Hi, though I think I have other learning difficulties, I decided to post here since Asperger's has a large impact and I don't know what else I may have (I realize that you can't diagnose me online). I worry a lot about finding a career and running my own life but desperately want to live on my own. I'm currently a college senior applying for law school. I could do law school but I'm mostly planning to go because I don't know what else to do if I want any chance of a financially reliable career.
As for my Asperger's, my social difficulties include:
I seem to have problems with executive functioning:
Finally, I seem to have severe difficulty with spatial reasoning:
These are my main difficulties. At every turn my ability to handle daily affairs has been significantly hampered except for my ability to perform academically. I need to know how to drive or at least do an alternative that is equally effective for someone with a career. I also cannot get lost all the time. I fear I won't be able to travel outside the city without becoming horribly lost. I also hear about many Aspies with Masters working jobs those with only a high school education could do.
Questions:
Thank you.
As for my Asperger's, my social difficulties include:
- Saying disturbing things without realizing it, offending people (e.g, I asked a friend if he recently heard about a dui accident to which he took offense.). I sometimes mention serial killers without thinking because they fascinate me, but partly I think my mind's so deep in the gutter that I say disturbing things without realizing.
- Not knowing what to say in a conversation.
- Saying things irrelevant to the conversation.
- Taking things literally.
- Generally not realizing what my words are interpreted to imply.
- Not knowing how to maintain eye contact or having too much eye contact.
- General awkwardness.
I seem to have problems with executive functioning:
- I have poor short-term memory.
- I have trouble estimating how long tasks take.
- I'm not very good with hands-on work: I have been incompetent in every service job I ever took. I have been considered slow and sloppy even though I usually spend extra effort to meet demands. For instance, I mopped floors for one of my jobs. I would mop the floor multiple times using replaced mop heads and water, only to hear complaints from the manager and co-workers about the floor's dirtiness. I swept before mopping. I really have no idea why I can't mop floors correctly.
- I have trouble recognizing faces. For example, I did not recognize someone I had spent an entire day with repairing a neighbor's deck. I had seen this person only a few months previously.
- I don't notice a lot of things around me. I have been in three car accidents within the last two years because I simply didn't notice things. At no time was I speeding, deliberately breaking traffic laws, or not watching the road.
Finally, I seem to have severe difficulty with spatial reasoning:
- I barely know how to read a map. I worked going house-to-house for one job but finally had to use a compass with the maps they gave me since I kept getting lost.
- I had trouble early on learning to tye my shoes. I had to use Velcro shoes till about the sixth grade.
- I had difficulty learning left from right. I don't remember exactly when I found the difference but I sure didn't know it during elementary school. Even when learning to drive I would sometimes drive into the wrong lane. I was 18 when I started learning to drive.
These are my main difficulties. At every turn my ability to handle daily affairs has been significantly hampered except for my ability to perform academically. I need to know how to drive or at least do an alternative that is equally effective for someone with a career. I also cannot get lost all the time. I fear I won't be able to travel outside the city without becoming horribly lost. I also hear about many Aspies with Masters working jobs those with only a high school education could do.
Questions:
- Do you have any advice on how I can manage my life and find a career?
- Do I seem to have learning disabilities besides Asperger?s? If so, what are they? I realize you can?t diagnose me formally but your input might help me get advice from a medical professional.
Thank you.
