What's the purpose of "information exchange"?

Post Reply New Topic

I described to my therapist how I feel like I come alive when I talk to people about medicinal plants. Or even when someone else talks to me about medicinal plants.

My therapist is adamant that I must be using plants as some sort of 'transition object' to connect with people or that there is some other way in which I'm using plants to access/fulfill a more "human" element of life.

Medicinal Plants are my big interest (though I feel sadly disconnected from them at present), but I actually have no idea why I particularly enjoy the act of communicating about them so much. What my therapist suggests really doesn't ring true to me - if anything I feel more like I'm using humans to help me connect with the plants. But I'm not really sure, I'm finding it strangely difficult to think about this with any clarity.

So I wondered, why do aspies talk incessantly about their special interest and what's the purpose of the information exchange-based communications that aspies are known for? Is it about connecting to the human or connecting to the interest? Or is it something else entirely?

Your therapist seems to be attempting to find a metaphor in your special interest. Last of the Freudians maybe?

I'm of the personal opinion that the purpose is the attempt to find the connection with other humans that most lack. Despite the characterisation, people with Autism and Aspergers Syndrome are ultimately human.

Your brain expects a certain amount of information. When you're on the spectrum, it doesn't receive it. When someone asks about your personal interest or expresses an interest, SUDDENLY, connection. Then comes the information splurge.

I do it all the time with my favourite subjects. I'm just lucky in that I'm a polymath so I can venture an opinion on virtually any subject but I have the autism traits of finding any subject off topic intensely boring. People find it a bit intimidating

It's definitely possible. Everything but everything has revolved around attachment theory so far, no matter how many times I say it doesn't feel like it fits. As far as I'm concerned, childhood was the best bit for me, but that makes no difference apparently.

Actually, what you've said there is essentially the same as what the therapist keeps saying, but somehow you've framed it in a way that makes a lot more sense to me. The "SUDDENLY, connection" bit sort of fits, but at the same time, I don't think I do miss out on information. I'm just BAP, not properly aspie and, as far as I can tell, I read people just fine. I just find it hard to react in socially expected ways. I certainly can't bring myself to talk nonsense about the weather and my mind tends to go blank whenever faced with uninteresting conversation. Plants on the other hand are Interesting! It's a shock whenever I find anyone else who agrees on that.