MovieLover12

Does anyone know what this is?

Wicked Lady

It's a form of autism. People with this can be quite high functioning (it's said Bill Gates has Asperger's) but often have difficulty connecting/empathising with others.

MovieLover12

Not to be sneaky or anything, I just wanted to see if people were really in tune with this increasing condition. I started this thread to see peoples responses. You see, I have this condition, being diagnosed just after summer 1998. I'm not making this up, especially since having AS is nothing good or cool about it. In fact its a nightmare at times.

I can I emphasize or connect with others when they can't do it with us?

kelp

Hi Movielover, I have a son in his forties who suffers with AS. His moods are sometimes very caring, but at others quite unnerving, in the manner that "One has to be careful, and it's like walking on eggshells" at least that is what it is like for the people around him. When he once had a course of drugs in hospital, they seemed to have a really good calming effect on him, and he was a joy to be with. He, as you rightly say, is highly intelligent, and this comes out in not suffering fools gladly. Another aspect of behaviour is he has a hobby, but it really is more of an obsession, and when discussing the hobby, he will correct you abruptly if he considers you to be wrong. We live with it. Does this ring a bell with your own observations? It really is a fascinating subject.
ps Did you find it difficult to actually take yourself off to the doctor, or were you easily convinced that it was the thing to do.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR...YOU MAY GET IT!

MovieLover12

The doctor told my parents that I had it. I was told by them about 4 months later.

My moods can be very caring and at other times very horrible. But my moods towards those who have offended are always gonna have to be resolved, regardless of a good time or good conversation with them. Sort of like a vendetta. The problem with me is that I never forget, but can't go so far as to teach them a lesson. But keep me wound for years and I learn to finish a vendetta. Late last year I grabbed a bully and a money thief and told him to "not bring it around here".

The bully and I are with others in the whole "gang mentality" thing, mine started when I established my own way in this field after being smacked by a drunken thug who was only 13 at the time.

I am very intelligent and have a few interests, the "experts" who work in the health sector call it obsession. This is actually offensive, considering AS people strive to become as normal as possible and not be pulled back by petty medical jargon. I really like DVDs and movies plus crime books and the usual man thing - women! Therein lies the problem with most of AS people, they can't get none!!

batman

Is this becoming "let's slag off the health professionals" week?

Bat-Quiz 13 is up and running in the competition thread - 24/8/8.

MovieLover12

Sorry everyone, I'm not being horrible or disturbing the peace, but the professionals call themselves the experts, when the real expert is someone who lives with the condition.

Kinda like a 35 writer of World War 2 books calling himself the expert, when its the guys who went onto the beaches that are the real ones.

batman

I am sure you haven't offended everyone, but I am a mental health professional and I do have a level of expertise when it comes to this arena, so personally, I do find your comment rather insulting. My comment was made because it is the second such comment on this site made with 36 hours which denigrates my profession.

I also have an understanding of the problems you face because I have had problems myself and my son has special needs .... the care he has received has been exemplary and I find it difficult to swallow when this negative generalisation of hard working health professionals is promoted.

An expert is someone with specialised knowledge of a subject, whether they be a scholar or a participant. Both points of view are valid and should be used together, not IMHO viewed as separate entities. The best outcome in most situations is achieved when people work together, a 'them and us' mentality leads to failure, something that I have personal experience of professionally.

Bat-Quiz 13 is up and running in the competition thread - 24/8/8.

MovieLover12

Its just the bad experiences and the incompetence of my social worker making me act like this.

Here, Batman, have a hug!

batman

Hug accepted ..... a hug is one of the best therapies going!

Bat-Quiz 13 is up and running in the competition thread - 24/8/8.

MovieLover12

I only wished a hug could make the world love each other.

EllyMack

My eldest son spent much of his younger years buried in his obsessions with buses, trains and aeroplanes, making lists of just about anything imaginable that was relevant to his life and failing to communicate appropriately with his peers. He didn't like getting dirty and there were foods that he wouldn't eat for no apparent reason. Aspergers wasn't thought about when he was kid, so we all just got on with it, although he had a very good, understanding teacher.

Not surprisingly, he made his way in the IT industry, first writing databases and then becoming involved in all manner of programming and networking. He also gained a his pilot's licence at the age of 18 - again, order, method and routine. It was only after we'd both read an article about Aspergers that we came to the conclusion that this is what he had.

However, after a particularly frightening incident involving a shaved head and sunburn a couple of years ago, his wife sent him to their GP, who subsequently referred him to a psychiatrist. Turns out it's not Aspergers at all, but Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - similar symptoms but very different conditions.

batman

Me too .... unfortunately, some people think that wanting to give someone a hug always has to have an ulterior motive. We actively promote hugging in my house.

Bat-Quiz 13 is up and running in the competition thread - 24/8/8.

batman

Indeed, my son has ADHD with co-morbid symptoms of autism and OCD. We thank our lucky stars that he is highly intelligent, funny and always happy, he wakes with a smile and it's still there when he goes to bed. He's a bit poorly today though ...

Bat-Quiz 13 is up and running in the competition thread - 24/8/8.

EllyMack

What a little heartbreaker, Batman. Hope he gets well soon.

AS or OCD, it doesn't have to be a barrier to success. It's only now that I realise all the 'pushing' and coaxing to get him to do things properly was never going to work. He was always going to do things his own way (usual teen behaviour I guess, just x10). This is his little 'sideline' - and he's already sold quite a few of these photos to the industry.