[Masslessxphoton]

I have shown signs of having autism my whole life, but dont know if i was tested. i couldnt talk till i was four, i was a also prematue about one month, have other syptoms, so i am thinking to get myself tested. the thing is lets say i am. does that mean i am dumber, or incapable doing what i want to do? (get a physics degree, and drown in a life time of science goodness,) sure i think i understand it, but do i? autistic people ive kown, think they understand certan things, but are not even close.

[rickster]

Originally Posted by Masslessxphoton To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I have shown signs of having autism my whole life, but dont know if i was tested. i couldnt talk till i was four, i was a also prematue about one month, have other syptoms, so i am thinking to get myself tested. the thing is lets say i am. does that mean i am dumber, or incapable doing what i want to do? (get a physics degree, and drown in a life time of science goodness,) sure i think i understand it, but do i? autistic people ive kown, think they understand certan things, but are not even close.

Not talking young isn't necessarily a symptom of autism. What are your other symptoms?

I fail to see how being tested for Autism could be a pre-requisite for pursuing a Physics degree: your high school science grades should be a clear indication of aptitude.

[DrEvil]

Quite the opposite appears to be true. The evidence appears to be that people with autism have a similar IQ range to others. The myth of savantism is not helping the public perception of course. However, they appear to do particularly well in some fields (like mathematics), probably due to attention to detail, very long attention spans, and introversion. I read once that unless you have at least Asperger's then forget about the Nobel Prize, no matter how smart you are. I know of a few people from high IQ societies who indicated they have diagnosed Aspergers. They seem to have done pretty well for themselves.

A diagnosis of anything should present no barrier to you doing whatever you want. And even if someone told you it did present a barrier - just tell them to get %$^#&, and do it anyway. What the hell do they know! They are not you.

[Masslessxphoton]

sense am typing on a psp, it limits how much i can type. i also have palilalia, my brother also has it. i have way below adverage social skills. it is a real challenge looking people in eye, really dont know how to respond to certan things, my mom didnt want to get diagnosed when i was a kid so now i feel like i should do it now. i was put in special ed. becasuse i had a strong speech impedement, and had attention problems. i am afaid it will away keep me from really understanding physics.

[rickster]

Autism is one of my fields (Communication Program Development & Implementation ) but I'd hesitate to do a diagnosis on the internet because I'm not a doctor and its just plain irresponsible.

That having been said, given what you are saying there appears to be some developmental disorder. However, since you're able to communicate at a level significantly higher than the baseline I'm used to working with you'd barely score on any evaluation test I'd administer. I take it that you have no health/physical/ behavioral problems?

Getting an accurate Autism diagnosis is really difficult. Your reading is fine, so before you throw yourself on the mercy of doctors check out Temple Grandin's books. She's great, and a wealth of information for high-functioning autistics if indeed that's what you are. She proceeded along the same path you wish to follow.

I never jump on palilalia as a sure sign of autism if somebody can carry on a fairly good conversation i.e. using several successive sentences. I'm sorry your mom couldnt come to terms with it all, but it's never to late to begin good speech therapy although its usually expensive. Sometimes Special Ed is the only option.

In terms of physics, what level are you at?

So pick up TGs books in the meantime and see how you go.

[DrEvil]

Originally Posted by Masslessxphoton To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

sense am typing on a psp, it limits how much i can type. i also have palilalia, my brother also has it. i have way below adverage social skills. it is a real challenge looking people in eye, really dont know how to respond to certan things, my mom didnt want to get diagnosed when i was a kid so now i feel like i should do it now. i was put in special ed. becasuse i had a strong speech impedement, and had attention problems. i am afaid it will away keep me from really understanding physics.

If you have way below average social skills then you have most certainly come to the right place. We are INTJs after all - social skills are optional here.

From what I have read about physics none of what you mentioned would seem to be at odds with studying it. If you had dyscalculia then physics might be a challenge, but maybe even then still not out of the question.

Neils Bohr called Paul Dirac "The stangest man who ever visited the (Bohr) Institute." His reluctance/inability to talk to other people didn't stop even him from being one of the greatest physicists of all time.

I think more pertinent questions to ask yourself are:
Do you like physics?
Do you understand physics?
What are your grades in physics like?

These are likely to be better indicators of success than a diagnosis.

[elizabeth lover]

Originally Posted by Masslessxphoton To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I have shown signs of having autism my whole life, but dont know if i was tested. i couldnt talk till i was four, i was a also prematue about one month, have other syptoms, so i am thinking to get myself tested. the thing is lets say i am. does that mean i am dumber, or incapable doing what i want to do? (get a physics degree, and drown in a life time of science goodness,) sure i think i understand it, but do i? autistic people ive kown, think they understand certan things, but are not even close.

there is a lot of question as to wether intj's ARE functionally autisic or they just seem that way. i have a brother that has asperger's, so it runs in my family.

i honestly don't think i'm functionally autistic. i have feelings, i just dont understand them that well.. i do believe i'm on the spectrum, though.

[Masslessxphoton]

rickster, thanks for the advice. only reason i posted more syptoms is because another user asked. i have gone to special ed. and gotten speech theorpy when i was a kid, so of my speech problems are almost nonexsting.