Worth diagnosing possible Asperges

Hi there, I am 16 and am not diagnosed with autism. Some friends of mine, in a nice way, suggested that I have some asperges traits in a mild form and so I went to my medical centre at my school and they gave me a document on asperges but said they didn't know much about it. I do not know if it is worth me going for a diagnosis, as I have many asperges traits (to a noticably smaller degree then people who I meet who are aspergers) but i dont have quite a few.

For example I do like things to have a very set ruitine, and I do everything in the same order in my day when I can, I resist change when possible. I am not rude but very blunt, I am apparently not that tactical in how I say things. I am not emotionally affected by others feelings much at all. I am not that good at reading people who aren't my family. I have a high IQ (137) and am very high acheiving in mathematics and when I do maths I focus in on it very strongly and everything else fades away (I also don't like many other subjects at all, if any). I hear things when I am focusing, and am extremely easily distracted by things when working, I find this annoying when doing exams.

However, I do not have issues socially. I am fine at making friends and I don't make many enemies either. I am not noticably clumsy.I woudlnt say I take criticism personally, usually I am impartial to it and I am not that affected, although I wasn't always that way. I hate small talk and I find my thoughts being bored and drifting away from it when I am caught up in it (The kind of drifting of thoughts that happens with tiredness or boredom), however on the contrary I can do small talk and sustain a conversation if I need to.

My parents did not think I was autistic or asperges, but a few friends have pointed out mild traits. I wanted to know if it is worth going for a diagnosis if I am really unsure as to if I am mildy asperges or if I am not and just have a collection of aperges-like personality traits. I would really apreciate your comments.

  • Hi i am 16 years old and was recently on this exact same situation 2 years ago for me i feel like it was worth me getting a diagnosis as now I know why I do things slightly different to other people and sometimes why I feel the way j do but the decision is completely up to you if you feel it will help you go for it

  • All three test are interesting. The first 2 confirmed what that I have little empathy.

    Throughout my life I have tried to get better at understanding people's facial expressions. So on the last one I had a score which shows I am seeing, understanding and interpreting.

  • 1 of them would likely be needed, or someone else who has known you your whole life. They look at how you have been your entire life. Your childhood development is part of the information they need to make a diagnosis. 

  • Hmm. Yes I am really unsure as to if I would like to seek a diagnosis or not, I just thought that maybe I should do it while I was under 18 as it would be easier? I'll look into the advantages and disadvantages.

    As for talking to my parents, while I do have a great relationship with them, I wouldn't really want them to know I was going for a diagnosis as I would want to wait until I got the result to tell them. I have already talked to them about it once and they did just as you described, and perhaps they are correct, but I wouldn't want to have them involved and to have lots of talk about it all. Could I get diagnosed without them knowing?

  • For the AQ50 I believe 32 is the indicative cut-off. At which point 80% of people with Autism scored this or above, as opposed to just over 2% of the general population. Table 5 on page 27 of this research document may appeal to you :) docs.autismresearchcentre.com/.../2001_BCetal_AQ.pdf

    For the EQ Wikipedia says "The instrument is scored on a scale of 0 (being the least empathetic possible) to 80 (being the most empathetic possible). A useful cut-off of 30 was established when screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders." 

    You are within the cut off ranges for each, but it is worth remembering that these score don't necessarily mean you have autism. A full assessment would be required where they look at a range of things all the way back to when you were a small child.

    If you wanted to seek a diagnosis, then this could help you with getting a referral from your GP. The question you will need to ask of yourself is do you want to do that? Would it improve your life? Maybe talk to your parents?

    Although my personal experience of discussing with parents is instant denial and claiming that all the things I pointed out were "normal", "lots of people do that". Over the last year my mother has come to accept things and actually told the psychologists a whole raft of information about how I was as a child I did not even know. Things that when you look at them now, you wonder how it was missed. I guess people just didn't know back then, even though I'm not even that old!

  • Hi there thanks so much for your help.

    It seems we share many similar traits in the way of being polite yet speaking our minds. I wouldn't say I have ever been as extreme as havung things in right angles/parrallel, but I do have a tendency to organise things maticulously. I was really into rock collecting and bird watching when younger, along with other collecting/identifying hobbies, these have also in time been substituted for the desire to intake knowledge.

    Thanks for the advice on keeping a list of traits, I'll make sure to do that. I completed all these tests with the following scores:

    AQ: 33

    EQ: 17

    Facial Recognition: 13

    How would these be interpreted and are these scores enough concern to go see a GP about? I am unsure whether it is nothing as my family never spotted anything and I can socialise, but I am unsure.

    Thanks again!

  • Hi delayederror,

    I am 28 and your story sounds very, very similar to my own (I was also maths obsessed, it's my dream subject, no ambiguity). I am currently awaiting a diagnosis for Aspergers. I've had the assessment just waiting for the results.

    Like you, at school I had plenty of friends and was well liked. No concerns... Looking back though I did however stick to these friends like glue and looking back would not venture anywhere without them and did not socialise in any other groups apart from my core friends.

    I am always told I am really polite, but equally I speak my mind and deal in facts and truths. I probably do offend people from time to time, I just don't notice. I was VERY particular around routines and where objects were placed, they had to be at right angles or parallel to other surface edges. I was a collector, and when I was into something, I was INTO something. I had to have every variation and item from the set. With collectible figures I could tell you whether I had that item and in which quantities of each colour. I am now the opposite and a total minimalist, I throw out anything and everything I deem as not required. I hoard information and knowledge now.

    Things really got harder for me when I transitioned into adult life, I had depression, breakdowns, time off work, anxiety, etc. I managed to complete University and I have a good job, but I do sometimes struggle when there are too many stress factors in my life. There have been some jobs I mentally just could not cope with and had to quit.

     

    My advice which is what I did was to research as much as possible and keep a list of your issues and traits. It may be useful to complete these tests. These test are by no means conclusive of a yes/no but it might give you an idea. The AQ50 and EQ I had to complete as part of my assessment. I did these online as well to see how I scored and got an AQ of 38/50 (the higher the more likely of autism) and 10/80 on the EQ (the lower the more likely of autism). I did however score quite high on reading facial expressions, but I get a lot of practice in reading people in meetings at work.

    If after doing this you think a diagnosis would help you or is what you want. Go speak to your GP, take your list and test results and ask for a referral.

    Autism Quotient 50 - aspergerstest.net/.../

    Empathy Quotient - psychology-tools.com/.../

    Facial Expressions - greatergood.berkeley.edu/.../

     

    I wish you well!