Would like to hear from Asperger adults 40+ Special Insights

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Found this in a Scientific American physics blog: Describes what's NORMAL

By means of several visual illusions, he demonstrated that we are all living in the past: Our consciousness lags 80 milliseconds behind actual events. “When you think an event occurs it has already happened,” Eagleman said.

In one of these illusions, the flash-lag effect, a light flashes when an object moves past it, but we don’t see the two as coincident; there appears to be a slight offset between them. By varying the parameters of the experiment, Eagleman showed that this occurs because the brain tries to reconstruct events retroactively and occasionally gets it wrong. The reason, he suggested, is that our brains seek to create a cohesive picture of the world from stimuli that arrive at a range of times. If you touch your toe and nose at the same time, you feel them at the same time, even though the signal from your nose reaches your brain first. You hear and see a hand clap at the same time, even though auditory processing is faster than visual processing. Our brains also paper over gaps in information, such as eyeblinks. “Your consciousness goes through all the trouble to synchronize things,” Eagleman said. But that means the slowest signal sets the pace.

The cost of hiding the logistical details of perception is that we are always a beat behind. The brain must strike a balance. Cognitive psychologist Alex Holcombe at Sydney has some clever demonstrations showing that certain forms of motion perception take a second or longer to register, and our brains clearly can’t wait that long. Our view of the world takes shape as we watch it.

The 80-millisecond rule plays all sorts of perceptual tricks on us. As long as a hand-clapper is less than 30 meters away, you hear and see the clap happen together. But beyond this distance, the sound arrives more than 80 milliseconds later than the light, and the brain no longer matches sight and sound. What is weird is that the transition is abrupt: by taking a single step away from you, the hand-clapper goes from in sync to out of sync. Similarly, as long as a TV or film soundtrack is synchronized within 80 milliseconds, you won’t notice any lag, but if the delay gets any longer, the two abruptly and maddeningly become disjointed. Events that take place faster than 80 milliseconds fly under the radar of consciousness. A batter swings at a ball before being aware that the pitcher has even thrown it.

Hi Gonewild, thanks for searching the info for us about the 80 ms. It's quite interesting.
I think part of the delay between visual and sound when observed by Aspies is due to weak executive functioning which causes difficulties to multitask. i.e. listening and visualisation is multi-tasking. For me when engage conversation with people, I have the tendency to look away so that I can focus on the hearing. Visual usually takes more bandwidth than sounds that's why we delay a few seconds in face recognition compared to normal people. Research has been conducted via brain scan that the no. of transmission cables in Aspies' brain is less than NT. I've noticed a lot of people can talk on the phone while walking. For me, I usually stop to answer a call and annoyed people walking behind me because of my sudden stop. Our transmission bandwidth to obtain social data (conversation and facial expression) from others is much more limited than normal people which results in delay (latency) especially on visual image. From youtube, Carly's therapist has always thought she is low in IQ because she cannot speak. Until her teenage years, she started typing and her sentence are so intelligent and fluent, they realise that she is very intelligent. Typing requires much less bandwidth than speech.

Thanks, GoneWild, A_number and Hiwaychile for your encouraging feedback as well. I'm very glad that my sharing helps. I also benefited a lot from the listening ears and discussion on this forum and the people who shared in youtube as well. So I am very eager to make my contribution in return.

For me, I am going to join some social skills training with focus in career in Jan. I'm glad that there is a charity fund who covers the expenses and with one-on-one career counselling as well. They will help me to find appropriate jobs that will fit my Asperger condition.

Hiwaychile, you may want to get support from your local government clinic and social worker to see if there is some Adult Asperger career support service. In my city, Hong Kong we are 10 years behind US in Asperger service, but there are still 2 specialised organisation that I can get support. I'm sure your city, have something like that. Jerry Newport who found out he has Asperger while watching the movie Rain Man in the cinema. Inside the cinema, Rain Man do a complex calculation, Jerry give out the answer before Rain Man, so people in cinema was amazed and look at him. He go Oops! He then realised that he has some form of autism. I am quite amused to hear this part of his story. After his diagnosis of Asperger at age 44, he life got changed in a much better way. The movie "Mozart and the whale" is filmed on his real life story. You can watch the whole movie in Youtube for free. Before his diagnosis, he drove taxi cab, so I think as a truck driver, you can relate more to his story. I agree with you that treating addiction to alcohol comes a higher priority than getting a better job or acquired more skills.

I think a small dosage of SSRI probably can help you. Temple recommends Aspies to take 1/3 to 1/2 of a starter dosage (20mg for Prozac) of SSRI to reduce the social anxiety (i.e. your shyness) and depression such that Aspies can free up the barrier to more easily pick up the social functioning skills.

On learning about AS and autism, seeing films are the most enjoyable and fruitful experience. It allows me to see real people with traits and behavior.

1. Mozart and the Whales (viewable in youtube). Based on the book by Jerry Newport (2005)

2. The Red Carpet (clips on WrongPlanet.net)

3. Adam (Max Mayer, 2009)
The story of a man with Asperger’s and his relationship/employment challenges and triumphs.

4. As Good As it Gets
Jack Nicholson’s obsessive-compulsive character has many classic Aspergian traits. The whole film is about relinquishing control and allowing in the unpredictable, mainly in the form of people and relationships. (Laura Ziskin (Producer) & James L. Brooks (Director). (1997))

My big concern at the moment is failing plumbing - not brain wiring! Congratulations to anyone who chose to live in a warm climate! I love where I live, but this winter has started out quite cold and yucky.

Lammiu, I'm glad things are looking up for you with support, training and job opportunities. Be sure to keep us informed about how it's going.

I'm interested in the scientific background behind Aspergers symptoms: I read many papers that contradict each other - data from the same studies is interpreted very differently by hard scientists and psychologist / psychiatrists / Aspergers specialists. Too often, an observable brain difference is "matched" to a symptom, when the relationship is coincidental and not causal - a great mistake that is all too common in non-rigorous fields. Although the "graphics" look impressive - wiring diagrams, colorful maps, 3-D models - how it all works together is unknown. Brain science is only decades old.

No one has yet to prove that there is ONE RIGHT WAY for a human brain to function; unless a person exhibits true brain damage from a birth defect, disease or injury, the labeling of people like us as "defective" is unjustified.
Way too much of the "evidence" is merely social prejudice - a cultural judgment about behavior, not science. NTs have a blatant history of dehumanizing people whom they simply don't like - think of Native Americans, Asians, Blacks, Gays, other religions - all these groups at one time (and some still) were judged by the medical experts as mentally defective, dangerous, subhuman and pictured in propaganda as animals. Is it really any different with us - ?

gondwild, I'm sorry to hear about your plumbing problems! I used to live in the Pacific NW and I know all about those sudden freezes and broken pipes... its never fun. Hope you get it resolved soon and get all the stress allevieated.

Lammiu suggested the film Mozart and the Whale and I've been trying to watch it. I understand it's Hollywood so they can distort things, but I believe its true that the main character has a great gift of processing numbers. And some of the others autistic and Aspergers people have gifts as well, for instance the black fellow who is fantastic playing jazz piano, though probably never trained in music.

I go from being very happy to very glum based on experiences in my life, and this movie is depressing me. I don't fit that particular aspects of Aspergers: I don't seem to have any specific thing I'm just naturally gifted at; I don't have any subject I'm fanatical about that I study obsessively and know everything about. does that mean I don't really have Aspergers after all? I'm confused. My psychologist says I am; but I seem to have all the "bad' traits, like horrible social skills, leading to horrible struggles with relationships, employment and ultimately happines in life, but I don't have any "quirky" or "focused interest, i.e., obsessive interests" that might lead me to positive change, such as a job doing something I really am excited and interested in and can excel. This makes me depressed.

Do you all have such gifts or interests that set you apart? Am I the only one who doesn't? Or maybe I just don't see it? How would I know? I have so many questions. Any input or insights would be helpful. Thanks!

BTW: Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all have a great holiday time with family and friends.

Hello highwaychile: I don't watch many films. I have a poster that says, "I'd like to watch this movie, but it's so scientifically inaccurate that I can't." An autistic savant (one particular super talent, but poor functioning otherwise) is NOT the same as Aspergers. Popular culture, the media - practically everything on the internet claiming to be about Aspergers, is simply a mess. It's been copied and pasted, written by amateurs, or it's just about making money. If you try to compare yourself to stereotypes, imaginary characters, hearsay, rumor or pseudoscience (don't ever believe anything on the Discovery Channel, for instance) you'll never find yourself.

Number one: get off the drugs-alcohol. You can't know who you are physically, mentally or emotionally until you do. I speak from experience. I have taken medication that DOES treat symptoms, and successfully, for 27 years. Treating myself with alcohol nearly killed me more than once. It's got to go!

After that you can discover whether or not you are Aspergers, which symptoms were due to substance abuse, which weren't, and what is next. It's worth doing. And continue getting professional help - preferably a REAL medical person, a medical doc or psychiatrist. Someone who has genuine knowledge of medications, not a pill-pusher.

Thank you for the advice, gonewild.

I was a little put off by the Mozart and the Whale. I'm not anything like those people in that film and so wondered after viewing it if I even have Aspergers at all. I know I'm a mess, I just don't know what label to put to it.

I know you're right about getting off all the medications; right now I'm not taking anything except an occasional Xanax when I feel really stressed. But the alcohol is the main thing that is an ongoing problem for me.

I don't get sloppy drunk ever, and drinking has never cost me a job or a relationship. I just take a drink or two a day to calm my nerves. Nevertheless, I know I need to find a more constructive method of doing that, but I'm scared to give up alcohol. There, I said it. I'm scared to give it up, because it has helped me cope for so long that I rely on it and depend on it.

I keep trying to get help from the medical community, but so far have found a lot of dead ends. Unfortunately, it's easy for me to get discouraged. I appreciate that you started this thread; I've gotten some good info here and am trying to assimilate things and make changes in my life. For me, though, real change is hard. I'm a creature of habit and that makes it difficult for me to go in new, uncharted directions.

The whole autism / Aspergers / mental illness "thing" is not clear cut like diabetes or a broken leg. Sometimes you have to get treatment for the symptoms and not worry about the diagnosis.

I'm glad to hear you don't drink to excess, but "a couple" of drinks isn't doing much for you is it, except keeping you in a rut, but without relief from your depression? You need treatment for depression; it shouldn't be difficult to get since it's very common. A GP can treat depression.

A-ha!! !! ! LOVE THIS!! ! So then, this is ALL of us! So, whether or not any one individual knowingly perceives the lag, it (or, our perception of the lag) is still there as far as our reception of the experience. NICE FIND! (And here I was, cursing my awful vision!)

Excellent points! Difficulty to multitask is definitely one of my concerns and when engaging in conversation, I also tend to look away to focus. ...as with talking on the phone and walking! (I was told at one point it was just part of getting old. But, if this were the case, why was it the same way when I was young?...).

How about when it pertains to special interests? It seems that when I do have the time and space to focus on my special interest, I do not seem to have the problems that I have when it comes to anything that is outside that particular interest. (If that makes any sense.) Meaning, when I am at peace, free of outside sensory influences, when the special interest at hand does require multi-tasking in itself, it seems that for some reason I can multi-task (to some extent) on that project or subject (whichever the case might be?). I guess that would be the exception to the rule, but of course even that would usually require complete solitude and freedom from uncomfortable sensory input.

I know that I don't have the gifts, per se, but I certainly do have the tendency to fixate compulsively on very particular things. These things have ranged anywhere from completing a particular jigsaw puzzle to an irritatingly obsessive fascination with The Peloponnesian War. The latter is one example, for me, that I ended up always blabbing and going on and on about, assuming that everyone must be into it as much as I am. Of course no one is and most people don't even know what I"m referring to at all, and my social irritation detector is broken so I have literally ticked off many people by talking about it too much. This is just an example, though. Unfortunately, the things I tend to fixate in expired over 2300+ years ago , so ...from a social perspective, until I find someone else out there that is also interested in the same fascinations, I'd say it's more of a curse than blessing. But, hey, it's still fun for me, and I love it. I just need to keep it to myself.

I am sure the difficulties to multitask is not related to old age but can be worsen by age due to deterioration of energy level. If you've read Dr. Tony's book, the teenager calculated the difficulties to simultaneously monitor social interactions of a group of people, it's exponential demand on our attention. So one-on-one interactions is ok for us, but not in a group, due to multitask.

About special interest, if you've listen to 1st youtube in my list, "Ask Dr Tony" series, (I know there's a lot in the series) male usually has special interest but female usually only has common interest, it just the intensity of the interest that is UNusual. e.g. my interest is strategy and psychology. They are common interest. But the time I spent on time is out of portion as compared to NT. e.g. Clay Marzo is so good at surfing because he spent a lot of time on it until it becomes intuitive for him. I mean surfing is common interest, but because he is so obsessive on it, he become so good at it that he becomes professional. About special talent like Mozart and Einstein, there is only 3% of Aspies that had that kind of talents.

A_number: About your special interest in Pxxx war, I think lots of people enjoys history. You just need to extract the interesting parts that people can relate to that's all. I'm sure people would be interested to listen to those things. e.g. last time I visited history museum, I enjoyed seeing the soldiers using sheep skin bag as air bag so that they can travel deep inside the river to avoid the flying arrows in the surface to win the war. That war is also thousands of years ago. I discussed this interesting part with NT, they enjoyed it. I think what people don't share is not the topic, is the intensity, we can go on and on hours without able to observe others' turnoff signal of being bored. The attention span for NT for interesting subject is just a few minutes unless that's also their strong interest.

Most people in the autism spectrum have obsessive and compulsive disorder which is a survival mechanism for the anxiety caused by the social deficits. The obsessive interest acts as a thought blocker to block the negative thoughts that causes anxiety. The compulsive disorder enforces rigidity and routine which reduces anxiety because uncertainty and risk produces anxiety. Therefore, whenever the Aspie is under a stressful situation (e.g. chronic unemployment), the autistic traits becomes more severe.

Wow! What a nice group of posts this morning. I woke up early (for me) because we're having high winds - much noise of creaking trees, etc. I actually like wind; it's energizing, but sometimes we get damage so it's also unnerving.

Okay - Aspergergers and sensory info: The thing is, NTs are not great sensory processors - they believe that they are. NTs will believe almost anything said by authorities (in the U.S. that's pop-culture gurus, advertising, celebrities, self-help con men) Multitasking appears in the media and suddenly everyone is good at multitasking! But they are not! Tests demonstrate over and over that when required to multitask, NTs THINK they did well, but their performance levels drop from when they performed single tasks! Remember - NTs are so highly dependent on the opinion of others, are so competitive socially, and are so focused on scoring points and moving up a notch, that they consistently inflate their own abilities.

It's the "WE" factor. One of my favorite examples is a commercial (for insurance?) that goes something like, "Humans: we screw up this, we screw up that, and then WE invent the Theory of Relativity." No WE did not! NTs take credit for what a handful of humans have accomplished. Of course when things go badly, suddenly THEY did it!

So what if we have special interests? NTs only view this negatively because we're not paying attention to their narrow, shallow social stuff. How many kids spend 12 hours a day playing video games - isn't that an obsession? How about girls and women who fixate on their weight and appearance; spend billions on cosmetics, diets, nails, hair, clothing, etc. That's better than our interests? There's a double standard here! If NTs were fascinating, intelligent, creative and kind and generous, I might take notice. Meanwhile I'm busy with - Ancient Rome, photography, evolution and human behavior, and other fun things! LOL

Hi all! I don't have much time at the moment, but I wanted to wish you all the happiest of holidays!! !

I've been thinking about starting up a blog or website where I talk about my life dealing with Aspergers and other aspects of my mental disorders: anxiety and depression. Does anyone think this is a good idea? Would it be helpful for others or just a waste of time and effort?

Do you intend it to be a journal-memoir type of blog, or do you want to include other people?