Re: Autism question

April 27, 2011

Everybody is different. But what it is common for people to have uneven skill sets. For example, you’d normally expect a child who can draw well for her age to be able to tie her shoes without any problems. Well, I drew very well compared to other 7-year-olds and struggled to tie my shoes. I talked to someone whose son has no problems working with delicate circuit boards from computers but can’t tie his shoes.

Everybody is different. Today most people can’t tell I have Asperger’s. Other people are transparent forever.

On 4/27/11 12:11 AM, " H " <gideon_seventy@...> wrote:

I just have a question for everyone. Well, two of them.

1. Do the kids who hav this show remarkable talent in some areas, and

woefully slow in others? For instance, truly gifted in English - well

above his peers, but sucks in math or another subject?

2. How does mild aspergers manifest? In adults?

--

“The fact that life evolved out of nearly nothing, some 10 billion years after the universe evolved out of literally nothing, is a fact so staggering that I would be mad to attempt words to do it justice.” -- Dawkins

April 27, 2011

My son definitely has some "extra" talent in some areas. However, I think sometimes it's because of his ability to "hyper" focus on certain things - only things he is interested in. He's 13 and works part time at the local TV station and is very good at running any of the equipment, from cameras to sound boards to - well, whatever else is there, I don't really know. His boss says he has better focus on the job than many adults. I think he could be good in any subject at all, because of this ability to hyper focus. But he's a lousy student because none of the subjects really hold his interest. This year his teacher had adapted some of the assignments into video assignments and he's doing well with those!

Estevan, SK

Canada

-- Autism question

I just have a question for everyone. Well, two of them.1. Do the kids who hav this show remarkable talent in some areas, and woefully slow in others? For instance, truly gifted in English - well above his peers, but sucks in math or another subject?2. How does mild aspergers manifest? In adults?

April 28, 2011

Like others have said, I think it changes from child to child. It is common for

AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math whiz, and reads

well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy reading for fun for the

most part). She's average in most other areas in school, I suppose.

As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going through the

diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot like I was when I was

a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory issues (noise & chaos are big

ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but for the most part, she's just kind of

'odd' compared to most of the kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in

your face at times.

Looking at her, I had a lot of the same problems. Had a hard time making

friends. Rarely had more than 1 good friend at a time. Had a hard time in

chaotic situations. Had bed wetting issues until I was like 10 or 11. Had some

(still have some) weird ticks.

As an adult, I'm not comfortable in social situations, unless I know a person

REALLY well. My cousin just asked me the other day on facebook- how come we get

along so well here, but it's always awkward and weird at Christmas? He kind of

pegged it on the nose for me.

I'm very awkward & weird, and tend to over compensate when I am in social

situations. I get louder. I start talking and find it hard to stop. I get

nervous and sweaty. I get a bit paranoid as well- like " What are they thinking?

Is it bad? Are they talking about me when I walk away? Are they making fun of

what I'm wearing? "

I have a hard time working. I've been a stay at home mom now since my oldest

daughter was about 2, and she turns 15 today. When I am in a situation where I

am 'working', I can never figure out how to relate to the people around me.

Either I let them kind of walk all over me, or I try to over compensate, and

take over. It's always made for difficult working situations.

I love learning new things, but I don't have 1 particular branch of interest

that I hyper focus on. Rather, it's almost always history related, but the topic

at the time depends on whatever caught my fancy. I do have trouble retaining the

info, though. For example, when Titanic came out, I knew every last detail, from

the number of people who died, to the number of items in the cargo hold, etc.

Now? I can barely remember the date of when it sank. Over the years, I've had

bursts of hyper interest in the Holocaust, the pyramids of Egypt, snakes (that's

a fun one, because I am absolutely, out of my mind terrified of snakes- my heart

beats super fast, I shake, and my toes curl just seeing pictures or watching a

show about them), and so many other odd little topics.

So, while I don't have a diagnosed case of aspergers, if I went in, I have a

feeling I'd have a 'mild' case. I did do an online scoring test once that rates

your behavior & oddities or what not against a list. " Average " adults score

like 20-25. People with Aspergers or Autism usually score between 50+, and I got

a 52. I need to find that again, because it's been about a year since I did it,

but I'd love to take another look at it. I can't recall what it was called.

>

> I just have a question for everyone. Well, two of them.

>

> 1. Do the kids who hav this show remarkable talent in some areas, and

> woefully slow in others? For instance, truly gifted in English - well

> above his peers, but sucks in math or another subject?

>

> 2. How does mild aspergers manifest? In adults?

>

April 28, 2011

This sure resonates with me! My son is very bright, but we're still

struggling to get him to complete and turn in his homework. He's way

above grade level in everything, and loves to read. In my own mind, I

think the way I'd describe his mannerisms is " goofy " . He's been a toe

walker, in fact had casts on both legs to stretch his Achilles tendons,

and now has leg braces.

But what really resonates for me is your descriptions of yourself! Kinda

awkward in social situations, over compensating by taking over. Oh yeah,

I know THAT tune! Let me know if you find that Aspergers test, I'd love

to try it myself.

When I was a kid (I'm 53 now), people didn't know about Aspergers. Where

I lived, kids were lucky if their dyslexia got diagnosed, let alone any

other learning disabilities or conditions. So I never learned how to

work with my AS. I strongly suspect that my husband is also Aspie, but

he figured out for himself how to work with it at an early age, was

extremely successful in school, got a Masters in Computer Science from

Princeton, and now works as a programmer for Google.

So I'm learning about AS, looking at what worked for , what didn't

work for me, and working to make sure Isaac has the tools he needs to

succeed.

Eleanor, San , CA

Aspie son Isaac, 10.5 years old

On 04/28/2011 08:12 , herberkids3 wrote:

> Like others have said, I think it changes from child to child. It is

> common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math

> whiz, and reads well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy

> reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in

> school, I suppose.

>

> As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going

> through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot

> like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory

> issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but

> for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the

> kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.

April 28, 2011

This really resonated with me! Do others (with a child with autism/aspergers)find that they have some symptoms of autism/aspergers, or even that you might be considered mildly autistic?MarieOn Apr 28, 2011, at 8:12 AM, "herberkids3" <herberkids3@...> wrote:

Like others have said, I think it changes from child to child. It is common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math whiz, and reads well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in school, I suppose.

As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.

Looking at her, I had a lot of the same problems. Had a hard time making friends. Rarely had more than 1 good friend at a time. Had a hard time in chaotic situations. Had bed wetting issues until I was like 10 or 11. Had some (still have some) weird ticks.

As an adult, I'm not comfortable in social situations, unless I know a person REALLY well. My cousin just asked me the other day on facebook- how come we get along so well here, but it's always awkward and weird at Christmas? He kind of pegged it on the nose for me.

I'm very awkward & weird, and tend to over compensate when I am in social situations. I get louder. I start talking and find it hard to stop. I get nervous and sweaty. I get a bit paranoid as well- like "What are they thinking? Is it bad? Are they talking about me when I walk away? Are they making fun of what I'm wearing?"

I have a hard time working. I've been a stay at home mom now since my oldest daughter was about 2, and she turns 15 today. When I am in a situation where I am 'working', I can never figure out how to relate to the people around me. Either I let them kind of walk all over me, or I try to over compensate, and take over. It's always made for difficult working situations.

I love learning new things, but I don't have 1 particular branch of interest that I hyper focus on. Rather, it's almost always history related, but the topic at the time depends on whatever caught my fancy. I do have trouble retaining the info, though. For example, when Titanic came out, I knew every last detail, from the number of people who died, to the number of items in the cargo hold, etc. Now? I can barely remember the date of when it sank. Over the years, I've had bursts of hyper interest in the Holocaust, the pyramids of Egypt, snakes (that's a fun one, because I am absolutely, out of my mind terrified of snakes- my heart beats super fast, I shake, and my toes curl just seeing pictures or watching a show about them), and so many other odd little topics.

So, while I don't have a diagnosed case of aspergers, if I went in, I have a feeling I'd have a 'mild' case. I did do an online scoring test once that rates your behavior & oddities or what not against a list. "Average" adults score like 20-25. People with Aspergers or Autism usually score between 50+, and I got a 52. I need to find that again, because it's been about a year since I did it, but I'd love to take another look at it. I can't recall what it was called.

>

> I just have a question for everyone. Well, two of them.

>

> 1. Do the kids who hav this show remarkable talent in some areas, and

> woefully slow in others? For instance, truly gifted in English - well

> above his peers, but sucks in math or another subject?

>

> 2. How does mild aspergers manifest? In adults?

>

April 28, 2011

I found the test- not the same site I found it on before, but it's the Simon

Baron-Cohen assessment. It's 50 questions with 4 answers each- totally agree,

slightly agree, slightly disagree, and totally disagree. It's social questions,

questions about how you prefer to do things, whether or not you might notice

sensory things that others don't notice (small sounds, etc), whether or not

others have ever told you that you come across as sounding rude, or impolite

when you did not mean to be, etc.

In most cases, average people tend to score around 15-20ish. The site I used

last year explained that there are differences between what the average adult

woman and average adult male score. I want to say women were around 20, and men

lower, like 15 or 16. I could be wrong, though, and neither copies I found just

now explain that part. If I recall, the cut off for being considered as being

'likely to have' aspergers or autism was around 32 points- anything higher

meaning you are likely to have it.

People in the 20-32 range are people who might have things like social anxiety

issues, or might be/feel reclusive, etc, but probably would not be diagnosed

with AS.

This first one tells you how to add your points up at the end, as the answers

are each with 1-4 points, but the value of each answer differs from question to

question (IE: question 1 might say that an answer of strongly disagree is worth

4 points, while question 2 might say the same answer is worth just 1 point- the

idea being that the areas where you score 3's & 4's are the areas that are more

of the AS type behaviors)

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

Here is the other website:

http://www.piepalace.ca/blog/asperger-test-aq-test/

That one does not have a 'submit' button that I see, nor is there a scoring

guide, so I'm not sure how you would know what the results are unless you knew

how to add the points up.

I should also point out that the test is by no means a way to diagnose yourself.

They also point out that while a lot of people might score higher than a 32, a

good portion of those people report no difficulty functioning in day to day

life.

I would agree with that assessment- while I do know I have areas that can cause

myself more difficulties, I feel I can function fairly 'normally' under the

circumstances. I drive, I pay my bills, I grocery shop, I raise my kids, etc. I

do avoid situations that are not ideal for me, though.

For instance, I went through a period after my daughter with AS was born where I

was much more prone to panic attacks from sensory over load. During that time

period, I did all of my grocery shopping alone at 11pm or midnight. No crowds in

the store, and a LOT less noise. It's better now- I can handle grocery shopping

most of the time during regular hours. Last week, though, I helped out my

friends girl scout troop at a roller skating lock in. SUPER loud music, around

250 girls running all over the place, and too much chaos & commotion for me. I

had to take a xanax to stave off panic attacks.

Just yesterday, I was helping out in my daughter's classroom. She's in 3rd

grade, and shares a room with 2 other aspies, and a boy who has autism, plus 20

" average " kids. The class split into groups, and it was exceedingly loud and

chaotic. I had a hard time making it through my volunteer period. In fact, it

was so bad, my aspie was on the verge of a massive melt down. She went to the

break room for 5 minutes, came back fine, then had to take another break 15

minutes later. I've never seen her have to take back to back breaks like that in

school before. That really made me notice how much more the class was affecting

me than normal.

All in all, though, I feel I can function at a normal level. Yes, I'm awkward.

I'm weird. I say the wrong things all the time. I get those weird looks from

people- you know, the " what is she talking about/why is she talking to me/what

is she replying to? " looks.

I also have a MAJOR problem with organization. I can not do it to save my life,

and even if I do manage to organize something, it's a mess again within 2 hours

of me using it, or doing something with it. I hate cleaning- our house is a

disaster. I hate that it's a disaster, but I can not sit down in 1 spot, clean

it, and move on. Instead, I start to clean, then find something that needs to be

put away, and go to do that. Then when I'm doing that, I see something else, and

start doing that. Before I know it, 2 hours have passed, and I've spent a lot of

time moving 1 or 2 things from spot to spot, but not doing much cleaning. Drives

my husband nuts to watch me clean.

> > Like others have said, I think it changes from child to child. It is

> > common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math

> > whiz, and reads well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy

> > reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in

> > school, I suppose.

> >

> > As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going

> > through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot

> > like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory

> > issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but

> > for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the

> > kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.

>

April 28, 2011

I did some more checking around, and found the test that I preferred:

http://glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/AutismSpectrumQuotient/AutismSpectrumQuotient.as\

px

> > > Like others have said, I think it changes from child to child. It is

> > > common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math

> > > whiz, and reads well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy

> > > reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in

> > > school, I suppose.

> > >

> > > As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going

> > > through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot

> > > like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory

> > > issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but

> > > for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the

> > > kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.

> >

>

April 28, 2011

Thank you and do you know anyone how does Home schooling for a child with aspegers?my son is 11 Thanks>> I found the test- not the same site I found it on before, but it's the Simon Baron-Cohen assessment. It's 50 questions with 4 answers each- totally agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree, and totally disagree. It's social questions, questions about how you prefer to do things, whether or not you might notice sensory things that others don't notice (small sounds, etc), whether or not others

have ever told you that you come across as sounding rude, or impolite when you did not mean to be, etc.> > In most cases, average people tend to score around 15-20ish. The site I used last year explained that there are differences between what the average adult woman and average adult male score. I want to say women were around 20, and men lower, like 15 or 16. I could be wrong, though, and neither copies I found just now explain that part. If I recall, the cut off for being considered as being 'likely to have' aspergers or autism was around 32 points- anything higher meaning you are likely to have it. > > People in the 20-32 range are people who might have things like social anxiety issues, or might be/feel reclusive, etc, but probably would not be diagnosed with AS. > > This first one tells you how to add your points up at the end, as the answers are each with 1-4 points, but the value of each answer differs

from question to question (IE: question 1 might say that an answer of strongly disagree is worth 4 points, while question 2 might say the same answer is worth just 1 point- the idea being that the areas where you score 3's & 4's are the areas that are more of the AS type behaviors)> > http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html> > Here is the other website:> > http://www.piepalace.ca/blog/asperger-test-aq-test/> > That one does not have a 'submit' button that I see, nor is there a scoring guide, so I'm not sure how you would know what the results are unless you knew how to add the points up.> > I should also point out that the test is by no means a way to diagnose yourself. They also point

out that while a lot of people might score higher than a 32, a good portion of those people report no difficulty functioning in day to day life. > > I would agree with that assessment- while I do know I have areas that can cause myself more difficulties, I feel I can function fairly 'normally' under the circumstances. I drive, I pay my bills, I grocery shop, I raise my kids, etc. I do avoid situations that are not ideal for me, though.> > For instance, I went through a period after my daughter with AS was born where I was much more prone to panic attacks from sensory over load. During that time period, I did all of my grocery shopping alone at 11pm or midnight. No crowds in the store, and a LOT less noise. It's better now- I can handle grocery shopping most of the time during regular hours. Last week, though, I helped out my friends girl scout troop at a roller skating lock in. SUPER loud music, around 250 girls running all

over the place, and too much chaos & commotion for me. I had to take a xanax to stave off panic attacks. > > Just yesterday, I was helping out in my daughter's classroom. She's in 3rd grade, and shares a room with 2 other aspies, and a boy who has autism, plus 20 "average" kids. The class split into groups, and it was exceedingly loud and chaotic. I had a hard time making it through my volunteer period. In fact, it was so bad, my aspie was on the verge of a massive melt down. She went to the break room for 5 minutes, came back fine, then had to take another break 15 minutes later. I've never seen her have to take back to back breaks like that in school before. That really made me notice how much more the class was affecting me than normal. > > All in all, though, I feel I can function at a normal level. Yes, I'm awkward. I'm weird. I say the wrong things all the time. I get those weird looks from people- you know, the

"what is she talking about/why is she talking to me/what is she replying to?" looks. > > I also have a MAJOR problem with organization. I can not do it to save my life, and even if I do manage to organize something, it's a mess again within 2 hours of me using it, or doing something with it. I hate cleaning- our house is a disaster. I hate that it's a disaster, but I can not sit down in 1 spot, clean it, and move on. Instead, I start to clean, then find something that needs to be put away, and go to do that. Then when I'm doing that, I see something else, and start doing that. Before I know it, 2 hours have passed, and I've spent a lot of time moving 1 or 2 things from spot to spot, but not doing much cleaning. Drives my husband nuts to watch me clean.> > > > > > Like others have said, I think it changes from child to

child. It is> > > common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math> > > whiz, and reads well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy> > > reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in> > > school, I suppose.> > >> > > As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going> > > through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot> > > like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory> > > issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but> > > for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the> > > kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.> >>

April 28, 2011

glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/AutismSpectrumQuotient/AutismSpectrumQuotient.aspx

scores me at 39. Most women are about 15, most men about 17. Most with

AS or HFA score 35.

So I'm kinda chewing on this. Not surprisingly, Isaac's issues brought

up a lot of my own issues from the past. I was " lazy " , " unmotivated " ,

" passive aggressive " and " disorganized " . I'm not using the test as a

diagnosis, more like a confirmation of what I've already figured out in

the last few months since Isaac was diagnosed. His issues are SO much

like mine. Fortunately there is a lot more understanding now of how

Aspies think, and a lot more tools and techniques available. As our

family is learning strategies Isaac can use, that's helping me. We're

still figuring it out, but things are getting better.

> Just yesterday, I was helping out in my daughter's classroom. She's in

> 3rd grade, and shares a room with 2 other aspies, and a boy who has

> autism, plus 20 " average " kids. The class split into groups, and it was

> exceedingly loud and chaotic. I had a hard time making it through my

> volunteer period. In fact, it was so bad, my aspie was on the verge of a

> massive melt down. She went to the break room for 5 minutes, came back

> fine, then had to take another break 15 minutes later. I've never seen

> her have to take back to back breaks like that in school before. That

> really made me notice how much more the class was affecting me than normal.

I learned long ago that I don't do well with crowds of kids. The noise

and chaos overload me.

> I also have a MAJOR problem with organization. I can not do it to save

> my life, and even if I do manage to organize something, it's a mess

> again within 2 hours of me using it, or doing something with it. I hate

> cleaning- our house is a disaster. I hate that it's a disaster, but I

> can not sit down in 1 spot, clean it, and move on. Instead, I start to

> clean, then find something that needs to be put away, and go to do that.

> Then when I'm doing that, I see something else, and start doing that.

> Before I know it, 2 hours have passed, and I've spent a lot of time

> moving 1 or 2 things from spot to spot, but not doing much cleaning.

> Drives my husband nuts to watch me clean.

I was trying to describe my issues with housecleaning, and came up with

the perfect (for me) analogy. Cleaning the house is like one of those

Chinese puzzle boxes, where you have to move one piece at a time in the

right sequence. I need to clean the living room, which means I need to

get the laundry out of it, which means I need to put it away, but I

can't because I can't open the drawers of our bed that has dresser

drawers as the base because of other stuff in the way, but I can't put

the other stuff away because I either haven't figured out where it goes

or where it goes has other stuff there...

Which reminds me, I need to go move more laundry from the washer into

the dryer!

Eleanor, San , CA

Aspie son Isaac, 10.5 years old

April 29, 2011

I've done similar tests before, but not this one---- and I was struck by

the two questions about pretend play. My children and their cousins

(some are AS, some are not,. but all are " wired " similarly) have played

imaginary games for years. These games

are very complicated, involve a lot of role playing and narrative, and

are mainly mental, with very little " acting out. " My sons once had two

friends, one AS, one not. The AS child immediately " got " the games and

played them enthusiastically. The other

child was bored by them.

This is one area in which my kids play very differently from others.

I'm curious--- has anyone else experienced this with their children?

Thanks---

Moncia

On 4/28/2011 12:25 PM, herberkids3 wrote:

> I found the test- not the same site I found it on before, but it's the Simon

Baron-Cohen assessment. It's 50 questions with 4 answers each- totally agree,

slightly agree, slightly disagree, and totally disagree. It's social questions,

questions about how you prefer to do things, whether or not you might notice

sensory things that others don't notice (small sounds, etc), whether or not

others have ever told you that you come across as sounding rude, or impolite

when you did not mean to be, etc.

>

> In most cases, average people tend to score around 15-20ish. The site I used

last year explained that there are differences between what the average adult

woman and average adult male score. I want to say women were around 20, and men

lower, like 15 or 16. I could be wrong, though, and neither copies I found just

now explain that part. If I recall, the cut off for being considered as being

'likely to have' aspergers or autism was around 32 points- anything higher

meaning you are likely to have it.

>

> People in the 20-32 range are people who might have things like social anxiety

issues, or might be/feel reclusive, etc, but probably would not be diagnosed

with AS.

>

> This first one tells you how to add your points up at the end, as the answers

are each with 1-4 points, but the value of each answer differs from question to

question (IE: question 1 might say that an answer of strongly disagree is worth

4 points, while question 2 might say the same answer is worth just 1 point- the

idea being that the areas where you score 3's & 4's are the areas that are more

of the AS type behaviors)

>

> http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

>

> Here is the other website:

>

> http://www.piepalace.ca/blog/asperger-test-aq-test/

>

> That one does not have a 'submit' button that I see, nor is there a scoring

guide, so I'm not sure how you would know what the results are unless you knew

how to add the points up.

>

> I should also point out that the test is by no means a way to diagnose

yourself. They also point out that while a lot of people might score higher than

a 32, a good portion of those people report no difficulty functioning in day to

day life.

>

> I would agree with that assessment- while I do know I have areas that can

cause myself more difficulties, I feel I can function fairly 'normally' under

the circumstances. I drive, I pay my bills, I grocery shop, I raise my kids,

etc. I do avoid situations that are not ideal for me, though.

>

> For instance, I went through a period after my daughter with AS was born where

I was much more prone to panic attacks from sensory over load. During that time

period, I did all of my grocery shopping alone at 11pm or midnight. No crowds in

the store, and a LOT less noise. It's better now- I can handle grocery shopping

most of the time during regular hours. Last week, though, I helped out my

friends girl scout troop at a roller skating lock in. SUPER loud music, around

250 girls running all over the place, and too much chaos & commotion for me. I

had to take a xanax to stave off panic attacks.

>

> Just yesterday, I was helping out in my daughter's classroom. She's in 3rd

grade, and shares a room with 2 other aspies, and a boy who has autism, plus 20

" average " kids. The class split into groups, and it was exceedingly loud and

chaotic. I had a hard time making it through my volunteer period. In fact, it

was so bad, my aspie was on the verge of a massive melt down. She went to the

break room for 5 minutes, came back fine, then had to take another break 15

minutes later. I've never seen her have to take back to back breaks like that in

school before. That really made me notice how much more the class was affecting

me than normal.

>

> All in all, though, I feel I can function at a normal level. Yes, I'm awkward.

I'm weird. I say the wrong things all the time. I get those weird looks from

people- you know, the " what is she talking about/why is she talking to me/what

is she replying to? " looks.

>

> I also have a MAJOR problem with organization. I can not do it to save my

life, and even if I do manage to organize something, it's a mess again within 2

hours of me using it, or doing something with it. I hate cleaning- our house is

a disaster. I hate that it's a disaster, but I can not sit down in 1 spot, clean

it, and move on. Instead, I start to clean, then find something that needs to be

put away, and go to do that. Then when I'm doing that, I see something else, and

start doing that. Before I know it, 2 hours have passed, and I've spent a lot of

time moving 1 or 2 things from spot to spot, but not doing much cleaning. Drives

my husband nuts to watch me clean.

>

>>

>>> Like others have said, I think it changes from child to child. It is

>>> common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math

>>> whiz, and reads well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy

>>> reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in

>>> school, I suppose.

>>>

>>> As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going

>>> through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot

>>> like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory

>>> issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but

>>> for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the

>>> kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.

>>>

>>

>

April 29, 2011

I got 45.Â Who would have thought it?Â

On 29/04/2011 6:04 AM, herberkids3 wrote:

Â

I did some more checking around, and found the test that

I preferred:

http://glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/AutismSpectrumQuotient/AutismSpectrumQuotient.aspx

> > > Like others have said, I think it changes

from child to child. It is

> > > common for AS kids to excel in some areas,

though. My daughter is a math

> > > whiz, and reads well above her grade level

(though, she doesn't enjoy

> > > reading for fun for the most part). She's

average in most other areas in

> > > school, I suppose.

> > >

> > > As for adults... well, I've never been

diagnosed, but after going

> > > through the diagnosis with my daughter,

I've realized that she's a lot

> > > like I was when I was a child. She has

'mild' aspergers. She has sensory

> > > issues (noise & chaos are big ones for

her) that trigger melt downs, but

> > > for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd'

compared to most of the

> > > kids. A little louder. A little more blunt

& in your face at times.

> >

>

April 29, 2011

I got 5 for empathy - first time I recall failing any test except

Geography back at school - never did quite get it.Â I also got 13

for recognising emotions through the eyes - I guess that makes two

'fails' in one day.Â I did well at the systemizing test, but can't

recall the exact score - I think 49.Â No real surprises

On 29/04/2011 8:59 AM, Riley wrote:

Â

I got 45.Â Who would have thought it?Â

On 29/04/2011 6:04 AM, herberkids3 wrote:

Â

I did some more checking around, and found the test

that I preferred:

http://glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/AutismSpectrumQuotient/AutismSpectrumQuotient.aspx

> > > Like others have said, I think it

changes from child to child. It is

> > > common for AS kids to excel in some

areas, though. My daughter is a math

> > > whiz, and reads well above her grade

level (though, she doesn't enjoy

> > > reading for fun for the most part).

She's average in most other areas in

> > > school, I suppose.

> > >

> > > As for adults... well, I've never been

diagnosed, but after going

> > > through the diagnosis with my daughter,

I've realized that she's a lot

> > > like I was when I was a child. She has

'mild' aspergers. She has sensory

> > > issues (noise & chaos are big ones

for her) that trigger melt downs, but

> > > for the most part, she's just kind of

'odd' compared to most of the

> > > kids. A little louder. A little more

blunt & in your face at times.

> >

>

April 29, 2011

I got 35. I figured I did. My son is a lot like me so it'snot really surprising.On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 5:59 PM, Riley <klriley@...> wrote:

I got 45. Who would have thought it?

On 29/04/2011 6:04 AM, herberkids3 wrote:

I did some more checking around, and found the test that

I preferred:

http://glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/AutismSpectrumQuotient/AutismSpectrumQuotient.aspx

> > > Like others have said, I think it changes

from child to child. It is

> > > common for AS kids to excel in some areas,

though. My daughter is a math

> > > whiz, and reads well above her grade level

(though, she doesn't enjoy

> > > reading for fun for the most part). She's

average in most other areas in

> > > school, I suppose.

> > >

> > > As for adults... well, I've never been

diagnosed, but after going

> > > through the diagnosis with my daughter,

I've realized that she's a lot

> > > like I was when I was a child. She has

'mild' aspergers. She has sensory

> > > issues (noise & chaos are big ones for

her) that trigger melt downs, but

> > > for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd'

compared to most of the

> > > kids. A little louder. A little more blunt

& in your face at times.

> >

>

-- Kristi <3<3<3

April 29, 2011

Yes. I 37 yrs old male and home school has goods and bads, goods he would pay more attention to you, bads he would not learn how communicate to other children.Sent on the SprintÂ® Now Network from my BlackBerryÂ®From: Mindy <mytoday2010@...>Sender: Autism and Aspergers Treatment Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:12:37 -0700 (PDT)<Autism and Aspergers Treatment >Reply Autism and Aspergers Treatment Subject: Re: Re: Autism question Thank you and do you know anyone how does Home schooling for a child with aspegers?my son is 11 Thanks>> I found the test- not the same site I found it on before, but it's the Simon Baron-Cohen assessment. It's 50 questions with 4 answers each- totally agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree, and totally disagree. It's social questions, questions about how you prefer to do things, whether or not you might notice sensory things that others don't notice (small sounds, etc), whether or not othershave ever told you that you come across as sounding rude, or impolite when you did not mean to be, etc.> > In most cases, average people tend to score around 15-20ish. The site I used last year explained that there are differences between what the average adult woman and average adult male score. I want to say women were around 20, and men lower, like 15 or 16. I could be wrong, though, and neither copies I found just now explain that part. If I recall, the cut off for being considered as being 'likely to have' aspergers or autism was around 32 points- anything higher meaning you are likely to have it. > > People in the 20-32 range are people who might have things like social anxiety issues, or might be/feel reclusive, etc, but probably would not be diagnosed with AS. > > This first one tells you how to add your points up at the end, as the answers are each with 1-4 points, but the value of each answer differsfrom question to question (IE: question 1 might say that an answer of strongly disagree is worth 4 points, while question 2 might say the same answer is worth just 1 point- the idea being that the areas where you score 3's & 4's are the areas that are more of the AS type behaviors)> > http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html> > Here is the other website:> > http://www.piepalace.ca/blog/asperger-test-aq-test/> > That one does not have a 'submit' button that I see, nor is there a scoring guide, so I'm not sure how you would know what the results are unless you knew how to add the points up.> > I should also point out that the test is by no means a way to diagnose yourself. They also pointout that while a lot of people might score higher than a 32, a good portion of those people report no difficulty functioning in day to day life. > > I would agree with that assessment- while I do know I have areas that can cause myself more difficulties, I feel I can function fairly 'normally' under the circumstances. I drive, I pay my bills, I grocery shop, I raise my kids, etc. I do avoid situations that are not ideal for me, though.> > For instance, I went through a period after my daughter with AS was born where I was much more prone to panic attacks from sensory over load. During that time period, I did all of my grocery shopping alone at 11pm or midnight. No crowds in the store, and a LOT less noise. It's better now- I can handle grocery shopping most of the time during regular hours. Last week, though, I helped out my friends girl scout troop at a roller skating lock in. SUPER loud music, around 250 girls running allover the place, and too much chaos & commotion for me. I had to take a xanax to stave off panic attacks. > > Just yesterday, I was helping out in my daughter's classroom. She's in 3rd grade, and shares a room with 2 other aspies, and a boy who has autism, plus 20 "average" kids. The class split into groups, and it was exceedingly loud and chaotic. I had a hard time making it through my volunteer period. In fact, it was so bad, my aspie was on the verge of a massive melt down. She went to the break room for 5 minutes, came back fine, then had to take another break 15 minutes later. I've never seen her have to take back to back breaks like that in school before. That really made me notice how much more the class was affecting me than normal. > > All in all, though, I feel I can function at a normal level. Yes, I'm awkward. I'm weird. I say the wrong things all the time. I get those weird looks from people- you know, the"what is she talking about/why is she talking to me/what is she replying to?" looks. > > I also have a MAJOR problem with organization. I can not do it to save my life, and even if I do manage to organize something, it's a mess again within 2 hours of me using it, or doing something with it. I hate cleaning- our house is a disaster. I hate that it's a disaster, but I can not sit down in 1 spot, clean it, and move on. Instead, I start to clean, then find something that needs to be put away, and go to do that. Then when I'm doing that, I see something else, and start doing that. Before I know it, 2 hours have passed, and I've spent a lot of time moving 1 or 2 things from spot to spot, but not doing much cleaning. Drives my husband nuts to watch me clean.> > > > > > Like others have said, I think it changes from child tochild. It is> > > common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math> > > whiz, and reads well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy> > > reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in> > > school, I suppose.> > >> > > As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going> > > through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot> > > like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory> > > issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but> > > for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the> > > kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.> >>

April 29, 2011

Thank you for sharing your experence >> I found the test- not the same site I found it on before, but it's the Simon Baron-Cohen assessment. It's 50 questions with 4 answers each- totally agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree, and totally disagree. It's social questions, questions about how you prefer to do things, whether or not you might notice sensory things that others don't notice (small sounds, etc), whether or not others have ever told you that you come across as sounding

rude, or impolite when you did not mean to be, etc.> > In most cases, average people tend to score around 15-20ish. The site I used last year explained that there are differences between what the average adult woman and average adult male score. I want to say women were around 20, and men lower, like 15 or 16. I could be wrong, though, and neither copies I found just now explain that part. If I recall, the cut off for being considered as being 'likely to have' aspergers or autism was around 32 points- anything higher meaning you are likely to have it. > > People in the 20-32 range are people who might have things like social anxiety issues, or might be/feel reclusive, etc, but probably would not be diagnosed with AS. > > This first one tells you how to add your points up at the end, as the answers are each with 1-4 points, but the value of each answer differs from question to question (IE: question 1 might say

that an answer of strongly disagree is worth 4 points, while question 2 might say the same answer is worth just 1 point- the idea being that the areas where you score 3's & 4's are the areas that are more of the AS type behaviors)> > http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html> > Here is the other website:> > http://www.piepalace.ca/blog/asperger-test-aq-test/> > That one does not have a 'submit' button that I see, nor is there a scoring guide, so I'm not sure how you would know what the results are unless you knew how to add the points up.> > I should also point out that the test is by no means a way to diagnose yourself. They also point out that while a lot of people might score higher

than a 32, a good portion of those people report no difficulty functioning in day to day life. > > I would agree with that assessment- while I do know I have areas that can cause myself more difficulties, I feel I can function fairly 'normally' under the circumstances. I drive, I pay my bills, I grocery shop, I raise my kids, etc. I do avoid situations that are not ideal for me, though.> > For instance, I went through a period after my daughter with AS was born where I was much more prone to panic attacks from sensory over load. During that time period, I did all of my grocery shopping alone at 11pm or midnight. No crowds in the store, and a LOT less noise. It's better now- I can handle grocery shopping most of the time during regular hours. Last week, though, I helped out my friends girl scout troop at a roller skating lock in. SUPER loud music, around 250 girls running all over the place, and too much chaos & commotion

for me. I had to take a xanax to stave off panic attacks. > > Just yesterday, I was helping out in my daughter's classroom. She's in 3rd grade, and shares a room with 2 other aspies, and a boy who has autism, plus 20 "average" kids. The class split into groups, and it was exceedingly loud and chaotic. I had a hard time making it through my volunteer period. In fact, it was so bad, my aspie was on the verge of a massive melt down. She went to the break room for 5 minutes, came back fine, then had to take another break 15 minutes later. I've never seen her have to take back to back breaks like that in school before. That really made me notice how much more the class was affecting me than normal. > > All in all, though, I feel I can function at a normal level. Yes, I'm awkward. I'm weird. I say the wrong things all the time. I get those weird looks from people- you know, the "what is she talking about/why is she talking to

me/what is she replying to?" looks. > > I also have a MAJOR problem with organization. I can not do it to save my life, and even if I do manage to organize something, it's a mess again within 2 hours of me using it, or doing something with it. I hate cleaning- our house is a disaster. I hate that it's a disaster, but I can not sit down in 1 spot, clean it, and move on. Instead, I start to clean, then find something that needs to be put away, and go to do that. Then when I'm doing that, I see something else, and start doing that. Before I know it, 2 hours have passed, and I've spent a lot of time moving 1 or 2 things from spot to spot, but not doing much cleaning. Drives my husband nuts to watch me clean.> > > > > > Like others have said, I think it changes from child to child. It is> > > common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math> > > whiz, and reads

well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy> > > reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in> > > school, I suppose.> > >> > > As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going> > > through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot> > > like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory> > > issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but> > > for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the> > > kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.> >>

April 29, 2011

My younger two kids are the same way. When they play act, they get very involved

in it, and it sounds more like a book being read out loud as they go back and

forth with the " And then she did this because she felt happy " " And he hugged her

because she was happy " etc.

> >>

> >>> Like others have said, I think it changes from child to child. It is

> >>> common for AS kids to excel in some areas, though. My daughter is a math

> >>> whiz, and reads well above her grade level (though, she doesn't enjoy

> >>> reading for fun for the most part). She's average in most other areas in

> >>> school, I suppose.

> >>>

> >>> As for adults... well, I've never been diagnosed, but after going

> >>> through the diagnosis with my daughter, I've realized that she's a lot

> >>> like I was when I was a child. She has 'mild' aspergers. She has sensory

> >>> issues (noise & chaos are big ones for her) that trigger melt downs, but

> >>> for the most part, she's just kind of 'odd' compared to most of the

> >>> kids. A little louder. A little more blunt & in your face at times.

> >>>

> >>

> >

>

April 30, 2011

Yes!!! Actually I called the local mental health services today to see if they knew of any place that tested adults for autism but they said no. I have 6 kids with 5 normal and one ADHD and I am raising my granddaughter who is autistic. My granddaughter and I are so much alike that it is scarey. We both react to the same situations (noise, crowds of people, etc) the same. I struggled as a child and was often thought of as just being odd or strange. Being a grandmother now people just think I'm eccentric. I have always struggled with trying to be normal. To this day I have no concept of how to dress for any type occasion so I stay in jeans and T's. When it comes to art and music and things having to do with history and archaeology, those things makes sense. Trying to make a grocery list

is hard. My granddaughter, who is five, can actually figure out magic tricks she sees but can't figure out how to put on shoes with velcro. I wish there was more studies done on it to see if some forms of the spectrum could be family related traits.From: Marie y <omissmarie@...>"Autism and Aspergers Treatment " <Autism and Aspergers Treatment >Sent: Thu, April 28, 2011 11:31:46 AMSubject: Re: Re: Autism question