What is the most "non-autistic" thing about you?

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Sitting down and going through the diagnostic criteria with the psychologists and psychiatrist (I've been diagnosed twice, officially).

Which of the diagnostic criteria applies to you?

Now? Then?

All of it now; much of it then.

Lack of social/emotional reciprocity (the one sided and lecturing approach to my friends at school)
Lack of nonverbal communication (both ways; showing and understanding)
Lack of sharing things with others (this is the same thing as the first one above; you can see why it's being consolidated)
*Lack of peer relations. Had peer relations as a child. I don't now

The single interest that precludes most other things
The need for routine/sameness
Motor mannerisms
Preoccupation with parts of objects (this changes as one develops. As an adult, I'll fixate on one single object from my interest and focus on that; it's the same thing as a child and liking a single aspect of a toy car)

So, all now, and most of it as a child. Clinically significant impairment and all that.

I had a delay in developing speech as a child (among the others things of Autistic Disorder), so with the DSM-IV-TR, I had to be given that as a label.

For Gillberg's Criteria for AS, I met/meet all of them. I have/had fine motor difficulties (writing, tying laces, holding small objects and whatnot), even though overall I can play sport well.

I love fashion, and looking my best.....I follow some trends
I suck at routines.
I know how to read facial expressions.....for the most part

I'm another person who can taste Aspartame. I cannot abide Diet ANYTHING. YUCK!!
Using the phone is one thing I gradually improved on, over the years. (Though I refuse to get a Cell or text, but that may just be showing my age, not my condition. LOL)

Matt

When I was a kid, every time I drank a fizzy drink, I swallowed it in a way that made it go up my nose. It confused me, plus my mum didn't believe me. Later in life I think I talked to someone who had a similar experience. It took me time to develop a taste for fizzy drinks, but I did. I don't drink the sweetened ones normally, and I ALWAYS drink Pepsi Max, I have one here now.

K, I just checked what's in it, it has Aspartame. But I prefer it to Diet Coke/Diet Pepsi or the regular ones, I don't think one can drink the regular ones after they got used to drinking fizzy drinks with no sugar.

Thank you for the scientific explanation, too.

I pay attention to celebrity culture, especially as it pertains to my favorite celebrities (Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter and Mia Wasikowska).

I like popular music by artists such as Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull and David Guetta.

I look forward to moving into new houses, because I enjoy the novelty of living and sleeping in an unfamiliar place.

I enjoy reading fiction more than nonfiction.

1. routine change-ups don't bother me, I love them!!
2. small talk's too simple for me. I enjoy long conversations
3. my interests are not closely related in any way
4. I worry about the way I look and the way I act before I can even think about my own comfort
5. I like going to parties
6. I almost feel too social (not a good thing)
7. I can pull off not acting autistic so well that I manage to "fit in."
8. I play 2 sports and I dance (I've heard most aspies don't really play sports or dance)
9. crowds fascinate me

These are just the ones I can list off the top of my head

The fact that I've worked as a customer service rep in call centers is probably the least aspie thing about me, I was also a hotel front desk clerk for a few months and a drive-thru cashier off and on for 10 years.

Every job I've ever had involved heavy social contact yet the ones in which the interactions were mostly face-to-face were the ones I could tolerate the most. It seems counte-rintuitive but having customers physically present rather than calling every two seconds gave me the perception of being in control. Of course, one of the call center jobs managed to burn me out to the point of hospitalization and I had to quit another when it proved too stressful.

I also don't have a problem reading facial expressions or tone of voice. Maybe it's because I'm female and lived in a house full of women (My grandmother, mother, and two aunts) for the first four years of my life.