Im ret*d

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That takes lots of cognitive ability (and executive function) to operate.

Not so much executive function as it is very routine. I have enough scripts in my head for various situations that most of them are routine as well. The areas of executive function where I have difficulty simply are not used for the most part.

I don't have to remember much of anything except to check my phone for new dispatches when I get done with the one I'm on, though there have been times that my executive function has even affected that making think I was done when I wasn't because they made a change. They h9ad previously given me an off duty befor I had finished that run but by the time I finished that run they had changed thier mind & I got ready to go home without checking for a new dispatch on my phone. That & inputting times on my phone which I'm fairly bad at remembering & that is a part of executive function.

The major stuff is so routine I for the most part don't even have to think about it.

Last edited by germanium on 05 Feb 2016, 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

You can tell you're on an aspie forum when a troll thread creates 3 pages of responses lol.

While the OP may or may not have been a troll post it does represent quite accurately the way some of us feel about ourselves & our abilities at least it does for me as I have struggled with these issues throughout my 58 years of life. Yes I still struggle with these thoughts & experiences related to ASD.

I think it's a pretty good accomplishment that you became a truck driver despite having Asperger's.

Like I said, I would have to have lots of training in order to learn to drive a truck. And I'm not stupid, by any means!

Every time I hear an ad, say, for Walmart truckers, I feel tempted to apply (even though I work two jobs!) I don't know about Walmart as an employer; but one good thing about this position is that they do the truck maintenance for you.

When I was 15, I used to fantasize about going cross country on a truck, talking on the CB, trying to pick up chicks, going to truck stops to pick up chicks, and sleeping in my truck. I like the isolation aspect of being in the truck cab--though I do like human contact via radio. I like that better than talking to people in person.

What helps me tremendously is my very high mechanical comprehension as it allows me for example to come up with ways to compensate for my less than stellar coordination. That may sound strange to you but it actually did work for me as shifting the way we were taught in truck driving school produced shifts that though we're acceptable were quite rough & actually hurt my arms due to all the vibration when you ended up grinding gears.

I found for myself eliminating the use of the clutch for shifting combined with a mental analysis of the whole drive train & suspension as that also has an effect on how the drive train works allowed me to come up with methods that allowed me to shift extremely smooth to the point that if you were riding with me with your eyes closed you might not even be able to tell I shifted.

One time I had another driver ride with me & he made that very comment that he didn't even know I had shifted even though I had already shifted 7 times.

Eliminating the use of the clutch for shifting got rid of that one more thing that I would have to coordinate so I only had to coordinate the throttle & the gear shifter instead of the throttle, clutch & shifter. Even if you use the clutch you are still using the throttle to help match the RPM to the road speed & the gear your going into.

That's clever!

It doesn't matter how you deliver the loads--as long as you deliver them with the truck still standing!

Your method probably puts less stress on the truck's transmission.

For the record, when I worked residential, "MR" was still a common term used among us front-line workers. I worked residential from 2009 until 2013. Now I have a Masters, and I still see clinical professionals using "MR," although Developmentally Delayed or Intellectually disabled is becoming more common. As much as I hate that word being in the lexicon, it does not sting as much as "special" for some reason.

As for the OP, I totally understand. When I have to ask a coworker or a friend to spell things out for me several times until it clicks or I misunderstand social cues, I definitely feel like a dumb butt.

Yes, MR is used in nursing forms, but not Mentally ret*d. Sometimes written as MRDD.

"Special" seems kind of backhanded. It can be used to refer to a "positive" or "negative" kind of "special", so it comes out as condescending in this context.

To me mentally ret*d and intellectually disabled mean the same thing.
I don't put any insult into ret*d, and I often use the word ret*d because it is shorter and easier to type.
Unfortunately, I don't see the stigma of being ret*d decreasing in future, even if people avoid using the word.

I've always had that oddness of being able to do really big things and totally fail at the simple or social things. I can read through reams of programming but fail at forms. Sometimes I spend more time trying to figure out what is being asked of me on tests than actually finding the solution. I can get up and teach a class but I can't carry on a social conversation to save my life That sort of thing.

mebbe C.D. [Cognitively Diminished] would be a friendlier-sounding term? [than MR]

I saw an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio about his character Arnie in What's Eating Gilbert Grape around the time it came out. The interviewer was saying the character was autistic, but DiCaprio insisted that Arnie was "mentally ret*d".

Of course many with severe autism are also intellectually disabled.

Loved the character Arnie. Did remind me of some kids in my school.

I did too. Leonardo DiCaprio is a really skilled actor.

Did you ever see "I am Sam"? I worked in a developmental home when I was in HS (almost 40 years ago). I knew a man just like the main character. But, in those days, that level of cognitive disability usually meant you would live in a home only. Things have changed a lot.

He drew in perfect perspective. I would do dances there at nights (two turntables and no microphone) and he would sit with me and there was not a record I played that he did not know the words to. Just an absolutely sweet person.