From a NT's view

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Good point! I never said I was normal for I have OCD/GAD....but still NT meaning not AS.

me too. Until I found this site I thought that everyone perceived things the same as me (which is why I couldn't understand why they couldn't understand my views on things) so I would be really interested in seeing the 'other side' of things.

Sorry for multiple posts, but I had to comment on this (could a moderator remove one of my double post too?) I think this is one of the greatest things us Aspies and other NDs can do to raise awareness, help each other, etc I posted a thread here yesterday about this, specifically blogs, but I didn't explain my point as eloquently as this.

Thanks, a rare moment of clarity through the brain fog. I never know if my writing makes sense to others, it's definitely not something I find easy.

I think the video referred to above is the last embedded youtube in the first post here, although they are all worth watching. If I'm wrong Graham will correct me I'm sure.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp5495960.html

For your double post just edit one down to "Double post" and everyone will skip over it, The Mods are pretty busy here and don't read everything. If you do need their help it's under the "Wrongplant.net discussion' sub forum.

MjrMajorMajor - I too have the constant debate with myself, do I take the tablet and blunt myself, or leave it and be blunt to others. Either option is far from perfect.

Last edited by neilson_wheels on 21 Jul 2013, 10:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yes that is the video I meant! You saved me the trouble of searching it out myself. They are all interesting, but most people agree that the last video is by far the most accurate in terms of the differences. NT's are surprised by what ASD is like, and ASD sufferers have been amazed at how quiet the NT world is!

That's what you guys see and hear all the time? Had no idea, I don't think I've experienced anything like that. The first video made me a little nervous for a second. I can't imagine what you guys feel.

Yeah its surprising how misunderstood each side is because we don't normally get to experience what the other side see's!

It is very exhausting having to cope with that every day, and that is just for Aspergers, Full blown Autism is worse apparently

Yeah, it must be very hard! You guys definitely have my respect. Best wishes!

Totally agree. I did this often and thought the well intentioned people in elementary school who saw the differences in my children were crazy. I also had a boss with AS who told me about it and told me all the symptoms and asked me if I ever noticed that I had them, too? She also told me that New York was full of people who were autistic and did not know it. I was so certain of my own "normality" that I could not hear what she was saying until years later when my son had been diagnosed and I did real research on autism and aspergers.

Between people who think they are NTs but really aren't and people who know they aren't but are not sure which parts of themselves are attributable to autism and which are just part of their humanity, it's not surprising that people make errors in both denying symptoms and mistakenly attributing typical humna behaviors to autism ("is it an Aspie trait to breathe air?")

I'm the same - I didn't even realise I was ASD till my son was diagnosed and his consultant saw similar traits in me! In my case though I was badly abused by my father (physically not sexually) so put all my social phobias and other quirks down to the aftermath of that. And since I already had a plausible explanation for my problems it never occurred to me to look further

Yes, excellent point.

I had to work so hard to figure out what was autism and what might be autism and might not and what was other stuff. I am still not able to really "understand" my social difficulties, or even perceive them. I have spent a lot of time trying to identify them, and have a fairly good list of things I know I do, if not why I do them, and ways to mitigate them if I can, if it seems necessary.

My first year on this forum I spent a lot of time participating in "is this an autistic thing?" threads or posting things about what I experience to see who identified with them. There were occasions I would post a rather specific thing, and it would be mistaken for a more general thing that was not actually what I was talking about, and that was frustrating.

That's what those threads indicate - struggle toward understanding one's self. Some are fairly absurd but I think most are fairly earnest, and I do not see the point of mocking them (as some do) because the people posting them are likely looking for some kind of support, validation, and/or discussion on the topic. More often I see "Is this an autistic/AS thing?" and I do not so often see "this is definitely an autistic/AS thing" posted as a thread.

As far as focusing on one thing at a time, I had to build my own understanding/awareness of being autistic one piece at a time. I had enough pieces to realize that I was probably autistic, but I was missing so many others I was unsure. So any time I caught myself doing something that was remarked as unusual by others, I would post about it here. So, piece by piece, I eventually built up a 'big picture' perspective of how being autistic affects me, and how to talk about it. Of course, it's probably one of the easiest things for me to talk about and I tend to steer conversations into that direction whenever possible, sometimes to my therapist's ... not sure it's annoyance, as we have an agreement to redirect if I go off topic. But sometimes to the point of her intervention.

I really am hoping to work towards getting a schematic together which displays the factors involved in the spectrum.

On a slight tangent to the OP there is a video link below that shows sensory overload. It was featured in a previous post here but I can't remember where.

WARNING: VISUAL AND AUDITORY TRIGGERS ARE SHOWN IN THIS FILM.

CLICK HERE > Sensory Overload (Interacting with Autism Project)

Wow! Thanks for sharing! It helps to see what those with ASD go through. I have never in my life experienced sensory overload, and have probably taken for granted the things my brain can tune out.

This video really shocked me. I just thought everyone hears everything. I know I am easily distracted but I can also process a lot at once which is why it isn't a big issue for me. However, I also realised that a lot of the sounds were not around when I was a child. There were far fewer cars on the road - we had one of about three on the road where I lived. Far fewer noisy domestic appliances. No mobiles, few phones, ambulances etc had bells ....and children were seen and not heard!

I'm able to desensitize myself to a fair degree, but emergency sirens and cars horns are still way too much.

I also use a lot of power tools for work, I can not stand ear plugs and wearing over the head defenders is okay but annoying and hot after a while. I had a break from work in the winter due to depression, when I finally got going again I really struggled with the noise at first.

The first video, from the old thread (NT walk vs. ASD walk) really shocked me when I first saw it. Why? For a funny reason: I've ALWAYS thought there was something wrong with my camera. "I'm taking these photos in direct sunlight. Why do they still look so much darker than in real life?" "Why is this video so dark, and missing everything else that I could hear?" It wasn't until then that I truly put two and two together--"Really? Other people really DON'T hear all of these things? To THAT extent?" The realization is a little befuddling.