Aspie-NT Borderer?

[mlrock]

When I was about four or five years old, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Now in my early twenties, I wouldn't be surprised if I have undiagnosed Asperger Syndrome or PDD-NOS.

While my overall personality and interests seem more reflective of neurotypicals than of Aspies, some of my traits (above average intelligence, strong instincts and intuitions, highly enunciated speech, youthful physical appearance, mood swings, clumsiness, and below average social skills) seem to very much reflect such a diagnosis.

Anyway, it can be very difficult for me to find like-minded people that I can maintain long-term friendships and relationships with. I find that many "Aspies" display traits that make it difficult for me to communicate with them on a similar wavelength or display traits that I find very off-putting. On the other hand, I often find it hard to relate to NTs because they often find my social awkwardness annoying. I often don't feel like I truly fit in to either such group. Does anyone ever feel this way and if so, how do you cope?

 

[Jacki Cucinotta]

I can relate to you in that I often appear like an NT at first glance, save for the occasional clumsiness and social awkwardness. I also sometimes get the vibe that there are some people that don't like me for a reason I'm not sure of; my theory is that they probably think I'm too bold sometimes with how I speak and how I express my thoughts - I often say things like it is and I tend to be opinionated about certain things. Also, I tend to not be exactly sure of how to respond to certain questions in social situations or how to enter a conversation. It feels awkward at times when I have this feeling that there are some people I know that might think negative things about me.

As for coping, I do my best not to make a big deal of it as I am getting better with my social skills. On that note, I know that I am still not an expert in the social skills domain, so I can feel proud of myself if I do make social connections with some people.