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Not wanting friends

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RottenSalami
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04 Feb 2011, 1:06 pm

Amidst the usual claptrap you come across when you look into the autism literature, I thought I read somewhere that what's popularly known as Asperger's and high functioning autism aren't interchangeable. That Asperger's people want to be more sociable but don't know how to be, whereas the just plain autistic crowd aren't that interested in other people and can't fake it. Maybe I just imagined that and they really are interchangeable, but I consider myself one of the latter.



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04 Feb 2011, 1:44 pm

RottenSalami wrote:
Amidst the usual claptrap you come across when you look into the autism literature, I thought I read somewhere that what's popularly known as Asperger's and high functioning autism aren't interchangeable. That Asperger's people want to be more sociable but don't know how to be, whereas the just plain autistic crowd aren't that interested in other people and can't fake it. Maybe I just imagined that and they really are interchangeable, but I consider myself one of the latter.

ASD and Asperger's Syndrome are the same thing. Some with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder have more of a need to be with people and socialize, depending on variables in the individual's life.
Perhaps an ASD can make one predisposed to a solitary lifestyle, but doesn't guarantee felicity in hermitage.



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04 Feb 2011, 1:50 pm

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
RottenSalami wrote:
Amidst the usual claptrap you come across when you look into the autism literature, I thought I read somewhere that what's popularly known as Asperger's and high functioning autism aren't interchangeable. That Asperger's people want to be more sociable but don't know how to be, whereas the just plain autistic crowd aren't that interested in other people and can't fake it. Maybe I just imagined that and they really are interchangeable, but I consider myself one of the latter.

ASD and Asperger's Syndrome are the same thing. Some with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder have more of a need to be with people and socialize, depending on variables in the individual's life.
Perhaps an ASD can make one predisposed to a solitary lifestyle, but doesn't guarantee felicity in hermitage.


I thought ASD stood for Autistic Spectrum Disorder thereby including Asperger's, Kanner's, PDD-NOS etc.



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04 Feb 2011, 1:59 pm

Aimless wrote:
ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
RottenSalami wrote:
Amidst the usual claptrap you come across when you look into the autism literature, I thought I read somewhere that what's popularly known as Asperger's and high functioning autism aren't interchangeable. That Asperger's people want to be more sociable but don't know how to be, whereas the just plain autistic crowd aren't that interested in other people and can't fake it. Maybe I just imagined that and they really are interchangeable, but I consider myself one of the latter.

ASD and Asperger's Syndrome are the same thing. Some with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder have more of a need to be with people and socialize, depending on variables in the individual's life.
Perhaps an ASD can make one predisposed to a solitary lifestyle, but doesn't guarantee felicity in hermitage.


I thought ASD stood for Autistic Spectrum Disorder thereby including Asperger's, Kanner's, PDD-NOS etc.

Yeah, they are all part of the Spectrum of Autism ;)



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04 Feb 2011, 2:09 pm

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
Aimless wrote:
ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
RottenSalami wrote:
Amidst the usual claptrap you come across when you look into the autism literature, I thought I read somewhere that what's popularly known as Asperger's and high functioning autism aren't interchangeable. That Asperger's people want to be more sociable but don't know how to be, whereas the just plain autistic crowd aren't that interested in other people and can't fake it. Maybe I just imagined that and they really are interchangeable, but I consider myself one of the latter.

ASD and Asperger's Syndrome are the same thing. Some with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder have more of a need to be with people and socialize, depending on variables in the individual's life.
Perhaps an ASD can make one predisposed to a solitary lifestyle, but doesn't guarantee felicity in hermitage.


I thought ASD stood for Autistic Spectrum Disorder thereby including Asperger's, Kanner's, PDD-NOS etc.

Yeah, they are all part of the Spectrum of Autism ;)


I must have read you wrong. I thought you were saying AS=ASD rather than AS is a part of ASD. Carry on. :salut: :)



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04 Feb 2011, 2:16 pm

Huh? ASD does equal AS or Kanner's or PDD-NOS.. All of those are an ASD...



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04 Feb 2011, 3:01 pm

I don't suppose the therapist would consider online friends to be real friends, eh? I like having online friends more than having face-to-face friends, because they are much easier to deal with that way. I would feel lonely if I didn't have that though; online friends satisfy my need for social interaction. Even they can make me feel overwhelmed though if they are the persistent, needy kind.



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04 Feb 2011, 9:49 pm

A couple of years ago when I went to a therapist, I told her that I had imaginary friends. She asked me if I had any real friends, and I said no. Then she asked me if I wanted any real friends, and I said no. Then she said she didn't believe me and that deep down I was probably very lonely, which wasn't true at all.

Although I would still be perfectly content without friends, I actually have made one within the past year. She is one of my mom's coworkers who is a year younger than me. There was an instantaneous connection between us from the moment we met, and we've grown very close within the few months that we've known each other.



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04 Feb 2011, 10:07 pm

RottenSalami wrote:
Amidst the usual claptrap you come across when you look into the autism literature, I thought I read somewhere that what's popularly known as Asperger's and high functioning autism aren't interchangeable. That Asperger's people want to be more sociable but don't know how to be, whereas the just plain autistic crowd aren't that interested in other people and can't fake it.


I think I heard that too... :?

As for me. I had one friend until I was 13 or 14. The few friendships I aquired in highschool turned out to be very superficial. Now I have two close friends. I think people are always trying to take advantage of me. Maybe I'm just paranoid.


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05 Feb 2011, 8:10 am

I'm the same. I used to pretend I liked being with these people because it was normal to have social interactions and be able to say you had friends. Then I realized I actually didn't like these people at all, and the idea of seeing them was just a chore, and I felt like crap afterwards. So I stopped.
I thought I wanted friends, because once I got out of my own world and into the real one a bit more, I'd meet interesting and worthwhile people - but I didn't. I've met a lot of people recently - none of whom I'd want any kind of friendship with. I'm just too different to be compatible. I have one good friend, whom I've known since I was born who is also a family member. Really, she's all I need in the way of socializing. Maybe we're missing out - maybe we just think that because if you differ from the norm in this society, you must be wrong.



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05 Feb 2011, 3:37 pm

I feel like the possible positives are outweighed by the negatives- The exhaustion of interaction, feeling pressure to be someone that doesn't make them uncomfortable..... Maybe I've just not had a lot of luck mixing with people that I can be more myself around. There are only a couple of people that I've ever met that I felt I may be able to be myself.



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05 Feb 2011, 3:43 pm

For the most part, I do not want much to do with any of my peers; however, there are a select few that I can think of that I wouldn't mind being a "friend" to. (Or, I already consider them my friend.)
I would not desire friendship with a very, very large majority of teenagers, though.
According to the Wikipedia definition of "friendship", however, I have no friends whatsoever. I like to think that I have a few, though.