Do I have Asperger syndrome? I tried listing some symtoms that I have been told I have. I hope they make sense

Question

I'm in 11th grade now and I have always thought of myself as just being extremely shy because I didn't know there was such thing as asperger. I found out about asprger because my mom was reading an article on it and told me she thought i may have it. she listed acouple of things that I do that i have always done and i really don't know why
have trouble making eye contact
obsesion with certain subjects(history,current events)
trouble speaking to peers
ackward in social peer situations(school...with my brother and his friends...classmates)
I remember yelling at my mom because i didn't want to go to a dance that was at my school even though my brother was going and I knew he would watch out for me. i ended up not going
i have trouble just looking at someone and saying hi or just smiling. i don't really have many facial gestures
i prefer talking with adults about things like history and current events because they are more aware of these things than my peers what do you thi

Answer 1

Hi Caitlin,

It's possible that you may have Asperger's syndrome, but there is no way that anyone on Yahoo Answers can give you the answer. Most of what you are describing sounds more like social anxiety disorder, which is a common disorder that can be treated, either with counselling, or if it is so severe that it is crippling, with medication.

When people talk about "obsession" in people on the autism spectrum (and Asperger's is a type of autism), it means more than having a keen interest or a favorite subject. It is often a somewhat unusual interest and the person with Asperger's doesn't usually have the social awareness to understand that most other people don't really have much interest in traffic lights, or padlocks. I chose those as examples because they were the obsessions of 2 folks I knew with Aspgerger's. The one young man spent hours a day drawing diagrams and writing and talking about the mechanisms of various padlocks. They were very cool and detailed drawings, but it became very tiresome to his classmates, teachers, and family members. The other guy had such a thing for traffic lights that he would take the bus to different cities and - instead of seeing the tourist sights or other things that most people would consider as attractions, he would draw detailed maps of the locations of traffic signals. Where most people would come back from a trip to San Francisco and talk about the Golden Gate Bridge, the cablecars, Chinatown, Fishermen's Wharf, etc., Doug would talk about the traffic lights. I am guessing that you have a keen interest in history and current events, just like some people have a great interest in literature, or gardening, or sports, but that's not the same thing as obsession.

In any case, the big question is - are you unhappy with the way you are now? Do you want to change the way you relate to others and become more comfortable in social situations? If you are doing well in school and you don't feel unhappy with yourself, then don't worry about it. There are plenty of people who are perfectly normal but who don't enjoy the social scene. If you are stressed out about it, though, ask your mom to make an appointment with a counselor or psychologist. He or she can help make a diagnosis and help you become more comfortable in social situations.

Answer 2

Read the article I have listed below. Aspergers is one of a group of conditions in the Autism family. Usually it is recognized in childhood and mislabeled as Learning Disability. Another label that might apply would be social anxiety.A lot of the behaviors you list sound pretty typical of a shy 16 year old. I have two suggestions: First, get tested. If you have a social worker or psychologist at school, see if you can confer with them. Second : Take some acting classes. Practice smiling and making faces in the mirror. Pick an emotion like fear, or excitement, and see if you can make it happen on your face. There's a song from King and I "Whistle a happy tune" meaning that if you act a certain way, pretty soon the feelings will follow. When I was growing up there was a radio show called Let's Pretend. So pretend to be what you want to be (not what others want) and sooner or later you will be.
I admire your preference for adult conversation. After reading a lot of stuff on the internet I don't blame you at all.

Answer 3

Hi. My son has Asperger's. He is also a history buff! As you read different descriptions of AS, keep in mind that the syndrome 'presents' differently in boys versus girls. I just found a great website established by and for individuals with Asperger's. It is: www.wrongplanet.com
Asperger's can only be diagnosed by a professional, such as a psychologist or neurologist, however, if you would like to read about AS from the perspective of women with the disorder, I would read the books, "Thinking in Pictures" by Temple Grandin and "Pretending to be Normal" by Lianne Willey (sp?). These are two amazing women with Ph.D.s! The high tech world we live in today would not exist without people with Asperger's. It may be a "disorder', but also can be a gift! Good luck!

Answer 4

hi. there is also a psych disorder on extreme shyness. i have an autistc family members I am going to give you some autism sites and sites to see if you have a problem or just shy. it is ok to be shy and not be so social. sometimes you outgrow it. i did!

Disability Info: Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Fact ...
Aspergers’ syndrome, Rett’s syndrome, and; Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. ... Washington, DC 20013 [phone] · v/tty [phone] · fax [e-mail] www.nichcy.org

www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs1txt.htm · Cached page
NICHCY Web Resource Page: NICHCY Connections...to Asperger Syndrome
www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs20txt.htm We offer a briefing paper on PDD that includes an overview to ... What the Autism Society of America has to say about Aspergers. www.autism-society.org/site ...

www.nichcy.org/resources/asperger.asp · Cached page
Show more results from "www.nichcy.org".
Autism and Aspergers Legal Rights by Maap

and
http://www.cureautismnow.org/site/c.bhLOK2PILuF/b.1311643/k.98D1/FAQs_About_Autism.htm

Answer 5

My son has High Functioning Autism, which is basically the same thing as Aspergers. From the few symptoms that you listed, it sounds like you need to see a neuropsychologist to get tested to determine whether you have Aspergers.

Answer 6

Yes those are signs however only a professional will be able to honestly tell you. Another thing with aspergers is you have to have a certain percent if not ALL of the symptoms. You can not have a few and have it.

Answer 7

You should speak to your doctor about this and he/she can refer you to a neurologist who can make a diagnosis. Yahoo answers is not the place for a diagnosis. On the bright side, many aspergers people lead completely normal, productive lives and are very bright.

Answer 8

Hey. Mom's are there to help. Go to s Specilialist or Internist and they will give you the answer. The proper tests and a good Doctor, will do the best for you.

Answer 9

I think what you described is more than social shyness. So....you might have a problem, not to sound rude, but usually around that age, you should be really outgoing to get ready for the start of your life. I think you should try to get help when you're young so then when you get older, it won't be as hard to make friends when you're older.

Answer 10

Why do you go to a doctor he'll know. Don't ask random people like this, they might be wrong and you could make a big mistake or something.