A for Aspie

Asperger's, short for Asperger's Syndrome, falls under the umbrella term of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To put it simply, Asperger's is a type of Autism. Whilst there are a few fundamental differences that define Asperger's, the majority of the symptoms are the same for people with Aspergers and Autism alike. So perhaps I should start by defining Autism... Autism is a developmental disorder that is characterised by a few distinctive features. It is important to note that, contrary to popular belief, you cannot catch Autism and you cannot cure Autism . You are born with it and it stays with you throughout your life. What you can do is learn to live with it and develop strategies that help you deal with it and live your life as happily and peacefully as possible. The characteristics of ASD can be largely divided into three key categories which can then be broken down further: Social Difficulties Restricted Behaviours and Interests Sensory Difficulties ...

Hi! My name is Aoife (pronounced ee-FA) and I have Aspergers. I decided to set up this blog to share some of my experiences as well as my opinions on general ASD discussions. However, I thought I should start by giving you a little introduction about myself and how I came to be diagnosed. From an early age, I'd always struggled a lot in social situations and preferred the company of adults to people my own age. My mum often suspected there was something a little different about me but due to my high intelligence (IQ of 151), nobody ever agreed with here, saying there was nothing wrong and that I was really clever. When I was 11, I started boarding school and within my first year, the head of learning support at my school said to my parents that she thought I had Aspergers and that I should be tested. At that point, my father said that he didn't believe in learning difficulties, that I didn't have Aspergers, I was not allowed to be tested and that I should not be told ab...