On the spectrum

[index]

Discussion in this thread: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=25705.0 about how people couldn't raise kids due to various issues, some of them mentioning the spectrum, had got me thinking about how many other people on this forum are on the spectrum to some degree. I myself haven't been diagnosed, but I show a lot of the telltale signs and I have an identical twin who was diagnosed in 2015.

A lot of the symptoms and social qualities many people on the spectrum are lacking I've been able to respectively suppress or learn how to do. In the past I had horrible, violent behavior, and I could never speak normally to anyone, but my potential Asperger's wasn't bad enough to where I wasn't self aware of it, and over the time I've got to the point where I manage to pass as having a normal brain, although I slip through the cracks sometimes in regards to suppressing my symptoms. The social discomfort related to the disease is still there, I'm just good at allowing it not to surface.

Given that this forum's central focus is a niche topic - roads, it doesn't come as surprising there'd be people on the spectrum here. One of the symptoms of this disease is intense fixations on specific topics, in this case, roads. I do have other fixations beyond this, though, namely geography and politics (although the latter never goes over easy on this forum).

[adventurernumber1]

I have Asperger's Syndrome. It has fluctuated in severity throughout my lifetime (of almost 20 years) so far. It was never severe, but it was moderate throughout my early childhood (from birth to around 10 years old). I had a minor speech impediment where I could only make the "f"  sound when I tried to make the "th"  sound, but that was fully corrected after a few years of speech therapy in elementary school. By the time I was a pre-teen, the overt obviousness of my autism had largely subsided. The beginning of my teens (late 2012, 2013, early 2014) was the most normal I ever was, and it was also the golden age of my life (so far), with the most abundance of joy and least pain. During this time, my autism was least severe. After this, mental illnesses (depression, anxiety, psychosis, etc.) started creeping in, and these have ultimately actually made my autism more severe since then, to where it is now once again probably mildly overtly noticeable in many situations. Although, at no point in my life have my social skills and ability to do things perfectly normally in this area been extremely superb.

I agree that the reason interest in roads may be correlated with Autism/Asperger's a lot is since many times we people that have it often have very intense and unusual interests, as you said. This is actually the primary reason why I consider my Asperger's to be a gift (if it was very severe autism, that obviously wouldn't be the case). I wouldn't want to live without this strong interest of mine I hold so dear. It's such a big part of me and it brings so much joy. It also brings the benefits of a photographic memory and special insights and ways of thinking. I think that the other mental ailments (depression, OCD, etc.) have absolutely zero benefit, and they have done nothing but severe harm, and they are definitely not gifts to me. But I feel differently about my Asperger's (which also differs in the fact that I've had it my whole life, where I've only had psychological disorders since mid-2014). All in all, autism has its pros and its cons, but it is definitely a part of me.

[MikeTheActuary]

I've never been tested/diagnosed, but am probably on the spectrum, albeit with less significant impacts on my life than many who have been diagnosed.

I went down a websurfing rabbit hole on Aspergers several years ago, and had that "a ha!" moment of realizing "this would explain so much...", and my wife had an analogous reaction when I showed her some information.

I lucked out in the sense that my occasionally-obsessive interests aligned well with school work, and that I was able to find a profession that was similarly aligned and where there are enough mostly-diagnosed folks on the spectrum that my quirks fall within the range of one set of actuarial stereotypes.

[roadman65]

I am on the spectrum and so was my mom.  I at least figured it out on my own, as doctors either said I just had plain depression or the clinic in NJ had me see a fresh out of college therapist who thought I was just lazy and when I said I had a sadness that would not go away, he said it was me just dwelling on it despite my efforts to assure him that it was more than that.  Also when I said I was getting angry thoughts at the time of harming others or fantasizing about hurting some people, he was not even concerned about it.  He just interrupted me, and said I needed exercise and that would channel negative thoughts away from me.

Anyway, recently I saw a new therapist after seeing the one by Polk County Sheriff as I applied for a job in the EMS department which requires a visit to the shrink to examine your mental state.  She found that I had anger that needed to be brought out by a therapist.  Needless, to say, I saw a collegue  of hers, and he pointed out that I can get treatment easily for a spectrum and that my anger was related to me being frustrated from my mom's lack of seeing it as well as me wondering the nature of my state.

I now am officially diagnosed with part Aspergers and now I can learn with meds to relate to others as in the past I could not especially my mom.  She, I know had it as well, as when dad died and was alone with her to see that she was missing cues and not relating to others and most of all not making friends, as well as lack of focus and never listening to what I had to say as her mind was always appearing to be closed, but actually because her lack of focus really.  Most of all, mom never asserted herself and ranted to me constantly instead.  Could not get through to her and even me admitting I could have a spectrum did not help as she still put the demands that normal (people without spectrum that is) people could barely tolerate. So with me it was to the extreme breaking point as if normal folks are driven to discomfort, I would be driven beyond that.  So I was and up until she died. 

I now have my life back, but not what I missed since childhood, so my years of potentially settling down with a wife and family are now no longer a thing of desire do to my late age (I am 54) and lost desire for it being single for many decades.

[hbelkins]

Haven't we had this discussion multiple times before?

[707]

I believe we have. I did a post last year on this same topic, because I'm also on the spectrum.

VS988

[index]

I had searched this board for 'aspergers', 'autism', and 'spectrum' before creating this thread and the only other similar thread discussing this topic from those results is seven years old. Oh well. Guess I missed something, then...?

[Brian556]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

Uh, what? This has never been a problem for me...

[SSOWorld]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

[US 89]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

He must be confusing it with Asspooper syndrome.

[index]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

It may sound outlandish but there is actually legitimate research (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=gastrointestinal+issues+and+autism&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart) into a possible link between gastrointestinal/gastroenterological  issues and Asperger's/autism - I myself experience pretty severe issues related to the two, although to be fair, I think the delivery of that statement could have been better in the post we're quoting here as it isn't quite right. It should be noted, however, though, that neither would cause the other, if there is a link it's simply because they're frequently comorbid.

[ErmineNotyours]

About a year and a half ago, right before I discovered AA Roads, I attended the coding bootcamp Code Fellows.  During the all-day introductory session, we split into groups to create a rudimentary website.  I wasn't jazzed about my group's topic, a site about the Seattle Seahawks.  Another group did a site about pizza.  Even that would be better than yet another Seahawks site.  With that in mind, when it came time to do another group project, I volunteered to form a group to make a game.  I had successfully made a version of Columns for an ApplesoftBASIC emulator, so I thought I could adapt that into a different game.  Someone else in the group decided on a simpler idea, but this was the one time there when I felt I was firing on all cylinders.  I never contributed much at all for the next two group projects.  Later when we were discussing job interviews, I happened to mention that I didn't see me going through the interview process, and I might not even bother to apply.  Someone overheard me, and I was soon placed in front of the student coordinator.  She asked me if I was on the spectrum, and I knew what she meant.  By this time, I had already read the first two John Elder Robison books, and I figured autism could be one of the things affecting me.  On the plus side, the coordinator said that Microsoft has a hiring program for people on the spectrum.  I still have to know the stuff, but it's an alternative to the normal interview process.  I thought the next step was to contact a clinic and get tested, but they haven't gotten back to me yet.  What I would need to do is get into counseling again and have the counselor refer me to an autism tester.

My mom said her brother was autistic, staring at water going down the train.  She was concerned that my younger brother might be on the spectrum, but she didn't seem at all concerned that she or I might have it.  It would explain so much about her if she was diagnosed.

[inkyatari]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

I just finished reading the book "The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe," and this was briefly mentioned.

It's quackery with a side of woo. Don't do it.  In fact, gut bacteria has nothing to do with mental conditions.

I have two children on the spectrum. My oldest has asperger's, and my youngest is full blown on the autism spectrum (My middle child isn't on the spectrum at all, but she has her own health issues.)  I have ADD, major depression and persistent depressive disorder.  It's possible I may have asperger's myself, but I've never gotten tested.

[inkyatari]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

It may sound outlandish but there is actually legitimate research (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=gastrointestinal+issues+and+autism&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart) into a possible link between gastrointestinal/gastroenterological  issues and Asperger's/autism - I myself experience pretty severe issues related to the two, although to be fair, I think the delivery of that statement could have been better in the post we're quoting here as it isn't quite right. It should be noted, however, though, that neither would cause the other, if there is a link it's simply because they're frequently comorbid.

The only study I've seen had 18 participants, and no placebo was used, and all the participants knew they were getting the treatment.  Reeks of homeopathy bs.

[index]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

It may sound outlandish but there is actually legitimate research (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=gastrointestinal+issues+and+autism&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart) into a possible link between gastrointestinal/gastroenterological  issues and Asperger's/autism - I myself experience pretty severe issues related to the two, although to be fair, I think the delivery of that statement could have been better in the post we're quoting here as it isn't quite right. It should be noted, however, though, that neither would cause the other, if there is a link it's simply because they're frequently comorbid.

The only study I've seen had 18 participants, and no placebo was used, and all the participants knew they were getting the treatment.  Reeks of homeopathy bs.

That doesn't sound like the definition of homeopathy to me...I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to get at here, please elaborate

[hbelkins]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

It may sound outlandish but there is actually legitimate research (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=gastrointestinal+issues+and+autism&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart) into a possible link between gastrointestinal/gastroenterological  issues and Asperger's/autism - I myself experience pretty severe issues related to the two, although to be fair, I think the delivery of that statement could have been better in the post we're quoting here as it isn't quite right. It should be noted, however, though, that neither would cause the other, if there is a link it's simply because they're frequently comorbid.

The only study I've seen had 18 participants, and no placebo was used, and all the participants knew they were getting the treatment.  Reeks of homeopathy bs.

Did they know they were getting a real poop transplant, or did some of them think they were getting fake poop? 

(Yes, I know it said that no placebo was used, but what would they substitute for poop? Baby Ruth bars?)

[inkyatari]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

It may sound outlandish but there is actually legitimate research (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=gastrointestinal+issues+and+autism&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart) into a possible link between gastrointestinal/gastroenterological  issues and Asperger's/autism - I myself experience pretty severe issues related to the two, although to be fair, I think the delivery of that statement could have been better in the post we're quoting here as it isn't quite right. It should be noted, however, though, that neither would cause the other, if there is a link it's simply because they're frequently comorbid.

The only study I've seen had 18 participants, and no placebo was used, and all the participants knew they were getting the treatment.  Reeks of homeopathy bs.

That doesn't sound like the definition of homeopathy to me...I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to get at here, please elaborate

Reeks of the homeopathic process of "proving," which is not a scientific method at all.

[vdeane]

I think there's something to the gut issue.  My digestive system has always been a little wonky and Mom swears my Aspergers and whatnot always improved when I wasn't having artificial flavors/coloring in my food.

[index]

I think there's something to the gut issue.  My digestive system has always been a little wonky and Mom swears my Aspergers and whatnot always improved when I wasn't having artificial flavors/coloring in my food.

Thinking about it now, yeah, that could be possible.


I've been in and out of the doctor for almost a year now with various tests to see what might be wrong with my digestive tract and why it has so many issues and so far they've come up with nothing. I've had an endoscopy, had samples from my stomach and lower digestive tract tested, and a fluoroscopy recently (which is basically a fancy x-ray that lets them see and record moving images of what's happening in your system) and that's looking to possibly come up dry as well.


After all of this my gastroenterologist (yes, a real doctor, she's prescribed me tons of medication, not some phony or a homeopath) suggested to me these issues could be caused by something mental, she herself was talking about there being a link between our gut and our brain. She suggested it might be anxiety, and I know I do have some form of it, I just haven't had it diagnosed. I know for sure some of the anxiety I experience ties into my aspergers, if you're ever high functioning like I am but also self aware enough to know how awkward you can be it's pretty darn tormenting sometimes, especially in places like school.

[kphoger]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

He must be confusing it with Asspooper syndrome.

It's actually Assburgers Syndrome.

[SectorZ]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

He must be confusing it with Asspooper syndrome.

It's actually Assburgers Syndrome.

"You were sticking these in your ass, Cartman!?"

[ozarkman417]

No one likes peta anyways

SM-G965U

[mgk920]

IMHO, autism, et al, is not a noun, rather it is an adjective. It is not something that one has, it cannot be 'caught' nor 'cured' nor transmitted to anyone else, instead it is what one 'is'.  One 'is autistic', not 'has autism.  It is part of the base programming of the brain, a certain set of several combinations of one's personality traits, set at the instant of conception and as such, cannot be changed.

One can learn coping mechanisms, how to work to fit in as best as he or she can with the knowledge of what makes him or her 'tick' and ways of how that can mesh with his or her surroundings.

It cannot be 'cured' such that the subject can be forced to fit in with any perceived notions of normality.

Mike

[Max Rockatansky]

Possible cure or symptom reduction:

One of the side effects of Asperger's is that you always have diarrhea. Because of this, they believe that Asperger's is related to gut bacteria. There is this new treatment where they shove somebody else's shit up your ass in order to give you the proper gut bacteria.

I would be very hesitant to get this. I would be afraid of it taking away the good parts of Asperger's, including my interests.

seriously? Where do you get your facts from????

He must be confusing it with Asspooper syndrome.

It's actually Assburgers Syndrome.

"You were sticking these in your ass, Cartman!?"