You would have known something was up when she was much younger. Believe me, there would have been major signs that something was amiss. I am sure that you are a very concerned Mom who is experiencing something that is so completely normal, and of course you are concerned and looking for help. What good Mom wouldn't? And sometimes it seems like you need an answer, and the internet is a terrible place sometimes to get those answers. I used to look up conditions and thought....OMG, I've got that..or my husband has that....or my son.....You may have to live with your daughter's "disease" for quite a few more years. The one thing you've got to do is protect yourself from being driven completely out of your mind.

And indeed, if you are keeping her on a good diet and being careful with her health, then you are doing the best you can. Don't forget to give her really good Essential Fatty Acids...very key for her.

Keep a lookout for drugs, boys and such. I thought my son was doing none of those things at 15-1/2, and I'm as liberal as they come.....boy was I surprised one day, one month...6 months...yikes. Keep the lines of communication open, and above all stay a strong parent but really listen to her. That's what they all want more than anything, is to be listened to and respected for their opinions. No matter how insane they sound, and yes, Aspergers or not, I've decided my son is pretty damn insane for all the wacky stuff he tries to feed me!! It's amusing but listening with a straight face takes some real skill.

Hang in there. I was a HORRIBLE teenager...one of the worst. And my Mom probably thought I was Aspergers when she was lecturing me and couldn't look at her because her face was melting....probably because of the LSD....

Here is some stuff on Aspergers anyway.

Asperger's orginally thought that this condition did not affect girls at all. It was later learned that there are girls with autism, but they tend to be much more severly disabled than their male counterparts. Here is a tidbit about it:

In 1964 Bernard Rimland pointed out that, overall, males tend to be more susceptible to organic damage than girls, whether through hereditary disease, acquired infection or other conditions. Since it is now almost universally accepted that there is an organic cause for autism, it should not be surprising that boys are more vulnerable to it than girls.

In recent years researchers have put forward a genetic explanation for the differences. Skuse (2000) has suggested that the gene or genes for autism are located on the X chromosome. Girls inherit X chromosomes from both parents, but boys only inherit one, from their mothers. Skuses hypothesis is that the X chromosome which girls inherit from their fathers contains an imprinted gene which "protects" the carrier from autism, thus making girls less likely to develop the condition than boys.

Molly