Patricia's Aspergers' site
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Genealogy, my passion
So many interests, so little time.........

Welcome to my Aspergers' Site! On this site I'll tell you what Aspergers' Syndrome is, and also something about my struggles with this condition.

And hey, check out my hobbies on the next page of this site! Just click on the button on the left hand of the home page that says "so many interests, so little time".

Click here to get authoritative information on Aspergers' Syndrome


Hey, it's Asperger's Castle!

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Like other Aspies, as those of us with Aspergers' call ourselves, my problems with this condition (some of us really hate the word "disease" or "illness" because we don't particularly think it's an illness or disease; we are just different) started early in life. After all, we are born with this, uh, thing, a form of autism. Probably the nuttiest thing I did as a child was try to make some "streams" and "islands" in the back yard and populate it with ants! I was obsessed with islands. Every time we went to the beach I wanted to know where the nearest island was! My "Ant Island" project was a disaster. I had so many ant bites I had to get rid of them with cortisone! Needless to say, the water stopped flowing when I turned off the hose. So much for that fiasco.
A few years later, I got obsessed with terraces. Please don't ask me why. If I knew we'd all get our cures next week. :-) Imagine my parents' chagrin when they saw me tearing up an inclination in our back yard actually thinking I could build some terraces with a shovel! This was *not* cool as a sizable part of the yard was a mess and actually had to be fixed by a yardman!
And then there was my infamous "infant role-playing" episode in the school cafeteria. I actually acted like an infant during lunch, complete with clinched fists, "goo-goo-ga-ga" cries, and other forms of infant behavior. I was in fifth grade! The other kids had no idea why the student who won her class spelling bee competition to advance to the school finals was acting like such a fool. (I was the first competitor to miss a word at the school finals, incidentally. I think I did it on purpose because I was so darn nervous.) It was a pattern that I carried with me through adolescence into adulthood. This was way before the psychiatric community as a whole had even a passing acquaintance with Asperger's Syndrome. Because I was not a "classical" autism case, my child psychiatrist diagnosed me a schizophrenic when I was fourteen years old. This was later changed to personality disorder. The shrinks didn't know what to do with me! This nonsense lasted twenty years! Then my father, a retired internist, met a clinical psychologist who treats Asperger's patients. He thought I had it, and wanted me to start seeing the psychologist. I had gotten quite cynical about diagnoses due to the schizophrenia-personality disorder fiascos, so at first I didn't pay much attention to his advice. But I was stuck in a psychological rut. I was going nowhere fast. So I agreed to see the therapist, and I was diagnosed with Asperger's. Finally! I knew what my problem had been all of these years! Yes, there are adult Aspies, too! After all, heck, what happens when you become an adult and your brain chemistry is still screwed up?
Now it's a matter of finding a solution.
I may or may not be getting there. In April of 2002, I changed psychiatrists. It's now February, 2008. I've signed up for Barack Obama's campaign and hope they contact me soon about volunteering. I'm taking Lexapro, Zyprexa, and stuff for hypertension.

Check out these other Asperger's/autism sites!

Asperger's Disorder Homepage

Cure Autism Now homepage

Autism Society of America