Aspergers Syndrome - Living As an Adult Aspie

This is the first in a series of articles I've written, as an Aspie, to help explain how having Aspergers Syndrome affects daily living. You're probably here because you have Aspergers, know somebody who has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, or are an Aspie yourself and are reaching out for some understanding of how it affects daily life. You might have read books by scientists or researchers, providing bullet point lists of traits and attributes. You might have already found there are some books for parents on how to deal with an Aspie child. But what about actual, real Aspie adults? What's that about? What do those lists of traits mean?

The purpose for me is to get to down on (electronic) paper just how it translates into everyday life, so that you can see how the traits directly affect thinking and everyday life.

I can't promise answers, I hope I can deliver some understanding.

Asperger's Syndrome (pronounced ass-per-gers, with the accent on the first syllable) is an unusual and hidden disorder which affects social and human interaction. It's as if the brain is literally wired differently to other peoples, so we think differently. Somebody with Aspergers will have very black and white thought processes and opinions, based on logic. Once you understand the reasoning behind the logic, it's easy to understand and predict.

Aspergers also affects each individual aspect of life: cognition, perception, sensation, planning, physical coordination, memory, and even moods.

At the present time, Asperger’s syndrome is considered to be an autistic spectrum disorder, a label which can bring about negative thoughts from people - but it's not a negative trait to have.

Aspergers and autism share some traits and characteristics. I won't focus on the other disorders on the spectrum. It can be unclear for most people where the line is drawn between Aspergers and autism, they hear the autism label and stick with that one as it's more well-known.

People with Aspergers are often known as Aspies. It makes for an easier read, so I'll stick with that word where possible.

The most common differences between being an Aspie and having autism is that Aspies will often have a very high IQ and will have social problems. In fact, if you wanted to keep it very simple you could almost define it down to those two points.

I have a high IQ, yet when you ask me "How are you?" I don't know the answer. It's a hard question for an Aspie to answer. A typical Aspie answer would be to give you very detailed minutae over every aspect of their entire life to date in answer to the question. You can look disinterested, your eyes can glaze over, you might even try to change the subject, but the Aspie will plough on. You asked the question, now the Aspie is answering. These verbose replies are a major part of the problems experienced when trying to negotiate any social activities at all.

Keep checking back for the complete set, where I start to delve into Aspies at Work, at Home and in Love.

Thanks for reading.

Images: Autism Awareness Ribbon by BL1961