greenturtle74’s Cartoon Guide to Asperger’s

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That's amazing! People ask me what autism is and I never know how to explain it, this is a very good way!

this is brilliant! thank you

cute comic!
you draw it yourself ?

That came out really awesome greenturtle! *thumbs up*

I'm undiagnosed - but your comic strip seems to be about ME! Even kind of answers a question I just posted in 'general discussion' about being distracted ! !

But one thing about aspies that I don't seem to recognise in myself is the whole special subject thing ie. washing machines. I don't think I have this.

I have a strange combination of practical and logical skills all mixed in with irrational child like behaviour. I wish I could draw a cartoon that could sum this up!

These are awesome. I especially love the pepperoni one! They describe my son to a T!

Wow this really describes me to a T. And the "faceblindness" is something I've always dealt with. I can't tell you how many times someone I work with or have become close to would show up out of context somewhere and say my name, and I'd just stand there staring at them. A minute later I'd ask, "Do I know you?" Only to be met with a look of shock, disbelief, and rejection. The better ones would tell me their name, and then suddenly I'm in the Twilight Zone, transported out of one dimension and into another, and I realize who they are and wonder for the life of me how I wasn't able to see it a moment ago.

Oh and the social interaction DRAINING the energy rather than revitalizing it. Holy cow. I dread having to deal with others for this exact reason. Yet I'm always looking at others interact endlessly and with little effort and then walking away from the events charged with zest and and full of powwow. Meanwhile I'm scratching my way home on all fours like I've just been through a gang-bang. Really strange.

And the Honesty bit. It's not just honesty, if we're talking about the same thing, it's an unyielding sense of integrity that in my case is well recognized.

This is a very interesting article. The more I read here the more I relate to everything that's said. I wonder if "I've got it?"

Green turtle, YOU ROCK.

Perfect

Quote > 'Some say it is a gift, and even vital to human evolution'.

Who says this and why?

Thank you for posting this.

@greenturtle74:
you should make a screensaver from it!

Good work.

The crowds and noisy places cartoon raises an important issue.

Just a thought, but how do people who are blind or deaf/hard of hearing cope in these environments? How can they navigate their ways around these public spaces with all of the disorientating disembodied voices and loud noises? It must be very confusing and frustrating. It's easy to confuse a radio announcer's voice with a cashier's voice in these situations. It is difficult to communicate with others above the din. It's also harder to think and do mental arithmetic (adding up mentally how much your purchases will cost) when there is a disembodied diva with almost goddess status wailing in your ear.

I'm not blind or hard of hearing myself (if anything, my hearing is super acute, which makes the cacophony all the more painful for me), but I can kind of appreciate the stress and confusion.

There have been a number of occasions at airports where I either had difficulty communicating with the staff or collapsed/melt down due to the stress of having to listen to vocalised Muzak while trying to navigate my way through. I am not exaggerating. I now have a fear of airports because of the confusion the extra (often unnecessary) noise causes me.

I can kind of understand why airports/service stations play recorded music everywhere even in the toilets and bombard people with visually assaulting adverts. I can also kind of appreciate why different shops/cafes in the airport play different music within a few feet of each other that overlaps into a cacophony. It's Money with a capital M. In places of mass transit, many people are forced to gather. Many people equals lots of money making opportunities for businesses. I suppose they think that more musical bombardment equates to more sales? Never mind if the excess noise hurts people, the businesses need money.

Some cosmetic/chemist shops near where I live are horrible. I can't go in there unaccompanied because the disembodied voices announcements on special offers and the vocalised dance music are so disorientating. The woman on the shops' own brand radio sounded like a strangled parakeet talking about soap operas, football and celebrities. I don't know how people can shop or work in places like this with their sanity still intact.

This why I'm scared of shopping and indeed why I now buy most of my cosmetics in a quiet grocer shop or online. This is also why I find clothes shopping impossible.

Please understand that I enjoy dance music used in the right context (at the disco for example). Popular music can also ease the boredom for me on long car or coach journeys where I'm sitting down and listening quietly. I enjoy some popular music songs in films. However, I don't enjoy being bombarded with loud vocal music with a strong thudding beat in a public place. This confuses me. It makes it more difficult for me to communicate and hear what's going on. Am I here to shop or boogey on down? It's confusing because the music is out of its context.

I like piped music and sounds if they're soothing, relaxing and not vocally thudding. The ambience of my local garden centre is enhanced by piped birdsong right by the birdseed!
Sound in the right context! Also the rainforest/rain sounds near the tropical plants section relaxes me. I enjoyed a visit to an aquarium that was playing soothing ambient marine style music (no people singing) and came out feeling refreshed and happy.

I also enjoy live acoustic music of buskers in busy areas and also live music in cafes.

It's not that I don't like music. I like listening to music to relax and I enjoy making music.
I just don't like being bombarded with recorded music against my will in busy crowded public places where I need all of my senses and internal resources to concentrate.

This isn't just about my acquiring "better coping skills" in Muzak polluted public places. I actually find it very difficult to sort the real life voices from the radio voices/singers. Hence this impairs my functioning and communication. Remove the unnecessary radio/vocalised Muzak from crowded places and my functioning will improve. I will also be less confused, worn out and stressed. A lot of other people may benefit from the reduced noise too.

AmberEyes, I can relate to all you described. I grocery shop once a week and inevitably something gets me riled up, whether a song gets stuck in my head, or bumping into people and their carts, or whatever. I don't get the need for background music, really, I don't get it at all, but my opinion doesn't count.