The story of my Asperger's is odd, indeed. 1. I have a hearing-impaired mother. from -pretty much- the time I could speak coherantly, I've been her interpreter and middleman for all situations that call for it. Making apointments, paying bills on store credit cards, inquiring about X, X, and X, and so on. Because of this, I've always been fairly good at talking to my superiors, store employees, people in a servant position. 2. I was in public school until 5th Grade, then put into homeschooling in the middle of the year of 5th Grade, starting from scratch. Unlike the public school I went to, the homeschooling put emphasis on hand-writing as an artform, vocabulary, importance of proper writing and speaking. My homeschooling improved by speaking skills in this way, but also gave me a more private life. The days were spent either studying, or shopping, mostly the former. 3. Five years ago we moved to a new town, and I took my G.E.D - having just finished 8th grade in homeschooling prior to the move - thus I was put into a very alien situation: Being surrounded by my peers. I figured it'd be okay until they started opening their mouths. And to think that I'm the one with the 'mental defect'. Now, five years later, I've master the art of being surrounded by unintelligent vermin disguised as humans, I go to school for the sake of knowledge and learning (not that I never did that, just it's far easier to focus on that aspect now.), block voices out with music, and avoid the negative side of people by walking fast, and give a quick curteous smile without any other acknowledgement. 4. Probably should have been higher up, but I have quite a few symptoms of S.I.D. (Sensory Integration Dysfunction) a partner issue to Asperger's, amongst these are a sensitivity to sounds (I say sounds and not sound, because certain types of music never bother me regardless of volume. It's more or less that I react in extreme ways to sounds that others easily ignore, filter out, or just don't find that irritating. Like being in Wal*Mart when they're using those devices to move boxes around. When they drop thems, or are pulled out of the woode frames they are used to transport, most people barely react or notice, whilst I usually cringe, cover my ears, and sometimes mutter various expletives as if they'll cause a soothing feeling.), a sensitivity to touch (I cannot wear loose clothing, because the feeling of fabric lightly brushing my skin drives me nuts, I have reacted violently when being touched, especially be surprise, and even when I know it's happening, certain types of touching make me cringe in reaction [i'd say more on this topic, as it does get interesting, but some of it isn't BZPower appropriate at any rate]) walking on my 'toes'(somewhat gone, but never entirely. I still feel very uncomfortable and unbalanced in flat shoes so I actively search out shoes with a bigger heel, to mimc the act of 'toe-walking'), and - for a change of pace - a HYPOsensitive sense of smell. I can notice some scents, but very rarely, and usually only when they're much worse than I realise. [perhaps an interesting sidenote to this, but most likely unrelated: I like the scent of skunk spray. I don't think it's smells bad, just very potent. I think if it were diluted it could be found to be rather pleasant.]) 5. A Last-minute addition, because I entirely forgot about it, but my mother has always introduced me - from as young as 2, so far as I know - to humour. Laurel and Hardy, the Thin Man series, Ma and Pa Kettle and many other older films with humour and drama interlaced. We also watched PBS which gave me a heavy dose of British Comedies. Because of this and other unmentioned elements in my early life, I'm somewhat devoid of the Asperger's trait of not understanding humour. Although there are cases, mainly everyday events where I never realise someone is making a joke. Now then, let's get more in depth. As a youngster in primary school, my parents wondered if something was wrong with me, due to issues in school. A woman in the town did some tests with me, noted I had disgraphia, and mentioned her suspicions of my having asperger's to my parents, though she was not actually qualified to make an official diagnosis. When we moved into a city, we went to a Doctor who was supposedly an expert in Autism/Asperger's. He did his tests, and in the end diagnosed that I was Asperger's, but he refused to give us any paperwork saying so, since, "I don't give paperwork, I just prescribe medication." So a while later we went to another Doctor in the city. He said I didn't have Asperger's (Mostly as a result of me being able to talk to him quite well, as a result of 1. and 2. above. He lashed out at my parents saying they were horrible people for taking me out of school and 'locking me up in my room' which was a ridiculous claim. Finally, prior to moving, we met a woman with Asperger's who analysed me in a casual setting and confirmed I was an Asperger's; because we were moving soon and couldn't delay it, she was never able to give an official diagnosis. After that, we moved into the current town we live in. Hoping still to get an official diagnosis to possibly make my life easier in less than ideal situations, we went to a Doctor at the College of a nearby city-town (not quite a town, not quite a city) who was - again - supposedly an expert. Again, as a result of 1. and 2., I was able to talk to him in a very professional and well-spoken manner. In the end he diagnosed that I was not Asperger's for the sole reason that I was able to talk to him without awkwardness. A counsellor in town met with me, and she had worked with Asperger's syndrome people in the past, and recognised me fairly quickly as Asperger's Positive. However she did not have the proper qualifications to give me an official diagnosis. This happened again with the vocational Rehabilitation Consellor we met in a nearby town. We later on went to a group of analysts in the same town, and they too diagnosed me as NOT Asperger's. HOWEVER, we later realised that they were under employment by the first doctor, and had accessed his original analysis of me. finally, we went to someone out-of-state, but very near to our current home. He confirmed I as Asperger's, but was not able to give an official diagnosis, since out state doesn't allow out-of-state diagnosis to be used. So I'm still here, an 'unofficially' diagnosed Asperger's, with 6 pro and 3 against me. I feel certain that I have Asperger's, and regardless of whether or not I EVER get officially diagnosed, I'll stand by it. In reality, the diagnosis isn't even important to me, even though I understand why my parents want it for me. Meanwhile, I notice everyone talks about the COMMON aspect of Asperger's, which is the social awkwardness/inability. What about the lesser known/more case-by-case issues that come with it, such as S.I.D.
