ilovetochat87
Well-Known Member
Let me tell from my experience. I have had many opportunities that many with AS don't. Tho I also can say the opposite. But I got diagnosed when I was 15. I'm 28 now. My mom took me to the Dr when I was in elementary and they said I had ADD or ADHD I forget now but my mom decided after a couple months that I dodnt. The Dr had no other ideas bc AS wasn't as known then. So my mom decided for 6 years or something like that and put piece after piece together from various things that sounded like me and went to friends who agreed she has something. I was in and out of home school and regular school seeing what works but was always picked on. All the time I would go back to home school. Every couple semesters literally.
Then when I was 15 my mom had enough research put together of all internet posts and bits she red in books and crossed them with what I was behaving like and had a wide book of her research. I got diagnosed at children's mercy hospital and then a couple weeks later started 9th grade bc my mom wanted to go back to work and I wasnt studying on my own. I had definitely had trouble with paying attention and focusing. I needed someone to keep me in check. So after diagnosis Dr and mom decided to try me in high school with help which is something I've never had in any other school. The school also diagnosed me so they could decide what classes and how.
Then once in school I learned that I had trouble withlearning science and algebra etc. while homeschooled so I had to take those classes when I should've already done so.I was the only student with AS in 1700 students strangely, so they put me in a different classes before decidingclosest to me was ADD and ADHD and basic LD (learning disability) and brought in aautisminstructor to watch meinteract with other students and in doing homework etc. they decided I should take a social skills class. was one other student who was graduating that year who had AS but at first didn't see it probable to put us together but decided upon that. We took class on various things like facial expressions. There was a page of facial expressions and under was the title of that expression and then a page of blank faces and titles of facial expressions but once I saw the faces and read the expressions name I would look in the mirror and try to make those myself and then when I got better I would read the name but have to pop quiz if you will and see if I could remember what expression goes with that name like how do I make a scared face how do I make a surprised face how do I make a smile or a pissed off face etc. and those taught me a lot I even role-played different scenarios they gave us like me being the mom punishing a child for doing X thing and then I would reverse the roles and be the child that got in trouble for doing X thing and those taught me a lot of different things plus I walked with my head down and looked really depressed and got called names for being a loser etc. when I wasn't I just didn't know that I was supposed to look around when I walk and I didn't know if others did that or not I just knew that I didn't and that it was just something I always was like and once my mom and dad learned that they should help me with that it became easier to look up once I was forced to always look up it became second nature and I stopped getting made fun of for looking like a depressed loser. I moved out on my own when I was 22 I think and at first didn't cook because I was afraid of touching slime from raw meat and then was afraid of getting on the sink handles and on the soap and back on myself it was kind of an OCD but a minor one. and I learned through mind over matter which is focusing my mind on other things like singing or humming while I wash my hands so that I don't think about it and then I don't remember that there was anything on my hands all I know is that it's over and my hands are now clean and I can move on. Then eventually the more it became a thing for me I less and less had that fear or OCD and I learned I could touch the food and it was okay to put the dirty hands on the sink because I could learn ways to get around like my dad put Ziploc baggies over his handles and then he can touch the baggie over the handle with dirty hands and then take the bag off of the handle and no longer is there a problem . The bag kept the handle from having dirty raw meat on it. and then he just takes the bag off the handle and throws it in the trash. I learned coping mechanisms and I learned to mind over matter, think about something else while that's going on. When I get shots at the doctor I've learned many many times in my life bring headphones and listen to the music with my eyes closed and try not to think about the needle poking my arm because that is terrifying as all get out but mind over matter I think about something else instead of the needle in my arm all those kinds of things have taught me how to be where I'm at now which is independent with no parental help no parental guardians because I'm an adult now etc. etc. I can cook for myself and my parents are proud of me. I don't have to eat TV dinners all the time that I can cook and I love it and I'm good at it and I learned all kinds of things. something very beneficial for you to be a productive person in society . It's hard because a lot of times people with AS are accused of having no empathy or only think about their own feelings when that's not true. We just look down at the ground and don't know that we're supposed to look around when we walk so that we don't walk into things, or we get afraid of people and don't know how to engage with people so they think we don't want to and these things will help us to learn so that we don't have those problems as much and then people stop putting those false stigmas on us that are not true. I'm telling you this is the best thing for you. It's only one night a week and if you have a very important swim meet that is like you have to do this to get ready for a competition coming up you can miss the social skills class for that but if it's not gonna hinder anything by missing one swim lesson then it's beneficial trust me. There is so much you can learn from these classes that will help you when you want to be a productive adult. I don't know how old you are but if you are already an adult then taking these classes will help you even though you already an adult you may not be on your own yet and when you take these classes and you get these kinds of help then you may decide that maybe your last afraid and have less problems and want to try to be on your own now that you know how to cope and get around those things or whatever trust me you will really really think yourself for taking these classes and you will have so much more opportunities than a lot of people who don't know they can do these things or are already too old and didn't have those opportunities
Then when I was 15 my mom had enough research put together of all internet posts and bits she red in books and crossed them with what I was behaving like and had a wide book of her research. I got diagnosed at children's mercy hospital and then a couple weeks later started 9th grade bc my mom wanted to go back to work and I wasnt studying on my own. I had definitely had trouble with paying attention and focusing. I needed someone to keep me in check. So after diagnosis Dr and mom decided to try me in high school with help which is something I've never had in any other school. The school also diagnosed me so they could decide what classes and how.
Then once in school I learned that I had trouble withlearning science and algebra etc. while homeschooled so I had to take those classes when I should've already done so.I was the only student with AS in 1700 students strangely, so they put me in a different classes before decidingclosest to me was ADD and ADHD and basic LD (learning disability) and brought in aautisminstructor to watch meinteract with other students and in doing homework etc. they decided I should take a social skills class. was one other student who was graduating that year who had AS but at first didn't see it probable to put us together but decided upon that. We took class on various things like facial expressions. There was a page of facial expressions and under was the title of that expression and then a page of blank faces and titles of facial expressions but once I saw the faces and read the expressions name I would look in the mirror and try to make those myself and then when I got better I would read the name but have to pop quiz if you will and see if I could remember what expression goes with that name like how do I make a scared face how do I make a surprised face how do I make a smile or a pissed off face etc. and those taught me a lot I even role-played different scenarios they gave us like me being the mom punishing a child for doing X thing and then I would reverse the roles and be the child that got in trouble for doing X thing and those taught me a lot of different things plus I walked with my head down and looked really depressed and got called names for being a loser etc. when I wasn't I just didn't know that I was supposed to look around when I walk and I didn't know if others did that or not I just knew that I didn't and that it was just something I always was like and once my mom and dad learned that they should help me with that it became easier to look up once I was forced to always look up it became second nature and I stopped getting made fun of for looking like a depressed loser. I moved out on my own when I was 22 I think and at first didn't cook because I was afraid of touching slime from raw meat and then was afraid of getting on the sink handles and on the soap and back on myself it was kind of an OCD but a minor one. and I learned through mind over matter which is focusing my mind on other things like singing or humming while I wash my hands so that I don't think about it and then I don't remember that there was anything on my hands all I know is that it's over and my hands are now clean and I can move on. Then eventually the more it became a thing for me I less and less had that fear or OCD and I learned I could touch the food and it was okay to put the dirty hands on the sink because I could learn ways to get around like my dad put Ziploc baggies over his handles and then he can touch the baggie over the handle with dirty hands and then take the bag off of the handle and no longer is there a problem . The bag kept the handle from having dirty raw meat on it. and then he just takes the bag off the handle and throws it in the trash. I learned coping mechanisms and I learned to mind over matter, think about something else while that's going on. When I get shots at the doctor I've learned many many times in my life bring headphones and listen to the music with my eyes closed and try not to think about the needle poking my arm because that is terrifying as all get out but mind over matter I think about something else instead of the needle in my arm all those kinds of things have taught me how to be where I'm at now which is independent with no parental help no parental guardians because I'm an adult now etc. etc. I can cook for myself and my parents are proud of me. I don't have to eat TV dinners all the time that I can cook and I love it and I'm good at it and I learned all kinds of things. something very beneficial for you to be a productive person in society . It's hard because a lot of times people with AS are accused of having no empathy or only think about their own feelings when that's not true. We just look down at the ground and don't know that we're supposed to look around when we walk so that we don't walk into things, or we get afraid of people and don't know how to engage with people so they think we don't want to and these things will help us to learn so that we don't have those problems as much and then people stop putting those false stigmas on us that are not true. I'm telling you this is the best thing for you. It's only one night a week and if you have a very important swim meet that is like you have to do this to get ready for a competition coming up you can miss the social skills class for that but if it's not gonna hinder anything by missing one swim lesson then it's beneficial trust me. There is so much you can learn from these classes that will help you when you want to be a productive adult. I don't know how old you are but if you are already an adult then taking these classes will help you even though you already an adult you may not be on your own yet and when you take these classes and you get these kinds of help then you may decide that maybe your last afraid and have less problems and want to try to be on your own now that you know how to cope and get around those things or whatever trust me you will really really think yourself for taking these classes and you will have so much more opportunities than a lot of people who don't know they can do these things or are already too old and didn't have those opportunities
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