Hello everyone. I'm not sure if this is the right forum to pose this question, but I hope someone can at least point me in the right direction because I think I need some help.
Specifically, I have Klinefelter's Syndrome, an abnormality in which a male has an extra X chromosome, (it's sometimes called '47, XXY' because of the extra chromosome). Because KS is a spectrum disorder the effects vary from patient to patient, with a few baseline constants to anchor it - for me these include sterility, language-based learning difficulties (which made life very difficult until I developed coping strategies), poor memory, poor communication skills, impaired social interaction and problems with processing information. I've read that men with Klinefelter's are likely to also be on the autism spectrum, but I don't know how to find out for certain if I am. I've identified behaviours within myself that seem to correspond with the little I know of Asperger's, but I can't be sure Some of the behaviours I've noticed are:
Out of curiosity I took an online Autism Spectrum Quotient test (it was a link from a YouTube channel; don't know how legitimate it is) and scored 39 points, which I think places me inside the bracket of interest. So... is it possible to have Klinefelter's and Asperger's at the same time, and if it is, at what point do they overlap and what should I do about it?
Specifically, I have Klinefelter's Syndrome, an abnormality in which a male has an extra X chromosome, (it's sometimes called '47, XXY' because of the extra chromosome). Because KS is a spectrum disorder the effects vary from patient to patient, with a few baseline constants to anchor it - for me these include sterility, language-based learning difficulties (which made life very difficult until I developed coping strategies), poor memory, poor communication skills, impaired social interaction and problems with processing information. I've read that men with Klinefelter's are likely to also be on the autism spectrum, but I don't know how to find out for certain if I am. I've identified behaviours within myself that seem to correspond with the little I know of Asperger's, but I can't be sure Some of the behaviours I've noticed are:
- Verbal, motor and mental tics - usually palilalia but also spontaneously generated, meaningless words and phrases, and physical twitching confined to the head, neck and shoulders. A psychologist who was treating me for something else tentatively suggested Tourette's when I asked him about these symptoms.
- Intense interests in topics that I can't interest anyone else in. These usually last a week or two and then it's on to something else. Some interests linger, though.
- Social anxiety - if I visit a venue I'm always alone. I've driven 50 miles to visit an attraction before now, looked around it for about an hour and then driven 50 miles home again, all without interacting with anyone else beyond what's necessary to get in.
- Dyspraxia - I'm okay sitting down, but I can be clumsy when moving around. Sometimes arm-shaking and hand movements when I'm walking.
- The biggie: meltdowns - I get stressed very easily, and then I get stressed about being stressed and all that stress builds up into a rage explosion. I work in a solitary job with unreliable equipment and when the equipment malfunctions, I can end up screaming, crying, banging myself over the head... once I ended up smashing the inside of the van. It's not just work-related. I had one last night while I was trying to install a media player on my computer. It wasn't working and I got more and more wound up until I was raging again.
Out of curiosity I took an online Autism Spectrum Quotient test (it was a link from a YouTube channel; don't know how legitimate it is) and scored 39 points, which I think places me inside the bracket of interest. So... is it possible to have Klinefelter's and Asperger's at the same time, and if it is, at what point do they overlap and what should I do about it?
