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Hi everyone.

I have wondered how many people on Dakka have Aspergers Syndrome or other forms of Autism.

My mother who is a psychiatrist has had many clients who are Aspergers which ironicly all enjoy wargames ie, Warhammer/40k to which my mother says is one tell tale sign of Aspergers so I figured that thier maybe some on Dakka Dakka

I myself had been dioagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome when I was 16 years old.

I use to have trouble fitting in at school when I was young. I would always get picked on and was in alot of fights and I didn't know why people didn't like me or why.

I couldn't play well with others, it wasn't until I went to a psychiatrist that I found out I have Aspergers Syndrome.

Life is alot better for me now I have manage to learn how to fit and be aware of my social problems and have been able to make good friends with people.

I can't say I don't hate having Aspergers Syndrome because its who I am and I've always had it.

I do wish I knew about it earlier on so I could have been able to fit in better at school but thats in the pass.

So Dakka is thier any others out thier with Aspergers or Autism?

I have aspergers, thankfully as my mum has quite a bit of experience working with aspergers kids I was diagnosed and got quite a lot of help at a young age.

It's pretty noticeable when I'm stressed or angry though.

corpsesarefun wrote:I have aspergers, thankfully as my mum has quite a bit of experience working with aspergers kids I was diagnosed and got quite a lot of help at a young age.

It's pretty noticeable when I'm stressed or angry though.

Well you were lucky even when my Mum is a psychiatrist she didn't think I had Aspergers until my psychiatrist told her

I've never been properly diagnosed as aspergers and didn't realise I had it until I started dealing with a friend's autistic kids. I looked in to autism and aspergers and everything clicked into place.

I get the overstim effects when I'm stressed or if too many unexpected things happen at once.
I have to overcome the uncomfortable feelings to make eye contact with people I don't absolutely trust (even then it makes my skin crawl sometimes).
I also go autist on tasks a lot and block out the real world.

My partner says I don't talk much and occasionally I have to take myself off to another room when our kids are causing me to overstim.

I haven't had formal treatment as these are just things I have learned to live with. They are easier to deal with now that I know where they come from.

I should say that I'm old enough that things like Aspergers, Dyslexia and ADHD weren't recognised when I was at school and I don't see much point fussing about it now.

I don't have it personally, but my little sister does. It wasn't diagnosed until she was seven years old, but now she's in a proper school program and is doing very well.

Yak9UT wrote:

I have wondered how many people on Dakka have Aspergers Syndrome or other forms of Autism.

My mother who is a psychiatrist has had many clients who are Aspergers which ironicly all enjoy wargames ie, Warhammer/40k to which my mother says is one tell tale sign of Aspergers

I'm sorry if I sound harsh but that's rediculous! I think it is just a perpetuation of the 'wargamers are sad, introverted, 'uncool' kids stereotype and tries to relate that to the triad of imparement. If wargaming is a 'telltale' sign of aspergers then everyone on the site must have huge potential to be on the autistic spectrum. I have had 7 years experience working in Autism specific care and have never had anyone show interest in wargaming. Also I don't quite understand how it would be ironic?

I appreciate you would be making a thread to find other wargamers with autism but I think the quote and assumption are ill-assumed and unprofessional.

1/3 people have some form of it, most don't even touch wargames, as far as I know.

remilia_scarlet wrote:1/3 people have some form of it, most don't even touch wargames, as far as I know.

The CDC claims that the rate of autism is like 1 per 1000.

Though, on the internet, 1/3 may be close to the actual claim rate.

dogma wrote:

remilia_scarlet wrote:1/3 people have some form of it, most don't even touch wargames, as far as I know.

The CDC claims that the rate of autism is like 1 per 1000.

Though, on the internet, 1/3 may be close to the actual claim rate.

Autism and asperger's syndrome are thought to be related but are not the same. Aspies are able to operate fairly normally but have some noticeable symptoms of autism.

Sonophos wrote:Autism and asperger's syndrome are thought to be related but are not the same. Aspies are able to operate fairly normally but have some noticeable symptoms of autism.

Even if we're talking about the autism spectrum as a whole (And, admittedly, I didn't know what remilia was referencing.) its like 6-8 per 1000; far less than 1 in 3.

I think the self diagnosed rate is perhaps 1 in 3, whereas diagnosed by professionals is 6~8 per 1000.

Bloodfever wrote:

Yak9UT wrote:

I have wondered how many people on Dakka have Aspergers Syndrome or other forms of Autism.

My mother who is a psychiatrist has had many clients who are Aspergers which ironicly all enjoy wargames ie, Warhammer/40k to which my mother says is one tell tale sign of Aspergers

I'm sorry if I sound harsh but that's rediculous! I think it is just a perpetuation of the 'wargamers are sad, introverted, 'uncool' kids stereotype and tries to relate that to the triad of imparement. If wargaming is a 'telltale' sign of aspergers then everyone on the site must have huge potential to be on the autistic spectrum. I have had 7 years experience working in Autism specific care and have never had anyone show interest in wargaming. Also I don't quite understand how it would be ironic?

I appreciate you would be making a thread to find other wargamers with autism but I think the quote and assumption are ill-assumed and unprofessional.

Uh, no. When me and my friends play 40k we smoke (tobacco and cannabis), drink and generally have a laugh. The average 40k gamer from what i've seen, both in Games Workshop and at Warhammer World, looks like he's never spoken to a girl irl at all. Most of them must be on some kind of spectrum. Admitidly I was pretty much the same until i was about 19/20 (made about 5 friends during all of two years at uni, go me) but some of these people you seriously have to wonder how they leave the house without being set upon by wild dogs.
Even the hobby itself is very..."left-brained". How many wargamers do you think know all of the base rules off by heart, as well as their own codex (stats, point values, equipment). Probably a fair few. I know people who play 40k who have to look up the rules for their models every turn, but they're definitely the minority.

I have heard from some that as many as 1 in (insert number greater than 2 here) men suffer some form of Asperger's.

I am doubtful of 1 in 3 but if one is talking about Asperger's and taking into account that it wasn't really recognised until 1994 there will be a large number of undiagnosed people out there.


Some of them would come across as cold, unemotional and obsessed with accuracy but I couldn't think who would fit that bill.

Joey wrote:The average 40k gamer from what i've seen, both in Games Workshop and at Warhammer World, looks like he's never spoken to a girl irl at all.

The average gamer I see playing in a GW or indie store is ~12, so that makes some sense.

Joey wrote: When me and my friends play 40k we smoke (tobacco and cannabis), drink and generally have a laugh.

Same here. FWIW I think that there's a massive underground railroad of gamers like that. They just tend to avoid GWs because they're full of weirdos, preferring instead to play with their mates in the sort of environment you described. There's more of us than you think.

Albatross wrote:

Joey wrote: When me and my friends play 40k we smoke (tobacco and cannabis), drink and generally have a laugh.

Same here. FWIW I think that there's a massive underground railroad of gamers like that. They just tend to avoid GWs because they're full of weirdos, preferring instead to play with their mates in the sort of environment you described. There's more of us than you think.

Word....

Id throw my hat into the "secret club of gamers" as well. I like to act goofy and have a good laugh when playing, people that play in major shops just dont have a sense of humor and it makes me edgy right off the bat.


Also to actually stay ontop, my niece has been diagnosed with Aspergers by a profession as well. Shes pretty much a normal kid, but you can tell there is something a little off with her, when compared to her siblings. Great kid though, I call her mouse girl, because she has a tiny nose like a little baby mouse, adorable.

KingCracker wrote:Id throw my hat into the "secret club of gamers" as well. I like to act goofy and have a good laugh when playing, people that play in major shops just dont have a sense of humor and it makes me edgy right off the bat.


Also to actually stay ontop, my niece has been diagnosed with Aspergers by a profession as well. Shes pretty much a normal kid, but you can tell there is something a little off with her, when compared to her siblings. Great kid though, I call her mouse girl, because she has a tiny nose like a little baby mouse, adorable.

When did being "a little off" mean you were disabled? Everyone's different.

Pretty sure I never mentioned she was disabled there bud. Either read properly, or dont make up gak, just a suggestion

Joey wrote:
Same here. FWIW I think that there's a massive underground railroad of gamers like that. They just tend to avoid GWs because they're full of weirdos, preferring instead to play with their mates in the sort of environment you described. There's more of us than you think.

+1

KingCracker wrote:
Also to actually stay ontop, my niece has been diagnosed with Aspergers by a profession as well. Shes pretty much a normal kid, but you can tell there is something a little off with her, when compared to her siblings.

And thats the double-edged sword compared to other mental disabilities.

Aspergers hampers social function so what alot of the time is an attitude/response etc due to the aspergers gets mistaken for someone just being a d**k. Aswell as other social events and helping the day-to-day running of self-supported living, I had to accompany a 19 yo with aspergers when he went to college because he was always having arguments, fights and communication and attitude issues with students and teachers alike. Until he was diagnosed a few months before I worked with him everyone assumed it was just down to him being a very rude and spiteful person. Unlike the other end of the autistic spectrum where it is usually obvious there is the disability, with aspergers, the majority of the time they can appear to be, or come across as 'normal'.

As people have mentioned the stereotypical guy that hangs around the GW stores, and the lack of social etiquette and graces they may display, this to an extent can be compared with the social ideosyncrasys of aspergers resulting the 'wargaming is a sign of asprgers' assumption.

Yea shes got the anger part of it for sure, and she'll just get triggered for little things. I could walk into her room, and move 1 doll and she could just blow up. But like I said,other then a couple small things, shes pretty normal

KingCracker wrote:Pretty sure I never mentioned she was disabled there bud. Either read properly, or dont make up gak, just a suggestion

Asperger's is a disability. If you are not "severe" enough for it to be a disability then it should not be diagnosed as such.

My 15 year old son is a aspie.

The best treatment we've found through the years? Team sports. Forcing him to see that his actions directly affect his teammates. Missing a block, missing a assignment, has immediate and very visible consequences.

Don't have it, nor does anyone else I know, surprisingly.

Sounds like an awful condition, and my sympathies are yours.

Joey wrote:

KingCracker wrote:Pretty sure I never mentioned she was disabled there bud. Either read properly, or dont make up gak, just a suggestion

Asperger's is a disability. If you are not "severe" enough for it to be a disability then it should not be diagnosed as such.

Incorrect. One can be diagnosed with a multitude of things, and not be "Disabled" or have a 'Disability'. A condition is only 'disabling' if you are affected adversely by its symptoms. Aspergers is part of a 'spectrum',ranging far and wide in effect and severity. Guy's right. Don't make up gak, and especially don't try and feed it to people who live with it. (Or work with it, or have it, for that matter.)

I'm getting some serious deja vu. Didn't we have this thread before it and blew up because of the exact same reason that's being brought up now?

(The whole spectrum and what kind one has and feeding it to people and all that)

As for the topic I do not have it, nor do I know anyone who has it.

Necroshea, I can't say as I've seen a thread like this before, but I can imagine exactly how it went, as people peddle myths and half-truths as "facts", or just lack understanding of a complex mental health situation.

.(Like most subjects I suppose, but when one is discussing peoples families and children, things can get a lot more tense. )

Last count I heard (by the way) was 500,000+ people with Autism in the UK. And that was this Monday, at an Autism Act Guidance Committee meeting, so its probably fairly up-to-date.

There was a thread not long ago that derailed into AS, though I don't believe it was the original point of it, but it was discussed and much of this is almost the same ground.

I'm generalising here so not aimed at anyone in particular but I think it has to be understood that just because someone may suffer from Autism or know someone with autism, it doesn't mean they understand it and could easily fall into misinformation, the myths, assumptions or even the 'rainman' expectations.

ArbeitsSchu wrote:

Joey wrote:

KingCracker wrote:Pretty sure I never mentioned she was disabled there bud. Either read properly, or dont make up gak, just a suggestion

Asperger's is a disability. If you are not "severe" enough for it to be a disability then it should not be diagnosed as such.

Incorrect. One can be diagnosed with a multitude of things, and not be "Disabled" or have a 'Disability'. A condition is only 'disabling' if you are affected adversely by its symptoms. Aspergers is part of a 'spectrum',ranging far and wide in effect and severity. Guy's right. Don't make up gak, and especially don't try and feed it to people who live with it. (Or work with it, or have it, for that matter.)

a)you don't know what I do and don't "have"
b)In the UK Asperger's is classed as a disability
Please try to think rationally rather than looking for reasons to be offended (classic modern response to any difference whatsoever is to look for opportunities to be offended, well done).