How autistic are you?

[humblesmurph]

A disease is an imparment of health, or an abnormal functioning.

A syndrome is a recognised constellation of symptoms.

I'll have to look it up, but those are the definitions that I remember from health class. Should be close to it. I know I have a medical textbook somewhere...  :upset:\

Update: Merriam-Webster defines them as:  Disease: a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.

Syndrome:  A group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality/condition, or set of concurrent things (as emotions or actions) that usually form an identifiable pattern.

I'm aware of the definitions of both words. I was just wondering if you personally had some other usage in mind given the vivid imagination you display in your surprisingly pleasant writing.

I was also asking Poop if he simply used disease interchangeably with syndrome or if he thought that there was something about Asperger's syndrome that would cause him to consider it a disease in his opinion.

Poop,

Disorder. Got it.

[PoopShoot]

I was also asking Poop if he simply used disease interchangeably with syndrome or if he thought that there was something about Asperger's syndrome that would cause him to consider it a disease in his opinion.

I do believe that it's caused by an abnormal brain morphology that isn't being researched for some very good reasons.

[DropLogic]

24
These tests are highly flawed.  I also don't like how being above average at anything is considered a problem....unless you're catching/kicking/throwing a ball.

[Byronazriel]

It's not so much a "problem" as it is one of the symptoms that are associated with the autism spectrum, probably the lower end and asperger's in particular.

Euphoria, religous awe, and tasting key lime pie are all symptoms as well... Not of autism, but just in general.

[Kylyssa]

Agree: 2,4,5,6,7,9,12,13,16,18,19,22,23,26,33,39,41,43,45,46: 1 point
Disagree: 1,10,11,15,17,24,25,27,28,29,31,32,34,36,37,38,40,44,47,48,49,50: 1 point
Score: 42


I have been diagnosed as autistic by a psychologist.  I am semi-verbal meaning I can communicate on a superficial level (i.e. Hi, how are you? Fine thank you, and you?) and on an occupational level (i.e. Would you prefer long stem roses?) but not on a meaningful level.  Most of my meaningful conversations occur in writing.  I need life scripts to simulate normal spoken conversation.  I generally create my own scripts or learn what the expected responses are by watching others.

On another note: it's just my opinion but I think that if your life is not adversely affected by your social skill deficiencies you probably aren't autistic.  I suffered homelessness as a young adult because I was unable to adapt to a weird situation - my parents ran away from home.  I could have just couch surfed with friends for the summer and gone to college in the fall with my multiple, high-value scholarships if I hadn't been autistic.  Instead, I had a total meltdown and became homeless.

[PoopShoot]

Sounds like you're a mid-functional autistic.  Some of the highest-functioning levels of autism are difficult to detect because they function so well.  To me, that makes it a mainly empty diagnosis.  For some people, like my son, the detriment is minimal, but real.  There's a reason autism is a spectrum disorder.

[Kylyssa]

Sounds like you're a mid-functional autistic.  Some of the highest-functioning levels of autism are difficult to detect because they function so well.  To me, that makes it a mainly empty diagnosis.  For some people, like my son, the detriment is minimal, but real.  There's a reason autism is a spectrum disorder.

Actually, they consider pretty much any autistic person capable of living alone to be high-functioning.  I function well.  I got jobs, I pulled myself up.  Then I held down a job as an award-winning professional floral designer for 18 years before I became physically disabled and now I write for a living.  I can pretend to hold a meaningful conversation as well as most people can.  In a business setting (consulting with a bride regarding her wedding flowers, for example) I can fake normality flawlessly.  

I work off more scripts than average but everyone uses scripts of normal interaction whether they admit it or not.  I had to teach dozens of people I trained to use the scripts for being a good floral designer or assistant.  Any new job requires anyone to learn a series of appropriate behavior scripts.  I just also use them in my private life to prevent neurotypical people from harming me or becoming uncomfortable in my presence as well as to avoid being seen as sneaky.

I think everyone is on the spectrum but once the symptoms are not noticeable you've hit the neurotypical end of the spectrum.  If you appear normal without any effort at all, I don't think you are autistic.  But if there's any effort beyond the norm required, then the diagnosis makes sense.

Ask yourself if your child would do well if abandoned in his teen years to fend for himself.  Really think about your son and how well he'd do if you and any other guardians, suddenly disappeared without a trace and all other relatives and family friends either rejected him or were unable to be contacted.  If you think he'd do great, then, by all means, consider me to be mid-functioning autistic.  That's what happened to me.  I did exceptionally well in school and have a high IQ so my parents figured I'd be fine if they just left one day and never came back.  

People with Aspergers can seem completely normal but when faced with a novel crisis, they may have a meltdown no one could anticipate if they had previously led lives in an orderly environment such as in a home with a parent and in school.  Parents do their best to make a child's life organized but the real world is a big, heaving, chaotic mess.  Even neurotypical kids need preparation for it, though, quite often, they can hit the ground running.

[Byronazriel]

I don't really consider myself to be any sort of autistic, or to have asperger's.

I'm just really not good at socialising, for the past year or so I've only really gone out of my house to go to the store... I'd like to be Mr. Goodtime Party Boy with friends and all that, I just hate talking with people. I can't even go to the bank, or deal with tellers at the stores... I even have trouble answering on the phone.

I'd guess I have some sort of social phobia, or something...

I've found that I can really only properly articulate myself in writing, mostly because I can think about what I'm going to say and delete/rewrite when I do something wrong.

[PoopShoot]

I'd guess I have some sort of social phobia, or something...

Some of those are at the most functional tip of the autism spectrum.

[Heretical Rants]

...I just realised I pronouce autistic the same way I pronounce artistic. Exactly the same way...  

What, like, "aaatistic"?

[Byronazriel]

More like aah-tiss-tick, I grew up in a very Canadian area, and my grandfather (Who basically raised me) is swedish and my grandmother is native american... So I have a few odd things in my accent. For some reason I can't say huckleberry "properly," at least by local standards.

They say it more like HUCKle BEARies, I go more toward huggleburras. Of course that might have more to do with the fact that I'm an epic mumbler.

[Islador]

Agree: 2,4,5,6,7,12,16,18,19,22,23,26,43,45,46: 1 point
Disagree: 1,11,15,25,29,30,36,38,48,50: 1 point
Score: 25

I'm just not that fond of spending lots of time with other people whch probably pushed my score up.

[jduster]

An online survey is not enough to accurately determine whether one is autistic or not.  There is a difference between being anti-social and being autistic.  Autistic people are neurally engineered differently from nuerotypicals and cannot socialize well, even if they tried very hard.  There are some autistic people who truly want to be social, but are depressed because they are unable to socialize well.  Personally, I was born very autistic, though I recovered over time.  I am very social, though I have difficulties at times.  That's probably why I only scored a 24.

[Kylyssa]

An online survey is not enough to accurately determine whether one is autistic or not.  There is a difference between being anti-social and being autistic.  Autistic people are neurally engineered differently from nuerotypicals and cannot socialize well, even if they tried very hard.  There are some autistic people who truly want to be social, but are depressed because they are unable to socialize well.

Absolutely! Much of a diagnosis of autism depends on the psychologist's or psychiatrist's observations of the person.  I was also questioned a great deal about my childhood and my therapist saw a lot there indicating autism/Aspergers.  People who knew me in childhood and have reconnected on the Internet (or, more accurately, connected with me for the first time) have said that the diagnosis is apt.  They just thought I was intensely odd but since I did exceptionally well in school, no one thought I was autistic.  

I have also known plenty of "normal" people who loved numbers and patterns.  There's nothing pathological about being great with math or loving it.

[Kylyssa]

There are some autistic people who truly want to be social, but are depressed because they are unable to socialize well.

About a eighteen months ago, I was doing pretty well in making friends with a new person.  Or so I thought.  But about eight months later I found out that she no longer considered me a friend and she said I was a bad person.  She said I never contacted her after our last conversation.  I thought I had.  It turns out, she doesn't count interaction online as contact.  I also had some massive lupus flares in that time period and I tend to withdraw even more than usual when I'm sick.  It was a horrible spiral of mis-communication which left her thinking I'm a horrible person.  After all - if I have time to write my "stupid little blogs" (which provide much of my income) I had time to call her on the phone.

It's almost taboo to admit that friendships have rules and it is taboo to ask what the rules for a particular friendship are.  People will answer such requests with, "Just be yourself" which is honestly not what they want.  Had I known the woman I was trying to befriend didn't count online communications, I would have stayed cordial but not tried to become a friend.  She wanted a friend who would take a very active role in calling her up on the phone, for one thing.  (I'd rather get beaten up than make a phone call, phone calls that are not business related are pure misery, I have no fucking clue what I'm supposed to say or when I'm supposed to talk.)  

I've found that some neurotypicals react viciously and defensively if you start to point out or dig for the rules for friendship with them.