"Most people with autism don't crave social interaction"

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Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
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25 Sep 2019, 8:08 am

I heard this quote from my autism specialist counsellor. I think it's utter rubbish. She also told me that she couldn't help me in life even though i'm stuck without a job and friends. I'm thinking she is a terrible counsellor? :( :x



kraftiekortie
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25 Sep 2019, 8:11 am

The statement is true as to only some people with autism.

It is sort of a truism that people with Aspergers desire social interaction—but are awkward in how they seek it.



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25 Sep 2019, 8:17 am

That autism specialist counselor doesn't know very many autistic people, does she?


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Rainbow_Belle
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25 Sep 2019, 8:25 am

People that crave social interaction and make lots of mistakes, more than likely they have ADHD and extroverted personality.
Introverts with Aspergers will avoid social interactions and keep it to a minimum to avoid the negative reaction or shame/humiliation of making mistakes.
Introverts with Aspergers like me have high levels of anxiety and this reduced by minimising social interactions.



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25 Sep 2019, 8:29 am

Yeah, the anxiety aspect can be tough. That's why I use humor to defuse social situations. People don't seem so hostile when they're laughing at your jokes.


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25 Sep 2019, 8:33 am

Rainbow_Belle wrote:
People that crave social interaction and make lots of mistakes, more than likely they have ADHD and extroverted personality.
Introverts with Aspergers will avoid social interactions and keep it to a minimum to avoid the negative reaction or shame/humiliation of making mistakes.
Introverts with Aspergers like me have high levels of anxiety and this reduced by minimising social interactions.


Not always true. I'm introverted, have an official asperger diagnosis and no ADHD, yet I do want to socialize from time to time.

I'd say that an average autistic person yearns for social contact a lot less than an average NT, which makes it seem like we don't want it. That and many of us avoid certain types of social situations not because we don't want to socialize, but because the setting is too overwhelming one way or the other.



firemonkey
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25 Sep 2019, 9:16 am

Rainbow_Belle wrote:
People that crave social interaction and make lots of mistakes, more than likely they have ADHD and extroverted personality.
Introverts with Aspergers will avoid social interactions and keep it to a minimum to avoid the negative reaction or shame/humiliation of making mistakes.
Introverts with Aspergers like me have high levels of anxiety and this reduced by minimising social interactions.


I've never been very proactive when it comes to social interaction. Part of that is as you've described .



kraftiekortie
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25 Sep 2019, 9:21 am

As for me, I yearn interaction with people on sites such as WrongPlanet----more than I crave social interaction "in person."

Many days, I am content with just being alone in my home, talking to people on WrongPlanet.

I used to like CB radios because you can talk to people on the radio, and not have to hang out with them in person. Unfortunately, I never owned a CB radio.



Ashariel
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25 Sep 2019, 9:33 am

I'm like a social camel. I enjoy* it sporadically, but then go months without it.

(*Only with others who understand ASD/PTSD issues)



kraftiekortie
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25 Sep 2019, 9:34 am

A social camel is also a social cactus :P



firemonkey
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25 Sep 2019, 9:48 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
As for me, I yearn interaction with people on sites such as WrongPlanet----more than I crave social interaction "in person."

Many days, I am content with just being alone in my home, talking to people on WrongPlanet.



That puts it well . I'm very much the same .



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25 Sep 2019, 11:04 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
A social camel is also a social cactus :P


I always end end up killing my cacti by watering them too much... literally, but maybe this applies to people as well in my case?



Ashariel
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25 Sep 2019, 11:05 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
A social camel is also a social cactus :P


True, I tend to repel people. It's not intentional, just lack of understanding how to connect.



kraftiekortie
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25 Sep 2019, 11:18 am

I actually didn't mean "cacti" in terms of "repelling" people.

I meant "cacti" more in the sense of their ability, like camels, to go a long time without water.



Ashariel
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25 Sep 2019, 11:25 am

LOL. Well it's fitting, in any case :P



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25 Sep 2019, 12:19 pm

Social Interaction? I'd quite often like more of that.

What I don't crave? People taking my neutral observations as value judgements. People lacking patience when I'm slow to respond. People taking my questions asked out of genuine curiosity or confusion as indicating an opinion. Being expected to express an opinion about subjects about which I know too little to have one. Being excluded, laughed at, or bullied because I don't comprehend or see the sense in in-group stereotypes or shibboleths. Being expected to take sides in petty clashes of egos. Being expected to be social in environments which confound my sensory perceptions. Being dismissed or ignored when I try to explain why I'm struggling with any of these.

None of the above are essential to "social interaction" in its broadest sense; it is specific kinds of social interaction to which I'm averse, not social interaction in principle.


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