Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Asperger's - "20% grow out of it"

This is interesting. I'm a 32-year-old Aspie female. I was diagnosed about 4 years ago when some sensory difficulties at a workplace made me look more into the cause. When I was younger, I had a lot of difficulty socially, but growing up and working in the corporate world helped with a lot of that.

Quirky works just fine in my line of business as long as you have the basics down. I have quite a few close friends now -- people even came to my wedding!! (I say this as a joke, but there was a time when that wouldn't have happened).

Anyway - back to the topic. I still lecture. That's the big thing I'm trying to work on right now. It drives my family nuts. In fact, this post is starting to sound like a lecture.

I recently went for and got promoted to a manager position so I seem to be doing pretty well. Nobody who I've told since my dx has ever noticed anything off, but I've also grown a lot since I was younger.

In a way, you could say I "grew out of it" because you can't tell anymore, but it does take me a lot of work to handle the things I do on a daily basis. And I still rely on my husband to make most of the phone calls (unless it requires lecturing someone) .

I'm often tired and overwhelmed and need calming activities at the end of the day. I participate in an autism forum and check in there about 20 times a day (even though it's not that busy). It's just good to know there are other people who have to work hard at these little things too.

It's possible that being both gifted and female may have given me some advantages in "learning to pass" with Asperger's. Probably other factors too that aren't as immediately obvious.

Eldertree, I love the description of your family here. Sounds like a successful group to me, and also a group that will do well in guiding your DD about how to live with the quirks she's got.

May we all do as well!

DeeDee

Adhoc, I love your sense of humor!

Congratulations on your promotion. What an amazing story you have.

Adhoc, I am always thrilled to hear of someone succeeding as an adult with Asperger's. Can I ask what line of work you are in?

Congrats to you for making your way...

DeeDee

Thanks guys.

I'm in IT and I was recently promoted to manager of the QA team. I work in the healthcare industry.

I find it's a good area for me, personally. My social skills are actually pretty good for IT, the people I work with get the way I think, and those on the healthcare side of the business tend to be very warm, considerate individuals.

Before QA, I worked as a Business Systems Analyst and was often called upon to translate between business and IT (something I really enjoy). I find QA has to be very consultative to the customer in order to be successful, so it's a similar environment.

Both areas are also very detailed oriented which takes advantage of my super-aspie-power of intense concentration.

See? That. Coolness.

I think you are right Cathy,

I recently took my DD17 in for a complete(?) diagnostic evaluation and I was given the Gilliam Aspergers Disorder Scale to complete. Reviewing the questions, I could see that most of them applied to my DD frequently but the instructions say:

0= you have never observed this person behave in this manner,
1= person behaves in this manner 1 to 2 times per 6-hour period, 2= person behaves in this manner 3-4 times per 6-hour period, 3=person behaves in this manner at least 5 times per 6-hour period.

I can see how I would have very different answers on this if I was completing it for her when she was 5 than today because really, how many times in a 6 hour period is an adult (or 17yo) in a position to display "having difficulty making believe or pretending" or "expressing feelings of anger or frustration inappropriately" or "difficulty playing with others".

It seems pointless for me to even complete this form unless I were to stage opportunities to elicit the behaviors. I don't think most adults have the natural opportunities in their environment to exhibit the same behavior 5 separate times in a 6 hour period. Or am I reading it wrong? If my DD continues to monologue even after I have asked her to stop talking 5 times is that 5 instances???

Yes, that scale is clearly worded to work better for kids.

At the same time, isn't "difficulty making believe" similar to "telling a white lie" and other socially flexible behaviors that most adults engage in but adults with AS struggle with?

"Difficulty playing with others" for an adult is difficulty in compromise, two-way conversation, or adapting to and acting on someone else's ideas. The concepts are not that different-- but GADS should really create a version that names the desired late teen/adult behaviors, so it's clear.


Maybe your workplace is varied... but many workplaces consist of meeting after meeting, which elicits similar behaviors all day. A school setting might also yield a lot of instances. Home is least likely to elicit lots of unwanted behavior, because it's the most socially comfortable place for a person with AS.


Yeah, I'd say that's 5 instances for this purpose.

DeeDee

Thanks DeeDee,
I hadn't really thought about rewording the questions to make them applicable.
She is home-schooled (mostly self-schooled) and taking college classes where I can't observe her so I guess that makes it more difficult.


So then yelling, throwing something and curling up in a catatonic ball on the floor in response to my taking away her Laptop at night would count as 3 instances of reacting inappropriately rather than all part of one instance? Gee-sh, I think I need you to come here and help me fill this thing out!

Does she get into trouble for not having work done (at all or not on time), trouble with group work, conflicts with professors, etc.? These issues should be reported to your tester whether or not you can record them on the GADS. But I do think you should ask your tester what they want you to write on the GADS in this instance; it does sound to me like the eval is in order and you don't want them to miss something just because the questionnaire is foolish. Are they also doing the ADOS?

I agree, it's much harder to judge when you can't see them in the contexts where they struggle. For our elementary age DS who has AS, we send an observer into school to take data. It would be harder for a person who's 17.


Heck, that one's complicated for counting purposes... and doesn't sound like fun for either of you.

I think you need to hand the person who's doing the eval a list of data taken at home (descriptions of what set her off and what she did in response, an "antecedent-behavior-consequence" log) that document this sort of thing; that will provide important supplementary information to the standardized tests.

DeeDee