I Have Asperger's

For me, the issue with being able to speak begins inside my head.  Let me use an example to explain. 

My family enjoys playing a game called "Scattergories".  In the game each player fills out a category list with answers that begin with the same letter.  If no other player matches your answers, you score points.  Players determine the letter used by rolling a die with all of the letters on it.  Oh, and there's a time limit. 

I give myself some credit....I'm pretty good at this game.  (Most of the time.)  I think it's because I can be creative with my answers and because I have such unique interests that no one else knows about.  My weakness, as with everyone else, is the time limit.

Today, however, I discovered a new weakness.  Language processing.  This frustrated me to the point where I nearly said "just forget it, I can't play".  But I didn't want to be left out.  So I just played a miserable game.  You would think that it would be obvious that I was having some issues when I went from getting LOTS of points to getting one or two.  But right from the start of that last round, I knew I was going to struggle.  I could SEE the objects in my head.  I KNEW what I wanted to write in as my answer, but the words wouldn't come to me.  THIS is how it feels when I have trouble speaking.

I really wish that I could have been given some extra time.  Or I wish I could have just left and gone home right then and there.  But I didn't want to be left out.  I wanted so badly to have fun.  Yet, I couldn't.  I can only imagine the frustration felt daily by those who are completely non-verbal.  I've experienced this frustration to a degree, but never fully.