correlation between gender dysphoria and aspurges syndrome

[Guest tsubaki]

this has been presented to me several times in the past, the relation between aspurges syndrome, a form of autism, and gender dysphoria,

from what ive been told, some people with aspurges can develop feelings of wanting to be the other gender, and these feelings can in many cases be false, to use as a lack of a better word, this personally distresses me to a part as i have aspurges syndrome, ive looked into it however am not sure of the condition, i do not want to make mistakes, and am confident that these feelings are real, however i simply want to be sure,

i ask, if anyone knows about the subject, please post your knowledge for me, any traits that point to these feelings being influenced by aspurges syndrome,

i came to properly realize when i was about 10 years old though went into a state of denial to try and fit in in high-school (as many will know a place of hell for those who are different) i only came out at the age of 16 when i entered college, before ten i did do several things that got me labeled as gay, these include trying to kiss other boys,

on a secondary note, is there a correlation between chromozone abnormalities (xxy xxyy xxxy xo) and gender dysphoria?

thankyou for reading, - lin

[Guest Jo-88]

I have Aspergers and I have also felt that I was a girl about as far back as I can remember. Don't mistake correlation for causation. There does seem to be a higher percentage of people with Aspergers in the transgendered population than the general population. Also considering we don't really know what causes either issue we can't say one causes the other or that one can cause you to have the symptoms of the other. Which is irrelevant anyway, GID and Aspergers are diagnosed based entirely on symptoms... there is no blood test or other test for either. This however is exactly why it so important to see a therapist experienced in gender identity issues. Now a sex chromosome abnormality is a totally different issue, technically that would make you genetically intersexed (I guess it would anyway), I know some of the chromosome abnormalities can cause hormone imbalances which if they occur at the right developmental period could definitely effect the gender of the person.

[Guest tsubaki]

hmm, thanks for the answer,

[Guest Jo-I-Dunno]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't people identified with Asperger's tend to have difficulty picking up on and following social norms? Maybe more people are born with non-conforming gender identities than we know, and people with Asperger's are just less likely to repress it to fit in.

[Guest tsubaki]

generally aspurges patients will not recognize major social inappropriate factors or barriers and thus become alienated because they cross them without realizing, others will simply feel uncomfortable with other people, cannot understand some things said or react badly to some stimulus, on top of this a development of an obsession on a subject will occur at one point in the lifespan of an aspurges patient, generally this happens a few times, the thought that becoming the other gender and the want to do so as reason for concern in aspurges patients is because it can simply be a way of the brain thinking of options to be able to fit in, and blame a characteristic of the person, gender being reasonable, and if formed into an obsession can cause thoughts very similar to fully fledged gender dysphoria, at least i think that's the case,

personally, i have issues with messy sounds, certain textures, certain tastes, need my food cooked with certain ingredients in certain ways to be able to eat it, and of course have obsessions and social problems, i myself cannot recognize social barriers and cross them without noticing, though its obvious when i alienate people around me, that said ive shown factors relating to gender dysphoria far before i started becoming socially restrictive, coming to feel there was something wrong with me at the time i become socially restrictive, over the five years in high-school, i came to work it out and for some years entered denial, even i could tell that place would rip me apart if i tried to be who i was, unfortunately it ripped me up anyway, before coming out late last year, my parents were not happy, and now im here waiting for treatment in January, but excuse me, im rambling,

yes, its very possible that many people may suffer gender identity issues more than we think, and while some aspurges patients may display it with less repression, many will be repressed by external factors such as parents or peers,

[Guest Zeda]

I don't have aspergers (to my knowledge), but socially, I am pretty different Quite a few people like having me around because I am so different and mostly indifferent to social norms (I often don't notice that I am breaking a norm, but a lot of the time I am aware of it). Most people find me interesting, even though I don't fit in. When I went to school a few weeks ago "dressed up" I got some double takes, but when they realised it was me, I got smiles and headshakes.

Also, I have synesthesia with numbers, colors, and emotions, I have not yet found a good limit to my short-term memory. I haven't worked it out enough to find the limit, but I can remember a 48-digit string just by glancing at it once. When i am adding more digits of pi to my memory, it is like I am waking up a part of my brain and it starts out slow, then I can add large-ish strings of digits to my long-term memory in a short time and I can move on to larger and larger chunks.

I took up some programming a few years ago and I taught myself z80 assembly. I learned it in machine code code first because I could not understand mnemonics. I have made programs with over 16000 bytes of code purely in machine code and I can read machine code comfortably (It is pretty cool being able to look at the hexadecimal disassembly of a program and be able to read it).

I also have notes that my mother saved from teachers when I first started school. They were worried because I preferred the company of adults and didn't like to play with other children. I also learned in highschool that most of my friends thought I was mentally challenged when they first met me because of how spastic and manic I was. It is interesting to know that people who first meet me will probably think that I am mentally challenged, but I am cool with that.

[Guest tsubaki]

When I went to school a few weeks ago "dressed up" I got some double takes, but when they realised it was me, I got smiles and headshakes.

by dressing up i assume you mean dressing in the clothes of your preferred gender,

if i had did that at my old school, i would have been beaten and abused till i was unconscious or dead, the school i went to was very bad for people who were even slightly different, i was abused for 2 years, i couldn't leave because there were no other schools doing the classes i was taking, i almost took my own life, its not a happy time in my life, im glad im in college, its much safer,

[Guest Zeda]

Yes, that is what I meant If I had done that in highschool, my mother would have probably put a bullet between my eyes XD College is much better, for sure.

[JJ]

When I was researching transgender I came across a couple of articles-and stupidly didn't bookmark them but I was reading lots of articles at that point-in which some Drs and scientists were speculating that the effects of being transgender create the symptoms of Aspergers because of the innate conflicts and sense of wrongness we feel but it is not true Aspergers because it has been observed to resolve in many cases after transition whereas true Autism disorders cannot resolve since it is inherent in the physical structures of the brain. I am not sure any studies have yet been done to support the hypothesis but the articles I read made a lot of sense and were based on professional observations and correlations between the higher incidence of Aspergers in the transgender population rather than just speculation.

At this point it could be hard to distinguish if an Aspergers set of symptoms is true Aspergers or a manifestation of GID-especially since most of those diagnosing Aspergers are ignorant about the effects of GID and often patients have not disclosed to them. Personally I think the fact that our brains are forced to make different connections and function with hormones they were not designed for could also have an impact.

For some therapists the feeling of mental clarity and rightness on starting hormone therapy is indicative of being transgender-though not all therapists feel that way. We just don't really know yet how these powerful substances-E and T-can affect a brain designed to utilize the opposite hormone. So much is just unknown and speculation at this point. With conflicting opinions to further complicate the situation but I personally feel that a sort of false Aspergers is indeed a symptom of GID based on the fact that it does resolve in some instances. That doesn't lessen the impact of the Aspergers symptoms or invalidate them to any degree-just makes it something different than true Aspergers

Johnny

[Guest Zeda]

Johnny, your posts are always enlightening. I just want you to know that you are awesome That makes sense, too.

[Guest Julie_Mason]

Sorry, I have no take on Asperger's as it relates to GID, for I have not yet researched it (or any other ASD) enough to make a reasoned response. This is a very interesting subject of discussion however, so I think I'll have to brush-up on my medical/psychological knowledge. Keep the dialogue going though... Im enjoying the stimulus reading it is giving my prefontal cortex greatly.

...I also have notes that my mother saved from teachers when I first started school. They were worried because I preferred the company of adults and didn't like to play with other children. I also learned in highschool that most of my friends thought I was mentally challenged when they first met me because of how spastic and manic I was. It is interesting to know that people who first meet me will probably think that I am mentally challenged, but I am cool with that.

Zeda, Im very glad to see that your intended adjourn from Laura's wasnt a lengthy one. Welcome back (even if just for a bit)!

I never thought you were mentally challenged... ::looks the other way and coughs::...

Kidding, sweetie. I think you possess (like all great minds) qualities that may seem odd or peculiar to the common person. However we (and many others here) are kindred spirits and alike in many ways, for I too am misunderstood quite often, despite my attempts at projected clarity.

I <3 me some Zeda, window-licker or not.... Input that into your TI-84!

Hugs and much <3 for the brainies here,

-Julie M.

[Guest Julie_Mason]

Johnny, your posts are always enlightening. I just want you to know that you are awesome ...

Julie M.<3

[Guest NoxNocturnus]

I have been diagnosed with Aspergers since the mid-90's (mild thankfully). I have felt like a female since as long as I can remember (which for me is the mid-80's). The only doctor I have discussed it with, thought it was an 'interesting' coincidence, nothing more. Although he had suggested I seek other help for what was obviously a 'mental disorder' for wanting my body to be female because I didn't feel male (he also suggested I do more boy things and ignore these feeling as they will 'pass' if I do, what a crock of bull, all that did is make me uncomfortable, depressed and aggravate some of the social problems I had). If you think your diagnose of Aspergers may be caused or aggravated by your feelings of gender, talk to your doctor about it, see if maybe living as your gender helps, hurts or exasperates your problems. But if you feel it may be the cause/issue of your problem, you may want to avoid more permanent changes (meaning surgery) until your sure what you want. Personally, i don't know, but while some people are born with the wrong gender, some just feel that way due to other causes that cast a temporary feeling of gender. YMMV, but this is just my opinion. As far as chromosomal issues, I am not familiar with any information one way or the other, sorry.

Hope things work out well for you in however you decide *hugs* keep us posted please

[Guest Zeda]

Sorry, Julie, I never saw your post. I will say, I was never a window licker I've always been a tad put off by germy things XD I think they just thought that constant smiling, irrational happiness, and generally absurd behavior landed me in the classification.

@NoxNocturnus: I would say that is definitely a good path to follow. If you aren't sure of your gender, you can test the waters a bit and find where you are comfortable.

Personally, I feel that even if there is a link between Aspergers and GID, you should probably listen to what you want. If you are uncomfortable being your assigned gender, you should change it to make you more comfortable. Please keep in mind, that does not mean that you need to have SRS! Remember that gender is a social construction, bot a physical one. You don't need to change your body to match your mental or social gender.

To say that GID in people with Aspergers is false is absolutely absurd. If you aren't feeling comfortable with your gender, then you aren't comfortable with your gender. This is why I like tautologies. Maybe people with Aspergers are more prone to gender incongruence and they aren't full transsexuals, but that is a far cry from saying that the person doesn't have the feelings. And the treatment is simple-- just be yourself

I think I got sidetracked o.o

[Guest NoxNocturnus]

To say that GID in people with Aspergers is false is absolutely absurd. If you aren't feeling comfortable with your gender, then you aren't comfortable with your gender. This is why I like tautologies. Maybe people with Aspergers are more prone to gender incongruence and they aren't full transsexuals, but that is a far cry from saying that the person doesn't have the feelings. And the treatment is simple-- just be yourself

Love this Be Yourself *hugs*