pass as NT

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I think I'll try that one day.

I can pass as NT half the time, and only when I feel that it's possible. Otherwise, I'm just that geeky kid who tics and spaces out a bunch.

Can I pass as NT? It depends on the situation I am in.

For example, when I met a famous Aspie when he was in Portland several years ago, he didn't believe me when I said to him that I was an Aspie.

Another example, when I met one of my favorite actors a few years ago, I came off as more NT than Aspie because I was nervous beyond belief.

Who was the famous aspie?

I can pass for normal for a few minutes, like when I'm in a cab, I can talk like normal because I know I'm only going to be stuck with the driver for a few minutes and then, I'm never going to see them again but if I have to spend longer with anyone I don't know well (i.e. not family), it becomes terribly obvious I'm not normal and can't stand to be with them. I just never got used to humans.

I can pull the same trick! And sometimes I can keep up the pretence for more than a few minutes.

But the OP said that people do not recognise his/her differences even though the differences are obvious. This doesn't make sense, and we need a bit more information.

I agree! If the differences are obvious, how could they not recognize it? Maybe the OP just thinks they don't notice??

Maybe people think his differences are his personality but they don't know it's due to a condition. For example, people might think someone with AS is rude and cold and doesn't care about others because they don't even know they have AS. They may also think that person is just shy or arrogant.

Shy, arrogant, rude, cold, non-caring - who is qualified to say whether these characteristics are symptomatic of a 'condition', or whether they are simply 'personality traits'?

Yeah and your grammar is awful as well.

*It's instead of its, the latter is the possessive form. And you used then when you should have used than.

I don't care about other people's grammar except my own. I do get a bit annoyed when people put down other people's grammar but don't notice their own mistakes.

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This. The main reason I basically pass for NT because people assume my traits are just personality traits, rather than symptoms of a disorder or neurological condition.

The most obvious or noticeable trait I have, that people comment on more than anything else, is that I'm a quiet person. And I think being very quiet make it easier for people to just imagine whatever they want to think about you. So they might think I'm being stuck up, or shy, or rude, or who knows what.

I don't think anyone catches on for instance that I have problems with auditory processing, because it just doesn't occur to them. They might think I am a little hard of hearing, or more likely that I'm absentminded or spacey, or worse that I'm ignoring them. But even if I explain it to someone, they forget about it, or they just don't understand what I'm talking about.

No one realizes that I might have an actual disorder, unless/until they see me have a meltdown. And then they just think I'm "crazy."

I pass for normal in short periods if I have enough lines in my head to tell people, or if I'm talking to them about a work related topic I do alright. I think the longer I am observed by one person or a group however it soon becomes clear to them that there is something off about me because usually someone mentions that I am different somehow but they can't tell what it is or that I'm definitely unique in some way.

Since spending the last year or two treating myself and reducing/eliminating symptoms I can pass for NT quite well. Someone would have to be quite well versed in ASD to pick up on the subtle little things about me that indicate I am on the spectrum.

My question to you would be - "have you eliminated your symptoms, or have you merely hidden them?"

What is the distinction between 'passing for NT', and 'becoming NT'?

Do you 'feel' like an NT, or are you content to be able to 'appear' like an NT?

If you are able to integrate yourself into an NT way of life, and feel content, then I wish you well. My own greatest desire would be to become an NT, but I understand that it will never happen.

My autistic traits were always picked up by others and I got made fun of because of them. Especially my stimming, which everyone found very bizarre. Also my behaviour in social situations. I have a lot of odd tics as well that people mention to me. So a lot of people think I'm autistic or that I have something else going on, without disclosing my diagnosis.

Also my educational problems were huge and glaring, alongside my very poor social integration. Which I think is typical for people on the autistic spectrum, in fact, it's what defines us. So autism should always be noticed, without people thinking they're just personality traits.

It always gets picked up. So maybe people are being polite to OP, or maybe his traits do go overlooked. But he was diagnosed, so I doubt they were. Unfortunately mine never did.

Actually I shouldn't say I disagree, but I don't think most HFAs go unnoticed.

Edit* worded better.

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Last edited by Acedia on 22 Jun 2014, 5:11 pm, edited 4 times in total.

My symptoms are either eliminated or minimized. They're not hidden as in I'm just better able to fake not having them. I either do not have them or they're so minimal that others won't notice and they don't really tend to impact my life very much at all. I notice small symptoms here and there and can then make a conscious effort to correct them.

Passing could be being able to fake NT, but knowing full well that you're ASD and it's absolutely mentally exhausting to put up an NT charade that you can't sustain permanently. That would be passing, IMO. Maybe for a few minutes or a few hours, but there's no way you could sustain it forever w/o managing to actually eliminate/minimize your symptoms. Becoming NT.. hmm, difficult to say. I think if I were to take some tests I might score more highly as NT than ASD so by some metrics I may be considered NT, but I know that I still have ASD traits even if they're undetectable by most others. I don't think I have strong enough ASD symptoms to be officially diagnosed with ASD anymore, especially since the subtle symptoms I do have do not greatly impact my life.

I definitely feel a lot more NT than ever. I'm a lot more "in synch," with others and many social/communication things that were somewhat of a mystery before are now intuitive. It's been a gradual change. It's a lot more apparent to me how much I have changed when I am around other ASD people who have not done what I have done and have not changed. Their symptoms become glaringly obvious to me. Sometimes they're annoying. Sometimes I pick up on the fact that there are things that if they were not so ASD and more NT that they ought to have intuitively known or picked up on, but they've completely missed the mark because of their ASD symptoms. Meanwhile I am now in a state where I intuitively realize these things and am much better able to navigate the social world than ever, without feeling nervous/anxious/mentally exhausted etc.

I've been able to integrate myself into the NT world better than ever. Work/life/finances etc are all improving for it. And never say never.. what's worked tremendously for me could work for you and others. Click and read the link in my signature and you'll see exactly what I've done to improve myself in all of these ways and more. Some here think I'm full of s**t, but I like to point out that just because they don't believe me doesn't make me a liar. Regardless of what anyone here thinks, I'm happier/healthier/wealthier and so on for having done this & thus I have no regrets about it and am continuing on working away at my various goals in life vs. allowing ASD to continue to frustrate & hinder me.