What having Aspergers has done in your life. (Good or Bad)

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bad
-sensory overload and fear of crowds
-difficulty interacting with/understanding people, sometimes trouble understanding nonverbal communication
-conflict with people due to above, as well as anxiety and losing relationships partly due to above.
- rigidity/stubbornness/ difficulty adapting to change
-skin picking (I do it as a stim and can't stop even though it's damaging my skin a lot)
- immaturity
-executive functioning trouble, disorganization, trouble prioritizing (sometimes reading my novels and fantasizing about the world inside them is more important to me than holding down a job, supporting myself being independent etc.) -I'm scared about my ability to prioritize long-term.

good
-very good concentration/freedom from distractability when interested
-good attention to detail
-good memory for facts

Apparently, from what I'm hearing lately on this board, if you think it brings anything positive you don't have it and are only a nerd trying to be "cool" by having a disorder. See? I learn!

Good:
-I can hyper focus on things I'm interested in
-I have a lot of patience
-I have a calm manner to me
-I'm a deep thinker
-I'm detail oriented
-I'm observant
-I'm open-minded
-I try not to judge people
-I understand a lot of things about mental issues and learning disabilities
-I don't get really hyper like a lot of people do
-I don't believe in certain social norms
-I'm pretty fair
-I'm usually on time for everything
-good planner/organizer


Bad:
-I have a hard time making friends
-I have a hard time keeping friends
-I have a hard time trying to guess what people are feeling in certain situations and then acting appropriately
-if I become hyper focused on something, I may procrastinate on doing important things
-sometimes I do things that when I think back seem inappropriate
-I have a hard time showing my emotions
-I have a hard time dealing with my emotions
-I have horrible social anxiety
-stimming
-poor fine motor skills
-central auditory processing disorder
-shutdowns
-meltdowns
-disassociation
-low self-esteem
-hard time working with other people at a job
-can't do small talk or have a proper conversation depending on the person
-I don't fare well in crowds
-I have to have some kind of routine
-messy

Good:

- I can learn about something in a very deep way forming what I believe to be more accurate and more helpful conclusions/opinions
- My difficulties with communication have motivated me to want to help others be better at such an important skill (NTs have issues too)
- I can think for myself, whether it goes with the flow or against it. I am not easily "brainwashed".
- I have a lot of integrity, and people appreciate this
- I have a sense of empathy for all types of people and am more drawn to wanting to help those that struggle in Life
- I am forced to have to think of different ways of approaching things, on top of a natural skill for this
- I am a very loyal friend
- I have a massive curiosity for Life and knowledge, giving me hope and a reason to keep living
- By overcoming my problems, it makes me better suited for helping others overcome their own
- My strength in being able to stand tall in my "differences"
- Feeling in touch with my "inner child" - i.e. being a big kid! Means I can still have fun in silly ways, including connecting with my Son
- Good at spelling and grammar
- Good at making people use their brains and think, because often what I say to them, they have never thought of before

Bad

- Each conversation is a struggle to communicate, though I will never give up
- My hypersensitivity and intense reactions to sensory/social overload, misunderstandings, false accusations
- Not being able to control my emotional reactions as well as I would like just yet
- People rarely understand me, it is very frustrating, particularly because they often misinterpret me in a negative way
- My hyperfocus on special interests gets in the way of me getting on with tasks I am meant to be doing
- My disorganised brain makes it hard for me to simplify, prioritise, and stick to task, and it makes me messy
- My immense need for alone time in order to let my brain finish processing everything that came in during the day/s
- Greater difficulties with social networking, which impacts on my career
- Not being able to find many people who I can connect with. Either they find me too strange, or I find it too hard to talk with them
- Finding myself in many an argument
- People finding me too "intense"
- Constantly confused about other people and the way the World works in a way of "why on earth do people choose to be like that!!??"
- Fear of other people's emotions - not being able to identify them, hence a fear of unpredictability.
- Slow at processing stuff. Though this can sometimes be a good thing, as perhaps it helps me to process things more thoroughly than others
- Not good at knowing how to "market" my business to appeal to NTs
- Not good at doing more than one thing at a time (multitasking)

Ruin it

You shall SEE in the coming, years. A return, a blast from the past, a revival of the nerd is coming, soon.

There is documented proof in the ICD THAT Social Reciprocity Disorder(SRD) =Aspergers.
There is a similar definition in the DSM called Social Communication Disorder(SCD).

So, far both definitions are eerily similar to popular culture's ideal of a nerd.

*be sure to take notice of Wikipedia's: Medical and mental disorders and overall description

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd

So, we make a leap, a projection IF you will.

SRD=SCD=Aspergers=NERD

The psychiatric medicalization of NERD.



TheSunAlsoRises

TheSunAlsoRises

The Good
1) Good autobiographical memory
2) Detail Oriented
3) Being able to think outside the box
4) Strong visual abilities - think in pictures
5) Very good at math before you hit Pre-Calc
6) Good analytical abilities
7) Being able to absorb lots of information on topics of interest
Good listener, good at holding "deeper" more meaningful conversations.
9) Loyal friend

The Bad
1) Auditory Processing Disorder- poor auditory memory
3) Inability to naturally socialize- social rigidity and awkwardness
4) Rigid black/white thinking
5) Never sure about social situations
6) Did not have friends until I was 18
7) Lack of emotional control
Random odd tendecies
9) Very insecure socially (social anxiety)
10) Poor spelling/ grammer
11) Social/emotional immaturity
13) Suck at small talk, has a hard time moving past purposeful driven conversations
12) Cannot social network very well
13) Obsessive and overly analytical
14) Can be rather tactless and inappropriate at times

I will add more once I think of more

Good
Incredibly good long term memory
Perfect vision in a family where EVERYONE (even as babies in some cases) on both sides wears glasses
Expert navigator (would be a great tour guide or taxi driver if it wasn't for being introverted)
Extremely good at my job because I can remember details 99% of the population cannot
The 'go to' person at work because of my unique attention to detail
Very good at visualizing things
Extremely fast learner and open minded
Can usually tell right away if a solution is right or wrong
High "Fluid" Intelligence and able to challenge norms
Not afraid to go against the flow
Great at dealing with seniors and an absolute pro with children (as a single male at that!)
Almost incorruptible integrity, honesty and loyalty and a very dedicated team member even with my quirks

Bad
Emotional immaturity
Poor eye contact
Very fussy eater
No close friends even though well liked and respected
Never had a girlfriend or even any female companionship
Incredibly naive growing up
Severely bullied bordering on torture
Either lack of confidence or (when I know I'm right) extreme arrogance
Over-think/over-analyze EVERYTHING
Obsessive about interests
Can be seen as selfish and inflexible due to my social blindness
Terrible at getting conversations, friendships, dates, etc going
Poor posture
Meltdowns/shutdowns (can be quite embarrassing)
Years behind most in social situations (which makes me seem immature in general or mentally ret*d)

Good things:

Long-term Memory
Sympathy level
Detail magnet
(I know it doesn't apply to all, but it does to me) Good spelling/grammar

... plenty of other things already mentioned.

Bad things:

Being viewed as sick or ret*d by the ignorant
Having to explain my actions and the way I think
Picky eater (not as bad as it used to be, but are things I will NEVER eat)
Procrastinating over little things
Taking things literally when they're really a joke/figurative
Naturally introverted
Hypersensitivity (mostly with vision and hearing, sometimes with touch)
Not able to multi-task (not that multi-tasking is possible to begin with, believe what you will, but it's impossible to do two things that require the same level of attention span at the same time)