I Have Asperger's. Aspie-Bronies Out There?

[1111 1,284]

Could have sworn I all ready posted in here but any ways I have been diagnosed with asperger's syndrome from when I was young and many specialist have told me I have it through my life even though most people wouldn't  know it. How has it affected me I don;t know really I think differently then most and are interested in different things in different ways then most I guess.I'm also socially awkward and a bit clumsy.   

Edited June 5, 2015 by flutersparkle

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

High-functioning autism for me, plus depression and anxiety. I went undiagnosed until I was 29. I knew something was off as a kid but I had no idea what, and neither did anyone else. It sucked. I'm still not good with people and I'm a much better communicator online than I am in person. For a while there, ponies were just about the only thing that made me happy. Things aren't quite as rough now, though.

[Dolphanatic 298]

I've been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome as well. In my early tween years, when I was first told about my diagnosis by my parents, I was in denial. It almost seemed like an insult of sorts, knowing that all my life, I was getting special treatment without being told about it. It was as if people saw me as being on a lower level, having lower standards than everyone else. I felt alienated, disappointed, and ashamed at the same time. However, I eventually got over it, realizing that whether or not I actually classify as autistic doesn't change who I am, as it's just a category of an unusual way of thinking that I just so happen to have. Since then, I've come to embrace it. It has certainly helped me learn to be myself and have my own personal identity instead of trying to live by other people's standards.

 

Looking through the symptoms, I'd say a fair amount of them apply to me, so I guess that's considered enough evidence to count, seeing as the definition of Asperger's (and autism in general) is rather loose. Here are some of the traits I have that could be considered characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome:

 

• I tend to have trouble communicating in general. At times, it seems as if I say something, only to have another person misinterpret it or the other way around. I occasionally get remarks about my lack of eye contact or overall unresponsiveness despite my acknowledging of the conversation going on. However, the main problem I have is how a lot of what I say tends to go over other people's heads, in part because It can be hard for me to predict how much other people are going to know about a certain subject, especially if I don't know the other person very well.

 

• I'm an antisocial introverted person for the most part. While I'm not afraid of being around others, I'd rather take matters into my own hands if I can, especially since I'm not the best when it comes to communicating with others. I'm more of an independent person who is fully capable of thinking things through by himself. I'd rather not force myself to depend on other people if I don't have to. Since I think so differently from most other people, trying to translate my thoughts to match their thinking patterns usually results in misunderstandings, and besides, I always know exactly what I have in mind and have it all planned out in my head, anyway, so its usually just a matter of getting it done by myself.

 

• I have many different talents, interests, hobbies, and the like ranging from studying dolphins to designing roller coasters to scripting programs to playing and writing music to whittling and crafting to storytelling and writing to photography and filming to taekwondo and so on. If it's something I as an analytically-minded person can understand and appreciate, then I'm likely to be skilled in that area. While I'm considerably better in some areas than in others, I take all my talents and interests seriously, sometimes to the point of obsession, as they are my best method of using my expansive knowledge as well as I can to get my ideas across.

 

• I appreciate all the fine details that many people take for granted. Too much information? Never! Statistics and the like are very fascinating to me and I make it a priority to know as much as I can. Memorization comes naturally if it all makes sense to me. My memory works more like an archive or a giant database. I've received countless compliments over how much I know in many areas because of this (such as almost any time I'm talking about dolphins). For example, you can name just about any roller coaster and I can tell you its maximum height, top speed, total track length, ride duration, manufacturer, history, and the like.

 

• I am very logically-oriented, and thus I tend to get worked up over things like last minute deadline changes (especially if I'm not informed of them) or anything else that fails to make sense. I prefer to be organized and concise whenever I can.

 

Whether or not Asperger's Syndrome, It's always nice to know that there are plenty of other people I can still relate to. I'm honestly surprised by how many others like me there are just on these forums alone!

Edited June 20, 2015 by Dolphanatic

[Star Saber 114]

High Functioning Aspergers here, was diagnosed while in highschool; yay by being different I'm actually the same as a lot of people apparently.

[Lucky Star 971]

I have asperger's too, I was diagnosed back in grade school.

 

Didn't realize it was so common in the fandom.  

(but I've met peeps who don't have it, so that's good   .)

[JacelynUSB 286]

I have aspergers, though, I forgot when I was diagnosed.

[Lunatic Cake 1,618]

Seeing how many aspergers have responded here, can I start an Asperger Army and rule the world with you guys?

 

Anyway while I don't seem to be diagnosed with Aspergers, it seems like I'm not too different from most Aspies on here. I might have it, who knows. Either way, we're gonna do this Asperger Army, right?

[Nikola Xerdav 88]

i was only diagnosed with A.D.D. when i was a kid, but i had way more social issues than that would have let on, i was a bit of a spaz throughout my school years, i got intensely obsessed with stuff (i kinda still do), and i would have odd mannerisms based on my interests, i would want to talk people's ears off about things they didn't care about (i still want to but i realized that most people don't care what i have to say).  i was diagnosed with Asperger's when i was 19, as at the time i was looking to get on the S.S.D.I. list for having A.D.D. and apparently they thought i had Asperger's which made my wait time a little shorter.

 

i don't know if i really have ASD, it seems like a vague thing, i see some people with Autism mastering college math at age 13, while i nearly flunked all my classes by my last 2 years of high school.  i think i also had diagnosed clinical depression since age 14, and i always question everything and worry about everything.  i could go on and on about how i love and hate myself, but i don't feel like posting my biography today.

 

i got into MLP a week after i had openly mocked it alongside my friends (the irony was so delicious), and i know some people claim MLP made their lives better or made them more happy (good for them), but it's just another show to me, and i can't help but to analyze the crap out of it sometimes because i tend to take things too seriously.  the show isn't enough of a good comedy for me to take everything with a grain of salt, when the writer team wants to attempt "serious story time" with halfassed attempts at keeping character qualities in line and plots that have good pacing and setups, sometimes they fail, and then i must complain, and trust me, i am complaining, not whining, if you want whining, THIIIS IIIS WHIIINNGGG (sorry, couldn't help myself, lol).

 

so yeah, i think it's a pretty good show, for a kid's show, but sometimes i feel like i should stick with stuff like Game Of Thrones and my various anime i try to watch (though i don't have access to season 5 GoT and the animes i've been watching lately haven't been as interesting to me as MLP, which is a very ironic realization).  i think the community makes MLP even more awesome, because most of my time is not even watching the actual show, it's being on youtube or on this forum or something else checking all the fan content and opinions everywhere, trying to feel connected and such

 

but yeah, hi there everypony

[Chara 1,565]

Yep, I am a teen who has aspergers, its very mild and I do not need any pills. I was diagnosed at the age of 11.

[Coco before Pommel 678]

Wow, so many AS ponies out there! *waves* I was diagnosed with it when I was about 8 - I had a lot of problems when I was younger (school was pretty much hell, college and uni only slightly better), but I'm told/would like to think my social skills have improved a lot - though I've definitely had to work at it - since then so it's not as obvious. I think it's kinda interesting how MLP, and fandoms in general, have so many AS/autistic people - probably to do with one of the common traits/symptoms being obsessive interests, and clearly (one of) ours happens to be ponies

 

I also really hate it when people use "autistic" as an insult, having something you struggle with your whole life and is intrinsically a part of you whether you want it or not used as some kind of punchline is really shitty but yeah, anyway, I'm always here for anypony who wants to talk, about this or anything at all really

[Guest]

I think something like, 90% of this community has some mild form of autism, which is really just abnormal social behavior stemming from lack of social interaction. I was diagnosed with asperger's at 5, I've since grown out of it, having no trouble socializing in crowds, and I don't get social anxiety anymore so I don't even think you can call me autistic, even though sometimes I do stupid stuff without thinking.

[ChoroChii 284]

Asperger's isn't real, the DSM-V  removed it for a reason.

I do also have autism, though.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

I'm doing some research triggered by a post I made in a thread here recently. I noticed that the things I described sounded... eerily like something. Many symptoms are fitting to a t, and a few tests tell me it's worth checking out to get diagnosed due to the high scores I've gotten on them. So I may have it. It seems quite likely because the traits are fitting. I will have to speak to my therapist and get that checked out. 

 

I hope I do, only because then I can have some answer to this madness of my head. Also, I'm trying to get government benefits because of how hard it is for me to get a job, so that would be helpful too.

 

Regardless of whether I do or don't though, I won't choose to define myself by it. I am myself.

[Death 16]

Well If only I'd known of this topic 10 months ago, this very condition (along with Major Depressive Disorder and perhaps being INTJ if that is at all relevant) were what I believe to be the direct cause of my failure at joining a large gaming community back then.  Turns out without experience it is hard to break into a tight knit group, and then the whole thing just falls apart as your attempts to fit in are seen as off-putting and such.  I haven't felt the pain of the type of rejection in a very long time if ever.  Still though, it did show me I had more mental problems than I thought...and low and behold what I discovered: autism.  Yay...

[Abstract 831]

As a young child, our family doctor told my parents that he had a hunch that I had aspergers, but we never actually got a real diagnosis of such. I've researched it on my own, and noticed I do display quite a large majority of the listed symptoms and behavorial anomolies, but again, no confirmed diagnosis.

 

And thats OK. I don't really have a great desire to know for cetain, as at this point, knowing or not knowing really isn't going to change my life in any meaningful way. I am who I am, regardless of my condition/or lack thereof.

[Adachi 772]

I was diagnosed with Asperger's when I was a little kid (forgot what age). Although I have family members who believe I was wrongly diagnosed, and I have been learning to control the symptoms, such as learning to be more formal around strangers/new friends and not speaking so much, as well as developing a stronger filter so I don't say the wrong things for the wrong moment.

Edited June 21, 2015 by Kirby

[Flareblood (V2) 6]

I have Asperger's, but it actually BOOSTED my intelligence slightly, while making that extra boost harder to access, so I act dumb sometimes, other times I act smart.

[EllieTheFuzzy 23]

I hate to sound like a "pisser" here but does anyone feel like Autism/Aspergers at time's gets far far too romaniticized?, sometimes it feels at times is that autism/aspergers is made out to be this "cute little bookworm" thing and then ignores all the issues that comes with it.

 

but then again i guess nowadays there is quite a lot of romaniticizing of things along that spectrum, as a friend of mine said in a rant he did about people romaniticizing mental health issues/psychology "do you just want the cute ones?"

Edited June 30, 2015 by EllieTheFuzzy

[Shanks 10,811]

I hate to sound like a "pisser" here but does anyone feel like Autism/Aspergers at time's gets far far too romaniticized?, sometimes it feels at times is that autism/aspergers is made out to be this "cute little bookworm" thing and then ignores all the issues that comes with it.

Sometimes it can, but there are also people who paint it is a fate worse than death with an disturbing increase of parents mercy killing their Autistic children being one of the many results of that. The unfortunate truth is that there are always going to people who will take something way too far and itsn't always just people on one side of an issue. I have always been against Autism doomsaying but can also see how what you have just said can its own share of consequences as well.

 

Those that are higher on the spectrum tend to face unique challenges, they appear "normal" so people often don't realize they actually have any neurological differences or challenges and may not be as understanding with that as they would with those whose challenges are more obvious. I have dealt with this many times at work actually and it is not a fun thing to deal with. Another problem is that it is such a complicated issue and yet a lot of people who may know someone on the Autism spectrum base their expectations on the person they know when it is such a broad spectrum that there can significant differences even among individuals that are relatively close on the spectrum.