[kimberlym]

I found articles (and tests) that seemed to confirm I could very well be on part of the Asperger's Spectrum, listing all the checkboxes, for what that means for a woman. It's true that you really only see things related to, and about men when speaking about Asperger's. I recently became aware that women have become excellent at hiding it and integrating in a way that men have not so much. This led me to wonder if I might be one of them. I have been trying to figure out for years why I have always thought of myself as an "alien".

[Skeezyks]

Hello kimberlym: I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to Psych Central. I can't comment with regard to your concern. But hopefully there will be other members who will. One additional forum, here on PC, that may be of interest to you would be the Women-Focused Support forum. Here's a link:

https://forums.psychcentral.com/women-focused-support/

I hope you find PC to be of benefit.

[kimberlym]

Thank you for your feedback Skeezyks. I actually already saved several links I had seen you post for someone else. I thought this might be a wonderful place to find some insight.

[catnip123]

I am a woman who was diagnosed with Asperger's when I was 49 (seven years ago). I started reading every book I could find about Asperger's and found The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Atwood to be very helpful. You can buy it on Amazon.

It described Asperger's very thoroughly and often explained how things might be different for girls and women.

I've found some books on related topics to be very helpful also. Please let me know if you'd like that information.

I'll be happy to help you out if you have any questions that you think I might be able to answer.

[sarahsweets]

My sister is 27 and was diagnosed with Aspergers when she was 3-before it was a thing. Now it all falls under Autism spectrum disorder. I may need to read up on it more but she was always a little "boy crazy" bouncing from BF to BF. I hesitate to link this to the disorder though because I do not want to generalize something in too much of a subjective way.

[MickeyCheeky]

I'd suggest to see a doctor and get a proper diagnosis, kimberlym. That way you'll be able to get the help you need and deserve. I'm sorry you're struggling with this, I hope things will get better for you soon. Wish you good luck! Let us know how it goes. Sending many hugs to you

[DarknessIsMyFriend]

I think I fall somewhere on the Aspergers side as well. I told 2 doctors this in the past as an adult and they don't see how I could have Aspergers since I appear "normal" enough to them. Thing is though I was diagnosed as a child.


So yeah, I wouldn't count on getting a doctor's help on this matter. If you truly think you have Aspergers, then reading books and learning as much as possible about yourself is what I would recommend. Only you have the knowledge about yourself to know what you are and what you should do. Nobody knows you better than yourself.



Mental health diagnosis shouldn't define you, nor should it matter if you are something that society considers "weird" or "different". You are you and nobody has the right to judge or condemn you for being what you are.

[MickeyCheeky]

Good speech, DarknessIsMyFriend! Thank you so much for your post. Sending many hugs to you

[PsychoPhil]

For an autism diagnosis you need to have had symptoms before the age of three. Did you participate in pretend play, did you stim, or did you have other quirks your parents might remember?

[downandlonely]

I didn't know you needed symptoms before 3. I think maybe that would be for the more severe autism. I think a lot of people with Aspberger's are intelligent and high-functioning so they may go undiagnosed.

I'm a woman and I've wondered this about myself as well. My main issues are being unable to read non-verbal signals (facial expressions, tone of voice, etc.) and also not sensing when someone is being sarcastic. Also I often say things other people find rude or socially unacceptable. I have hurt people's feelings because of this.

I am not sure what stim means. I definitely played pretend, but I would think most children do that. I did have some quirks that may be part of autism or OCD.