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02 Jan 2014, 3:11 am
goldfish21
Veteran
Joined: 17 Feb 2013
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 22,612
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
02 Jan 2014, 4:55 am
Answers in italics.
Norny wrote:
Hello all!
DISCLAIMER: I'm an 18 year old Australian Male that has been lurking in 'guest mode' over this forum for about a week or two hoping to learn as much as I can about Autism Spectrum Conditions. A best friend of mine recently confided in me that he has autism and as a result I've been researching it intensively throughout the past 2-3 weeks and can't stop thinking about it. Not only do I wish to know all about it so I can be the best friend to him that I could possibly be, but I also see many of the traits/aspects of it in myself.. however I'm not going to say anything about that right now as I could go on forever via a gigantic wall of text. I haven't slept in almost 24 hours so I'd like to apologize in advance for any errors or improper use of terms. Generally if I say autistic, I'm referring to everyone on the spectrum.
Anyway, I'm really curious about a few things right now and this seems like the place to ask questions related to ASDs. I mean what's better than primary information from those who experience it first hand, right?
The fact that you've obsessed about this is an ASD trait. So is being an extremely loyal friend & your willingness to learn about it for your friendship's sake, for that matter.
This is what I have to ask:
1. Where is the line drawn between 'normal' sensory processing and atypical sensory processing?
- To put this in context I'll use my tactile sense as an example: when I was younger I refused to wear clothes with tags that felt uncomfortable as well as jeans and would wear either tracksuits or a cosy pair of shorts (though less often) regardless of where I went. I disliked belts, thongs; basically any clothes that weren't soft I didn't want to wear. If I had to wear thongs I would often wear socks and my sister would put out how embarrassing this was. I sometimes recoil at light touch and feel briefly shocked but it's nothing like a 'burn' or 'electric shock' that some people describe it to be. Furthermore I REALLY enjoy hugs and or pressurized physical contact and often sit on my legs or have my arms squeezing each other as a result. I also tend to touch a lot of things and smell them, mostly at supermarkets.
Yours is a texbook example of ASD sensory processing traits.
2. What does a mildly affected individual's sensory overload feel like, and how do you know if you have experienced it?
- I've read all kinds of posts but the only videos I've seen have shown what an intense sensory overload looks like. Just curious as to how the occurrence of sensory overload is brought on by senses other than vision and hearing when hypersensitive to mild degrees.
Can only speak to my experiences.. audio sensory overload can cause some serious anxiety & a need to get away from the source of background noise for a break in order to clear your head and calm down. I had headphones in listening to the radio on low volume almost 24/7 for over a year to keep my anxiety levels manageable. I'd keep them in while having conversations, too. It just felt much more natural & comfortable.
3. What are the most notable differences between an outburst of anger and a typical meltdown in an individual that is high functioning?
- The meltdowns I'm referring to are those that are spawned by emotion/stress, really just any that don't involve complex distortions due to intense sensory overload. I've read about 'loss of control' but that is very vague and sounds too similar to an outburst of anger on a traumatic day, but if that is the reason please elaborate and contrast it to an outburst.
I'd say an outburst is exactly that.. a short lived burst. A meltdown would tend to go on longer, possibly include a long rant, and has a momentum that's uncontrollable - you pretty much have to just let it run it's course because there's no stopping it once it happens. People who don't get this can end up making someone meltdown worse for longer if they try to intervene.
4. Where is the line drawn between 'normal' stimming movements and those associated with autism?
- Again I'll use a personal example: I've investigated this extensively and cannot determine whether or not my behaviours could be classified as autistic stimming or not. I've looked into tons of videos and browsed through thousands of posts (including blog posts) and it seems to be a general consensus that autistic's 'dissociate to their own world' or something of the like. I'm not entirely sure what this means. In my case I tend to bounce my legs, clear my throat and make grunting noises repetitively far more often than most neurotypicals, but I don't truly believe that could possibly be autistic stimming as they are either involuntary or in the case of the latter quite simple. I also scrape my fingers against each other if they feel messy and if in the presence of someone else 1 on 1 will almost never shut up sort of like a random garbage train of conversation that just dumps weird noises, comments, questions and facial expressions out into the open. In those times I also use weird accents and on purpose to entertain myself, and sometimes sing or hum old tunes like the Mario Bros. Theme. I also do what I have seen referred to as 'visual stimming' and more, but again this isn't the time for that.
Those sounds like some ASD stims to me. The never shutting up bit sounds more like the hyperactivity of excessive talking in an ADHD diagnosis than an Autism trait, though. It's entirely possible to have both. I do & more, and have done the excessive talking thing quite a bit in my past.. although not so much with noises, theme song humming etc - those sound more autistic than just continuous talking.
5. In what way do autistics notice more patterns and/or details than someone who is neurotypical?
- This one is bugging me the most because the statement itself is incredibly vague. I'm not sure whether I have an ASD or not (will inquire in the future) but I tend to spot patterns seemingly more than the majority (including my autistic friend) of people around me. For example if I'm playing a video game with a Kill/Death/Assist ratio I'll often notice upon checking that if my score is 3/5/15 that 3*5=15 and stuff like that and point it out. I do this in a lot of situations that involve numbers, and I also notice patterns in behaviour (likely because I'm so observant) and all sorts of other things.
Yep, in those ways. I also notice a lot of other patterns in natural, business, statistics, marketing, economics etc. Some are numerical patterns and trends, others are geometric - like seeing fibonacci spirals in nature that others aren't likely going to notice.
6. How does an extroverted aspie/autie function? Are they always necessarily annoying? Can they learn how to socialize better due to constant observation from birth?
Extrovertedly. lol annoying is subjective, they may be annoying to some/most, but not all.. but in general, yeah, we're annoying. Of course people can learn how to socialize better the longer they have to practice it. Practice makes perfect. It's never too late to start, though. I never realized my diagnosis until a couple years ago at almost 30 years old.
7. Are there strict rules for obsessions? Does the autistic always have to write down a million facts or could they just focus on their interest intently, enjoy it immensely and wish to talk about it a lot?
No, there aren't strict rules for obsessions. There's a massive variety of obsessions and ways in which Autistics can be obsessed. They can just focus on partaking their interest vs. ever write down anything about it. They might talk obsessively about it, or research obsessively, or just spend as much time doing whatever it is they're into vs. reading, talking, writing or learning about it at all. There are no rules. Obsession is obsession.
8. [For those diagnosed as adults] - How did you feel your whole life? How exactly did you feel different? What were your major symptoms and how did they go undetected in childhood?
I felt like me and knew nothing different. I did feel different from others, though, but didn't fully realize that I was always anxious and overanalyzing things, misinterpreting communications & social cues etc. I've had a ton of different traits my whole life, but because I've always been very high functioning, talked before the age of one, managed to learn at an above average pace, got through day to day life seemingly fine.. they were overlooked. I was also able to conceal traits when asked about things by a child psychologist because I was smart enough to be able to do so and at the time figured if I revealed my true self I'd be labelled as defective.
9. How do you know how good you are at non-verbal body language? What if you have essentially been creating your own 'idea' of such language, and convinced yourself you knew it inside out?
Good question. It was only after learning all about ASD that I had so many memories of misinterpreting body language and facial expressions come flooding into my mind and realized thaaaaat's why I didn't pick up on this and that and that other thing over my lifetime. I'm able to pick up on these things better and better now, and it's only how good I'm getting at them that makes me realize how bad I was at them in relative comparison.
10. Why are a lot of autistics so afraid of change even if they see it coming with barely any effects? Also how are routines and rituals defined? Examples?
My guess is anxiety. People fear what they don't know. Changes are unknown, add in high anxiety and it's a recipe for really disliking change. Routines are routines, like the dictionary definition. Consistently doing something in the same order, same way, same time etc. Ie I hit the snooze button twice, then roll out of bed, do at least 50 pushups, 50 crunches, and 50 squats, take my vitamins, go brush my teeth, head downstairs and make one of very few different things for breakfast, grab my lunch out of the fridge, put on my rainpants/boots, grab my bag and head out to work. I do the same thing every workday. Many of the things I do will have the same movements, grabbing the same things from kitchen drawers and cupboards that I always put back in the same place etc. It's a routine. Personally, while I still have routines, I'm not nearly as rigid about them and if something's out of place I don't get so frustrated by it - but I used to.
11. If a male/female were to fulfill over 90% of the opposite gender's autism/aspergers criteria would that hold any relevance? Could a gay male with exclusively female autistic symptoms exist on the spectrum?
Pretty well all Autism traits are gender neutral, so this question is a bit moot. I'm a gay male, for the record. I can't even think of a male or female specific Autism trait off hand, with the exception that girls tend to be quieter/shyer/more introverted - but I think that's just girls vs. boys in general and not really an Autistic thing. If you have any specific examples feel free to run them by me.
12. How does an 'actor' type of autistic become that way? How 'normal' do they appear? If one doesn't know they are autistic could they be an actor unbeknownst to them and miss non-verbal signals?
You mean those that use acting & hiding behind masks and personas as a coping mechanism? It just happens. It's an Autistic trait. No one decides which traits they're going to have and then becomes that way. we just are the way we are. If you're talking about people who become very good actors in the hollywood professional sense, again, it just happens to be that those are their talents. Yes, one doesn't need to be aware of their diagnosis in order to have the trait(s). That's kind of how this works... you have the traits your whole life and then maybe learn you're on the spectrum vs. learn about Autism and then all of the sudden have Autistic traits.
13. If discouraged strongly enough or too many times, could an autistic be demotivated from talking about their obsession to anyone seemingly automatically, or will they just flow information regardless?
Yes, because eventually people learn via feedback and response - or flat out blunt being told - that other people don't give a flying f**k about their special interest, so keep it to yourself and enjoy it by yourself or with people that share a common interest in it. You learn to limit conversation about them to others. But, sometimes some people on the spectrum seem to never learn this or be capable of learning it & they'll go on and on about whatever it is no matter how bored someone else is. It seems to me that the lower IQ &/or lower functioning someone is the worse this problem can be.
I'll be cliche and state that I don't know how this will be received but thanks so much in advance if you do reply.
DISCLAIMER: I'm an 18 year old Australian Male that has been lurking in 'guest mode' over this forum for about a week or two hoping to learn as much as I can about Autism Spectrum Conditions. A best friend of mine recently confided in me that he has autism and as a result I've been researching it intensively throughout the past 2-3 weeks and can't stop thinking about it. Not only do I wish to know all about it so I can be the best friend to him that I could possibly be, but I also see many of the traits/aspects of it in myself.. however I'm not going to say anything about that right now as I could go on forever via a gigantic wall of text. I haven't slept in almost 24 hours so I'd like to apologize in advance for any errors or improper use of terms. Generally if I say autistic, I'm referring to everyone on the spectrum.
Anyway, I'm really curious about a few things right now and this seems like the place to ask questions related to ASDs. I mean what's better than primary information from those who experience it first hand, right?
The fact that you've obsessed about this is an ASD trait. So is being an extremely loyal friend & your willingness to learn about it for your friendship's sake, for that matter.
This is what I have to ask:
1. Where is the line drawn between 'normal' sensory processing and atypical sensory processing?
- To put this in context I'll use my tactile sense as an example: when I was younger I refused to wear clothes with tags that felt uncomfortable as well as jeans and would wear either tracksuits or a cosy pair of shorts (though less often) regardless of where I went. I disliked belts, thongs; basically any clothes that weren't soft I didn't want to wear. If I had to wear thongs I would often wear socks and my sister would put out how embarrassing this was. I sometimes recoil at light touch and feel briefly shocked but it's nothing like a 'burn' or 'electric shock' that some people describe it to be. Furthermore I REALLY enjoy hugs and or pressurized physical contact and often sit on my legs or have my arms squeezing each other as a result. I also tend to touch a lot of things and smell them, mostly at supermarkets.
Yours is a texbook example of ASD sensory processing traits.
2. What does a mildly affected individual's sensory overload feel like, and how do you know if you have experienced it?
- I've read all kinds of posts but the only videos I've seen have shown what an intense sensory overload looks like. Just curious as to how the occurrence of sensory overload is brought on by senses other than vision and hearing when hypersensitive to mild degrees.
Can only speak to my experiences.. audio sensory overload can cause some serious anxiety & a need to get away from the source of background noise for a break in order to clear your head and calm down. I had headphones in listening to the radio on low volume almost 24/7 for over a year to keep my anxiety levels manageable. I'd keep them in while having conversations, too. It just felt much more natural & comfortable.
3. What are the most notable differences between an outburst of anger and a typical meltdown in an individual that is high functioning?
- The meltdowns I'm referring to are those that are spawned by emotion/stress, really just any that don't involve complex distortions due to intense sensory overload. I've read about 'loss of control' but that is very vague and sounds too similar to an outburst of anger on a traumatic day, but if that is the reason please elaborate and contrast it to an outburst.
I'd say an outburst is exactly that.. a short lived burst. A meltdown would tend to go on longer, possibly include a long rant, and has a momentum that's uncontrollable - you pretty much have to just let it run it's course because there's no stopping it once it happens. People who don't get this can end up making someone meltdown worse for longer if they try to intervene.
4. Where is the line drawn between 'normal' stimming movements and those associated with autism?
- Again I'll use a personal example: I've investigated this extensively and cannot determine whether or not my behaviours could be classified as autistic stimming or not. I've looked into tons of videos and browsed through thousands of posts (including blog posts) and it seems to be a general consensus that autistic's 'dissociate to their own world' or something of the like. I'm not entirely sure what this means. In my case I tend to bounce my legs, clear my throat and make grunting noises repetitively far more often than most neurotypicals, but I don't truly believe that could possibly be autistic stimming as they are either involuntary or in the case of the latter quite simple. I also scrape my fingers against each other if they feel messy and if in the presence of someone else 1 on 1 will almost never shut up sort of like a random garbage train of conversation that just dumps weird noises, comments, questions and facial expressions out into the open. In those times I also use weird accents and on purpose to entertain myself, and sometimes sing or hum old tunes like the Mario Bros. Theme. I also do what I have seen referred to as 'visual stimming' and more, but again this isn't the time for that.
Those sounds like some ASD stims to me. The never shutting up bit sounds more like the hyperactivity of excessive talking in an ADHD diagnosis than an Autism trait, though. It's entirely possible to have both. I do & more, and have done the excessive talking thing quite a bit in my past.. although not so much with noises, theme song humming etc - those sound more autistic than just continuous talking.
5. In what way do autistics notice more patterns and/or details than someone who is neurotypical?
- This one is bugging me the most because the statement itself is incredibly vague. I'm not sure whether I have an ASD or not (will inquire in the future) but I tend to spot patterns seemingly more than the majority (including my autistic friend) of people around me. For example if I'm playing a video game with a Kill/Death/Assist ratio I'll often notice upon checking that if my score is 3/5/15 that 3*5=15 and stuff like that and point it out. I do this in a lot of situations that involve numbers, and I also notice patterns in behaviour (likely because I'm so observant) and all sorts of other things.
Yep, in those ways. I also notice a lot of other patterns in natural, business, statistics, marketing, economics etc. Some are numerical patterns and trends, others are geometric - like seeing fibonacci spirals in nature that others aren't likely going to notice.
6. How does an extroverted aspie/autie function? Are they always necessarily annoying? Can they learn how to socialize better due to constant observation from birth?
Extrovertedly. lol annoying is subjective, they may be annoying to some/most, but not all.. but in general, yeah, we're annoying. Of course people can learn how to socialize better the longer they have to practice it. Practice makes perfect. It's never too late to start, though. I never realized my diagnosis until a couple years ago at almost 30 years old.
7. Are there strict rules for obsessions? Does the autistic always have to write down a million facts or could they just focus on their interest intently, enjoy it immensely and wish to talk about it a lot?
No, there aren't strict rules for obsessions. There's a massive variety of obsessions and ways in which Autistics can be obsessed. They can just focus on partaking their interest vs. ever write down anything about it. They might talk obsessively about it, or research obsessively, or just spend as much time doing whatever it is they're into vs. reading, talking, writing or learning about it at all. There are no rules. Obsession is obsession.
8. [For those diagnosed as adults] - How did you feel your whole life? How exactly did you feel different? What were your major symptoms and how did they go undetected in childhood?
I felt like me and knew nothing different. I did feel different from others, though, but didn't fully realize that I was always anxious and overanalyzing things, misinterpreting communications & social cues etc. I've had a ton of different traits my whole life, but because I've always been very high functioning, talked before the age of one, managed to learn at an above average pace, got through day to day life seemingly fine.. they were overlooked. I was also able to conceal traits when asked about things by a child psychologist because I was smart enough to be able to do so and at the time figured if I revealed my true self I'd be labelled as defective.
9. How do you know how good you are at non-verbal body language? What if you have essentially been creating your own 'idea' of such language, and convinced yourself you knew it inside out?
Good question. It was only after learning all about ASD that I had so many memories of misinterpreting body language and facial expressions come flooding into my mind and realized thaaaaat's why I didn't pick up on this and that and that other thing over my lifetime. I'm able to pick up on these things better and better now, and it's only how good I'm getting at them that makes me realize how bad I was at them in relative comparison.
10. Why are a lot of autistics so afraid of change even if they see it coming with barely any effects? Also how are routines and rituals defined? Examples?
My guess is anxiety. People fear what they don't know. Changes are unknown, add in high anxiety and it's a recipe for really disliking change. Routines are routines, like the dictionary definition. Consistently doing something in the same order, same way, same time etc. Ie I hit the snooze button twice, then roll out of bed, do at least 50 pushups, 50 crunches, and 50 squats, take my vitamins, go brush my teeth, head downstairs and make one of very few different things for breakfast, grab my lunch out of the fridge, put on my rainpants/boots, grab my bag and head out to work. I do the same thing every workday. Many of the things I do will have the same movements, grabbing the same things from kitchen drawers and cupboards that I always put back in the same place etc. It's a routine. Personally, while I still have routines, I'm not nearly as rigid about them and if something's out of place I don't get so frustrated by it - but I used to.
11. If a male/female were to fulfill over 90% of the opposite gender's autism/aspergers criteria would that hold any relevance? Could a gay male with exclusively female autistic symptoms exist on the spectrum?
Pretty well all Autism traits are gender neutral, so this question is a bit moot. I'm a gay male, for the record. I can't even think of a male or female specific Autism trait off hand, with the exception that girls tend to be quieter/shyer/more introverted - but I think that's just girls vs. boys in general and not really an Autistic thing. If you have any specific examples feel free to run them by me.
12. How does an 'actor' type of autistic become that way? How 'normal' do they appear? If one doesn't know they are autistic could they be an actor unbeknownst to them and miss non-verbal signals?
You mean those that use acting & hiding behind masks and personas as a coping mechanism? It just happens. It's an Autistic trait. No one decides which traits they're going to have and then becomes that way. we just are the way we are. If you're talking about people who become very good actors in the hollywood professional sense, again, it just happens to be that those are their talents. Yes, one doesn't need to be aware of their diagnosis in order to have the trait(s). That's kind of how this works... you have the traits your whole life and then maybe learn you're on the spectrum vs. learn about Autism and then all of the sudden have Autistic traits.
13. If discouraged strongly enough or too many times, could an autistic be demotivated from talking about their obsession to anyone seemingly automatically, or will they just flow information regardless?
Yes, because eventually people learn via feedback and response - or flat out blunt being told - that other people don't give a flying f**k about their special interest, so keep it to yourself and enjoy it by yourself or with people that share a common interest in it. You learn to limit conversation about them to others. But, sometimes some people on the spectrum seem to never learn this or be capable of learning it & they'll go on and on about whatever it is no matter how bored someone else is. It seems to me that the lower IQ &/or lower functioning someone is the worse this problem can be.
I'll be cliche and state that I don't know how this will be received but thanks so much in advance if you do reply.
Read this book & you'll learn just about everything you need to know about yourself and your friend on one crash course:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Guid ... s+syndrome
_________________
No
for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.
02 Jan 2014, 5:12 am
02 Jan 2014, 2:09 pm
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