author needs AS or HFA consultant(s)

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Many thanks, Zonder!

Being bullied is much less of an issue once you become an adult with the notable exception of relationships. Or attempts at it. Now this is probably better done by a woman, but the fact of the matter is that someone on the spectrum doesn't naturally approach others in the same way. And, to be blunt, odd or weird is likely to engender a negative reaction. Which is likely why a lot on the spectrum identify themselves as "asexual". It isn't that they necessarily are, although some certainly are, but that they are afraid to try any more. If ever.




Don't ask for much, do you?

Those on the spectrum tend to be very visual thinkers. With the emphasis on "very". They also tend to have good memories. Now my personal theory is that this isn't necessarily innate, but is a coping mechanism that tends to work. At least some, like myself, have gotten used to "recording" social situations and "replaying" them to try to figure out what went wrong. So if you do this from a very early age, your memory and visualization skills are going to be top-notch. Likely for a similar reason, I am very good at spotting patterns with little information. You combine these and things can get really different. I can "see" diagrams, mapping relationships and interconnections, move them around, explore new combinations, etc. almost like it is on a 3D computer screen. Not exact, of course, but that is the closest analogy. The best representation I have seen of this was in the movie "A Beautiful Mind" when Nash works with numbers. It pales compared to what I experience, but it is the closest. The upshot is that I can model things in my mind quite easily. Throw in a strong dash of not being able to think along conventional lines, and the term "out of the box thinking" loses meaning. Heck, in most cases, the only way I know there is a box is everyone seems to cluster in a small corner for some reason...



"More capable" is a very loaded term. It is different, is all. The above, plus a need to focus on problems to the point of mono-mania means things are very different. Not necessarily better, though. There is a tendency to get "stuck" on a particular problem and being unable to eat, sleep or do much anything else without an extreme act of will. Even the most creative solution is a bust if it never gets completed or does the job it is supposed to do.



Sigh. Well, something that can't be overstressed is the need for "alone time". Being on the spectrum means there is a tendency to get overloaded emotionally. Given that processing emotion is difficult, there is often a noticeable pause when emotional elements get injected into conversations so that those elements can be processed, Many don't like to be touched casually, although hugs from others, especially of the opposite sex, can be welcome. And those hugs should be tight. For me, I am a friendly guy, but I don't readily form attachments. That takes time. I don't know how much "respect" enters into the equation, but the person needs to be interesting on some level.

A bunch of "you're welcomes" back. BTW, here is a thread on one study:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt82381.html

Z

Yes, I was assuming that you folks have been inundated all your lives with discussions about how you are different from NTs, and so might know more about how you're different from NTs than NTs generally know how they are different from you. If not, okay, you won't have much to say about that here. If so, great, you can help me understand those differences.

I've learned that communication is difficult and that subtle topics always require stating things in several ways to triangulate the idea, especially when communicating with strangers and possibly many of them. Some people will pick up on an idea immediately and will then wonder why I'm repeating myself saying it several other ways. Others won't pick up on the idea until the third angle, then in hindsight they'll sync up to the first angle, and then *they'll* wonder why I'm repeating myself. Note how I just did that, first with an abstraction, then with examples. It's an occupational hazard when one is occupying oneself with communication. Also, just because a reader is impatient that doesn't make the writer verbose. Just as in general, if someone feels fightened or threatened by someone else that doesn't mean the other person is threatening or frightful. The point is, I've also learned that those who have the patience to read through things tend to be those who have put thought into it, and so I don't mind creating a selection effect such that I mostly get feedback from them.

Thanks for the Grandin book rec. It's clear I need to read some of her stuff.

I have not taken the AS tests. Although there are a number of things about me which are different from average people and similar to those with AS, due to my childhood trauma, I have none of the notable issues with sensory integration, emotional processing, non-verbal cues, etc.

thanks

That's a direct contradiction of what you said in your other post! Now I think you're intentionally being argumentative.



No, I meant your knowledge base. Anyway, if you find this so objectionable and ill-fated, why are you involving yourself in it? That is not a rhetorical question. I hope to learn something valuable from our "clash". (Like lab rats, one with one kind of trauma, the other with a different kind of trauma.) Otherwise it's wasted.

Good job discrediting the intellectual capabilities of a whole group of people. I feel really good about my self now knowing I have an executive deficit. And hey, what do I know? That may be better than a clerical deficit, a supervisor deficit, a manager deficit. No, no, no, this is an executive deficit!

And I'm sorry if my sarcasm is unusual tonight, but please, that post was a paragraph long. I read a tremendous amount of material every day and have for several months or years. No one on the internet who visits hundreds of sites a day is going to be intimidated by a small paragraph of information.

I'm reading Temple Grandin's "Thinking in Pictures" (expanded edition). I've decided that my protagonist will be a pattern thinker with some visual emphasis/enhancement. I think this will be more consistent with her professional achievements than making her a visual thinker like Temple Grandin. For now I'm putting that book down and switching to Attwood's "Complete Guide" to focus more on pattern thinking.

I'm making contact with a friend of a friend whose son has AS/HFA and hope to make contact with some local organizations soon, as well. I'll post more questions later with more of a character profile you can comment on. Thanks all!