Autistic/Aspie Stereotypes You Don't Display?

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Some more stereotypes I don't display:
I make decent eye contact, although looking people directly in the eye makes me anxious.
I'm actually very creative and imaginative, although there are many people with AS who are as well so IDK why so many people assume this about us.
I don't have any unusual facial or physical features.
I don't have any food allergies that I'm aware of.
I don't gain weight from SSRI medications.
I'm not agnostic/athiest, but not part of any organized religion. I just consider myself spiritual.
I'm a huge country music fan. I've read many Aspies can't stand that kind of music for some reason.
I'm politically moderate-independent.
I hate horror movies and anything scary.
I like to read SOME fiction books as long as they're not romantic ones.

Lol, that's not true. I know an aspie who ONLY listens to country music. I don't think there's such thing as "aspie music preference".

- I'm not a savant
- I'm not a mathematical genius (I have not been taught calculus or geometry, but I can solve advanced mental arithmetic calculations)
- I have no psychiatric co-morbidities (social anxiety is unique to AS)
- I have never been on medication
- I understand sarcasm
- I only suffer from meltdowns once or twice a year
- I desire social isolation
- I'm not afflicted with clinical depression
- I'm not emotionally immature
- I'm not overweight (anymore).
- I have a very poor form of artistic ability
- I have a vivid imagination of photographic imagery
- I'm not particularly interested in computer science or engineering. (I am however very good at operating computers and similar devices)
- I'm not fascinated with "hard sciences." (except neuroscience and physics, although I have no desire to become a physicist)
- I have an inveterate, preoccupied interest in psychology
- I rarely rock back and forth nowadays
- I have a well-developed immunological system (despite that not being physically fit)

Every other characteristic of AS that I have not mentioned defines me.
_________________
Diagnosed with "Classical" Asperger's syndrome in 1998 (Clinical psychologist).
Alexithymia Questionnaire Score: 158/185
Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R): 231/240
Aspie score: 186 out of 200
Neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 12 out of 200
AQ: 48/50 EQ: 9/80

Last edited by TheRedPedant93 on 11 May 2013, 1:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I laugh and smile a lot
I do have a sense of humor, even if it's considered weird by most people
I talk a lot (unless I am under the effect of my ADHD med)

maybe others I can't remember now

I didn't know that being fat is considered to be an autistic trait. I've always been skinny.
I don't seem to have any special interest that I'm particularly knowledgeable about. Although there are things that I'm very interested in, I somehow tend to procrastinate.
My handwriting is rather good.
I like reading fictions.
I love bright fluorescent lights. I often sleep with them on.

1)I have good reading comprehension including making emotional inferences, understanding symbolism ect. I'm slow with emotional inferences and have to re-read passages again and again but I do it but I eventually work it out. Also in real life situations I can SOMETIMES understand sarcasm , metaphors and implied meaning but often I can't. Maybe because of slow processing speed........
2) I don't have and have never had a monotone or emotionless voice or flat affect (lack of gestures or facial expressions) although I do have odd gestures and facial expressions sometimes and a couple people have said my voice is odd. I do have the gauche, clumsy body language.
3) I smile and laugh a lot.
4)Math is difficult for me
5)My special interest for most of my life was my imaginary world. It did take over and interfere with my life but it did not involve collecting facts on a subject like the stereotypical AS interests. My main special interest now is reading fiction- also not a fact based interest.
6)I don't have any special talents or abilities.
7) I'm not an atheist.
I'm not particularly good with technology.
*I'm also skinny but I don't think weight is really related to ASD at all.

Last edited by daydreamer84 on 11 May 2013, 3:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I'm not overweight.

I'm female.

I've taught myself to read the emotions of others.

I have also taught myself to understand some non-verbal cues.

-I'm good at lying (Became a defense mechanism in my childhood and puberty)
-I'm good at reading bodylanguage and really good at reading facial expressions
-I'm not constantly socially awkward
-I'm not completely introverted
-I do understand sarcasm
-I can read subtext
-I don't have a mental handicap
-I have bad spacial awareness
-I only speak monotone when I'm bored, tired or upset.
-I can handle busy crowds

Letsee...

- I have a decent grasp of the English language and grammar.
- A simple, yet understanding knowledge of art.
- I hate insane furies/bronies/Sonictards and feel disgusted by their antics.
- I never bring up the fact I'm Autistic/Aspergian unless asked. (Hell, some people didn't even know I was)
- I hate math, mainly because I don't see the use of things like "Long Form" as useful.
- I get sarcasm, and sometimes can dish it back (but not often).
- I have a good understanding of humor/satire.
- I have imagination, not too much, but it is there.
- I have a decent range of voices, but for some reason can't yell convincingly anymore.
- I find trains rather boring.
- I never blame anything on Autism/AS.
- I most certainly can find the irony of someone with AS reading websites like ED (See also the humor/satire point above).
- Bizarrely, I've never felt left out (my high school had several people with similar interests).
- I can tell the differences between reality/fiction.
- I can actually can hold a job (I've been making and selling jewelry through my local Autism center since last September and worked with the Canadian government for one day before that).
- I cannot stand the immaturity of people (internet or otherwise). I personally have been trying to get over that phase.
- Can draw and write rather well (Been praised on it too).
- I'm not that techno-capable.
- My room straddles the fine line between messy and clean.
- I can easily adjust myself for crowds and public.
- I have no problem with load noises (unless they've come out of nowhere).

What I am guilty of however...

- I have a pudgy gullet (despite what my family/friends/co-workers tell me. Still, it does mystify me that it's a stereotype when there's plenty of non-Autistic/Aspie people that are fat).
- I am a nerd (Not so much with, say, Anime. But I am rather "nerdish" in behavior). Not entirely obsessed with anything either. Interested, yes, obsessed to the point of making slashfic or porn? No.
- I have some fan art (CG, but still), but nothing involving sex, which is where I draw the line. No fan fiction though.
- I stay isolated for long periods of time.
- Almost incapable of telling lies (but that's more because of my upbringing than anything).
- No hand flapping or rocking back/forth (unless I'm seat dancing, but that's besides the point). I do have other noticeable traits like a bounce to my walk though.
- Used to have meltdowns, but I've made an attempt to stop it.
- Graduated with honors (Which surprised me in all honesty, see the "I hate Math" point in the above column).
- I most certainly can get repetitive.
- I am a perfectionist.

Last edited by BigManAsper on 11 May 2013, 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yeap those are mine too. I do excellent greatly linguistically and am good at math that is not algebraic. I can do.statistics and generally solve in my head when there are no complex.formulations. I do have odd body language and cadence. And I love.fiction. furthermore mythology is among my favorite subjects. I do collect.strings of information regardless of.their applicable use.

I wasn't really aware of all the aspie stereotypes till now. I guess for the most part I fit the stereotypical aspie profile. I'm great with math. I'm a talented software engineer, wrote my first computer game at the age of 7 and had my work featured in Forbes magazine. Despite my exceptional computer skills, I can't hold down a job for more than a few months. Did the whole hand/finger movement and rocking back and forth thing. Hate fiction. No eye contact. Very obsessive special interests. Etc, etc, etc...

Some stereotypes I don't display are:

I'm not bothered by loud noises.
I rarely have meltdowns.
I'm not overweight. (Wow, is that really an aspie stereotype?)
I don't particularly like large crowds but can tolerate them.
I'm not doing very well at it but I was able to get married.
I think I'm hilarious.
I don't get everything but I understand most sarcasm.

Let's see...what doesn't fit?

-- No monotone voice. My voice is VERY animated, especially when I get excited about something.
-- No blank expressionless face. I'm known for my straight teeth and big smile.
-- Lack of humor. I have a great sense of humor, tells jokes well, get and use sarcasm,
-- Obssessive Special Interests. I have special interests, both short-term and long, but they don''t completely overrun my life.
-- Lack of socializing. I can socialize as long as it's on my turf, and I don't have to talk to more than a couple of people at a time. The more people in my vicinity, the more quiet I get. And after any social interaction, I need time alone to regroup and regenerate.
-- Techno-savvy. Nope, not really. I like my computer but all I do on it is check emails and surf to find information. I couldn't work on it to save my life. And I have an old flipphone that serves my just fine. I like science stuff, but not obsessively.
-- Unable to live alone, I can live alone and take care of myself just fine. I live at home with my mom now, but that's for past financial problems, not functioning problems.
-- Friendless. I'm not social butterfly, but I have a few carefully selected friends.

What DOES fit --
-- Socially inept. I feel like somehow I misssed a class or seminar or how to relate to others. I want a relationship with a man -- and have had a couple -- but feel like I don't know how to initiate one with someone. I always feel awkward and out of step when I try to be flirty.
-- Clumsy. Sometimes I think I could trip over wind, and I have more than my share of broken bones, cuts and burns.
-- Literal thinker. Yep, Although I do get sarcasm and metaphor, things like teasing go over my head.
-- Repetitive behaviors. I rock, fidget, fiddle with stuff, repeat words in my head, have songs stuck in my head for days at a time.
-- Child-like and immature. I look and act much younger than I am. I relate to young people much more than those my own age. And I have young interests -- toys, cartoons, carnivals, etc.
-- Executive functioning. Pretty pathetic here, Room is a mess, I'm a mess, it's almost impossible to make myself get up to do things I know need to be done.
-- High IQ. Not genius level but definitely above average.
-- Obsessions. I've been all-encompassed by the band KISS and MLB Houston Astros, and if I could have everything in my life the color purple, I would.
-- Hygiene issues. Not as bad as they were years ago, but still need work.
-- Unfeminine. I can't relate to most women, I don't have much of a maternal instinct and I'm not into hardly any "girly" stuff -- chick flicks, housekeeping, weddings, babies, fashion, etc.
-- Miscellaneous. I'm a trivia nerd, only read non-fiction, have very little imagination, and am bad about correcting people. I can talk on the phone, but I don't like it, and avoid it when I can. And yes -- I'm overweight, but I think this has more to do with my current sedentary lifestyle and my heritage (Scottish and Russian) rather than AS, in that I was quite slim until my 40s.

I wasn´t aware of stereotypes either, as it is new to me, that I probably am an aspie-lite,
Lately I have understood the probable reason why It has been difficult for me to hold down a job for long despite my best efforts: Simply a slight social handicap and social anxiety.
I do not:
Flap hands, press eyes and such (I have a tendency to rock and pace, though)
Collect data about things without caring about context (I love data)
I don´t lack humour (Mine can be slightly different and jokes often pass me by)

I can use sarcasm and irony (Not too good at detcting it coming from others. I am often literal).
I can read facial expressions (Often I don´t get why they occur, so I get paranoid and conflicts start happening)
I can show empathy and can be considerate. In fact I can be very caring (often to the point of letting myself be misused, but I am more aware now).
I can organize things, only not my own stuff.

I love language, so I would like to write, but I haven´t got that social imagination, that drives most writers. Phantasy and poetry could be solutions. Reviews would be ok too.

Stereotypes I don't display:-

-I don't do odd/unusual behaviour out in public (unless I choose to, but I won't have the guts to humiliate myself)

-If I'm in public in an overwhelming environment, I don't sit in a corner rocking back and forth with my fingers in my ears. I just feel anxious inside but keep my cool and get on with it (I may show frustration mildly by tutting or something but nothing attention-drawing)

-I am bad at maths-related things like pi, and science-related things like the periodic table

-I can make eye contact when interacting with people

-I am not a black and white thinker, and also I don't either love something or hate something, usually I think in grey areas too

-I do not lack empathy (besides, I think ''lacking empathy'' makes me feel like a cold-hearted person and I think it should be changed to ''difficulties with social imagination'', which I don't lack either but makes sense to some Aspies/Autistics)

-I have no hypersensitivities to light, smell, taste or touch (and I like being touched)

-I sleep normally (I don't have unusual sleeping habits or unusual ways or laying in bed, ect)

-I am not obsessed with Star Trek, Sonic the Hedgehog, World of Warcraft, or any of those things. I just obsess over men, basically

-I do not act or dress like a geek

-I don't bottle up my feelings (although some people here assume I do because I spend a lot of time saying how I feel here)

-I am very close to my mum (it has been mentioned here before that Aspies don't get very close to their parents or something)

-I don't have all these physical features that are mentioned on here, I just look ordinary


There are loads more stereotypes that I don't have, and if I listed them all down it will seem like I don't have ASD, but I do.

- I don't lack empathy. Well, actually that depends on your definition of empathy, but since we're talking "stereotypes", I mean the popular definition.
- I'm female.
- I enjoy reading fiction and daydreaming.
- I love art and am creative.
- I'm married.
- I'm scared of trains, cats annoy me, and though I'm decent at math I can't do anything amazing with it.
- I don't have digestive problems.

Then, on the other hand, I suppose having 1000+ posts on an autism website doesn't exactly defy stereotypes.

1000th post!

-Stimming. I don't do it, unless normal things like biting my nails, clicking my pen and playing with my hair count. I just don't want to look like a freak in public.
-My math grade sucks.
-I use slang like "awesome", "mad" and "sweet" and say "like" in most sentences. And I swear a lot.
-I like girly clothes. On the subject of clothing, I also really like following strict dress codes such as my school's. I'm usually the best dressed in all my classes.
-I want to fall in love, get married and have kids someday.
-I want to fit into the other people's world, not be satisfied with my own. I just want to fit in with someone other than the other "freaks".
-I enjoy experimenting with hairstyles.
-I shower every night and hate being dirty, smelling bad etc. If my clothes start to stink, I'll cover myself in Impulse. Also, I love the smell of perfume.
-I HATE Sonic the Hedgehog (Mario's better )
-I'm trying to lose weight.