Austin's story
There have been threads started on this topic before and I have delved into them in the past, so I'll do it again. Steven, that is a very good read and you and I share a lot of characteristics as well as differ in others.
Even though I have not been officially diagnosed yet (would love to find out though; I don't view AS as anything negative), I am 99.9% positive I have Asperger's Syndrome as well as OCD, and I'm also sure the appliance obsession I've had since I was born came from this as well. I was extremely shy and had no desire in interacting with kids my age up until 1st grade, instead I played by myself and was perfectly content with it. Luckily I went to private school for the first 9 years of my life (first a Methodist pre-school, then Lutheran through 3rd grade), and while there were some bad times there, I actually had many friends that were a lot like me. I know I would NOT have survived public school for one day (especially in Houston) and would have been picked on/beaten up constantly.
I had a horrible time looking someone in the eye (still do sometimes), and did tend to fidget a lot when I was talking. Depending on the topic and unless it is something I know a lot about or enjoy discussing, I find it hard as well to keep a conversation going. Normal "chitchat", especially with people my age, is difficult...there absolutely HAS to be a topic of conversation. I also have a hard time "reading" people's emotions, which has made me victim of many little "mind games", even after I thought I had gotten better at it. It has also made me seem like a cold, horrible person, which in reality I am not. I just *can't* tell what people are feeling except when they show really strong emotion, such as smiling, laughing, crying, excited voice, etc. As for my own emotions, I used to show a LOT of that in earlier years (read: cry at the drop of a hat type), but that has improved as I got older. And, unless it is just downright hilarious, I really have a hard time laughing at just "normal" funny things, and when I do I'm usually forcing it. My social skills used to be downright horrible (not so much with adults but with other kids) and I was very reserved, but that is another aspect that has improved with age. It's safe to say that now I act like any other "normal" teenager. However, I have been, am still, and always will be, a very submissive person, and that is probably my #1 weakness. I am not a "fighter" and tend to stay away from any situation like that, especially because I'm certainly not the biggest or strongest person around. I don't understand the whole "male dominance" thing that revolves around other guys I know, and for that reason I have absolutely NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in sports, not to mention what little sports we played in PE I sucked at. The downfall of that is that I live in a small town where you're not anybody unless you play sports, which is probably the reason why I haven't had a girlfriend or been able to get a date in high school, and probably never will until I get off to college.
I don't really consider myself clumsy, but my handwriting isn't really the best, and I can't draw worth a s**t. That is pretty much a family characteristic from both sides, though...none of my relatives were strong in that category. I wasn't born to be an artist and I don't really care to be, either. And Toggle, you brought up a good point. Honestly, unless it is by a good-looking girl that I know (those of you who read this probably think I'm nuts, yes, it's just a bit weird), I don't care about being touched. It's this strange feeling that I can't really describe, more of a "cringing" response. I myself find it odd that your ex did not care to be touched by you; you would think it would be someone different such as his brother, sister, etc.
I also find that I'm somewhat of a hypochondriac, and am a big "germophobe" to the point of carrying small bottles of hand sanitizer in my pocket. Whne I was younger, around 10 years old, I washed my hands CONSTANTLY, though not so much now. I'm sure I have my clean-freak tendencies for that reason.
As for my OCD side, I like a set schedule and routime for my life as well as a set organization for everything, both in the Studio and in my room, and don't like it when it's affected or anything is out-of-place. When I'm off to college in 2007 it will probably be hell for the first few weeks just because I will be living in a different place away from home and will have to follow a different routine than I normally did. I also revolve the week around laundry, and think about what day I'm going to do wash during the entire week. I also have a list of certain things I need to do taped on my bulletin board as well as a list of projects involving the machines I still haven't completed.
A few other things worth mentioning that I left out is that I have a terrible sense of direction when it comes to driving in an unfamiliar place, and will probably be the type that depends on a navigation system as an adult. I have also liked to read from the beginning (started reading at age 2), and have always preferred nonfiction, reference books, magazines, or catalogs to typical fiction books (except for some Stephen King)...for some reason they do not appeal to me.
Well, that's all I have to say, no holds barred. I hope others will come forward and share their stories as well.
--Austin