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Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Posts: 324

01 Sep 2009, 11:02 pm

Everyone with autism spectrum disorders has differant symptoms. Ive been making a list of symptoms i have for the last few months now. I think its complete now. What symptoms do you experience? Here is my list.

Consistent symptoms-
- Trouble with understanding and expressing non-verbal cues, such as body language and facial expression.
- Difficulty with pragmatic language such as saying inappropriate or unrelated things during conversations; saying things in a way that others do not understand; incorrect usage and interpretation of words or phrases and terminology; and trouble describing and explaining things properly to people.
- Difficulty with prosody such as expressing an approperiate tone of voice.
- Takes non-literal things literally.
- Sometimes I respond slowly to questions because I need extra time to remember something that i already know, or have to figure out how to put my thoughts into words.
- Skips or repeats lines and words while reading.
- Reversals of letters (b, d, p, q) and mixes up words (there, their).
- Poor reading comprehension, spelling, grammar, written expression, sentence structuring, and handwriting.
- Has difficulty comprehending rapid instructions.
- Trouble processing and understanding what is heard at times.
- Impaired ability to multitask, or keep track of multiple things.
- Difficulty with sequences and following directions with multiple steps.
- Slow at learning certain things.
- Occasionally switches words and syllables while talking.
- Below average reading and writing speed.
- Bad short term memory and forgetfulness.
- Inaccurate sensory integration perceptions such as, dulled and oversensitive senses; poor depth perception; light sensitive vision; occasional difficulty focusing vision; poor auditory processing, especially with processing multiple sounds at once; impaired judgment of strength; poor motor skills, hand-eye coordination and clumsiness.
- Poor problem solving skills, poor judgement, and a lack of common sense.
- Slow reflexes, delayed reactions.
- Alexithymia (Deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing emotions).
- Poor sense of time.
- Indifference towards social norms.
- Does not understand how other people perceive me.
- Trouble locating objects. I frequently will overlook things.
- Trouble making decisions, especially while being rushed.
- Fear of germs.
- Odd beliefs.
- Failure to pay attention to details and make careless mistakes.
- Impulsiveness.
- Executive dysfunction.
- Inconsistency in ideas; ie, i will state something and then contridict myself without realizing it.
- Difficulty sustaining attention to tasks or leisure activities.
- Trouble following through on instructions and failure finishing things.
- Difficulty organizing tasks and activities.
- Trouble engaging in tasks that require sustained mental effort.
- Loses things necessary for tasks or activities.
- Intolerance to boredom.
- Mild tremors.
- Gets distracted easily.
- Fidgeting and difficulty sitting still.

Inconsistent symptoms
- Unusual perceptual distortions such as déjà vu, dissociation, depersonalization, derealization, and occasional mild hallucinations,
- Dulled emotions.
- Zones out; sometimes does not hear when people say something to me.
- Suspiciousness of others motives.
- Obsessive, often intrusive thoughts.
- Compulsive and reckless behavior.
- Tics which seem to mostly go away when medicated.
- Irresponsibility.
- Stress and anxiety when too much is going on or is overwhelmed.
- Apathy and lack of motivation.
- Eccentric behavior.
- Loses train of thought during conversations and activities.
- Thought insertion.
- Lack of detail in speech.
- Unusual sleep patterns; decreased or increased sleep. (more so increased)
- Decreased or increased energy.
- Loss of enjoyment of activities normally enjoyed.
- Episodes of "narcissistic depression" ie, feeling depressed because the world doesn't deserve my greatness.
- Rudeness and insensitivity towards peoples feelings.
- Anger management problems.
- Impatientness.
- Violent thoughts.
- Random mood swings lasting seconds to weeks.
- Delusions of grandeur with unrealistic plans.
- Irritability and restlessness.
- Jealousy towards others.
- Racing thoughts.
- Failure to plan things ahead.
- Change in appetite (usually increased appetite.)
- Past history of breaking the law. (counterfeiting, reckless driving, DUI, shoplifting, vandalism, drinking in public, and other infractions)
- History of one seizure.

Savant symptoms
- Composing music and playing piano.
- Understanding quantum mechanics and meta-physics.
- Visual-spatial skills.
- Creative thinking.
- Pictorial / auditory imagination.
- Awareness of extra sensory perceptions.
- Ability to learn things to use in reality from dreams.

Various diagnosis's i have received from various doctors.
Multiple Complex Developmental Disorder
Aspergers Syndrome
Pervasive Developmental Disorder-NOS
Schizoaffective Disorder-Bipolar Type
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
AD/HD-Combined Type
Learning Disorder-NOS with Features of Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Slow Learning
Early Onset Dysthymia with Atypical Features
Major Depression with Mood-Incongruent Psychotic Features
Inadequate Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Traits with Disturbance of Conduct
Personality Disorder-NOS with Traits of Schizoid-Narcissism
Depersonalization Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-Obsessive Type
Sleep Disorder
Auditory Processing Disorder
Sensory Integration Dysfunction
Unspecified Neurological Developmental Disorder of Unknown Orgin
Alcohol Abuse

GAF - Ranges 40-65 depending on report.
IQ -122

Last edited by carltcwc on 02 Sep 2009, 3:55 am, edited 2 times in total.


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01 Sep 2009, 11:31 pm


-clumsiness, poor coordination

-difficulties in understanding directions, whether written or verbal

-difficulties keeping up with conversations

-easily overwhelmed by too much information

-high anxiety, almost constant

-prone to bouts of depression

-poor immune system (I've heard this is fairly common, cannot pin it solely on autism, but it's a possibility there is a link)

-poor eye contact

-inability to not take things literally (I even do it in dreams and question meanings in dreams... now that's pretty bad, lol)

-always was/am told I'm being a wallflower; preference to being outside of the group to being in the middle where it seems more is going on


-cannot get my thoughts together properly when talking or discussing something

-trouble deciphering things when they are written down-need visuals to fully comprehend

-problems with interrupting others

-loud voice at times

-getting words mixed up if trying to quote something verbally, stumbling over words


-rigid in routines
I'm sure there are more, those are the only ones I can think of at the moment really... but there are always more things that are an issue depending on how busy I have been. Lately I haven't been leaving the house really, so haven't run into a lot that makes me think about it.

Sorry about the incredibly long post...

"I enjoyed the meetings, too. It was like having friends." -Luna Lovegood


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Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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Posts: 667

02 Sep 2009, 1:52 am

funny. thanks for that list. just when i'm convinced something is a "personal quirk." just when i think, "well--maybe i've been imagining it all along."

i think i could tick off most of the "typical" symptoms.

i sometimes think i don't take things "literally" because i do have a sense of metaphor--on paper, anyway. unfortunately, i find that i take just about every piece of verbal communication VERY literally. to the point where euphemisms can make me completely helpless to understand what's going on.

poor depth perception. yes. difficulty processing many things at once. yes. "slow on my feet." yes. spelling---that's one of my strong points. left vs right, however--no.

high anxiety--constant. depression---regular.

processing emotions? rather not.

horrid short-term memory. a long term memory i almost wish i could stop. (i remember things from 18 mos. old.)

executive function? none to speak of.

my voice goes to the other extreme. (also common apparently.) people have a difficult time hearing me when i speak.

terrible judgement. others are generally complaining about my lack of common sense.

body language? facial expressions? big difficulty. may be why i'm so gullible.

terrible motor skills and balance as a child. seems to have corrected itself.

i have an incredible long-term memory; often takes me forever to access what's in it. it's like i think "with a limp." (slow reflexes/responses.)

trouble locating objects? yes. often looking right at things; don't see them.

reading comprehension: it's excellent. as long as there's dead silence and no distractions. otherwise, i read things many, many times.

social norms? it's not that i don't care. i just have a difficult time figuring out what they are. (i get "into trouble" a lot for things i say/do. contributes to social anxiety.)

inconsistency in ideas: hate to admit it. but yes.

difficulty organizing. tendency to procrastinate. motivation overall low.

very short attention span/easily distractible.

stimming--yes. handflapping, rocking, etc. other odd little repetitive behaviors. (hair ruffling, etc. pacing. finger-waggling.

tend to get startled when people greet me and/or make unexpected eye contact. (this is improving, though.)

feel most comfortable sitting in positions others would find "odd" or even painful. (has to do with both joint hyperflexibility---also anxiety. i feel safer when i have my body contained to a limited space.)

compulsive. yes.

my interests aren't limited to a few specialized topics. but i am obsessive and hyperfocused when something does interest me.

sleep patterns: terrible. also have night terrors, slow (irritable) mornings.

rudeness---yes. at times. but i can go to the other extreme also. (unfortunately, no matter how hard i try, i end up offending someone. no sense of social cues, i think.)

passivity. can't say no. (until i finally do. usually in a big way.)

anger management difficulties? yes. varies through time. for the most part, i'm slow to anger. but when i do get angry, it can be pretty "big." i do have meltdowns. also, when the depression is up, i can get fairly irritable.

easily go into shut-down when overwhelmed. sit curled up, or lie down curled up. (generally leads to sleep :) also can go into emotional shutdown. if overwhelmed, will engage in the same behavior for days on end. (ex: working word puzzles.)

not too much in the way of breaking the law. :) once i do figure out what the rules are, i like to follow them. sometimes to rigid extremes. (some high impulsivity when younger though---drugs, etc.)

funny. you have the "schizotypal" label in your resume too. i had that one. ironic, IMO: i'm horrifyingly reality-based. (but i do "stim," have not much in the way of facial expressiveness, prefer solitude, etc. that's what got me that label. there is an overlap of symptoms.)

i'm a natural mimic. people often tell me i sound just like ____ (whoever i've been talking to most.) apparently that's not uncommon. (i can also imitate certain animal sounds to a T.)

failure to finish things. understatement.

high creativity.

high analytical skills. (if i had any executive function to speak of, i would have gone to law school. did well on entrance exam, etc. but procrastination stole that. wouldn't have been able to handle the need for organization, need to time-manage, etc., etc. so i can't grieve too much about that.)

high language skills. (NLD traits.)

slow to learn many things; extremely fast at others. huge gaps in abilities.

some sensory integration issues. hyposensitivity to pain. hypersensitivity to certain types of noise; had some tactile and olfactory hypersensitivities as a child, but those seem to have "worked themselves out." still don't like the fluorescent lights much; easily fatigued when around them much.

little sense of future. difficulty projecting into the future. what exists is right now.

difficulty with authority (which i refuse to give up. questioning the #$% out of everything is the only thing i have to counter the innate gullibility.)

agitation spirals. i can't seem to experience much of any emotion without having it turn into agitation.

odd "gaps" in emotions. don't seem to grieve clearly or well.

love humor, but don't get the conventional "joke." (they just seem illogical and "punch lines" never make any sense.)

tendency towards hypoglycemia--other physical quirks associated with being on the spectrum. (low bp, low body temp. not universal, but common.)

slightly "odd" gait--walk on the outsides of my feet; at times up on my toes.

etc. etc. etc.

i was just going to pop in here and try to upload another image (probably unsuccessfully.) but this topic caught my eye. thanks. (i mean that.) sometimes i need to inventory. i'm good at denial.


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02 Sep 2009, 1:55 am

Ok. I'll probably end up leaving a lot out, but there are the ones that come to mind. I'll try to give a description of how i experience them, just to be clear and to avoid listing a bunch of things that i think fall under the same basic "symptom."

-Stimming. This has been getting more and more obvious as i get older, actually. Rocking back and forth is the most obvious one, but i also bounce my leg, shake my foot, pick at my skin, fiddle with things, shift weight from one foot to the other when i'm standing, shake my hands, open and close my hands, and some other stuff.

-Limited range of facial expressions. I smile(more than i used to) when i find something amusing, but usually my expression is is "neutral."

-Sometimes monotonous voice, but not as much as it used to be. Now it's mostly just when i'm tired, stressed, or something.. I think. Other times i get maybe somewhat over-expressiove with my voice, adding accents and stuff i find amusing. So this varies with how i feel.

-General obsessive-ness. I'll go from one main "special interest" to another. I can't stop analyzing a specific not-very-important detail of something a lot of the time. Generally my brain just gets "stuck" on things.. It seems like i mostly think in obsessions/repitition most of the time.. And i can only truly have my focus on one thing at a time.

-Problems with multitasking. Like i said in the last one, i can only really focus on one thing at a time.. So, unless one of the activities is really repetitive in nature that i don't have to think about(then i'm actually okay at it, because the repetition helps me concentrate), my single train of thought kind of gets confused. At work this sometimes makes managers say that i "don't work with a sense of urgency" or that i only "have one speed." But that's really all i'm capable of without sending my brain into a confused overload.

-"Zoning out" when i'm deep in thought or while watching something move or blink or whatever. It just gets my interest and i stop paying attention to whatever else i should be paying attention to at the time.

-Misunderstanding social situations. Can't understand what people are going on about, always wondering what it is i've missed, can't seem to put the pieces of what's going on together well enough to get the full picture.

-Literal interpretations. I can usually tell sarcasm and metaphor on tv and stuff, but when i'm actually in a social situation it tends to go over my head quite a bit.. Maybe because i don't have the time or free brain-space to think it through at the time, i don't know. Though the biggest problem, most of the time, is not so much related to sarcasm or metaphor as it is just not knowing what someone means out of the many possible meanings for what they said.. And everyone else seems to psychic-ly know what is meant most of the time. Which then leads back to the social confusion.

-Not good at eye contact. I'm more comfortable looking at something else, but lately i've noticed that i'm getting a little bit better at it.. I'll make eye contact for a second to see if someone is looking at me or talking to me, at least. My job helped with this, because i end up having to look at someone's eyes to see if they are directing their question at me or someone else. Sometimes i'll actually realize that i'm looking someone in the eye without having thought about it, and then, upon realizing it, i quickly feel like looking away(and do).. heh.

-Appear either "shy/quiet" or "talkative," depending on the situation.. And have no idea why i appear this way to others or how to reach a happy medium. I used to get so frustrated when people called me "shy" and "quiet" through school, because i didn't understand how to go about being any different from how i was and i didn't know what all it was that i wasn't doing. Still don't really get it. I just don't know what to say most of the time.. And other times i'll just start going on about a random observation or one of my current obsessions, regardless of whether or not it's the "right thing" to say.

-Physically awkward, sometimes clumsy. Even though i generally have good balance, and was quite good with climbing on things as a kid, my movements are a little stiff and "different." I have bad posture(sort of hunched), don't feel like i know what to do with my hands when i'm walking or standing somewhere, and the way i walk is often pretty kind of stiff and robotic. When i don't have my mind on movements, i don't always have great "body awareness"... So i'll often start thinking about something else and then bump my arm into something. At work i'm constantly getting scratches on my arms from walking into the side of shelves and getting scratched by the tag-holder-thingies. Bad handwriting too, unless i'm going really slow and thinking of it as if i'm drawing something(then it's ok.. because i'm actually not bad at drawing).

-Get "stuck" in conversations. Partly goes along with obsessive-ness, because i often will end up bringing up the same topic over and over again, and might not stay with the "flow" of the conversation when it goes elsewhere(unless the new topic gets my interest). When it does get away from whatever i like talking about, i might not be able to think of anything on topic to say or know what i should say. But in the case that i can keep it going back to something that i like to talk about, i can do pretty well in a conversation.

-Problems reading people. I don't know what someone is feeling unless they are very obvious. For example, if someone is loudly complaining in a harsh tone of voice i can tell that they are angry or frustrated about something.. but i usually won't pick up what it's about or any of the specifics unless i come out and ask them what's wrong. And it can sometimes surprise/shock me because i won't notice that they are feeling bad until it gets up to that point that they're showing it in a very obvious way. Then i have trouble knowing how i should react. It seems like i can recognize what facial expressions mean somewhat when i'm removed from a situation and can analyze it all(like with something on tv), but when i'm in a social situation it just doesn't usually occur to me.

-Sensory issues. Used to be picky about clothing as a kid, but i'm not as bad about that anymore.. I've learned to tolerate some things, or at least ignore them, i guess. I still get uncomfortable about people touching me and lots of light touch makes me feel itchy, though.. And, like a lot of people here, i prefer pressure. Loud high-pitched noises bother me more than most people, especially if it's unexpected(people at work turn there beep-y things up really loud a lot of the time, and i've just about jumpd out of my skin numerous times because of it) or keeps going and going repetitively. I also can't "filter out" one sound from a bunch of background noise very well.. Recognizing what people say over loud surrounding noise is sometimes just impossible, and can turn into a guessing game based on one or two words i can pick out of a person's sentence.

-Difficulty making and keeping friends. Mostly due to confusion over what i'm supposed to do and how to keep things going.

-Overreaction and/or meltdowns. Only occasional, but things like criticism or stress can make me a complete wreck. A mixture of depression/anger/frustration all together and i'm crying, shaking, hitting myself, and just going a little bit crazy. Other times, when it's more of an "overload" with too much going on and not knowing how to deal with it all(most common cause is people yelling back and forth) or a specific thing that gets me extremely frustrated it'll be more concentrated into a very short outburst of yelling and maybe shaking my arms up and down and stuff.


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Age: 32
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02 Sep 2009, 1:22 pm

My symptoms are as follows:
Inability to recognize people except my family if I see someone I know outside of their regular area I can't recognize them
Extreme anxiety since birth
Pressure of speech while manic
Slowed thinking in depression
Severe depression
Thought insertion from Gov and aliens
Thought broadcasting
Hallucinations mainly visual, occasional auditory, tactile in past olfactory
Can't stand change, things need to be the same all the time
Dissociative symptoms
Inconsistent memory meaning some things it is amazing and I can remember insignificant details but other things I can't remember simple things
Inappropriate emotions I laugh at everything funny or not
My pdoc that I used to go said I have "bizarre" delusions he's evil!
Restricted interests
sleeping problems both hypersomnia and insomnia usually one extreme or the other
lack of appetite for 4 months constantly and losing weight- I like this symptom!
I have others but these are the main ones I am having now
by the way my GAF has ranged from 20 (hospital admission suicidal thoughts and self harm) all the way to a whole 50
my IQ is not that impressive I know I always say negative IQ but that is impossible, in reality it has tested at 82 or Borderline Intellectual Functioning


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02 Sep 2009, 8:22 pm

Strong interests in favorite subjects, possibly to the point of obsession. Currently, I am fascinated with tennis. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are my favorite players.

Doing stupid stuff. I have a good factual memory, write well and perform well at my job, but I tend to be absentminded and do incredibly dumb things.

I have a seizure disorder, fortunately fully controlled by medication. I also have anxiety attacks occasionally. I have had a lot of anxious moments about pets and people in my family this year.

Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
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02 Sep 2009, 9:00 pm

9CatMom wrote:

I have one too I also have to take medicine

Pileated woodpecker
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03 Sep 2009, 9:13 am

It's difficult to prescribe my symptoms but I'll try to the best of my current ability.

Consistant Symptoms:

Obessive-compulsive thoughts
Intrusive thoughts
Chaotic meta-emotions/meta-cognition (Too much introspection)
Constant self-doubt (Second guessing myself)
Intellect-mania (I think to much)
Selective-Executive Function (Ex: If I'm interested in learning about something I learn extremely quickly, if not I'm hard pressed)
Prone to boredom
Mild Body-Dsymorphia (Mild anorexia and vigorexia, not extreme enough to count as the actual clinical disorders)
Loud/Powerful voice
Compulsive Honesty
Prone to not forgive myself

Inconsistant Symptoms:

Mania (Anxiety, Panic and Paranoia-laden)
Clinical Dysphoria (Depression)
Anxiety-Panic attacks (Usually results in psycho-somatic illness *emotion sickness*)
Racing Thoughts (Typically Mania-induced)
Flat Affect (Monotonous voice)
"Exaggerated" hand/arm-movements (I "talk" with my hands, or "act" like I'm "Italian" so to speak)

'Savant' Symptoms:

High level Reading/Word Comprehension
High level Logical Analytical skills
Natural martial, vocal, and artistic capabilities

Official Diagnoses:

Bi-Polar Disorder
Depressive Disorder
Obessive Compulsive Disorder

The asylum is run by lunatics.

Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

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03 Sep 2009, 1:21 pm

Consistent Symptoms:
Trouble making/keeping friends
Lack of empathy
Anxiety in social situations
Prefer routine, though more flexible than many others
Clumsiness and stiff posture
Flattened affect
Lack of eye contact
Monotone voice
Intrusive thoughts
Sleep disturbances
Assuming everyone knows what I know

Inconsistent Symptoms:
Do not like to be touched
Anger issues when overwhelmed

'Savant' Symptoms:
Excellent memory
Accelerated pace for learning languages
Grandiose vocabulary

Official Diagnoses:
Social anxiety disorder

Wait, what?

Tufted Titmouse
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Location: Somewhere in the clouds...

03 Sep 2009, 6:45 pm

carltcwc wrote:
Various diagnosis's i have received from various doctors.
Multiple Complex Developmental Disorder
Aspergers Syndrome
Pervasive Developmental Disorder-NOS
Schizoaffective Disorder-Bipolar Type
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
AD/HD-Combined Type
Early Onset Dysthymia with Atypical Features
Major Depression with Mood-Incongruent Psychotic Features
Inadequate Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Traits with Disturbance of Conduct
Personality Disorder-NOS with Traits of Schizoid-Narcissism
Depersonalization Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-Obsessive Type
Sleep Disorder
Auditory Processing Disorder
Sensory Integration Dysfunction
Unspecified Neurological Developmental Disorder of Unknown Orgin
Alcohol Abuse

OMG, when could you get all of these? Sounds like impossible!

Some of my symptoms are, I'll list only some, because I can fit in so many that could be hard to write all.

There are:

- Problems with empathy (empathy very low, but I want to help other people, that highers it a little bit)
- Problems reading body language, tone of voice, facial expressions...
- Unugual gait, gestures, clumsiness, stereotyped movements, little facial expression
- trouble showing emotions, look like I have no feelings, but I just don't know how to show it
- trouble with changes, I want things to be just the same
- problems with anger, even for the littlest thing I freak out
- hypersensitivity to noise, tone of voice, words, how something is said to me, frequently freaking out because of, hyposensitivity to pain and some other voices and noises.
- trouble with crowds, avoid socialization
- trouble relating with peers, prefer adults
- semantic-pragmatic troubles, although I've learned to use some methaphors and sarcasm, I am still confused about it and don't understand it when other uses it
- tend to take things literally
- monotone voice, or imitating it from others, TV, radio, friends and changing intonation when talking about different things, there is no emotion in talking, or very rarely
- trouble with theory of mind (definitively)
- routine, I am a little OCD
- I am socially anxious because of 7 years bullying in primary school
- I have trouble with self-help skills, social skills, recognizing dangerous and reacting properly in stress situations (I am definitively like a dumb there. I don't know when what to do and why.... only for things I am good at
- I am easily irritated
- can't control myself properly
- trouble adhering to change, reacting properly, social awkwardness
- I am confused since I came from one strong interest to four, and I am thinking about going back to one or two.
- hate reading aloud, trouble with reading comprehension
- problems with an eye contact, I still have many troubles, but I am working well on it, although is better not to look, more comfortable.
- rocking back and forth
- stimming behavior

Other symptoms:
- frequent mood swings,
- oppositional behavior (when there is misunderstanding, injustice or sensory trouble)
- am visual learner and have not good auditory memory, only when it comes to music, there I am advanced
- sometimes selectively mute
- flight of indeas through my head
- trouble with insomnia and hypersomnia (almost every day)
- self-destructive behavior when in stress

Savant skills:
- very good understanding about psychology and advicing
- advanced in three languages (Slovene, Serbian, English) and understand 7 languages fluently.
- have language skills of an adult and understanding new languages of an baby (this means super), understand languages quickly and well (learn by listening on TV and reading - but not aloud)
- very good visual memory and skills
- perfect pitch (natural, not learned) - play violin and other instruments
- well talented in drawing
- genius reading skills (but can't read aloud), am very fast reader and developed 4 reading techniques by myself when I didn't know they already exist. Started to read by 4 yrs, but our school started with 7 yrs (in Europe).
- have great feeling of justice (and I want it)
- well in expressing emotions in pictures and in writing, great writing language skills
- thinking in pictures
- great at developing new technics for easier functioning and great intrapersonal intelligence

Recent diagnosis:
- Major depression
- Anxiety disorder
- Asperger's syndrome

Feel that I could also have, but have no diagnosis:
- social phobia

Most important diagnosis:
Asperger's Syndrome

Treatments I am on:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Psychotherapy
- Social Skills Training

There I can find much more things and symptoms, but I think that it's more than enough for now.

"My natural language is energy."

Last edited by anasthasia on 04 Sep 2009, 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.


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03 Sep 2009, 8:37 pm

this is completely off-the-subject---but is it common for aspies/auties to like to climb things? (just wondering.) because if it is, include it in my list. :)


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03 Sep 2009, 9:41 pm

This was C&Ped from a livejournal entry and was written to be read by NTs, and is a summery of my sensory difficulties. I haven't received a spectrum diagnosis, but I strongly suspect that I have PDD-NOS, or possibly AS. In addition to what is mentioned below, I've also been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, clinical depression, executive function disorder, hypersomnia, narcolepsy, and anorexia nervosa (though I feel I have recovered from the depression and anorexia).

I have CAPD, hyperacusis, and issues with sensory integration and sensory defensiveness. I've also been diagnosed with ADD, and the above seem to be commonly comorbid. Throughout this I will sometimes refer to "NTs" - short for neurotypicals, a word used often in the autism community to refer to people with "normal" brains. I think it's appropriate here too. This will be broken up sense by sense.

This is the sense I have the most problems with. For starters, anyone who spends time with me IRL will probably notice that I say "what?" a lot. Not because I can't hear what's said (just the opposite, my hypersensitive hearing means even soft whipsers are audiable) but because I can't understand what was said. I often hear words as similar-sounding words, or even as complete gibberish. Sometimes I have to ask someone to repeat themselves several times before I can comprehend what they're saying. For example, a conversation with me may go something like this:

Them: "alwkdjgslkg"
Me: "What?"
Them: "qowijkjjg"
Me: What?"
Them: "sooignnelwlk!"
Me: "Again please?"
Them: "akjeglmnnn"
Me: "I'm sorry, one more time?"
Them: "How are you?"
Me: "Oh! I'm fine."

To say it's frustrating would be a huge understatment. However, when I mishear words as other words, it is often a source of amusement (For example, "Orange barrels" becomes "Amish bear holes"). I especially have difficulties with people with accents, speach immediments, telephones, or when listening to someone in a noisy
environment, especially if other people are talking nearby. I enjoy listening to people with accents talk, but I generally can't understand a word of what they're saying. Most of the time though I can fill in the blank from the context of the conversation, but sometimes that's just impossible. For this reason I prefer to watch movies with subtitles if the option is available.

Another problem I have with sound is volume. Anything loud is painful to me, but my perception of "loud" is very different from NTs. To me, "loud" is anything above indoor speaking volume. Therefore noisy conversations, music, and TVs are often a problem for me - I prefer to avoid confrontation so if I find myself in a situation where there's too much noise for me I will just leave rather than ask for the volume to be turned down. There are many people who don't like me and don't want me to come over to their homes because they can't listen to music or tv at the volumes they want to when I'm around. (People Jeremy knows). Jeremy's roommate Adam insists that the volume I need things at is too low for him to even hear it. I can hear noises that most people can't, and they bother me when no one else can even hear them.

In addition to that, there are also sounds that provoke a fear/anger/anxious flight or fight response in me - repetitive noises, heavy bass, soft music or conversation, joint cracking, cardboard rubbing against each other, footsteps, dogs barking, alarms, sirens, construction equipment, lawn mowers, hair driers, etc. I will literally run away from these noises until I can find a quiet environment. If I can't escape, it could lead to a frustration and panic implosion resulting in crying and rage.

I'm also unable to filter out background noise so little noises that might bother someone at first but then they get used to it, continue to bother me until the noise stops.

Pluuuus I also have tinnitus, which is pretty darn annoying.

Second major problem area. There are certain motions which I cannot watch as they trigger anxiety, flight/fight, etc. Anything repetitive, swaying, swinging, tapping, jumping, spinning, etc. Anyone who was with me during karaoke yesterday will remember my reaction to the moving lights on the wall (cover my eyes and retreat). I can't look at swing sets, rocking chairs, ceiling fans, or even just a hand being waved in front of my face (my sister likes to do that to tease me. It is not funny.) Once in 6th grade we made paper mache globes which were then hung from the ceiling. There was a draft in the room and they swayed back and forth. It upset me so much I refused to go to school for two days until I was finally taken to a doctor and given Dramamine. It didn't help, and the teacher finally removed the globes. I was also often teased for not being able to look at the swing sets.

I'm also bothered by florescent lights and feel uncomfortable making eye contact.

Picking me up, moving me, pushing, shoving, spinning, etc all illcit a panic response from me. Please do not do this! I know I am small but that really does not give anyone ANY right to pick me up and swing me around. I've delt with this many times and hated it.

Touch and texture
When I was younger I was hypersensitive to touch - I needed to remove the tags from all my clothes, could only wear socks inside out so I wouldn't feel the seams, and could only wear clothes that had been washed with fabric softener. Stocking sand tight fitting clothes were unbearable, especially layered clothes and turtlenecks. But for now, my sense of touch appears to be rather hyposensitive. I have a very high pain tolerance and some areas of my body are practically numb. However, there are certain textures that bother me immensly when touched: dry clay, dry paint, courdory, cardboard, styrofoam, tweed, twine, brick, whool. If any object of these textures were unexpectedly placed in my hands there's a very good chance I would immediately drop it.

Until recently I was unable to eat tofu or lettuce because the texture bothered me so much, but I seem to have been able to get past that somehow.

I enjoy smells, but I'm hyposensitive. I become acclimated to smells very easily, (which is an asset working at an animal shelter) but I'm at risk of putting on too much perfume >_>

I used to be an extremely pick eater, but that has gone away since going vegan. Dunno why.

System overloads
When I become overstimuated I shut down. I get very sleepy, and then my body says no more and I fall asleep. This can happen at a party, bar, restaurant, movie theater, concert, or even just a fairly quiet evening with a few people all talking loudly to each other around me. When this happens I either fall asleep on the spot or retreat to some place quiet where I can relax and/or take a nap.

In addition to all that wackiness, I also have synesthesia which means my senses are all mixed up with each other. I see color everywhere (grapheme/word/day/month -> color, personality -> color, music -> color), colors have taste, music has direction, temperature. Number map and time space forms. Etc. It baffles me that other people don't experience the world in this way! I imagine it must be so strange for NTs to not have colorful words and music and whatnot. The weirdest of all was finding out that not everyone visualizes time.

In addition to that, I also have social problems such as not understanding emotions, becoming anxious in crowds, not understanding a person's intentions, etc. I also have trouble showing emotions in general, and I don't always give the appropriate emotional response, or to the appropriate degree (most things underwhelm me). I stim (hand-flapping, rocking, and repeating words/phrases/nonsense sounds), am very good with languages (I picked up Japanese very quickly and think it's easy, and I am now teaching myself Korean). I connect very well with non-human animals, but tend to lack empathy for humans. I have a lot of difficultly verbalizing thoughts, read very slowly, but type quickly. I easily become attached to objects and have a very hard time throwing anything out unless it's clearly trash. I've saved all of my toys, clothes, school assignments, etc since preschool.


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Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,757
Location: Great Britain

21 Jul 2010, 4:44 pm

I have been diagnosed with AS by a doctor but it wasn't an official diagnosis, and that was when I was 8. I'm 20 now, and my some of my AS symptoms seemed to have converted into Dyspraxia symptoms, but I can't be sure So I've listed my symptoms down (with the help from some other posts because my mind goes blank otherwise) and I want to see what other people here might think.

Consistant symptoms
1. Trouble explaining things to people - always use simple words, instead of getting a better word out what best describes my point
2. Tendency to moan and complain a lot of the time about everything
3. Occasionally have trouble understanding slogans - but I don't take everything literally though
4. Slow at reading
5. Tend to get tongue-tied - can't read poems out loud unless practised lots and lots of times
6. Poor handwriting, but it has improved
7. Find it difficult to do multiple things at once, eg cooking lots of different things at once, due to the confusion of timing
8. Difficulty with directions, tend to forget the way I come when in an unfamiliar place
9. Slow at learning stressful things, eg driving
10. Tend to forget what I'm saying while I'm talking, so I drift off into silence
11. Very unorganised - have trouble keeping things in order
12. Poor memory
13. Very sensitive to loud noise - tend to ''worry'' a lot in somewhere where there's going to be a sudden loud noise (continuous noise don't worry me though)
14. Worry about trivial things, like ''what if I trip over in the street tomorrow?''
15. Lack of sympathy, due to forgetting, eg if an aunt was ill in hospital and is coming out tonight, and my mum said she can't come swimming with me tonight because she wants to wait in, I'll probably say, ''why do you want to wait in for?'' in a huffy voice - then she has to remind me that she wants to wait in for my aunt. Then I will understand and have sympathy
16. Poor sense of time - usually arrive late to places
17. Trouble locating objects, eg if someone asked me to pass them a pen what was right in front of me, I would look around everywhere else but
18. Mind goes blank when rushing, eg if I was in a rush to get out the door I'll probably put my coat on instead of my shoes, or vice versa
19. Fear of catching colds and tummy bugs
20. Make lots of mistakes due to lack of concentration or forgetfulness
21. Often make ''social mistakes'', eg if someone was asking someone else a specific question, I'll probably answer instead
22. Difficulty in sport activities, tend to forget or be unsure of the object of the game/activity
23. Get lazy a lot - leave all important things to the last minute
24. Trouble remembering figures (can remember colours better)
25. Always the last to work out a sum in my head - it could take more than a minute for me to work out a simple sum in my head like ''2 x 16''
26. Fail to hold down a full time job because of boredom of being in same place a lot - need a part time job so I can fill my week up by doing different things and being in various locations
27. Get distracted easily, especially when bored
28. High irritation

Inconsistant symptoms
29. Unpredictible mood swings
30. Obsessive, tend to put my special interest first before anything else
31. Bite at least 2 nails a day, done this every day of my life since I was about 2 years old
32. Irresponsibility, find it hard to cope with responsibilities
33. High anxieties, get frustrated easily, and seem to become angry a lot
34. Lack of motivation
35. Become embarrassed easily
36. Find it hard to understand a lot of words, seem to have a vocabulary of very easy every-day words only
37. Very weak and become tired easily
38. Reactions to cold weather, eg feel very tired, get bad headaches
39. Episodes of feeling low and unconfident, feeling ''lost'' or ''not wanted'' - mostly get these feelings on Sundays
40. Don't like change, unless it's good
41. Can be rude, eg can reply ''what?'' instead of ''pardon?''
42. Anger management problems, tend to show everyone that I'm angry, and if in public I tend to glare at people to give them signals that I'm angry and hope they will consider for some reason
43. Can be impatient
44. Poor judgement with pace - tend to bump into things or knock myself
45. Hatred of toddlers and teenagers
46. Bad habit of following a family member around the house when restless
47. Jealousy towards relatives who have more friends than me
48. Racing thoughts
49. Difficulty with ''standing up for myself''

Savant symptoms
50. Can write fast
51. Good spelling and punctuation
52. Playing keyboard, composing music including background effects
53. Enjoy being creative, eg writing stories
54. Create a world in my drawings

Non-AS abilities
55. Enjoy small talk or gossip with relatives, friends or collegues
56. Fine with jokes, exaggerations, puns and expressions
57. Ears are always open - I never ''get lost in my own world'' and not hear others
58. Eat normally, sleep normally
59. Not bothered by light, smells, touch and taste
60. Good with facial expressions, tone of voice and body language
61. Normal personality - not speaking in ''monotone''
62. Don't have tics, like rocking backwards and forwards, ect
63. Good with flirting, always can tell if someone actually fancies me or is just mucking around
64. Always know when to laugh along with what others are laughing at
65. Have ordinary emotions, eg when watching a sad film I will cry, when watching a horror film I will be scared, ect
66. Fine with eye contact - find it more difficult if I have to talk over the phone because I like to know how they are feeling and what they're like by looking at them
67. Not very clever on mechanical equipment, always need help when something goes wrong with my computer
68. Not into books
69. Don't stack things or organise things in althabetical order (unless bored and don't know what else to do)
70. Eat and sleep routine don't bother me

Other small conditions I might consider myself as
Agoraphobia/social phobia
Anxiety disorder
Slight learning difficulties
Memory disorder


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Joined: 26 Dec 2009
Gender: Female
Posts: 20,993
Location: 미국

21 Jul 2010, 5:06 pm

Consistent Symptoms
-Difficulty initiating conversation
-Difficulty ending conversation
-Easily overwhelmed
-Very sensitive to noise
-Very sensitive to tactile sensation
-Literal interpretations of most things
-Easily distracted
-Pedantic speech
-Monotone voice
-Insistence on routine
-Fascination with statistics/data
-Difficulty showing emotions
-Problems with 'figures of speech'
-Sleeping trouble
-Problems with multitasking
-Limited facial expressions
-Zoning out
-There is a limited amount of food I will eat, due to...
-Sensory problems
-Insisting on always speaking the truth; difficulty telling lies (even white lies) of any sort [which is usually a good thing]
-'Stimming' behaviors (pacing, humming, chewing on things, wrist-shaking, and, what I'm doing now, rocking back and forth... and so on.)
-Forgetting where I place things
-Difficulty understanding why people think the opposite way I do on a given topic
-Strong interests in certain topics
-'Perfect pitch'
-Talent in linguistics
-Not the best at mathematics
-Tons of irritability when space or privacy is invaded
-Perfectionist with certain things
-Preferring to be alone
-Excellent long-term memory for details (recalling birthdays, names of people, dates in history, etc.)
-Fear of germs

Inconsistent Symptoms
-Difficulty maintaining conversation
-Mood swings
-Occasional, minor depression

-Asperger's syndrome


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Joined: 26 Dec 2009
Gender: Female
Posts: 20,993
Location: 미국

21 Jul 2010, 5:21 pm

Well, these are how I perceive my symptoms, based on self-evaluation and being told.
If you ask a friend of mine or a family member, they may add more.