Asperger syndrome

I, myself, am an Aspie. It's not really something to be ashamed about. It's what makes us really unique. It can be looked at as a gift and/or a curse. I hope it is giving you the gift part.
I myself, revolve around the computer aspect, and because of Aspie, I am very knowledgable about machines (not just apple's) and I love what it has given me.
Don't let it be a burden for you, even though it may be at some times. But remember, if you need someone to talk to, let me know at .

I am really glad you brought this up. I found out that it is what causes my "peculiarities" about 3 years ago. It is something that not a lot of people understand. What I do suggest you do, is to read up on it. Asperger's syndrome

I find it as a gift, even though I only have a few friends, and prefer to keep to myself. I also have a friend that has a more severe Aspie. He's not exactly easy to communicate with, but we have a lot of fun together just hanging out.

Don't be ashamed that you have it. It is not something that is going to turn people away. In fact, when I tell people, i can educate them about what I have. I actually have a few people ask me questions on it, and I am happy to let them know. Believe me, the more they know about this, the easier it will be for them to understand what makes you, you!

So, thanks for sharing!

[edit]I commonly get people asking me what aspbergers is, and I tell them it's a cross between a snake and a bun [/edit]

that means a lot

I'm from Pittsburgh, and I don't know if you guys have heard of Nancy Minchew (spelling?) but she's a large-scale autism researcher in the Pittsburgh area.

Being a future educator (and a school systems admin for 13 years, possibly working again this summer as well) I have looked into aspberger syndrome. It's a fascinating thing, really, and the people who have it are truly one of a kind. I am writing a research paper on it for one of my classes (for my ed degree) and have read a few books.

Never be ashamed of anything like that. We're all unique, and the world would be boring if we were all "normal"...and what is "normal" anyway? Actually, everyone on this board probably defies "normal" because we are Mac users/modifyers/collectors/etc. Not a whole lot of people can say that they work on Macs as a hobby.

Don't get discouraged, especially about dating. I'm old, single, and haven't given up yet! I just passed on a lot of ladies in my younger days because most of them were a bit too immature for me. The girls I liked (some of whom I'm still friends with after all of these years) I was comfortable with because I was really good friends with them. Perhaps you guys could benefit from that as well--especially if the girl knows a bit about Aspbergers.

I had two co-workers in my old workplace who had I believe had AS (both teachers). Both taught science. One was married with kids, the other a single. These guys are amazing. They pretty much "own the material" when discussing it. Sometimes they almost seem to know too much, but that's a good thing, right?

Oh, and people with Aspberger's tend to have amazing abilities. An example I read about involves the old-style dollar bills (the ones that look like the $1 bill in basic design). If you have a $5-$100 and the date is (I believe) Series 1990 or later look carefully around the president's portrait. A guy with AS was able to see some small print (I'd check on what it said but all I've got right now are new style bills). His date had no idea how he found that out (he told her later that night he had AS, and she was accepting of it--matter of fact they got married).

In another sense, I think we all have AS to some degree. I'm "normal" if you will (like I said that word really has no definition) but I have this ability to a) remember the exact date something happened and b) can recall back to age one and a half with vivid memory. I'm not alone--one of my friends can do it too (she's also "normal").

I know this rant is long, but this topic has intrigued me for a while. Especially because we had this HS student with AS intern with the IT department a few summers back. Great kid--knew his stuff really well. Socially he seemed okay, I guess--he wasn't a dater and took a bit of time to warm up to us but he was otherwise really good.

Aspberger's is on something called the "autism spectrum"...I'd explain it here but it's sort of complicated. Google it and you should find out all about it.

Remember--AS is a gift, not a disability...

i to think i have it. i have problems with comunication around other people its verry hard for me to talk to a girl, I just stop thinking. but know allot about computers and lerning about networking.

i loved to do stuff with my hands like make models of cars out of paper and shoebox cardboard that will roll and have opening doors and hood's and working suspention. i made a stelth plane out of pop sickle sticks, toothpicks, and some clear plastic for the opening cockpit and black electical tape. loved to do stuff by my self. i have a few friends and we do have areguments and some are girls but i have no G/F. for me its hard to say what i feel to some one. or to tell them to do somthing when im at work, i usealy do it my self.

When i got my 2 Beige G3's AIO for free i learned about them within the month that i got them. im a tech junky i cant live without it. i have to be around tech or try to fix what is wrong with it. i built my first pc back in 1997 with parts i bought from other people. i can almost build/put togeather anything that gets set infront of me and enjoy doing it.

i do warm up to people once i know them but still have problems explaining myself to others. i have a real kind heart sometimes to kind and cant hurt other people and dont like to be around trouble.
that in a nutshell explains me.i can comunicate better threw a computer than i can face to face but it is just as hard. i am 27 years old, if i dont have it then it is close to it.

you shoud get tested it can't hurt to try those sound like traits
of as so you might what to check

Really fascinating topic. Thanks for the confessions. A life gifted and challenged. Nice to hear geniuses appreciate Macs and find their way to Applefritter. My problem's the opposite--jack of all trades, master of none. It's a marvel to see some of the high-level thinking that shows up here. Good luck with the challenges.

Ditto! AS sounds like a true blessing/curse to those who have it. I don't (another jack of all trades, master of none!) but from the description on Wikipedia, I know many people who do, whether they've been diagnosed or not.

Interesting that it says many believe "a cure is neither possible nor desirable". Seems like something that needs to be identified early and nurtured as a gift. Good for you, macplus512a, for including study of AS in your career prep.

I'd probably fall under the Geek Syndrome for sure, and some of the traits of AS seem to apply. I'm proficient with computers, have a fascination for things science and math and historical, though I'm not usually in the mood to stay with a topic for a long period. The quote from Wikioedia:

Works for me a I'd be an intelligent underachiever much of the time. I almost never did homework in HS, and the same in college. In earning my AA degree, I was even asked to/did work as a tutor for adult students with learning disorders. That req'd me to have an "A" grade for the course i was to tutor. I tutored for 2 semesters on 2 subjects, and neither was comp/sci/math related: history and literature. I even match the INTP & INTJ profile for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. I've had at least 4-5 MBTI tests during HS/college, and most were INTP and one was INTJ. Socially functional, but somewhat awkward, language idiosyncrasies, strong penchant for writing and high ability to rhyme... I can hardly stand to be around people who eat loudly, I can't sleep if I'm still awake when someone starts to snore. I notice sounds that other people don't, and tend to get annoyed at the sounds if they aren't "necessary".

Man, maybe being in the CS track at UMKC was "interesting" for me, but it was so varied that I got bored and stopped going. There were also some professors I liked or didn't like. Now that I think about it, it may have had as much to do with their accents as with their personalities. One particularly memorable professor was named "Van Der Voot" and had a midlevel accent. I still think "a-boot" things and that we shouldn't "a-choo-m" their features.

I'm an INTJ. I discovered Myers-Briggs through work a couple years ago, and found it to be a real eye-opener. Through that I was able to learn to take advantage of those "outsider" traits.

Now, that's fascinating. Is that something you've found relates back to your MB profile? I share those sensitivities, and they're quite strong for me, but figured I was just a poor sleeper and sensitive to sound. I've found earplugs help for sleeping.

For others who don't know about it, the Myers-Briggs profile is a well-respected personality test. There are several online places where you can do the test. Highly recommended.

Earplugs are great, but I tend to get ear aches and sinus infections if I use them often. I also get sound via the bed to my skull, ie. transmitted sound that the earlugs won't block. Compund the sound sensitivities with insomnia, and that's why I tend to be on AF at 11pm to 5am locally some days.

And the noise factor is probably one of the reasons I like my Mini so much. It doesn't bug me unless I use the optical.

it dose not always bug me but sometimes i get anoide when
i talk and tv or radios are on when they should be lissonung

Don’t like things like this get you down. I too have my problems that make the things most take for granted difficult.

When people here about it and my past that caused it, they usually say how sorry they are that I have had such a hard life.

I tell them they are wrong and that I am fortunate to have gone through such things.

You have the average people that things are easy for but have nothing special about them. All they know is the status quo. Things are boring for them. They know neither victory nor defeat, all they know is how things are. At the end of their life all they can say I did what was expected of me.

I know the joy of overcoming that which says you can’t, I also know what it is like to go up against those forces and loose. I can even take pride in those times because I know I had the courage to fight. At the end of my life I will be able to look back with pride, look at the obstacles life put in my way. Know that I overcame them and that my journey was worthwhile and that I went much further than most people go.

I ve been looking up more info on as (I have before but not as much)
and it is interesting I understand my self more now than I did and
I am glad you can relate to me in some way it was a big step say this
in af for me and I think I am better for it a still have a long way to go (like not getting so worked uped) but I am on the right path

The more I look, the more I think I ought to check if my health insurance would cover an evaluation... Reading about some of the issues and problems of AS, I'm finding more insights to things that went on when I was younger and why I get along with certain people more. It seems I tend to get along better with people who are/were teachers. Several instructors in college "took me aside" and pointed out various projects or classes I might be interested in. Many times I ended up correcting the instructor of my CS101 Programming course at UMKC when discussing C++ and writing code on the board. He didn't seem to like it much at first, but before long I'm guessing it saved the entire class from trying to compile homework code with bad code from the instructor, and he realized that. And I don't think I was disrepectful in correcting him, as I'd always raise my hand and make a suggestion on what was wrong to give him a chance to see it before I flat out told him the exact correction. Pedantic programming is a requierment if you want code to compile, I guess.

In elementary school, the "gifted" classroom (myself and a few others went once a week for several hours) was right next door to the special needs classroom. Now that I'm reading that they may be related, it makes much more sense. or course I went to E.S. in the mid '80s to early '90s, so alot of the info we are seeing about the "Geek Syndrome" wasn't known.