It was not until I was 38 that I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. However having only just diagnosed myself a few months earlier the offical one came quite quick (it can take years to get a diagnosis). Being proud of it I call myself an Aspergian (or Aspie for short).
Asperger's syndrome is on the high functioning end of the autistic spectrum.
Being an Aspie means that my brain is wired differently to a NeuroTypical (NT) person. (A person whose brain is wired in a way that the medical world considers to be 'normal' or typical [the majority of people]).
Aspergians brains tend to function better with logic, ability to acquire and store a large knowledge on things that interest them, observing things in finer detail, make decisions without emotional clouding or peer/social pressure, and be comfortable alone for long periods of time. Aspergians are often (not all - I'm not for sure!) intellectually gifted but are generally considered to have a higher intellectual capacity that the NT. However we often face barriers in the education system as it does not cater for the way we need to learn.
I highlight these strengths first as Asperger's is portrayed mostly as something wrong with people; it's not, it is just a different way of understanding and perceiving things physically and emotionally because the brain wiring is different to the typical and the world caters for the typical brained person. However, there are areas we can find difficult or challenging.
The parts of the brain that control social interactions tend to be less developed and this means Aspergians often have difficulties with social interaction in the typical way. This can be learnt manually, as it has with me. I am a reasonably social person and as an intelligent adult have taught myself manually lots of the social rules and cues. I store the manually learnt information like a computer. This sometimes deliberate attempt to learn social rules and behavior, matched with my logic and ability not to cloud my judgment with emotion, has meant I can often work things out even better than neurotypicals and deal with the trials of life better than most or at least not get so emotional about them.
My life is not all about being an Aspie though. I love to travel and see different cultures and ways of life. I love my teddy bears and take Bearsac everywhere; I have written a book about my travels with him and is entitled Travels With My Teddy Bear. ISBN 978 190 620 6925.
I work in the learning difficulties rights movenment. I am a bit of a stay at home person, love dancing around my flat but it is so small so when I get the chance to dance anywhere else I will do so but cannot stick to one spot, I tend to dance all over the place to make up for the lack of space at home.
To see how I found out I was an Aspie, see my blog dated 6th January 2008
