Apsergers

[Oxalis Wood]

I'm wondering whether others here think they may have Aspergers syndrome? I have identified some Aspie traits in me and i'm thinking of getting a diagnosis. There's been some discussion of daydreaming on the wrong planet website (Aspergers community). Anyone else here identify as an Aspie?

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

They officially changed the name to Autism Spectrum Disorder, btw. Yes, I've looked into it at length. I have the diagnosis, but it's so subjective that it was hard getting anyone to say yes or no. It'll probably require a neuro-psych exam (lengthy questionnaire, Rorschach test, and some others). It took me several docs to find one who was comfortable giving me an answer, so be sure to ask them before you go in if they feel comfortable diagnosing that or ruling it out. Just be honest. Tell them you've been wondering.

Also be prepared that most docs will not have heard of Maladaptive Daydreaming. Since it's not officially recognized yet, and very few docs know about it, they'll probably tell you it's just something else. It's up to you to figure out what makes sense for you or not. Doctors don't know everything. They can't know everything. If they give you an answer that fits, great. However, you may have Maladaptive Daydreaming as well. You'll have to self-diagnose on that. Just think about it & go with what feels right. Personally, I won't talk with a doctor unless they're willing to accept that I could have something they don't know about. They must be open-minded. If the doctor acts like they know everything, then I'm out the door. Confidence is good, but the world of psychology is always changing. Nobody can know everything. Whomever you see must be willing to treat you as a partner in your own treatment. If they're curious, and I hope they are, feel free to educate them about this. Tell them there are a lot of people who have this, so they'll be less inclined to shoot you down. Feel free to send them here. Cynthia's a real PHD who knows their language and knows about this condition..........and I've been battling this condition for 30 years & battling with docs for half that. We're here to help. I hope docs will use this site as a resource to understand their patients as well. I hope this helps.

[Oxalis Wood]

Thanks Cordellia. Yes - i don't know if my doctor will be able to help. But - luckily he is very open minded and willing to listen. Part of the reason i'm going to see him is because i want more people to know about MD.

I think we all need to talk about it to health proffessional as much as we can.

[Truthful Alibi]

I thought that too, most of the online quizzes I took (too scared to go to a doctor) said I probably was an Aspie, but MD makes you disconnected from the world you don't know how to react to stuff for real life. I thought I was an Aspie, but now I'm pretty sure it's just because of MD. It could be different for you though.

[Katherine]

I've just come on here to search aspergers as there are certain aspects of the condition I can really identify with ... When I've researched I've discovered that for female aspergers creating fantasy worlds from an early age seems to be a symptom. It seems that diagnosing aspergers in females is difficult though as the aspergers profile is very much based on male aspies, and since men and women are different, women react differently to the condition to men. My GP has referred me to a psychiatrist re the aspergers and I'm going to tell him/her about my maladaptive daydreaming and see what they say. Just wondered if anyone else has had autism spectrum diagnoses?

[Millie]

Hello!

I have just been diagnosed with Aspergers after 15 years of fighting for help. I told my psychiatrist about my maladaptive daydreaming at our last consultation and he dismissed it - he said it was nothing to worry about and probably the most natural reaction to struggling to deal with my depression, aspergers and dyspraxia. 

My GP, Psychiatrist and Counsellor dont seem to appreciate how much this all is linked and affects me. I get very annoyed with the lack of adult support for these things. I will keep fighting to get help! 

[The1andonlyAbber]

I took a bunch of online tests to see if I had Asperger's. Almost exactly 50% of them said I did. I don't think I have Asperger's, but I definitely have some Asperger's traits (not being able to make eye contact, brain wired so that I see small details well but can't see everything at once, hating small talk, being exhausted by social occasions, the list goes on and on). I'm able to understand jokes/sarcasm and I'm unusually good at creativity and language, though. Does anyone know of anything similar to Asperger's?

[sarah elizabeth clark]

I was diagnoised with it when I was 14

[Katherine]

You seem to describe classic Aspie traits.  People with ASD can be good with words/language (some Aspies speak several languages) and people with autism tend to be imaginative: it just doesn't get translated to the outside world very easily.  I'd read a few books about it - I'd recommend Tony Attwood's Complete Guide to Asperger's.

I have just been diagnosed formally with autism.  I have been seeing a therapist who specialises in autism and she said excessive daydreaming is extremely common - and is an unofficial symptom - of autism.  Obviously, not everyone who daydreams is autistic but it might be the answer for a lot of people, such as me.

The1andonlyAbber said:

I took a bunch of online tests to see if I had Asperger's. Almost exactly 50% of them said I did. I don't think I have Asperger's, but I definitely have some Asperger's traits (not being able to make eye contact, brain wired so that I see small details well but can't see everything at once, hating small talk, being exhausted by social occasions, the list goes on and on). I'm able to understand jokes/sarcasm and I'm unusually good at creativity and language, though. Does anyone know of anything similar to Asperger's?

[Kay M]

Yes, I have Aspergers :)

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Update: apparently my diagnosis was still unofficial, but last year, I started seeing a regular therapist, who after only a few sessions felt completely comfortable diagnosing me with Autism.  So, yeah, you may get sent to do testing, which may or not reveal anything useful, or you just might bee the right therapist who feels comfortable giving you an answer.

Btw, my therapist actually knew about MD, but by the time I met her, I no longer needed help with it.  Right now, it's under control.  

[Roel]

I am diagnosed. I have deffinetly ASD. It is clearly obvious. Excessive daydreaming is certainly a symptom of autism (even though they don't say it a lot), but I believe we have to draw a line somewhere...

My entire live I have had treatment for my autism, NEVER did they do anything that even remotely had anything to do with dreams. They thought my problems were the result of other symptoms or simply ASD and being different in general. My dreams never caame up, and my problems where never solved. This makes me think, that the way we dream, is not the same as aspergers. Sure aspergers dream a lot, and often, and they would be the second on the list of people that are not present in this world. But I believe that drowning in dreams like we do is OR
-not to blame on autism

OR

-not a common symptom for autism, and this symptom is very extreme for us MD'ing aspergers. So extreme that we should need extra help for this specific symptom.

This site has been more helpfull to me than all the tests and all the therapy that I have ever been through. That is because others tried to help me, while thinking about the problems that my autism gave me. And here I get helped from people who know that my problems are a result of MD.
I am certainly autistic, because of multiple reasons besides from dreaming (I can not recognise my own emotions, I can not understand a lot of context related things that people say and I often get confused, I feel hurt and stressed and like the life has been sucked out of me after I have been social, and so on...) But I l have learned to live with that (even though that I keep learning things up to this day). My unhealthy excessive dreams is something I never learned to live with, something that I could never cope with, something that has always been, and probably will always continue destroying my life.
Surely these two are related, but I think that there is a difference. Even if there is no difference, there should be different help for aspergers that dream their life away. I never got that help untill I found this site.

Something that has not a lot to do with this, but I want to mention it anyway:
We all needed to selfdiagnose ourself for our MD, there was no other option. I have seen that a lot of people selfdiagnose themself for ASD. THIS IS YOUR OWN CHOICE, and I support you in that!
But I want to mention, that a very important symptom of autism -that no site will ever mention, and that has to be present for you to be autistic- is that all the symptoms together, your autism, has to be a problem! (or was a problem that you could than solve, and learn to live with it) A LOT of autistic symptoms are personality traits that a lot of 'normal people' have as well. IRL I have often heard people say, I am not diagnosed, but i am probably autistic because (I like to have my room clean and organised, I don't like people, I like see a lot of detail instead of seeing the whole picture and so on) If I than ask them "is it a problem for you?" they often answer "no" or "not realy".
If it is not a problem than there realy is no reason to get diagnosed. The whole reason why we give each others these names, and labels, is because we need help, and we wouldn't get help without them.
I DO NOT WANT TO MAKE YOU DOUBT, I just want to make clear, that just because you seem like you are on the wrong world, it doesn't mean that you need psychiatric help or anything like that (you get what I mean)

Considering this odd (and probably unpopular) opinion of mine. I myself might not be autistic as wel. I had problems, I was never present in this world. They tested me, and called it autisme. But maybe Autism wasn't causing any problems, and I realy was just an odd socialy akward boy with MD.

These are just my thoughts, sorry for the length of this XD