Expert: Paul Johnson - 9/29/2010

Question
I am a 29 yr old female.  I have been diagnosed with PTSD.  My son exhibits what the doctors believe is high functioning autism.  I am wondering if I might have Asperger's. My husband thinks I either have OCD or Asperger's or something along those lines, but I highly doubt I will go into see a psychologist because of the interaction with another person (I don't feel comfortable).  I read a question you answered from a 30 yr old woman named Heather.  Besides the getting mad part, it sounded so much like me.  My husband would say I would get extremely anxious when things are not the way they should be.  I have to be in control of the situation.  I like initial contact with people, but am very uncomfortable with long term contact.  I will have a conversation with someone, but it will go around in my head until I understand it which can be 20 minutes to days after it took place.  Growing up I had strange quirks with food, and textures.  I was very naive with people, but I am extremely smart in a lot of other ways.  I do get obsessive about certain subjects of interest. For example I will check out dozens of books, research for hours and I will become agitated if interrupted.  I have "outgrown" or overcome some of the symptoms I had when I was younger, but still am anxious when it comes to people.  Seriously, my husband is the only person I really feel comfortable talking with, but even that can change if his behavior is unexpected.  I don't have euphoric manias, my obsessions are limited to topics of interests, which can change, my anxieties have to do with interactions with people and change, my thoughts though logical to me come out disorganized to a lot of people (I do great with email correspondence, because I can reread it and organize it better and leave it and come back later), my husband also talks about my voice changing pitch, he says I never realize I am talking to loudly or mumbling.  He also complains that when I "shut down", because of too much going on I get a dead look in my eyes.  I have tried going in for the ptsd, but end up changing my counselor multiple times looking for someone I was comfortable with then just gave up.  Oh, and that is the way it is for other areas of my life. Like work, I think I would do awesome if it was a job away from people, challenging, but predictable. But I can never stay at a job longer than a couple of months without the anxiety of being around the people being too much. It is not generalized anxiety, but specific.  I don't believe in controlling people, yet people are unpredictable and I need my environment to be predictable.  Without it I am really lost, my reactions go back to being weird, I feel unstable and emotional.  As my husband would put it I become very "overwhelmed". So what do you think and what is your advice?  Especially since I don't feel comfortable with counselors?

Answer
Hey A,

Thank you for you probing question.
Somehow I feel you would be comfortable with me as your counselor. I too was diagnosed "late" in life. I have over a dozen clients on the spectrum that most of them did not even know I was on the spectrum but felt comfortable with my advanced knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

You do not specify where in the USA you live but I live in Minnesota. Maybe you might contact the Autism society in the state you life in and see if they know if there is a counselor on the spectrum or have advance knowledge of Autism that you might perhaps be comfortable with.

Yes there are many obvious symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome in the behavior traits you described. I think you would be wise to seek a diagnosis from a clinician that is well versed in Autism.