"identifying too much with autism"

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I wrote books on a freelance basis. Currently that is not an option because of too many missed deadlines. I do have other options in that regard, but I have not been able to make them pan out.

I am currently in the process of applying for SSI.



I've had therapy, although it has not helped quite as much as I hoped it would. I have been trying to learn to do things that I know are difficult for me (such as many activities of daily living) and work them into my routine. I cook many of my meals in an oven rather than a microwave now, which is a nice change of pace. Still working on other things like cleaning and laundry and essentially everything that doesn't involve taking apart, assembling, or using computers.

And maybe trying to write again.

Anyway, I am sorry for stating my point badly and in a way that offended you. I was not trying to say you were deliberately being condescending or antagonizing, and I was relying on a formulaic way to describe what I saw in your post. Clearly, that was the wrong approach. I did not set out to upset or insult anyone, and I am again sorry that I did upset you.

Last edited by Verdandi on 22 Jan 2013, 6:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I am not sure "obsessed" is the correct term. For a brief period of time I posted a lot of posts here (about six months). I still post somewhat frequently, but the majority of my activity on the internet is actually elsewhere.

I tend to accumulate high post counts everywhere. I like to discuss things.



This clarifies things, thank you.



I tend to focus on logic and thus logical fallacies because it gives discussion a structure I am comfortable with. I could not see how someone could say "focus on something you love instead of autism" because autism could be the thing you love. I did read your post, but I missed where you acknowledged that as a possibility.



I apologized in my previous post, but I wanted to clarify here that I was not attacking you. I am sorry that I came across as attacking you. I do not care for my post count being used to define my personality. I tend to post frequently on topics I enjoy, and autism has been my favorite topic for the past two years - most especially approximately six months from December 2010 to June 2011. My posting volume decreased and I have probably posted 1/3 as many posts in the time since as I did in that six month period. Also, I have ADHD and one of the ways I am hyperactive is how I respond to threads. I have three replies this afternoon in this thread, for example. I am not sure all three are necessary, but I wanted to answer those posts.

I did not "attack a second post" because you didn't respond to the other. I was responding to posts as I read them. I don't spend time waiting for people to respond to my posts, so I don't post more out of impatience for a response. I am again sorry that I wrote it in such a way that it came across as an attack - nor am I responding to this because you have not yet replied to my apology.

Also, just because my diagnostic label is "AS" does not mean that label fits me best, or describes my difficulties best. A reason for that diagnosis is how I speak and write, but it does not mean my symptoms and difficulties are mild or minimal. I have fairly significant difficulties in every area of life due to autism. I do not like to describe myself as an "Aspie" and I welcome the DSM-5 changes because it means I do not have to use a label that tends to minimize my struggles.

Last edited by Verdandi on 22 Jan 2013, 6:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

What you describe is similar to what I experienced. I developed depression and anxiety in response to trying and failing to function like other people. I tried to ignore my sensory issues to the point of having multiple shutdowns daily while at work or school, and went through multiple periods of burnout over the years. It amazed me when the administrative law judge wrote in his judgement that I had never experienced a period of decompensation when most of my adult life has been marked by some degree of decompensation due to burnout.

This discussion I miss in Temple Grandin's writings as there is a whole population of undiagnosed and also diagnosed autistic people who do not get the understanding and support from the environment and in many cases do or did not know themselves what they are dealing with.

Yes, it would be good to see more discussion of this population. I think a lot of the fixation on autism she talks about comes from these people, who are trying to assemble an understanding of themselves. At least, that's what it was like for me.

Agreed on both points.

I challenged Temple on this, because my special interest is autism and I am now turning it into a career. I actually wrote her a long letter because this had upset me so much.

Thats cool that you write freelance books hopefully you will have time to write more in the future. What type of genre?
SSI is a lot of red tape, it's easier with a good case worker to help (i was young when i applied and had a treatment team behind me) Yet its a lot of paperwork, just keep trying. Don't give up and you should get the SSI.

You have a lot of good skills you mention, i am not familiar with using ovens for cooking, although i can use a barbecue grill or microwave.
It's likely i had got confused on the formulaic way of your wording, it's okay though we clarified.

Don't get me wrong, I like Temple Grandin, and I suspect that there are some people who spend too much time thinking about autism (parents, too). But I can't help but be bothered by the above.

First of all, how does she know that these are undiagnosed adults? How does she know that they are not diagnosed if they are not discussing autism? Perhaps they are diagnosed, but did not include this information in their discussion of computers. And how does she know that they are not just computer nerds who fail to fit the diagnostic criteria? There are plenty of NTs who do not like social chit chat. And you don't need to have autism to have an intense love of computers.

Second, it would be odd if people who came together to attend a computer convention all sat around and discussed some other topic. When you go to a computer convention, you talk about computers. When you go to an autism convention, you talk about autism. Even aside from all of that, just because someone talks about autism at an autism convention doesn't mean that that's all they talk about outside of the autism convention. I have been to conventions before that included a lot of conversations about things I rarely talk about outside of the convention.

I know this is not the point of the thread, but sometimes I get stuck on small things and I got stuck on those three sentences because they are a flawed. And I don't like that they were used to form an argument to suggest that less successful autistics are less successful because they focus too much on autism and not enough on other things. Perhaps those who focus so intensely on autism do so because it precludes their inner abilities to a greater degree than is true for those who obtain some kind of objective measure of success.

Just sayin...

Maybe Temple Grandin thinks that autism = nerd/geek/dork with successful, high-level career. If she thinks that, then she is wrong.

Also, it makes no sense to me why people would go to autism conferences and not talk about autism most of the time there. Why go to a conference full of sensory overload and social interaction and not immerse yourself in the topic of the conference? If I go to autism conference, I talk about autism. If I go to computer conference, i talk about computer. I would prefer not to go to any conferences at all, but if topic verry merry berry interesting to me, then I might go to talk eggsclusively about the topic. I don't want to talk to people about computers at an autism conference. What an annoying distraction from my interest in being at the conference. Her statements made no sense to me.

To me "identifying too much with autism" means that someone who may have been functioning "well enough" acquires a newfound awareness of their condition and begins to allow it to dictate their lives in a negative manner and gives them a reason (or excuse) to lower their expectations. According to the "experts," I am not supposed to be able to work, attend university, get high marks in school, drive, or live independently due to their view that ASDs prohibit one from doing these things. Unfortunately for these experts, this simply isn't true and there are plenty of persons with ASDs who have been able to be successful in many areas of life.

Mostly for games. I would like to write fiction, although I haven't managed to get very far with that as yet. I am great at outlines, but translating it into stories is more difficult.



This is my third year as of about a month ago. I should know before the end of this year what the appeals council decision is. I currently have a lawyer, and I did have a caseworker to help put together my application.



I mostly use a toaster oven, which is not much different from a microwave. It takes longer to cook things and they usually taste better, as things are cooked more conventionally. It removes the steps of waiting for the oven to heat up, but I avoid things that require much preparation.

I tend to agree with Temple. She is talking about Autistic people not obsessing about "their" condition, rather focus on a productive pursuits that will lead to some type of outcome (whether career, financial, social or personal). For example it's better to pursue in interest in psychology in general rather than autism on it's own.

BTW I find it amusing that Temple is reffering to autistic people as she is herself autistic. Most of you here are talking about aspies obssessing about Aspergers. I don't think that's what she was on about.

If you have Asperger's, you are autistic. The distinction you're trying to draw isn't a real distinction.

Anyway, I think that if special interests were completely voluntary (as in, you could choose what you want to focus all of your energy on) then I suspect it wouldn't be present as a possible impairment. Plus, what Temple Grandin wrote was that autistic people spend too much time obsessing on autism instead of "intense interests" as if autism itself cannot be an intense interest. This is, of course, fallacious.