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[Guest guest]

>

>Hi, ! Welcome to the group. You and I have a lot in common. I

>also

>have a 4-year-old aspie son and diagnosed myself while learning about AS

>after he was diagnosed a little over a year ago by a developmental

>psychologist. I'm a SAHM, too.

>

If you want/need a real diagnosis, take my advice and don't

read any more personal accounts. Dr. Rimland told me that back in

1989 and he was right. The trouble with reading personal aspie

accounts is that if one wants that label, the other accounts can

bend one's memory to fit what he wants. And not all of anyone's

life story comes from AS or any condition.

The best thing you can do is collect any photos, school records etc.

of your youth and contact any people who remember you from then

and have nothing to hide. Sometimes, parents

or siblings aren't the greatest people because they harbor too

much guilt about how they related to you and are in denial.

And if you don't want/need a real DX, forget all of that!

>I've taught myself to socialize, but it's incredibly stressful for me. I

>seem to be pretty good at the superficial skills necessary to make friends,

>but once I make them, I have no idea what to do with them. Mostly I wish I

>could just sort of " keep them on a shelf " and " get them out " when I " want

>to

>use them. "

Sounds very familiar.

>

>But the statement you made that really caught my eye was that you have

>almost no memories of your childhood. I don't either. I can remember sort

>of vague things like hating recess and PE in grade school and being

>tormented by my cousin, but the specifics are just gone. And the things

>that I do remember in detail are things that no one else remembers, so I

>don't know if they are real or not. I also seem to have some memories that

>are based not on events, but on pictures...sometimes I *think* that I

>remember something, but then I see a snapshot or slide of it and realize

>that what I remember is seeing the picture before, and not the actual

>event.

>And since I think in pictures, I'm pretty sure that I have a lot of

>pseudo-memories that I've manufactured from stories that my parents tell

>frequently. It used to worry me...even to the point that I wondered if I

>had multiple personalities or something...but I'm used to the fact that I

>have big holes in my early memories.

That memory thing seems more common with female aspies.

I have to wonder if it is partially influenced by abuse? Most

male aspies seem to have better long term memories but it is

not a concrete rule.

>

Jerry

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

Hi, ! Welcome to the group. You and I have a lot in common. I also

have a 4-year-old aspie son and diagnosed myself while learning about AS

after he was diagnosed a little over a year ago by a developmental

psychologist. I'm a SAHM, too.

I've taught myself to socialize, but it's incredibly stressful for me. I

seem to be pretty good at the superficial skills necessary to make friends,

but once I make them, I have no idea what to do with them. Mostly I wish I

could just sort of " keep them on a shelf " and " get them out " when I " want to

use them. "

But the statement you made that really caught my eye was that you have

almost no memories of your childhood. I don't either. I can remember sort

of vague things like hating recess and PE in grade school and being

tormented by my cousin, but the specifics are just gone. And the things

that I do remember in detail are things that no one else remembers, so I

don't know if they are real or not. I also seem to have some memories that

are based not on events, but on pictures...sometimes I *think* that I

remember something, but then I see a snapshot or slide of it and realize

that what I remember is seeing the picture before, and not the actual event.

And since I think in pictures, I'm pretty sure that I have a lot of

pseudo-memories that I've manufactured from stories that my parents tell

frequently. It used to worry me...even to the point that I wondered if I

had multiple personalities or something...but I'm used to the fact that I

have big holes in my early memories.

>Hi!

>

>I just joined recently so I thought I'd say hello. I am a stay-at-home

mom with a 4 year old boy who was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (or possibly

Aspergers, but they aren't quite sure anymore). But there are lots of

groups that I am on to help him. However, I have realized that I have the

same problem as , but there are almost no groups to help adults. So

here I am.

>

>Regarding the emails I've been seeing: I have been looking for Temple

Grandin's books and videos for a while now, and I finally got Emergence from

a nearby library. I haven't started reading it yet though. I also have a

video by her that they are ordering for me. This same library does have her

other book, but it always seems to be out when I look for it. I am reading

a book right now that is SO me and my son. It's called " Eating An

Artichoke " by Echo Fling. I can really relate a lot to this book. This one

is about Asperger's. But there was one I read about autism called " Without

Reason " by Hart. The author has an older brother AND a son with

autism, and I could really relate to that book too, for both me and my son.

A third book I read that was excellent was " Pervasive Development Disorder "

by Mitzi Waltz. I was so amazed to see a book about PDD at the library that

I grabbed it, and this book is not only about kids but about adults with

autism too. I've never seen an adult book with so much info about ADULT

autism before. Anyway, I highly recommend those 3 books.

>

>About socializing - I really dislike it. I WANT friends so badly, but I

just can't socialize. I always feel like I'm on another planet. People are

talking about things that I couldn't care less about, and they want to do

things that bore me. But people aren't interested in the things I'm

interested in doing. Also, when I do force myself to be social, I feel so

incredibly awkward and nervous that I just can't wait to get home. I

unconsciously push people away from me emotionally because I'm so

uncomfortable. Then people stop calling me and stop trying to be my friend

and I feel awful because I want friends so badly. It's a vicious cycle.

>

>I have almost no memories of childhood. Not until I was about 16 or so. I

don't know where my memories went, but sometimes that scares me.

>

>Anyway, I'm glad to be here and look forward to getting to know you all!

>

>

>My homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Bluffs/2654/

>My mind not only wanders, sometimes it leaves completely.

>Another great page:

http://sherrysheartbeats.homestead.com/ReceivingJesus.html

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Gerald Newport wrote (quoting ):

>

> >Hi, ! Welcome to the group. You and I have a lot in common. I

> >also

> >have a 4-year-old aspie son and diagnosed myself while learning about AS

> >after he was diagnosed a little over a year ago by a developmental

> >psychologist. I'm a SAHM, too.

Sorry to announce this, but unsubbed about two days ago. She gave no

explanation. I left her an open invitation to return if she desires.

> If you want/need a real diagnosis, take my advice and don't

> read any more personal accounts. Dr. Rimland told me that back in

> 1989 and he was right. The trouble with reading personal aspie

> accounts is that if one wants that label, the other accounts can

> bend one's memory to fit what he wants. And not all of anyone's

> life story comes from AS or any condition.

For me, I had always been acutely aware of my differences. When I happened

upon an article on AS in the New York Times Sunday magazine on 18 June 2000, I

recognized myself. I didn't want the label-- I had not even heard the term

Asperger's Syndrome before, and I was horrified to find that it was related to

autism, which was this awful thing in my mind then. I have very clear memories

of my childhood, and I knew this was me. I'd always been obsessively

interested in a given topic, and would not want to talk about anything else.

Interactions with others had always been unpleasant, and usually ended in

disaster.

Initially, I self-diagnosed as having AS, based on that and the other stuff we

all know so well. On 2 July 2001, I was officially diagnosed as having AS.

Since then, though, I have been gathering all sorts of information about my

childhood from my mother (who has an excellent memory, and who has no guilt

whatever regarding my upbringing, as she shouldn't), and I discovered that I

easily fit the criteria of autism (I fit 9 of the 12 DSM-IV criteria, of which

only siz are needed). By then, I had learned what the term meant, and I had

lost any sense of trepidation over that label.

I gathered as much data as I could to attempt to see if the DSM-IV was accurate

as far as the way clinicians use the term. I discovered that differential

diagnosis is a lot more capricious and unclear than it should be. Every doctor

has his own idea of where the line between AS and autism should be. The

psychiatrist/neurologist that diagnosed me did not ask any of the questions

that would be relevant to differential diagnosis between AS and HFA; he did not

attempt to learn any details about my infancy from my mother, who was in the

waiting room at that time (fortunately, she was in town for my birthday, which

was also on 2 July). Some doctors use the AS label with any autistic-spectrum

person who is able to express himself vocally, which I am (for the most part...

I have my moments of difficulty). This doctor may have been one of those.

I've looked at the other differential diagnostic things in the research, which

are usually of the " trait X is more typical of autism, where trait Y is more

typical of AS " variety. In most cases, those statements can be broken down

into the following: " People with autism have a greater number of symptoms than

people with AS, and they tend to be greater in severity. " As an example,

stimming. According to the text, lots of aspies pace, some rock, and fewer

still do the hand-flapping things. Auties tend to do all of them. More

symptoms, greater severity. I do all of those frequently. I also do vocal

stims, and make other vocal utterances that have no communicative intent. I

still have frequent echolalia, delayed and immediate, and generalized nonsense

sentences (composed of actual words) that make no sense no matter how they are

interpreted (that are not supposed to make any sense). I always have done

this, since I was first able to talk. I guess it is amusing to me.

There are scores of other such things I could use to support my premise, but

this message is already longer than I initially intended. Even so, I have no

official HFA diagnosis, but I would like to get one, just because I think it is

more accurate than my current diagnosis. I am rather obsessed with precision

and precise use of terms, so I would like to have the correct one.

Unfortunately, I do not know how likely it would be that I would be able to get

a doctor that can tell an autistic from an anteater to look at me, given my

paucity of funds. Jerry, your warning about La Frontera certainly appears to

be true... <g>

[Guest guest]

Rakus wrote:

> And since I think in pictures, I'm pretty sure that I have a lot of

> pseudo-memories that I've manufactured from stories that my parents tell

> frequently. It used to worry me...even to the point that I wondered if I

> had multiple personalities or something...but I'm used to the fact that I

> have big holes in my early memories.

Your reply just now contained a quote of this statement you made previously,

, and I missed it the first time. I am fascinated by the concept of

visual vs. verbal thought. The article on the subject (by the Yale-ies that

wrote " Asperger Syndrome " ... Klin, et al, 1995) showed weakness in visual

processing in the AS group, while that was a strength in the HFA group. I have

often wondered if this can be extrapolated into the " superior " IQ range, or if

that trend was only applicable to the sample group, with a mean IQ of just

below 100. It may be a function of selecting people that are near average in

full-scale IQ, which would obviously tend to favor the verbal thinkers in terms

of selection for the AS group, who, by definition, do not have significant

verbal impairments.

I am strong on visiospatial tests, probably equal to or better than my verbal

test ability, but I do not know that I could say I think in pictures, a la

Temple Grandin. I am capable of seeing an object in my mind and rotating it,

et cetera, and I can see it when I do that, but I really have not been able to

figure out what my mode of thought is. I have tried to determine if I am

thinking verbally most of the time, but I really can't tell. Is that odd? It

seems so to me. I should be able to know, but I cannot seem to get a handle on

it. I know that when I do verbal tasks, I think verbally, and when I do visual

tasks, I think visually... but in general dily life I just come up with the

answer, and I really do not know what the pattern was. More than anything, I

tend to think associatively. That's how I came up with the disclaimer on " The

Top Ten Things About Being Autistic. " I just wrote whatever popped into my

mind.

[Guest guest]

>

>>

>>Hi, ! Welcome to the group. You and I have a lot in common. I

>>also

>>have a 4-year-old aspie son and diagnosed myself while learning about AS

>>after he was diagnosed a little over a year ago by a developmental

>>psychologist. I'm a SAHM, too.

>>

> If you want/need a real diagnosis, take my advice and don't

>read any more personal accounts. Dr. Rimland told me that back in

>1989 and he was right. The trouble with reading personal aspie

>accounts is that if one wants that label, the other accounts can

>bend one's memory to fit what he wants. And not all of anyone's

>life story comes from AS or any condition.

In general, I don't go through a comparison/contrast process when I read

personal accounts...only when I read books about AS. I don't attribute my

missing memory to AS. I assume that there is something else behind it,

although I suppose it's possible that I was just much more interested in my

" internal " world than in what was going on in my " external " world, so I

didn't pay attention to the external stuff and therefore didn't " store " it.

>

> The best thing you can do is collect any photos, school records etc.

>of your youth and contact any people who remember you from then

>and have nothing to hide. Sometimes, parents

>or siblings aren't the greatest people because they harbor too

>much guilt about how they related to you and are in denial.

>

> And if you don't want/need a real DX, forget all of that!

>

>>I've taught myself to socialize, but it's incredibly stressful for me. I

>>seem to be pretty good at the superficial skills necessary to make

friends,

>>but once I make them, I have no idea what to do with them. Mostly I wish

I

>>could just sort of " keep them on a shelf " and " get them out " when I " want

>>to

>>use them. "

>

> Sounds very familiar.

>>

>>But the statement you made that really caught my eye was that you have

>>almost no memories of your childhood. I don't either. I can remember

sort

>>of vague things like hating recess and PE in grade school and being

>>tormented by my cousin, but the specifics are just gone. And the things

>>that I do remember in detail are things that no one else remembers, so I

>>don't know if they are real or not. I also seem to have some memories

that

>>are based not on events, but on pictures...sometimes I *think* that I

>>remember something, but then I see a snapshot or slide of it and realize

>>that what I remember is seeing the picture before, and not the actual

>>event.

>>And since I think in pictures, I'm pretty sure that I have a lot of

>>pseudo-memories that I've manufactured from stories that my parents tell

>>frequently. It used to worry me...even to the point that I wondered if I

>>had multiple personalities or something...but I'm used to the fact that I

>>have big holes in my early memories.

>

> That memory thing seems more common with female aspies.

>I have to wonder if it is partially influenced by abuse? Most

>male aspies seem to have better long term memories but it is

>not a concrete rule.

>>

I've wondered about the abuse aspect, but I have absolutely no recollection

of being abused.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am new here and we have been struggling with constipation at birth.

I'ts not that it's always hard stools, it's just that she doesn't go!!!!

What have others found to be successful--we've tried a lot already.

[Guest guest]

Hi --check out our Files section and Links section--there are ideas for you there. I recently put my dd back on the Juice with Fibre product that can be purchased online, or if you live near certain pharmacies, they carry it and you can save money by not paying the shipping that way. Anyway even though it is expensive, I haven't found anything else that gives her the 'normal looking' bowel movement. 's Aloe Vera juice, also online, might be worth trying. We use that too and also use OxyPowder -- about a half capsule per day (she is 6 years old) with the lemon water as the label mentions. I also give her a 'probiotic' supplement of lactobacillus acidophilus, which are the good bacteria that her gut needs. I had a stool analysis run and it showed that she had almost no good bacteria, no overgrowth of bad bacteria (which was good news, however,

she had overgrowths of 'nonbeneficial' bacteria like strep and others). The body needs good bacteria in the gut to help it function normally. Wjjcox22 wrote: Hi,I am new here and we have been struggling with constipation at birth.I'ts not that it's always hard stools, it's just that she doesn't go!!!!What have others found to be successful--we've tried a lot

already.

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