Jan 2009 10
Aspergers or Geek?10
Posted In Blog
I was reading something earlier that suggested geeks share many character traits with those suffering Asperger syndrome (obsessive attention to detail, social awkwardness, and some difficulty relating to other people). So i took the test and – eek! Try it yourself if you have nerdish tendencies: http://www.piepalace.ca/blog/asperger-test-aq-test
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I got a 49/50. i dont know if its accurate or not. I came upon the idea early this afternoon, I have stopped researching this since and every minute I become more convinced I have aperger’s. i think a theopist of mine years ago knew and nver told me…also i dont see why people don’t want this. i may be socailly inept but who cares? lol
it was right around the time i was watching so01ep03 of parks and creation that i realized this come to think of it, lol….great show.
I got 35 out of 50. My sister-in-law suggested AS as a possibility about a year ago.
I’m not young, I am now 54. This, in fact, explains a lot of the problems in my life. I think when I was 25 I would have scored 45+. These days I am less concerned with the social scene just as a consequence of the passage of time.
Right now the way I am looking at the social thing is this…
1) There is a whole bunch of non-verbal communication going on that I don’t clue into.
2) This non verbal stuff is closer to the truth than words, it is the real clue to what people want in any social interaction. For an analogy, if someone asks to meet for coffee, they never car about coffee. The non verbal stuff says if they are interested in getting info out of you, or dating, or what.
3) (2) is a very strong thing and may be more informative than words to non AS people.
4) For example, over my life I have had many situations where words were used that were absolutely in error and when I corrected the indvidual, everyone was angry at me. I would go away confused. It was as if nobody cared about correct communication. Now, I think that they are communicating just fine through non-verbal means and the words don’t really matter much and this isn’t really lying or not caring about truth but really an instinctive type communication that I don’t pick up on.
5) I’m to the point that I feel that it might be that this is the dominant form of communication with people that are close friends, etc.
6) Without the non-verbal ability, one must learn to not take what others say too much to heart. We are missing what they really meant.
I guess I should have said this up front, sorry. I am quite a nerd (physics, honors) and it was “worse” when I was younger.
I scored 28, not as bad as i was expecting but then i am a hypochondriac so i always expect the worst. :) We’ve had our fair share of mental illness in our family (AS, Autism, Social phobias, Schizophrenia, etc etc) and i do wonder if it can be hereditary. Several people on my mums side have had some kind of mental problem yet nothing on my dads side.
i got a 37 and though it was a fluke, then i re-took it and got a 38. The reason i stumbled upon this was due to an issue at work causing me to get chewed out by the boss and me trying to research ‘personality flaws’.
They had this blind allegiance to process that i didnt understand causing me to question why they were so involved with the idea. There are a slew of other alternitives so i was interested in finding out what made this one so great. This led to comments of “why are you so confrontational?” and “do you argue in front of customers like this?” It really hurt my feeling and i feel like such a looser. I really need to work on the social ques.
I’ve suspected myself as a candidate for many years but thought little of it. Certainly I had not been convinced or motivated enough to do anything about it.
I’ve seen many mental health professionals about mood issues. Many have been convinced that there is something going on, most of those I spent a great deal of time with. Not one of them has said a word about Asperger’s. To stay well inside my own safety bubble, neither did I.
Recently I’ve accepted that it explains a lot. My reactions to social ‘crimes’ (or misunderstandings) are not a mood disorder but my honest reactions to my interpretations of a situation, often when in open discussion with a therapist this has been compounded by placement under a microscope biased to the ideals of the offending party(-ies).
I do not respond well to this mode of healing, needless to say.
Onward to my reference of in the ‘same boat’. I deeply sympathize with difficulties at work. I currently, at the age of 32 live with my parents. I’ve been laid off three times in that many years. Each situation was embarassing and inexplicable in my mind. If I allow myself to get defensive about it, I feel that each employer was lying when they told me why it wasn’t working out. I’m certain you’ve gathered I’m intelligent. I have an Honours degree in Visual Arts and have an exceptional GPA. I’m the oldest of four children the rest of whom live independantly.
I fake being normal, but I always get caught. I can always learn to ‘fake being normal’ better. I can see a specialist and get a diagnosis. I can learn social cues. The truth is I don’t really want to. I don’t want to be someone else’s version of me. I’d rather ‘hide’ in my studio as I’ve been accused I do to avoid social contact or confrontations. It’s where my burdens are a gift. I don’t need to be laid off from yet another job to remember I’m unique. I know it when I look at my desk and pencils, my brushes and paints, in the expression of the audience when they’ve seen the completed work. I know I didn’t see the same cues everyone else in the room saw, but my pride in a job well done, I’m certain it’s the same feeling a normal person feels when they’re commended for their successes.
I will continue to learn ways of protecting myself and the gifts that such a personality as mine can offer, as any person does, so that I might continue on and reap better benefits.
PS My score was a 36. I’m female, and often ignore what day it is.
Just remember: the test is there for fun. As the page says, it can’t be treated as a diagnostic, and if you have any real concerns, you should see a doctor.
I scored a 40 out of 50, but I am already diagnosed. I just took it to see if it was true…
There is known problem with this aq test not working in safari due to javascript errors, there is a fully functioning version over at http://www.aspergerstestsite.com/75/autism-spectrum-quotient-aq-test/