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He the nice one

Hi Proton

Hi Dan, thanks for the welcome

How was your Day Dan?

Hey guys,
I've been a bit inactive lately Mark. I've got some stuff to deal with this year and getting tested for AS is one of them (as is joining the site). Do you mind if I ask you guys some questions about your symptoms some time? I've mentioned a few things on this site in the first few days and I've already had some feedback from people telling me my stories are similiar to theirs (trouble learning to tie shoelaces, insomnia).
Cheers guys,
Dan

Sure, you can ask, feel free. While there's things in common, you'll also discover each one of us is quite unique. I can certainly relate to the shoelaces thing, think I was about 8 before I started to get the hang of that, and knots still give me grief to this day. The difference is I now know it's a processing overload that causes the problem, though I haven't yet found a way around that particular issue. It actually came back to haunt me during a recent firefighting assessment, but that time, I was able to get around that one by simply delegating someone else to tie the rope, while I worked on some other thing (since setting up was a team effort).

Insomnia is a bit more subtle, I have had phases where I wake up and can't get back to sleep for a few hours, sometimes it's stress related, sometimes it's because I have something interesting on my mind, sometimes, well, I have no idea!

Hi Dan,
Always happy to share information. As Tony said..sometimes we will find things in common and sometimes completely different. I do have trouble with sleeping when the anxiety level is too high..which it has been of late and I really prefer to avoid medication for that. I was terrible with shoelaces till my twenties and I think likely still do it oddly..dame with ties. It takes me a while to get ready in the morning.Buttons can be annoying to. I think sometimes the most frustrating is picking shapes from jumbled items as in the kitchen implements draw. We used to have the kitchen implements hanging up in a row which made it easier in the other house. As we are renting here for a while, the kitchen is made to be Aspie friendly. We need things in order and specific places. I think we both have a tendency to forget where things have been put...paperwork can be abroad pain so there has to be designated places where storage occurs.

Hi again,
I forgot to mention that there a few Aspie Facebook groups which you may find helpful as well. When dealing with and trying to navigate through the NT world one can feel a bit isolated at times..it is helpful to know that we are not entirely alone and stranded on a rock.

Thanks guys,
Hey Tony, are you becoming a firie? That's one of the career possibilities I've toyed with over the last couple of years, still not sure what I want to do. With my anxiety that really began in 2005 I'm not sure if I could handle housefires where little kids were casualties or going to car accidents and stuff
Okay so with shoe tying, once I nailed it after I was 20 I haven't really looked back and I stopped doing it this weird way I made up. I used to do a double knot then using the little plastic tips on the ends of the laces I would punch them through the middle of the double knot. It was horrible tryna untie them and once the plastic tips started to come off the ends of my laces I'd have to go buy some new ones.
I'm in the middle of an insomnia thing right now. I had every intention of going to bed last night once it hit midnight but come 3am I realised that wasn't gonna happen so I still haven't slept since I got up yesterday. I also get wound up by anxiety, learning stuff and thinking about exciting or enjoyable things.
When doing AQ tests and quizzes and stuff I initially answered some questions with a scoff like, "Bah! I don't stim or use scripted language!" then out of nowhere during the day I remember things like the guys at my last job giving me a hard time becoz on a Monday when I was asked how my weekend was my response was, "Aw yeah, pretty quiet," 99% of the time and I didn't even know until they pointed it out and started to call me names and stuff. I'm also one of those doofuses that replies "Yeah good thanks," when someone just "Hi" a little too often when I'm caught by surprise. And I've realised that while I don't necessarily rock to and fro I do place a finger on one of my lips then go from side to side for surprisingly long periods of time. t's shocking to think about how long I might have been doing this without knowing. My whole life? Wow. I'm also a prolific leg tapper especially on a bed coz it makes the whole bed rock and calms me down and on occasions when other people seem to sigh I seem to sigh but also rub my eyes with the heels of my palms as though I'm tired. Long story short some of these things aren't noticable when you first read about them but then there are some pretty major, "Ahhhh!" moments going on later. So I re-did some of the quizzes and saw things going from Maybe-Likely to Likey-Very Likely.
Also has anyone read the 2 questions about the Free Commemorative Cup and the Extra Dollar Charge? If so how did you answer? My answer was Aspie leaning.
Sorry for the epic novel, lemme know if there's anything there you can relate to and please by all means let me know some of your quirkier traits.
Thanks, Dan.

Hiya
Can relate to most of that..small talk is a real pain for me which is most of office conversation..specially the what did you do on the weekend questions..erk. I have a bit of a hard time socially as if the is too much noise I zone out..two or three people talk at once near me cancels out Amy understanding. I have a problem with other peoples aggression too and withdraw. In a calm environment left to my own I am quite alright. I get along so much better with other Aspies and Auties but society the way it is has us somewhat hidden away.

I'm a volunteer firefighter with the CFA here. Actually getting back into it, as I used to be a volunteer in the late 80s/early 90s, until I moved to Melbourne. So it's not a career for me, it's a community service. I have anxiety issues, but that tends to be mostly dealing with people. I also tend to become less anxious and more focused when there is a real emergency to deal with.

As for career, I'm in a period of deciding what I want to do next, leaving the field open, just come back from my job network provider with some career finder questionnaires.

Yes, we all have our little Aspie quirks, I know I have mine, though some are well hidden, others are a bit more obvious.

Quirky traits...hmmm...I am aware of some and have had others brought to my attention and I have noticed that they have altered over the years as things tend to as one gets older and also developmentally..I can semi control some of the quirky bits (thumb sucking) in public when I am functioning without stress or need to retreat...anxiety tends to bring all off the quirks out to play..worst one is losing language use effectively. Head tapping when thinking and eyebrow rubbing. I used to have the fidgets and flaps but I try to remain in a calm zone most of the time so this helps. When I am ok I can absorb vast tracts of information and utilize as required...on a bad day I can see a few words that make meaning and fill in the gaps myself without quite realizing it which isn't a good thing to do. Facial expressions can still be a bit of guess and hope for the best and my memory for faces faces isn't what I would like it to be but am better with voices. My short term memory has been whacky of late but only because I am in a high anxiety mode. Having said all of that..there is more, but while I am used to it I know I have a bit of control and try to use it so as the NTs don't get too distracted. I understand how relaxing and comforting rocking can be..I have developed a little tremor thing that I can employ in public without too much attention if I feel a tension wave coming on

Short term memory, mine's been shot since the middle of high school. It's a stress/workload thing. During school, it used to be quite good until a few weeks into the school year. Since school, it's been basically iffy all the time. :/ I know I'm not functioning as well as I could be either. :/

I find that well functioning kind of comes and goes depending on where, when and what is happening. I went for many years not knowing how to get help for the bits in life that I cannot manage but I can network a lot better now. Getting assist can be a huge effort for some things tho..the world really isn't Aspie friendly

Know that feeling well too. I still have trouble knowing where to go for help, when the information is not immediately available. Good thing we've got each other, we manage to fill some of the gaps. :-*

Yes Aspies work well in teams I was so very fortunate to find an Aspie Partner