Is not having sexual feeling all your life a sign of aspergers?
been this way all my life and have never dated or had a boyfriend cause of it and wondered if it had anything to do with it? i know i should get tested for it and just wondered about it.
It can be, but not necessarily. Sometimes a low sex drive can be due to a hormonal imbalance. Of course, there doesn't always have to be a medical reason. Some people just flat out don't like sex. Some people even think it's disgusting.
That's how it's always been for me and I don't really know why I am this way. Maybe there is a hormonal issue, but none that any doctor has ever found. Just the way I am, I guess. :)
I remember reading an article in some magazine (Readers Digest?) that stated that about one third of women do not have orgasms. I assure you that those women do not all have Aspergers.
Asperger's can effect social skills - reading the emotions of other people and stuff like that. So maybe the reason you have never had desires is because you weren't reading the signals of somebody that fancied you but maybe if you had it would of triggered those desires in you. I think you should get tested because if you do have Asperger's there are programs that help develop social skills that could lead to you having a relationship. Cheers!
This post was edited by Nanoose at December 15, 2019 7:24 PM MST
It's actually not a sign of Asperger's. It could be for some of the reasons Shuhak gave but it could also be a sign that the guys just aren't doing it for you or you just have some hang-ups about sex but those are pretty normal. Anyway, my brother had Asperger's (he was diagnosed with it as an adult) so I know a little something about it.
I haven't heard of low sex drive being a sign of AS but being a kinkster actually is a symptom of AS so people with Asperger's would be more likely to want to visit my dungeon than be asexual but while most kinky people probably don't have Asperger's people with AS are more likely to be turned on by something a little more unusual.
Also, aspies give off a definite vibe which just doesn't show through in the way you write so I would bet that you don't have Asperger's.
This post was edited by Livvie at December 15, 2019 7:25 PM MST
I suppose it's possible, but I don't think so. You could tested for Aspberger's if you suspect you have it, but lack of sexuality alone isn't going to guarantee it. I've never had any interest in sex or sexual attraction. Some people are asexual. I've known I was since high school.
I don't know where the others here are getting their information, but yes, they're linked. It's incredibly common for people on the spectrum to be asexual or have low libidos. I actually started researching this because I started dating a guy who was in his 40s who had never had a girlfriend and was still a virgin. I knew he was quirky before I started dating him (I found it endearing), but I only learned after that he had all this going on and was on the spectrum too. But, yeah. He was asexual for most of his life and by the time he decided he wanted to date, the ship had kind of sailed. Everyone his age already had experience, so he was trying to break into it with none and with all the challenges associated with being on the spectrum. I read a ton of first-hand accounts trying to understand why he was the way he was and how to be supportive. His situation matched everything else I read, but it's rarely talked about.
To be clear, being asexual is a sexual orientation, just as being straight, gay, or bi is. Being asexual does not mean you are on the spectrum. However, if you are on the spectrum, there's a really high probability that you won't be straight.
Thanks, that is interesting. I just read the "Sexuality and Gender Role" paper and I find the conclusions very surprising. I have never been medically diagnosed with ASD, but I believe I have enough characteristics that way to say I am ASD, and yet I have always been very interested in sex and easily aroused. It's notable that in movies and TV, people with high-functioning autism tend to be portrayed as asexual.
Shuhak 