Autism/Is it Aspergers

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Expert: - 4/11/2007


Question
Hi,
I'm 17 and fustrated in school because I have problems concentrating on school work, home work, and tests. I notice in class that everyone but me can just sit there and do class work easily. It takes me forever do simple stuff like read the assignment and answer the questions. It's like I'm reading the stuff and the next thing I know I'm thinking   about something else. With tests it's not about whether I know the information or not it's like I'm bored by question no.3. I have a major procastination problem I wait till the last day to do a big project that was assigned a month ago and I'm always finishing it late into the night. I'm always losing stuff like id cards, pencils,  and keys. My backpack is a mess and I get distraced easily by my thoughts about something not related to the task at hand or sounds.   Thanks,
Jessica  

Answer
Hi,

I'm not a doctor and I can't diagnose you with anything - having said that, what you write doesn't really sound like Asperger to me, but rather much like AD(H)D.

There is a form of ADD without hyperactivity which can ressemble asperger's syndrome in some aspects (do a google search on ADHD and see if you can recognize in the symptoms described) - but if you want to be sure, you should consult a specialist. Maybe you could talk to your teachers first and they can point you to a competent doctor. These days, ADHD can be effectively treated both through medication and therapy.

Here's a website
http://www.add.org/articles/index.html

A very good book on ADHD is "driven to distraction" by E. Hallowell.

If you recognize yourself in what these people write, I would really go and see a specialist.

Hope this helps,
C.  

Autism

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*DISCLAIMER*

Please note I am not a healthcare professional or a doctor.
I cannot provide a diagnosis or give any medical advice.
Therefore I cannot answer questions like "is my child autistic ?" other than by telling you to go and see a specialist
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Please be aware that if you are in the US it will usually take at least 24 hours until I can answer your question, as I'm in Europe and don't have access to my email during the day. I also cannot answer questions concerning the US educational or law system (other than by looking up things on google, but that's probably not the expertise you need), as I'm not in the US.
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Please also be aware that I'm a person with autism. My answers may sometimes be very blunt and direct and I may tell you things you won't like to hear. Diplomacy is certainly not among my talents. I'm never being rude on purpose, and I always try not to hurt or offend people, but it has happened before and may happen again. It's NEVER on purpose. I just want to help.
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What I *can* do for you is gather information on any aspect of autism and therapy of autism you're interested in and give you my personal oppinion about it (if you want to hear it) or, if it applies, tell you about my personal experience. I can answer all questions about what life is like for an autistic person.

I can also answer questions asked in German or French (but will have to answer in English to questions asked in French as my French is a bit rusty).

Ich beantworte gerne auch Fragen auf Deutsch.

Vous pouvez poser des questions en Francais, si cela ne vous dérange pas que je responds en anglais.

Experience


As I'm not doing well right now and am not in the shape of answering questions well - I recieved a few low ratings lately - I'll take a break from AllExperts for the next few weeks/until I'm doing better

I am an adult diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome/High Functioning Autism and ADD.

In the past years I have also read a lot about autism and its comorbid conditions and related subjects (as I am experiencing symptoms of most of these or know others who do) , so I have accumulated a lot of layman knowledge in this area (AD(H)D, Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, sleep disorders, allergies, sensory integration dysfunction, learning difficulties, left/right-brain, giftedness, Irlen Syndrome, prism glasses, executive dysfunction (aka. "inertia"), "special" diets).

Education/Credentials
None in the field of autism, apart from being autistic myself !

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