How different are you?

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I think everyone on the autism spectrum has blatant differences which made it impossible for them to be considered normal and ultimately led to them being diagnosed with a mental condition called autism but what are your differences and did they disturb you a bit before you knew you were mildly autistic? I have a wide range of them and before I was diagnosed I assumed I was just hardheaded and it was just my style but it was starting to disturb me a bit because even when I tried hard to be normal I couldn't. I could easily fake it but as soon as I let my guard down I'd go back to my strange ways. Heres my strange behaviour

Walk - I'm told I waddle like a duck. I'm aware that I walk differently to everyone else just as I'm walking down the road but I don't really care I like the way I walk.

Talk - I have a monotonous, deep voice and I have trouble pronouncing words the same as everyone else. I also have trouble with the magnitude of my voice sometimes I speak loudly at "inappropriate times" and it seems to embarrass other people or something.

Saying inappropriate things - This gets me in trouble all the time especially around females. Sometimes I say something which may not directly relate to whats being talked about but it seems like something worth saying but when I say it people get clearly offended for some reason.

Facial expressions - I have a very limited range of facial expressions and I often look uncomfortable when I'm not at all. I blink in a funny way and that apparently gives people the impression that I'm nervous when I'm not. I often get accused of being on valium or xanax when I'm completely sober too.

Eye contact - I used to avoid it altogether but I heard that this was a sign of weakness so I changed it and now I'm the polar opposite I stare people right in the eye but in an abnormal way people tell me its like I'm looking right through them.

Eat - People tell me I eat like a child or a caveman. I don't mind eating with my hands or getting food on my clothes.

Clothes - I don't mind wearing dirty clothes and this really pisses off the people I'm with because they get embarrassed just being with someone with dirty clothes. The way I see it clothes are for wearing not looking at so I don't really care if they have stains on them.

Stimming - I compulsively pat myself in the back of the head because its satisfying. Kinda like playing the back of my had as one of those hand drums.

Balancing things - When I'm playing poker balancing my chips is more important to me than taking my turn and when I have a lot of chips to balance this really pisses people off. Having unbalanced chips must not aggitate them as much as it does me.

They're just the abnormalities of mine that come to mind thats probably not even half of them. What about all of you? What abnormalities do you display?

I've had people tell me I'm "different" I guess when they want to find a kinder word than "weird" but that's kind of vague. If I ask them they have a hard time pinning it down. I guess it's a whole body weirdness. Maybe because I care so little about what the crowd is doing or the things I blurt out or the way I'll just start monologuing on a current special interest. One guy told me I had no charm. I was able to tell he didn't intend to offend me, he just meant I don't work to get people to like me. I don't consciously project femininity with my body language. I'm a human before I'm a woman. I get strange expressions on my face when I'm thinking, otherwise I'm the great stony face. I cluck with my tongue. I have little inflection in my voice. I've been told I walk like a man. I space out when I'm around people (my own thoughts are more interesting). I use overly formal language, etc. etc.

I don't think I know too well about what other people think of me, but that's part of being an Aspie, right?

- I can't do the eye contact thing. I can pretend but get instantly distracted. I tend to stare at people's jewelry a lot, and you know, ladies with low-cut shirts. I'm a non-intimidating woman so I never got into trouble for that.

- I'm told that I interrupt people's conversations a lot and never wait for my turn. But if I don't speak what I want to say exactly at that moment I'd lose track of my thoughts and never have much to say.

- Talking. I generally talk to people directly and expect "yes" or "no" for answers. Oh and you can bet I take the yes or no literally. I highly value efficiency in communications, unless I want to persuade people into something, then I can sound very charming, innocent, convincing, considerate...etc. I can only do that by growing up with my mom,( who's a social butterfly and great manipulator) and imitating her.

- I seem to have limited emotional range. I don't usually get too happy or too upset. I have experienced anger about a couple times in my entire adult life. I found other people's extreme emotions bewildering.

- In general I do everything slowly and carefully. I hate correcting mistakes or cleaning mess more than anything else. Not sure if this is an AS trait at all.

*Gee after reading what I wrote I think I'd have done well working for the Nazis or something.

I'm a Kinks Fan, in a Beatles Fan's world.

I waddle

Today's popular culture does nothing for me

I have an unusual accent, for the area that I was raised

I don't watch TV

I wear vintage androgenus clothes

I have 60s hair, that I love

That's not ordinary underwear...I was expecting silk, or lace!

As far as walking,talking,eating,clothing and eye contact i'm very much like u so i guess that u r very normal AS.
it still surprises me to see AS traits shared across age,culture,sex... boundaries at such detailed way,
That's one of the reasons it's not the "abnormality" aspect of it that interest me but what does it means in terms of my identity,needs and expatiations.

Enough to be bullied, but not enough to be diagnosed with anything well into my twenties (smart and lazy/didn't want to do the work was my repeated grade 2 diagnosis).

At the rare occasion when i talk people always try to guess the origin of my accent which is strange since i was born in Israel
Actually, people are trying to guess where i'm from even when i don't talk

Walk - I stagger when I walk and drag my feet.

Talk - I talk loudly, mumble, and stammer. I drag my vowels when I talk.

Saying inappropriate things - I laugh at gory accidents, say off the wall funny stuff, I love insulting people before they can insult me. I talk too much and about special intrests. I also interrupt people all the time. Correct grammer so much that it spills out of my mouth before I know I am doing it. I sometimes laugh at inapropiate things like someone tells me some has died or has a terminal illness

Facial expressions - I have the facial expresson of a statue. I look younger than my actual age.

Touch - I can not be touched or touch people.

Eye contact - I fake eye contact even with people I know

Eat - I eat like a slob, my co-workers said watching me eat in the break room was very entertaining like a dinner and show. LoL.

Clothes - I use to wear either black or grey t-shirts and blue jeans. My brother made me buy t-shirts of different colors because he said people were saying I was wearing the same thing everyday. He was tired of telling people I had five grey shirts and five black t-shirts.

Stimming - I pace and tap my feet.

Slow - I walk slow, work slow, and take my time to do everything.

Collections - I collect roleplaying games, roleplaying dice, and Fangoria horror magazines. I put more value in my collects than I do people.

Empathy - I have no empathy for people outside of my family and dogs. I could care less if someone is suffering or dying. I am uncomfortable around people showing affection towards oneanother. Such as kissing or hugging. I am easy to insult quick to fight.

Clean Freak - I cannot stand to have oily, dirty, greasy, or sticky hands. Dirves me up the wall. I have to force my self to shake hands, bump fists, or high fives due to coming in contact with other people's nasty hands. But I would wear dirty clothes.

Noises - The sound of dogs barking, test beeps of fire alarms, police/ambulance sirens, babies crying, knives/forks scrapping dishes, and people loudly breathing through their noses when they eat set off my anger.

Forgetfulness - I forget words mid sentance I sometimes forget what I am saying midsentance.

Last edited by Todesking on 28 May 2010, 9:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

Enough so that just everyone who's known me has noticed. Explanations given by others have included "smart but odd", "just shy", "an absent-minded-professor-to-be," "some kind of a genius" and "some kind of a ret*d".

I found about about AS, realised that it described me, and got a diagnosis, by myself.

A lot of things: talking to self, eating weird things, having an unusual vocabulary, being born really sick (I know its not typical of the spectrum), thinking touching people in general is icky, etc.

My story too. I was "different (read weird)" enough to be picked on most cruelly. However I survived that and went on to a reasonably productive adult phase. I never had problems getting work since I was in applied mathematics and software.

ruveyn

I refuse to kiss people goodbye or to participate in other confusing social rituals.

I do not like to be touched and I do not like people in my personal space.

I enjoy mimicking animal sounds and I don't care what people think about it. I can do sheepsounds so well even the sheep fall for it. (Unfortunately its the only special gift I have.)

I gently rock whenever I am not actively doing things, like when I am waiting for a trafficlight.

I hate tight clothes.

I would love to walk over water now that would be different.

Haha. I've been rotating between 3 pairs of pants and about 5 t-shirts and a jacket for the past 2 years.


I was born sick too. Had real bad stomach cramps as a baby and had asthma up until I was 12.

Enough to stand out in work and social situations, and that makes life difficult.

Vanilla_Slice

These days, in the circles I'm in, not so much, although I've gotten really good at covering up some of the more obvious traits. I've learned to watch what I say, although that was pretty difficult for me, and the people I consider my closest friends are the ones to whom I can say any ridiculous thing. I do use odd words and very proper grammar, even in informal settings. I have very specialized interests, but I've learned not to talk about them too much. I hate small talk and can't make eye contact to save my life. I stim, but I've gotten better at doing it subtly and discretely when I'm in public. Far from lacking empathy, I'm actually empathetic to a fault - I get severely upset by violence and suffering, and I'm really easily grossed out. Sarcasm and irony aren't really problems for me most of the time, but dumb (Will Ferrell/Adam Sandler-type) humor is - I just don't get and it goes right over my head. I'm uncomfortable in large, open areas like malls and parking lots, and I don't like direct sunlight. Thankfully, these last issues don't come up very often for me at this point.

I tend to walk faster than other people; my voice is pretty low and monotonous most of the time; I usually have a very serious expression, so much so that people often think I'm angry or upset; I fiddle with my hands a lot and I like to play with the seams of my jeans or shorts.