Write your 3 positives about being on the spectrum

Post Reply New Topic

Here are mine:

being on the spectrum -

helps me understand, support and guide my children and grandchildren as they face difficulties that I faced;

sharpened my affinity with the natural world and animals particularly;

endowed me with analytical, observational and writing skills that have been of immense practical, personal and professional value.

I've only recently been formally diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, so I'm still working out what I think about life on the spectrum (and what is or isn't a trait) but here goes:

Being on the spectrum:

Makes me very observant, analytical and able to notice things that others miss.

Enables me to empathise with other people on the margins of 'normality'

And like B19 above, it gives me a real affinity with animals. I seem to read their moods better than most and am able to make friends with cats and dogs which their owners say never warm to strangers.

1. I have excellent written expression abilities. I can use writing as a way to express myself.
2. I can listen to things using my ears. I don't have to be watching something to know what is going on.

I could only name two of them. D: I tried to think of a third one, but it was really hard.

I have an appreciation for music that has taking a lot of alone time to cultivate, because I had that time during my youth to cultivate that appreciation.

I feel a lot of empathy for people who are different from the mainstream.

I'm not afraid to be myself.

1. I have excellent practical problem solving skills. I used this skill today at work to solve a problem others were having difficulty with and someone asked, "Who thought of that? That's a really good idea." When I was pointed out I replied, "Well, I'm not autistic for nothing!" And everyone laughed. The thing is, the solution seems really obvious to me.
2. I have excellent written communication skills. People often come to me for help with writing or they ask me how to word professional correspondence. I've been told my writing is very clear and organised.
3. I'm exceedingly patient. I can wait out anything. I can suffer fools endlessly. I can put up with discomfort indefinitely. I have the patience to work with young people who are non-verbal and very low functioning.

I particularly admire your patience, as it is not a plus that I have yet achieved!

For me, a NOSie, I would say: abstract intelligence, concentration, energy, and dedication for subjects of interest. However, due to the negatives of having autism, these plusses tend to fall a bit.

I have a pretty good memory

That's pretty much the only one I can ascribe to the ASD (good rote memory).

I have many cat mannerisms.

1. I could use my experiences being autistic to understand others who are autistic.

2. Now I have an excuse to read my book, rather than float around like a social butterfly.

3. My ideas float around in a peripheral sense, thereby attracting what is within that "periphery." Through osmotic
processes, the core of my being, as a result, becomes enhanced.

Weird I'm in the middle of composing a blog post on this about the positives I find in my sons autism

1- He will never be boring. I think it must be absolutely dreadful to have child that's a bit dull and uninteresting. I'm sure most people manage to convince themselves that their kids are really interesting but lets face it the law of averages dictates that most kids are pretty average and somewhat uniform. My son will never in a million years ever be described as uninteresting. He's fascinating, enigmatic and just, well, a very interesting little chap.

2- He's a cat not a dog. Most kids are like eager puppies desperate for adult attention. Its pretty easy to engage with children, you just get down on their level and muck about a bit and they lap it up. No so with my boy. You need to work for it with him, if you are not making enough of an effort to get into his world he will just ignore you like an aloof cat. But if you do get in to his world then he will reward you with affection and incredible levels of contact. This makes it so much more rewarding. Most kids are just attention whores and I love the fact that my son is a cat not a dog.

3- He is pure. Even at the age of 4 1/2 most kids have learned to be nasty, mean and how to manipulate others. I see this already in my NT 2 year old already. But my eldest does not have this malice or cunning. This is a wonderful and beautiful thing as it gives him a purity of spirit that we only really see in babies and toddler. At the same time this makes him very vulnerable to his more cunning peers. But I love the fact that with him there is not deciet, what you see is what you get, if he is upset he cries if he is happy he smiles. He never tries to manipulate anyone because I don't think it even occurs to him to try! Contrast this with his younger brother, who is already a master of playing one parent off against the other or being an absolute angel for his grandma and then turning utterly vile as soon as I turn up!

No doubt you have your reasons, DevilKisses.

I found it a pretty exact description of one of my twin grandsons, aged 7. His fraternal twin brother is NT. They are cat and dog. The "cat" still has a beautiful innocence, and lack of guile; the little "dog" has become cunning and you can see the strategising going on in his head toward the main chance. Their smiles reflect this difference too. There is a gentleness in one that the other never really had.