directions out of Aspie toward NT functioning?

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"NT functioning," sometimes, isn't what it's cracked up to be.

I'd rather know a slightly awkward autistic person who has good morals----then a roughneck sort of NT person who goes around bullying people.

Being proficient socially is a very superficial quality.

It's also about acceptance of who you are. Being comfortable in your own skin. Not trying to live vicariously in another type of person that isn't you.

Yet 'Peer pressure' is a heavy NT phenomena. ASD actually means you are more likely to be 'individuated.' Social ostracisation/disconnection. Higher Intellect/analytical ability.

And yet I see peer pressure on WP all the time.

Wow all traits would be proud to be ! And it’s alittle late already been through peer pressure thing and still ended up being me.

I prefer greater management skills functions over whatever auto function anyone claims a skill.

The latter means one cannot explain why they're doing it. It just happens. It's something not to think about.
Kinda like a form of giftedness -- solution just comes, but don't exactly work nor explain any steps to attain and arrive to said solution.
There's a reason why one shouldn't put a hype that a child is gifted or something like that.


I said elsewhere -- not in exact words -- that those without addlements simply left details or steps in between unspoken or unmentioned.

Reminds me of how survivorship bias works.
In society. In this forum...

hey KMCIURA, you're probably right but I think there may be scenarios in which

(a) we do have mirror neurons or something similar and yes we did build an Aspie system because we found the mirror neurons or NT system just was not working. For instance you might have had parents who didn't work on NT - so NT just did not work for you.

and/or

(b) that even when using Aspie systems, a more laid back, relaxed approach - allowing for pauses and gaps in conversation - just gives a better overall outcome in social situations (c.f. full on Aspie systemising, furrowed brow, etc).

I've found the old binary Aspie/NT model is just too simple, too crude - and I think it limits people because they adopt it.

Kant said we just are not able to understand ourselves, we don't have the toolkit. What we can do is be empirical, experiment.

Totally accept it would be frightening to try. I also disclaim any responsibility from trauma etc if try and it causes pain etc..

Last edited by JCJC777 on 15 Feb 2022, 10:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hey KMCIURA again.

Thanks for the post. So much of it is like me.

Like you I used to "I am feeling like my brain is constantly running on highest gear, because I cannot stop analysing all possibilities."

However I found that when I stopped doing that socially,
> the world did not fall apart,
> I did not stop being me,
and, actually,
> sometimes I found it was sort of ok being there. {Was truly shocking}. [Note; I am NOT saying I now like socialising or am good at it. Far from it, in both cases. But I think I can say it is less painful, and I am less bad at it, than I was before.]


Ref. your last para, please see my preceding post.

Last edited by JCJC777 on 15 Feb 2022, 10:48 am, edited 2 times in total.

Apologies Mona Pereth and others, the blog is from years back and the software is now locked I think (ancient google blogspot). I can relist it somewhere but I think the posts here are giving a flavour.

Love that one, how true.

I hear you! I think this is a common issue for late diags.

To be clear and not in my humble opinion but based on many years of peer reviewed literature.
An AS Brain is fundamentally different from a NT brain and in many ways.

There are no hidden tunnels leading to secret chambers of NT-ness.

Because we are born with a different operating system our brains develop in an entirely different way. Sure we can learn to mimic behaviours and adapt to fit in a society which has been designed with NT's in mind.

Plasticity is something we carry on into late adulthood mostly in the grey-matter areas. White-matter is white because of myelination which ultimately serves to hard wire things in place and increase the neural connection efficiency and robustness.

AS Brains generally contain a higher percentage of grey-matter. This is very relevant. It not only suggests as most Aspies already know that we do a lot more cognitive or conscious heavy lifting, but also suggests that our brains should also demonstrate higher levels of plasticity.

The lack of mirror neuron function (if they are present and not working or simply absent) is in my opinion a key factor which sets up a whole sequence of neurological development events.

The Amygdala in NT brains receives a large proportion of its input from the mirror neuron system. So in NT brains the Amygdala develops and grows into late adulthood. It regulates social/emotional behaviour on a subconscious level, being a part of the limbic system.

The Amygdala in AS brains are lacking this input and so over time atrophy through the process of neural pruning. Lacking a functioning Amygdala means that our brains develop a substitutive response and increases its proportion of grey matter to allow for a cognitive / conscious compensatory system.

Many studies using FMRI (functional MRI) have shown that AS brains have a much greater proportion of long neural connections, spanning great distances across many areas of the brain. I suspect this is necessary to facilitate a higher level of compensatory cognitive reasoning.

I completely reject the idea of tapping into hidden secret NT brain structures that are clearly not present in AS brains.

I do advocate for learning to compensate for these missing structures and to get as good at it as possible. There are skills that are prerequisite for a harmonious/functional life in a clearly NT dominated world.

Well... Hmmm. In a way, that would be like telling someone blind at birth (or deaf or mute) "Hey, really- You can SEE, you just have to WANT too, or Teach yourself too." isn't going to work. As far as I am aware, one does not GET "autism" it's genetic and we are born with it or not. The reason the quote "When you've met one Autistic Person, you have met, one autistic person..." (I believe by Dr. Temple Grandin? Please correct me if I am wrong!) is because not all of us ARE the same.

Some may be VERY photosensitive or sensitive to certain sounds. Others not so much so. Some of us think in pictures, some in patterns and some (like me) are very, very aural...My bones and cells will actually harmonize with certain sounds. (Or vice versa- Dis-concordant sounds or overwhelming sounds just can shut down my whole brain even leading to a seizure!) I (as an adult) can take steps like wear earplugs to minimize stress to my sensory system, etc. But again, I am lost about "what less autistic" means?

Autistic BURNOUT..... is a very dangerous and real thing for anyone with ASD. It comes with repeatedly masking symptoms and can cause severe depression or even dangerous other problems.

So, no...We can ADJUST and learn to make sense of the world around us/with our different senses...But we cannot "turn it on or off". If we turn it OFF to much it's called "masking". If we are Making 24/7...It just doesn't work. Trust me on this. And one cannot walk into a room and really be able to easily point out who the autistic people are and who aren't. Everything seems more dramatic and weird under the age of 40. After 50, good grief..everything is old and stable and very little rocks my boat.
WarmlyJackie
Warmly,
Jackie

You're either autistic or you aren't. You can adopt some new social strategies and means of coping when out in the world to help reduce anxiety or stress.
It makes good sense. But, the autism isn't just going to go away. Nor would I want it to. I wouldn't be uniquely me without it, so I'd rather choose to embrace it.

ViVa La Difference …!

This is a very dangerous idea in my opinion.

Firstly, it completely ignores years of scientific research showing that AS brains are physically different in many ways, as I have posted above.

Secondly, it offers false hope to those struggling with their situation and nullifies their legitimate problems while dismissing the possibility of real-world solutions. It's akin to how the whole pharma industry works, "Here, just take the red pill and everything will be alright."

Thirdly, It plays into the hands of many pseudo-science fraudsters who claim they can heal anything from homosexuality to diabetes and aspergers through simply buying their very expensive herbal remedies, books, online courses and the likes.

We are the way we are! The first step to dealing with Aspergers is to accept who and what we are, what limitations come with that and how best to realistically deal with those shortcomings.
But perhaps more importantly, to look at which advantages having such a unique brain brings and how to leverage that in life.