I can’t help being curious over how other Asperger Syndrome adults learned that they are Aspies. I‘ll share my story and hope others will share theirs by submitting a comment to this post.
I was not told about Aspergers Syndrome by anyone. I eventually stumbled upon it while doing research online. I cannot remember exactly what it is was that finally brought my attention to Aspergers. All I know is that it may have happened because of my intense interest in reading about introverts, highly-sensitive persons, eccentrics, geniuses, and insomnia—along with noticing some of the similar correlations in that mix. I believe it was the insomnia topic, with its related information about serotonin and 5HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan), that finally introduced me to Aspergers Syndrome.
After getting a healthy dose of data online about AS, I went offline to make further investigations. With the help of phone calls, books, certain people, and fate, I was able to confirm and erase any doubts about my being an Aspie.
The important thing was that I got the answer to my life-long question, “What’s wrong with me?” You can’t imagine the shock that came from discovering there is nothing ‘wrong’ with me. I had no idea that what was (and still is) ‘wrong’ is totally due to a communication barrier between two different ‘cultures’ of humans → the neurotypicals and neuro-A-typicals.
I wonder how big of a difference it makes between Aspie adults who ‘stumble’ upon learning about Aspergers versus those who are told they have Aspergers. The specific difference is self-perception. Even though I went through stages of mixed emotion (shock, depression, and anger; ending with joy and contentment), I did eventually settle into a category I never before had. I like myself now and no longer feel obsessed to ‘fix’ something that isn’t broken.
[Edited 12-10-8 @ 1 am] I deleted a footnote here that was not constructively worded and it was unnecessary to even add.
[Edited 1-8-9 @ 1:23 pm] Here are the final results as of Dec. 24th, 2008:
Click on the poll image to see what else there is to learn about this.↑
Have you seen the A2P2 (Autistic Adult Picture Page)?
[The page address was removed on 8.25.10 because it no longer exists.]
That’s my own page, but there are hundreds you can access from there.
A lot of them tell a bit about themselves, or give links to their own
web pages. You can even set up your own A2P2 page, if you want to.
At this point I’m an adult, but when I was diagnosed I was thirteen. I wasn’t around any friends and played alone in the schoolyard, which apparently caused my teachers to suspect Asperger’s. When I was told of my diagnosis I was called to the living room at home for what I thought would be some serious dull chat. Apparently a psychologist had stepped in for a visit – she was definitely less dramatic about my diagnosis than my parents and mentioned that many famous scientists might have had AS.
I actually found it kind of cool after hearing that from my psychologist, definitely no shock experience – I had always known that I was different, just didn’t know there was a name for it.
08td,
No, I haven’t read that book. Books that people either love or hate (nothing ‘in-between’) arouse my curiosity. Thank you for pointing it out… now, if only I could read through books faster than I find more to read.
Update (1-30-9): I’ve decided to buy Dasha’s Journal: A Cat Reflects on Life, Catness and Autism after having thought about it long enough. Now it’s a matter of waiting until I have extra money for the purchase. I did get Kathy Hoopmann’s book all cats have asperger syndrome. Even though her book is geared at a child’s level and isn’t rocket science, its pretty darn good at summarizing the characteristics that Aspies have!
Hi,
Just found your blog – very interesting. I’ve tried to post in your ‘cats & dogs’ section – but alas – the comments are off.
Have you read this book? -
http://www.amazon.com/Dashas-Journal-Reflects-Catness-Autism/dp/1843105861/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229294307&sr=1-1
The funny thing is, people either love it or hate it, nothing ‘in-between’