Quote from: HughE on February 21, 2014, 08:47:59 AM
"Genderhell", one thing to be aware of is that being trans can have effects that look a lot like the symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder.
To start with, you tend to have difficulty fitting in with your assigned sex, and (particularly if you have feminine body language like I have) you can become the target of bullying too. The result is that you end up quite socially withdrawn, and that can look a lot like Asperger's.
I think part of the problem in my case at least was hormonal too, I used to have massive mood swings which I now think were being caused by my testosterone production surging to a high level and then collapsing. After starting on hormones, I've felt much happier and more at peace with myself than since my childhood.
You could find that, once your gender issues are addressed, your symptoms of autism improve or maybe even go away altogether.
Yes, I started transitioning ten years ago, and I have improved greatly. However, I still have autism like several other members of my family. I have been diagnosed by at least seven different doctors, including an autism specialist, and all my prior co-workers at my last job, some current co-workers, and my prior boss and three trans-autistic women I met in real life.
- The most identifiable trait I see for autistic people is that the "autistic brain" has excellent attention to the details of things which can impart high systemizing capability. So, the autistic people in my family are exceptional systemizers.
- I have had sensory sensitivities since youth. I can see the fluorescent lights flicker, and a CRT monitor flicker below 75 HZ and I have noise sensitivities. Most people seem oblivious to the on/off light flicker per lower frequency devices.
- I still have "flat affect" of little facial expressions my entire life.
- People seem to have a connectivity that I don't understand. Doctors call it "theory of mind" i.e., "the capability to guess what another person is thinking by looking at their body language and context". I seem to be oblivious to this, and this can create problems for me, because I sometimes find out later that someone was offended by something I did/said that I should of known not to do/say if I had theory of mind.
-my functioning is based on "order patterns" of organizing stimuli into logical ordering such that I expect those patterns upon subsequent interactions , so I know for example, when I go to Subway if a question is asked out of order, whereas most people do not seem so fixed on order patterns and thus, don't recognize changes as much. I read that it is comforting for autistic people to do this because it alleviates anxiety knowing what to expect.
-my speech is fine over short discourse, however, ask me to give a five minute speech and my differences will become apparent. I can feel the damage to the brain. There is damage to the part that allows for fluid speech. I would be choppy, non-directed, detail recitation.
In summary, I have not experienced my "autism" going away and thus, the DSM fails to provide an explanation to doctors that someone like me might show up, and not fit the DSM description.
