Introducing myself

July 30, 2000

Hey Z, Howzit there in New Home Cra...Zee! Sorry I've been out of

touch...not sure what tests you mean but hope all is superbly well with you.

I miss your bouyant take on life. Things have been a bit weird in my home

too - but all is well - really well finally. So glad that you got the

tapes...wish you'd just given me your home address cos I'd have posted them

directly to you and by now you could be ...well you know...FIRMer! God Bless

sweetie, chat soon, Lean.

November 5, 2001

Welcome, yes this site is a Godsend. I wish i had known of it alot sooner.

It seems as though God has given you a very interesting start with Abby, at

least you aren't in the denial i was until my daughter was 5.MY daughter is

now 7, classed as HFA, social skills are horrid, and cognitive is very, very

slowely picking up with maturity. We have her in mainline school with her 9

year old sister, she has a government paid aide teacher for 2 hours a day,

without this aide i really do not know how much she would have learn't at

all. I see slow improvements in areas some days, then i see a regression in

others, but as people say, " 1 step forward and 2 back " , but eventually, well

only God knows this score. I'm sure you will like this site and the ladies

who write. Cheryl

Introducing myself

First of all, this site is a Godsend. Thank you all for your input

and generous words! They're priceless.

I am Abby's mom. Abby has recently turned four years old. I also have

an older daughter who is 15. Abby is our miracle child. My husband

and I lost a five month old fetus and also had another miscarriage.

It wasn't until Abby came along that we knew that God had plans for

us that we might not be able to understand. Please let me tell you a

little about us. I was 40 when Abby was born and she was four weeks

premature, but in excellent health. She was no slower to walk than

any other child and reached other developmental milestones normally,

except for her speech. However, she is still in diapers (Pull-Ups)

and still relies on a bottle to calm her down, though not as much as

she used to. To make this long story shorter (by the way thanks for

your time) we have a ped. neurologist and child psychiatrist who have

given us PDD diagnosis. I understand what all of you are going

through and I have just started having the best nights of her life.

We have been on the Clonodine for approximately two weeks and she

averages about 7 to 8 hours a night. Her record without sleep was 36

straight hours. She is super hyper but somewhat high functioning

socially. We are fortunate to not have any self injurious behavior at

this point but she does have an explosive frustration level. My

husband, daughter and I are making many trips to and from doctors,

etc and have already contacted our local schools for early

intervention program and were told they would come to our home

(terrific). Since I also am both a mom and a professional (college

instructor and former school counselor) I wonder how the doctors are

able to make a diagnosis without more fully observing and evaluating

the child. The psychiatrist we went to was a little acronym crazy,

throwing such phrases as " ADHD, OCD " at us for the first time. Abby

has her first psy. testing on November 23. I am so glad to find this

site. You are all wonderful and if you have not read the writings of

Temple Grandin, please do. She is amazing. My email address is

bfranks@.... Please send any information you can find. I am also

reading a great deal about Floyd Tilton websites. Abby has some OCD

behaviors, hand flapping, but extremly high computer and mechanical

ability. I worry about getting all of this properly assessed. She can

say things like, " Want to lay down " and " Want a Mickey bar " . She is

very sensitive to smell and one noise (plugs her ears when the

telephone rings) and will actually say " It's ok " when the phone

rings. I understand all the comments about discipline. I even did not

attend church for seven weeks, which was awful for me. But, now I am

back and I am accepting whatever God desires for us. Talk to you

soon. Thanks for listening.

March 3, 2005

Hello,

I just wanted to say welcome. I have an 11 year old AS son but also a daughter that just turned for named Gracen lol, same name different spelling, to funny.

I would get her signed up and on the waiting list for the state and get her pediatrician to call your insurance company and tell them this is a medically necessary treatment and they have to cover it. You can also request a patient advocate through the insurance company who will help fight to get your needs met.

Good Luck!!-Charlotte

Introducing myself

Hello! I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know how happy I am that you are here. I am the mother of Grayson. (my age 3 soon to be 4) She was diagnosed last winter as high functiong autistic / aspergers. She is doing well in her ST, & OT. I am very proud at how hard she has worked this past year. She attends regular pre-school ( they are very accomodating here & offered to work with her instead of me putting her in special pre-school because they saw how bright she is.) Right now I am having trouble getting my insurance company to pay for more than 30 st visits a year. I know that I could've done st thru the state but I am in a very rural area and our st's cover about 200 miles. They are so over booked that they would only be able to see her when a cancelation came up. ( I live in VA) Right now I owe her ST around $400.00 What would you do to handle this situation?Thanks

March 5, 2005

>

I don't know if this would apply for you , but I'm a nurse and work

home health. We have a telehealth program. Basically it is a two

way telephone. The MD is at the office and the child is at home.

When it is you appointment time you call the office, they answer and

the conversation/visit is done over the phone, but the beauty of it

is that it's face to face. It has eliminated your travel time and

waiting the room, missed work time etc. I wonder if you could find a

way to get the ST to agree to this. I know that there is a lot of

grant money available in this area of medicine.

> Hello! I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know how

happy

> I am that you are here. I am the mother of Grayson. (my age 3

> soon to be 4) She was diagnosed last winter as high functiong

> autistic / aspergers. She is doing well in her ST, & OT. I am

very

> proud at how hard she has worked this past year. She attends

> regular pre-school ( they are very accomodating here & offered to

> work with her instead of me putting her in special pre-school

> because they saw how bright she is.) Right now I am having trouble

> getting my insurance company to pay for more than 30 st visits a

> year. I know that I could've done st thru the state but I am in a

> very rural area and our st's cover about 200 miles. They are so

> over booked that they would only be able to see her when a

> cancelation came up. ( I live in VA) Right now I owe her ST

around

> $400.00 What would you do to handle this situation?

>

> Thanks

December 3, 2006

ADD IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you've been misunderstood your whole life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The diagnosis is the NT or should I say MT interpretation. Of course it doesn't describe you. They are not you. They are the ones who give everyone with differences a bad name. Welcome to the group. zylon1 <zylonn@...> wrote: Hello. I am Zylon, and this is my first post to this forum.I have been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS) as confirmed by 4 psychiatrists so far. I have felt alienated,

isolated, and misunderstood all my life, and to find a place to belong and be understood would be very nice. However, although I am very much not an NT, I still do not feel confident that AS applies to me either. NT and AS may not be the only possibilities. When I read about AS, I see some similarities, but it never seems to get to my core differences, and tends to concentrate on things which are not my core differences. Perhaps these things are just NT perceptions of AS. Perhaps I am a true AS anyway. Perhaps the best thing to do here now is to tell you about myself.I am isolated from society, have no friends, no job, no car, no connections. I have been in therapy for many years, but I get no understanding and it does not help. I have learned to be very shy. My core differences from NTs are so fundamental as to be hard to explain. It seems that I am profoundly different in almost every psychological area.I

think logically but not in words or symbols. I am an experiencer, not a doer (e,g, I do not enjoy games, not even as a child), and I do not judge the quality of my life by what I do or accomplish, but rather by what I experience. I have no post-pubescent sex instinct (I find all pornographic behavior and imagry totally alien). I am strongly and exclusively attracted to certain members of the oposite sex, but it is not sexual in the usual meaning of the word. I have been this way since age 6. My interests are in natural science, not human affairs. I think in elements, not in "packages" (e.g. when presented by a word like "man" I see each property associalted with that word individually, such as the various physical and psychological properties which define a man.) My short-term memory and working memory are poor, but my conceptual level is extremely high (e.g. I can analyze mathematical philosophy, but was very slow to

memorize arithmetic tables).In elementary school, I was in remedial reading class, but in the library I was reading college-level science books.Except for being wiser, I am the same psychologically now as I was at age 6. I cannot identify with being an adult. I can remember all ages of my life, including infancy, and my memory of early childhood is as vivid and "real" as any recent memory, sometimes even more so.I have no interest in or first-hand understanding of non-utilitarian social dynamics, such as social status. I cannot do small-talk because small talk involves sharing mutual feelings, and my feelings differ from theirs. My natural response to seeing someone I like is to shout their name and hug them. Subsequent talking would only occur if there was something to say. I am extremely sensitive to faces, and how I feel towards someone is (unfortunately) very dependent on what their face looks like, from powerful

love at first sight (opposite sex only) to intense repulsion. This feeling does not change by getting to know the person. I am by nature very affectionate and compassionate and can get very intimate (non-sexually), caring, and loving (but I seldom have the opportunity for it). I do have theory of mind, but it assumes that their mind works the same as mine, which it does not. To me, NTs seem to lack theory of mind.I eagerly await your responses to this. Thank you for reading and responding..Zylon

Check out the all-new beta - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.

December 3, 2006

Welcome to the forum Zylon. Posting here may bring you a feeling of

connection and lessen the isolation in your life.

Kim

December 3, 2006

" Hello. I am Zylon, and this is my first post to this forum. "

Hi Zylon, and welcome to the forum.

" I have been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS) as confirmed by 4

psychiatrists so far. I have felt alienated, isolated, and

misunderstood all my life, and to find a place to belong and be

understood would be very nice. "

You will find that there are others like you here.

" However, although I am very much not an NT, I still do not feel

confident that AS applies to me either. NT and AS may not be the

only possibilities. When I read about AS, I see some similarities,

but it never seems to get to my core differences, and tends to

concentrate on things which are not my core differences. "

THe DSM IV lists out categorically what AS supposedly is. The

problem is that not everything undber Asperger Syndrome applies to

everyone. There is an autistic spectrum and there is a spectrum for

people who have AS as well.

" Perhaps these things are just NT perceptions of AS. Perhaps I am a

true AS anyway. "

Remember that the DSM IV was devised by non-Aspies. Ergo their

perception of AS is what defines AS.

" I am isolated from society, have no friends, no job, no car, no

connections. I have been in therapy for many years, but I get no

understanding and it does not help. I have learned to be very shy. My

core differences from NTs are so fundamental as to be hard to

explain. It seems that I am profoundly different in almost every

psychological area. "

That describes lots of people here.

" I think logically but not in words or symbols. I am an experiencer,

not a doer (e,g, I do not enjoy games, not even as a child), and I do

not judge the quality of my life by what I do or accomplish, but

rather by what I experience. I have no post-pubescent sex instinct (I

find all pornographic behavior and imagry totally alien). I am

strongly and exclusively attracted to certain members of the oposite

sex, but it is not sexual in the usual meaning of the word. I have

been this way since age 6. "

Again, many peoplehere have some or all of those characteristics.

" My interests are in natural science, not human affairs. I think in

elements, not in " packages " (e.g. when presented by a word like " man "

I see each property associalted with that word individually, such as

the various physical and psychological properties which define a

man.) My short-term memory and working memory are poor, but my

conceptual level is extremely high (e.g. I can analyze mathematical

philosophy, but was very slow to memorize arithmetic tables).

In elementary school, I was in remedial reading class, but in the

library I was reading college-level science books. "

AS people tend to have lopsided educational achievement and aptitude

as you do.

" Except for being wiser, I am the same psychologically now as I was

at age 6. I cannot identify with being an adult. "

Non-Aspie adults seem to reach a point where they cannot remember

what their childhoods were like. Not so Aspies. We tend to remember

our childhoods and keep the good aspects of childhood with us.

" I can remember all ages of my life, including infancy, and my

memory of early childhood is as vivid and " real " as any recent

memory, sometimes even more so. "

Same here.

" I have no interest in or first-hand understanding of non-utilitarian

social dynamics, such as social status. I cannot do small-talk

because small talk involves sharing mutual feelings, and my feelings

differ from theirs. My natural response to seeing someone I like is

to shout their name and hug them. Subsequent talking would only occur

if there was something to say. I am extremely sensitive to faces, and

how I feel towards someone is (unfortunately) very dependent on what

their face looks like, from powerful love at first sight (opposite

sex only) to intense repulsion. This feeling does not change by

getting to know the person. I am by nature very affectionate and

compassionate and can get very intimate (non-sexually), caring, and

loving (but I seldom have the opportunity for it). I do have theory

of mind, but it assumes that their mind works the same as mine, which

it does not. To me, NTs seem to lack theory of mind. "

You do sound Aspie to me. Though I am not qualified to render such

an opinion. But everything you describe sounds like what lots of

people have posted here.

Welcome to the group.

Tom

Administrator

December 3, 2006

Hi Zylon,

welcome to the group.

>

> Hello. I am Zylon, and this is my first post to this forum.

>

> I have been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS) as confirmed by 4

> psychiatrists so far. I have felt alienated, isolated, and

> misunderstood all my life, and to find a place to belong and be

> understood would be very nice. However, although I am very much not

> an NT, I still do not feel confident that AS applies to me either.

NT

> and AS may not be the only possibilities. When I read about AS, I

see

> some similarities, but it never seems to get to my core

differences,

> and tends to concentrate on things which are not my core

differences.

> Perhaps these things are just NT perceptions of AS. Perhaps I am a

> true AS anyway. Perhaps the best thing to do here now is to tell

you

> about myself.

> I am isolated from society, have no friends, no job, no car, no

> connections. I have been in therapy for many years, but I get no

> understanding and it does not help. I have learned to be very shy.

My

> core differences from NTs are so fundamental as to be hard to

> explain. It seems that I am profoundly different in almost every

> psychological area.

> I think logically but not in words or symbols. I am an

experiencer,

> not a doer (e,g, I do not enjoy games, not even as a child), and I

do

> not judge the quality of my life by what I do or accomplish, but

> rather by what I experience. I have no post-pubescent sex instinct

(I

> find all pornographic behavior and imagry totally alien). I am

> strongly and exclusively attracted to certain members of the

oposite

> sex, but it is not sexual in the usual meaning of the word. I have

> been this way since age 6.

> My interests are in natural science, not human affairs. I think in

> elements, not in " packages " (e.g. when presented by a word

like " man "

> I see each property associalted with that word individually, such

as

> the various physical and psychological properties which define a

> man.) My short-term memory and working memory are poor, but my

> conceptual level is extremely high (e.g. I can analyze mathematical

> philosophy, but was very slow to memorize arithmetic tables).

> In elementary school, I was in remedial reading class, but in the

> library I was reading college-level science books.

> Except for being wiser, I am the same psychologically now as I was

at

> age 6. I cannot identify with being an adult. I can remember all

ages

> of my life, including infancy, and my memory of early childhood is

as

> vivid and " real " as any recent memory, sometimes even more so.

> I have no interest in or first-hand understanding of non-

utilitarian

> social dynamics, such as social status. I cannot do small-talk

> because small talk involves sharing mutual feelings, and my

feelings

> differ from theirs. My natural response to seeing someone I like

is

> to shout their name and hug them. Subsequent talking would only

occur

> if there was something to say. I am extremely sensitive to faces,

and

> how I feel towards someone is (unfortunately) very dependent on

what

> their face looks like, from powerful love at first sight (opposite

> sex only) to intense repulsion. This feeling does not change by

> getting to know the person. I am by nature very affectionate and

> compassionate and can get very intimate (non-sexually), caring, and

> loving (but I seldom have the opportunity for it). I do have theory

> of mind, but it assumes that their mind works the same as mine,

which

> it does not. To me, NTs seem to lack theory of mind.

> I eagerly await your responses to this. Thank you for reading and

> responding.

> .

> Zylon

>

December 3, 2006

>

> You do sound Aspie to me.

Hello Tom. Thank you for welcoming me.

I hope you are right. I tend to increase my identification with AS

over time until I read about it, even articles written by aspies

themselves, and then I say " no, that's not me " .

There are things about me which I have learned not to reveal to

anyone, although I have tried when encouraged by forums or

therapists. Once I was on a depression forum, and when I revealed the

real reason why I was depressed, I was gagged not just from that

forum, but also another that I was not even on! I assure you that

there was absolutely nothing wrong with what I said, only that in

their mind they could not conceive of what I really said, only what

they imagined I said via their theory of what feelings are and are

not possible. And their theories are strong, and are shared by

psychiatrists as well. If I ever see someone else write about

themself what is true about me, I would not hesitate to agree with

them, but to volunteer the imformation first would feel risky.

Remember, there is nothing wrong with it, and if understood it would

actually be considered very nice; it is only the missunderstanding

which can make it look bad.

Zylon

December 4, 2006

Hi,

I know you were replying to Tom, but a few things in this post stood

out for me.

" I tend to increase my identification with AS over time until I read

about it, even articles written by aspies themselves, and then I

say " no, that's not me " . "

I don't identify with all things written by aspies, some things I do,

some things I don't. Sometimes just parts of things. Also when I

first saw the diagnositc criteria I didn't think it fitted me - that

was until I saw a break down of the diagnostic criteria and then it

made more sense to me. For instance, I think in the diagnostic

criteria it mentions 'lack of imagination' when I saw that I thought -

nah - I have an imagination, I'm fairly creative. What I didn't

realise that what it meant by lack of imagination, was something

different to what I was thinking.

" There are things about me which I have learned not to reveal to

anyone... "

Ditto, some things I have thought if I reveal this I will sound

crazy - I am sane enough and have learnt to understand some things

sound insane and so tend to keep them to myself.

As for misinterprettation, sometimes something I say or write will be

misinterpretted and no matter how I try and explain the other person

will stick to their misinterpretation believing it to be correct

rather than accepting the truth.

> >

> > You do sound Aspie to me.

>

> Hello Tom. Thank you for welcoming me.

> I hope you are right. I tend to increase my identification with AS

> over time until I read about it, even articles written by aspies

> themselves, and then I say " no, that's not me " .

> There are things about me which I have learned not to reveal to

> anyone, although I have tried when encouraged by forums or

> therapists. Once I was on a depression forum, and when I revealed

the

> real reason why I was depressed, I was gagged not just from that

> forum, but also another that I was not even on! I assure you that

> there was absolutely nothing wrong with what I said, only that in

> their mind they could not conceive of what I really said, only what

> they imagined I said via their theory of what feelings are and are

> not possible. And their theories are strong, and are shared by

> psychiatrists as well. If I ever see someone else write about

> themself what is true about me, I would not hesitate to agree with

> them, but to volunteer the imformation first would feel risky.

> Remember, there is nothing wrong with it, and if understood it

would

> actually be considered very nice; it is only the missunderstanding

> which can make it look bad.

>

> Zylon

>

December 4, 2006