thats a really neat little kind of thing he has you know, it makes him a more eccentric, interesting character. To be so invested and interested in a hobby, having that kind of trait or habit that just makes you stand out a little more. He likes MLP too and i think thats pretty sweet, he draws and omggg he draws some amazing stuff, it looks so just detailed, like he puts a lotta thought into things i guess and just gets it. Oh he likes tea a lot hehe and makes his own like flavoured cider which is really nice, he grows moss and also also he makes a lotta things, i went over there and he was making this thing out of clay, he also made me this wooden shield once and he painted it up and told me he'd teach me one day how to 'weild it' aha you just gotta love him. He's so sweet and just incredibly interesting, like just talking and being with him is fun its just, he has that kinda aura of being a lovable person and i think without the 'Aspergers' he would be completely unrecognisable, cause that makes him who he is, and i think it gave him those things to be the fascinating person he is. At least on the outside it looks to me he lives such a better life than the average joe lives. Taking an interest in all things, ah thats it, he calls himself a hobbyist i think. He made armour out of chains too and likes this board game called warhammer. Haha, i guess im turning this into a more of an 'Autism appreciation' post but seriously he's super cool, maybe what im writing sounds weird, idk but yeah im happy to tell you about him cause i think he's one of the best people i know and im so glad to know im related to him in some way, even though it might not be by blood, its still awesome i know him. There was this one time too he like broke down the different emotions a ukulele and a cello have, and how he believed the cello can kind of express itself in a more broad range. Its awesome to just think about these things and when just being an observer steps back to see, its clear how intelligent he is, idk if thats just him or partly the Aspergers that makes it so but he uses a lotta smart words that i dont know the meaning of, so theres that. But yeah, idk, its cool aha

The only thing thats a little bit of a downer is like i go to text him and sometimes he just doesn't reply, i wish i could talk to him a lil more, i wish i knew how he was feeling, but i guess its impossible to know hows anyone feeling. I hung out with him once at his new place, thats when i most recently got in contact with him but since then, idk if he just wants to isolate himself or if i should be making more of an effort to reach out with him, i think i will. I'd love to hang with him again sometime. We message eachother off and on, i ask him some things from time to time and he replies in great detail which is awesome. I wish i could be more connected with him, but i get how the social aspect of Aspergers makes it hard to like read peoples emotions or something right? Im not sure, but honestly, if my dad never told me he had autism, i'd never really have known, i hope he doesn't try to hide it deliberately, although its hardly a problem, im pretty sure he's suuuper comfortable with who he is and im happy for him, he's pretty darn successful and i wish the best for his future

I think having autism, being able to see things differently, shouldn't be seen as some 'disorder' thing, i mean i get it can make someone behave pretty different and i've seen clips of people with like serious cases of Autism and that does seem like something kinda difficult to live with. But i'm sure they get by fine, its just something you get used to controlling i guess. But yeah i just thought it'd be a nice thing to say on this thread, yay thanks

 

I probably do have some mild autism going on, though I haven't diagnosed.

I remember that at my work place a woman I didn't know of told me out of the blue that I had slight autism based on my inability to find the Center mass of objects.
Had no clue what to make up for it cause I was skeptical at first, and realised later that she was probably right.

..When anxiety and depression isn't enough. Smh

 

If you go by the DSM 5 these terms ('Asperger' and 'lower functioning') are redundant.

High/low functioning was never clinical terminology, just useful short-hand really... and even more obsolete given that Asperger Syndrome has been rolled into autism.

The distinction used to revolve around language delay in childhood I think...

Now as I understand it there's the diagnostic criteria and then the psychiatrist should gauge you in three levels of severity in two different areas:

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis/dsm-5-diagnostic-criteria

http://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/criteria-changes.aspx

But it is all just 'autism' but exactly how it affects any given individual is basically unique... profiles are so variable, somebody might be severely hypo or hyper in any given domain of affect, or not impacted at all (i.e. hyper-sensitive to pain, heat etc. or hypo-sensitive - unable to register/respond)

Probably an autism diagnosis might be able to help you get your head around why you might be suffering from further related diagnoses ('co-morbidities' they call them I believe. ^ ^) - chronic pain is my major stumbling block.

UNGH. ^ ^

And for years professionals kept trying to treat me for substance misuse because they didn't understand why I'd be suffering from debilitating neuropathic pain...

 

Yeah, and the DSM 5 doesn't like using the terms high and low functioning because not only is it a label, it also says high functioning isn't as bad as low functioning so most of them should be able to work and do what most people can do. Regardless of low or high it's debilitating either way and some are more severe than others, problem is a lot therapists don't care and they use those labels regardless of what the DSM 5 says.

Like the one I'm going to, you're considered "high functioning" just if you have an IQ of 70 or higher, and it doesn't matter as much how you are socially because if you're at least "passable" In the IQ department you mustn't be that bad off. They don't like handing out disability money, so it's nice for them to have an excuse to try and force you to do things like work and years of therapy.

That's also if you even get DSM 5, I'm unfortunately getting 4 which favours the "IQ" test and other great stuff... I wish I could get tested somewhere else.

 

@Sarah Walker - Honestly I don't know. Nobody was more surprised than me. It feels almost fraudulent. (I don't doubt the diagnosis or my impairments though. I obsessively researched autism for a year and a half afterwards.) If I was born anywhere else, or had seen any other psychologist I probably wouldn't have gotten it...

Where I live in Canada all that was required was to fill out the disability application (which a medical professional requests/provides), have the doctor's do the same, and include any other professional references. After a meltdown a social worker applied for me, filling out the forms and making all the appointments. He and my doctor probably stretched the truth (not going to argue, they have a third person perspective). And the psychologist gave a letter saying he was confident I had autism after a single session. Really? That's it? No clinical testing? No childhood analysis? No stack of paperwork to "prove" the diagnosis? Just a letter stating a professional opinion? And I'm accepted for life? Lucky me.

Sincerely hope everything works out for you, and that you get the supports that you need. Hope you're as lucky as I was.

 

Ungh - I feel like: 'Don't get me started'.

I had an... er... 'proper' diagnosis from a multi-disciplinary team, with a childhood assessment, input from carers who knew me as a child and I still had to repeatedly appeal to eventually get a Disability Living Allowance award that didn't seem appropriate... and then at the end of last year they've taken that away from me as part of our government's very noble gesture to 'ensure that the most needy receive the support that they deserve'.

So I have to appeal again now, and the tribunal won't be until at least until June/July, and meanwhile I now can't afford to leave the flat - like I didn't struggle enough doing that anyway with all the anxiety and pain anyway, now I have to worry about the cost as well - or even have the heating on.

Anyway I'm off to see Early Man - with my mum footing the bill for all of it of course! ^ ^

 

Cheers mate I appreciate it. I am glad you were able to get on Disability though, regardless I guess of the 'title' they give you it doesn't matter, if you were struggling in life for a variety of reasons then you do deserve any kind of disability really.

I was talked to a bit as they were setting up an appointment, and when it comes time I'll have to do an IQ test, about three other tests including some social thing, and a boring peering into my childhood for the 100th time. Apparently it all takes 3 to 5 hours to do haha, I couldn't even handle those couple of therapy sessions and they only lasted 30 to 40 minutes.

At least you were spared the headache and drama that I'll have to go through, hopefully I make it out the otherwise with some income!

 

As far as I know from my friend you can also get something called subsidised housing, and other stuff that helps with rent and what not. This of course also depends on your disability and other factors, but it sounds like they have stuff to at least help them out over there which is great.

 

@Sarah Walker - I hope you make it out unscathed and with some income. Any amount of income helps.
3 to 5 hours sounds like a little much—almost like the people who designed it lack empathy ... Allow yourself to do whatever autistic thing you need to do to survive that.

@Baroque - Where I live, not really. No. It's an extremely modest amount of money. Not a living wage. What I get is about forty percent the minimum wage (though, I live with my parents so I get a rooming allowance instead of a rent allowance). And the financial limitations are pretty stiff—the type and amount of assets allowed are limited. You can't invest your way out. They want you to work. @Sarah Walker is right, you'd need subsidized housing or something similar (a tent? an igloo? )... And even then it depends on which province you live in (social programs are provincial), where in that province you are, and what your needs are.

 

I know right? That's like half a work day... They like testing you on each aspect and that's why it takes so long, problem is a lot of Autistic people aren't comfortable in different environments and certainly not sitting there so long as well as 'socialising'. I don't honestly know how I'll survive but as I have a break down maybe it'll help me along in their 'tests', dare I say I might go end up going Simple Jack. Hah

And cheers mate, that's kind of you to say. I've been getting my SO to sell my stuff off to survive thus far so an income would be fantastic right about now. The great thing is if I 'pass', I can't and won't be denied any disability claim or service so that would be awesome.

 

I have mild autism. It's been a while since I've done any research on it but I'm pretty sure I have Asperger's. My parents have a book about parenting and Asperger's. I read a few pages of it a while back.

I believe there's a connection between autism and PMO addiction (and addictions in general). We tend to get hooked on things pretty easily. The upside is that we can also get hooked on productive habits.

 

I barely coped just sitting in class at school. Being tested one on one for hours? Forget it. I'd shutdown.

But, yeah, don't worry if you go Simple Jack or breakdown. It'll only make for a stronger case. If you're being tested for autism don't hide it. If there's ever a time to display every facet of your autism this is it. Show it off. Give one word replies, or write all your answers if you don't feel like talking (or can't talk), and try to comfort yourself as much as you can... stim, rock, pace, or I don't know... pretend you're a cat and curl up on the ground... Okay, that might be a little weird .

@Baroque -
I knew someone who's father was prescribed morphine because his back was so bad he would, at times, throw up from the pain. They denied him. Doesn't seem right. Still, in general, I think our social programs are [a little] more generous.. I'm grateful I live north of the border.

 

Aspergers in my case. Only thing is, where i live the topic wasn't very known or talked about back in the day (the 90s, early 2000s) which naturally made life extremely difficult for me with the people around me and my family until i finally got diagnosed when i was 12-13 years old by a specialist from Spain.

 

I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when I was 14 years old.

 

What are other people's specific symptoms that they struggle with? The psychiatrist who diagnosed me said that every syndrome is unique manifestation.

I think that mostly I struggle with pain, I get a lot of pain killers and it's still really difficult. I get anxiety and panic attacks in public; the pain starts to become overwhelming and I'm scared that I'm vulnerable because it's so distracting, and I can't communicate and it spirals into something totally overwhelming.

The doctors have gradually been giving me more and more painkillers, and trying different ones; they don't really like it, and I don't really like taking them... I don't want to be dependent on pills... but anything is better than constant pain!!! ^ ^

It basically has ruined my life. I got an MA ten years ago and ever since then I've just been on benefits for stress.

 

For me I can't be outside by myself, and when I'm with my SO sounds are my biggest source of anxiety. I'll hear every single detail like people walking, cars driving/honking, building construction, sirens, etc. It drives me around the bend and my mind can't handle it, I've got bad OCD so I notice everything including peripherally as well. I can't sit in once place too long otherwise sensations of all kinds overwhelms me when I'm in say the doctors office or in a store, I rely on my fidget cube so much.

Not to mention I've also got learning disabilities and mental blocks as well, I'm hoping to get on benefits sometime soon. I hope that goes better for you mate, while mine isn't constant stress as long as I stay indoors yours sounds rough.

 

I struggle with socializing and communication. Eye contact is just something I don't seem to do—I don't know anyone's eye color. I don't do well in public (especially alone). Can't really go to stores alone. I can go for walks or wander around a relatively restricted area but I prefer the night when everything is quiet, or to go with my dog. I also pay more attention to my surroundings and periphery than to people. Oh and the sensory issues! I hear everything.

I've had some level of pain for most of my life. I adapted poorly to school etc resulting in poor posture and movement patterns. I'm currently learn to carry myself / use my body better so gravity doesn't wear me down so much. And I cut some things out of my diet. Almost pain free! Maybe doing the same would help you.

 

My sleep pattern is different because of autism, I like going to bed earlier so I can take a walk when it's dark and nobody is outside. It's quiet and beautiful out at 00:00 to 02:00.

I can't communicate or socialise even if my life depended on it, it's so uncomfortable and a chore to do.

 

Yes, I have Autism. The self stimulatory behavior and all(rocking forwards and backwards, doing it right now lol). I also have OCD(counting stairs when I walk among other things). It drives my GF insane sometimes because I over analyze everything and talk about one specific subject for a really long time and way too in depth. She just gets quiet and then I feel embarrassed... lmao

 

Mine too. I used to make a habit out of walking from 12:00 - 2:00. I've been trying to get up with the sun but it's not working; no matter what I do my sleep schedule always drifts.

I'm probably fooling myself by thinking I've gotten better with socializing over the years. I can somewhat pass (not be silent) with people I know well, but that list keeps getting shorter. Autism sure can make making and keeping friends (and finding a SO) difficult... luckily I'm the type to not care much about that.