Bataar

Actually, last year, I started a thread here asking why people want kids. It wasn't to bad mouth kids or anything, just, I didn't see why people want them so bad. At the time, I had never heard of Asperger's or high functioning autism and thought autistic people were pretty much equivalent to "retarded" people.

Anyways, through the course of that thread, people started asking me for my views and I tried to explain my personality as accurately as possible and eventually, someone suggested that I might have it. I did some research on it and in reading the list of indicators, it was like reading my life story. I passed the info on to my parents and they agreed as well. At that point I went to a psychologist and after several sessions, IQ tests, and interviews with my parents, I was given the diagnosis. On one hand it was a relief because I didn't feel so guilty about some things anymore, while on the other, it was depressing because with the diagnosis went all hope of ever "growing out of it".

In the end, it was good because now my family has a better idea on how to deal with me. They know I don't recognize body language and subtle hints so if they need me to do something, they know to just come right out and directly ask rather than subtly beat around the bush then get angry that I don't pick up on it.

I greatly appreciate you talking with me about aspergers. I have not been altogether familiar with that, and yet, there are things about my son that always made me wonder...is this a person with an analytical personality or is this more? It could be nothing more, could be traits of aspergers. How did you know you definitely have this? How do you know that this is nothing more than this is just how you are?