I Have Asperger’s (I Just Never Knew It)

By John Foltin

All my life, I knew I was different from everyone else. I was very shy. I had weird eating habits. I was smart, yet immature.
It wasn’t until much later in life that I discovered the reason. I had Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism.
This is my story of how I dealt with it growing up and the changes I’ve made since my diagnosis.
$1 from every book sold will be donated to Autism Speaks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Foltin
• Release date: Nov 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311578921

John Foltin

I got my Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Ohio University. I am currently employed as a CSR.I don't claim to be as good as Stephen King, Jackie Collins or Tom Clancy. I probably will never come remotely close to them. I simply like to write for the fun of it.

Book preview

I Have Asperger’s (I Just Never Knew It)

by John Foltin

Copyright 2013 John Foltin

Cover by Vila Design

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS ASPERGER’S?

THE EARLY YEARS

DIET

GRADE SCHOOL

MIDDLE SCHOOL

GRETCHEN

JUNIOR HIGH

HIGH SCHOOL

HEIDI

SENIOR YEAR AND GRADUATION

OHIO UNIVERSITY BELMONT

THE MARCHING 110

COLLEGE LIFE

LIFE AFTER COLLEGE

MOVE TO COLUMBUS

FIRST DATE

TAMMY

BANKRUPTCY #1

MYRTLE BEACH

DAD

QUIXTAR

CHURCH

BANKRUPTCY #2

DATING

CASEY

DANCING

BANKRUPTCY #3

ROCK BOTTOM

COMING HOME

AWAKENING

VERSION 2.0

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

There’s an old saying that says, Whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. If that’s true, then I have moments where I feel as strong as Hercules.

All my life, I felt like no one could ever understand what I was going through. I was so different from everyone else.

I looked normal, but I couldn’t carry on a conversation with a stranger, even worse in a group of people. And my eating habits were unusual. I mean really unusual.

It wasn’t until much later in life that I learned I wasn’t alone, that there were others like me. You see, I have Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism.

I am telling my story to help others like me, to let them know they are not alone like I always thought I was.

Growing up, I didn’t know about Asperger’s. There was no treatment or therapy for people like me. I had to go through life dealing with the effects of this neurological condition.

My story is not intended to frighten anyone with Asperger’s or anyone with kids with Asperger’s. On the contrary, I mean to show what can happen if left untreated.

My story is not the end result; instead, it was the road I had to walk with no one to guide me.

Contrary to how other books treat Asperger’s, I see things much different. I am not special; I am not gifted. As Hugh Jackman as Wolverine once said, You can return a gift. I see Asperger’s as a form of punishment for something I must have done.

I am no expert on Asperger’s. I am just an ordinary guy living in an extraordinary world, and I still have a lot to learn.

WHAT IS ASPERGER’S?

The Center for Disease Control describes an Autism Spectrum Disorder as a developmental disability caused by a problem with the brain. There are five types of Autism Spectrum Disorders. There is the classic autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintigrative Disorder or CDD, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified or PDD-NOS. Asperger’s is considered on the high functioning end of the spectrum.

It was named after an Austrian pediatrician named Hans Asperger. In 1944, Asperger studied children in his practice who lacked nonverbal communication skills and demonstrated limited empathy with their peers.

What we know today as Asperger’s Syndrome came into existence after his death in 1980. It officially became a diagnosable condition in 1994, when it was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic reference book. That would explain why I was never diagnosed as a child.

Among the signs of those with Asperger’s are:

Trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings.

Having a hard time understanding body language.

Avoiding eye contact.

Wanting to be alone, or wanting to interact, but not knowing how.

Having narrow, sometimes obsessive, interests.

Talking only about themselves and their interests.

Speaking in unusual ways or with an odd tone of voice.

Having a hard time making friends.

Seeming nervous in large social groups.

Being clumsy or awkward.

Having rituals that they refuse to change.

Developing odd or repetitive movements

Having unusual sensory reactions.

In addition, people with Asperger’s tended to have an above average IQ.

I also found some interesting facts about autism in general. One in eighty-eight children has some form of an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Boys are nearly five times more likely to have an ASD than girls. More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined.

Yet autism receives less than five percent of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases.

Though not actually confirmed to be Aspies, as those with it call themselves, the following have been thought to have symptoms of Asperger’s:

Jane Austen, author of books like Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility

Ludwig van Beethoven, famous German composer and pianist

Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone

Thomas Edison, inventor of such things as the phonograph and the light bulb

Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize winning physicist who came up with the general theory of relativity and E=mc²

Henry Ford, one of the first manufacturers of automobiles

Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft and one of the world’s wealthiest people

Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets

Alfred Hitchcock, famous director and producer of suspense movies like Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds

Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence

Michelangelo, famous Italian sculptor and painter, painted the Sistine Chapel

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, famous Austrian composer

Isaac Newton, famous English physicist and mathematician

Charles Schulz, creator of the comic strip Peanuts

Mark Twain, author of books like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Vincent Van

Reviews for I Have Asperger’s (I Just Never Knew It)

[Carol King · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I, too, am an Aspie, diagnosed in my early 60s. I could look at being on the Spectrum and complain about the negative impact on my life or as a sort of liberation, finally understanding my thoughts and actions. I chose the latter.

Unfortunately, the author appears to have chosen the former. He blames everything wrong in his life on Aspergher’s, coming off as whiney and petulant, showing no post diagnosis insight into his thoughts or behavior. Thus, his tale is, at best, an unpleasant read; at worst, nails on a chalkboard. This book had the potential to be a fair to good look into his life as an undiagnosed Aspie, had he not been so intensely negative.

Mr. Foltin penned his book with the stated intention to express how impacted his life was by being on the Spectrum at a time when very little was known. He fails miserably. I found it impossible to have any empathy for him due to his unending blaming and negativity.

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[jmbranum · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

not going to buy this book since you are donating to autism speaks, a group that is opposed to the rights of autistic people.

[Billy Âû · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It's unfortunate you're donating to Autism speaks. It's put me off even reading your book. Autism is a speaks does not speak for autistic and people

[jane johnstone · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A personal and moving story. There are so many people, myself included, that are discovering later in life a reason for their feelings of alienation at school/college and the workplace. More knowledge and understanding is needed, and those who are willing and able to share their stories, like John, are playing such a valuable part. A thank you to the author.

[Ove Scheuble · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I recognsed in myself so much of what he described. Even the fact that he needed foot bridge support: something we simply called 'flát feet' I had the same and for many years while ar school I had te wear built-up shoes. So you see, Iiked the book because many of the facts co-incided with my own experiences. But I also think he writes well: he uses the necessary terms and skips long-drawn out parts. He knows how to tell the story.