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selflessness
Snowy Owl
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20 Dec 2016, 11:20 pm

Like they expect you to do something anyone else could handle with relative ease but is too difficult for someone with ASD? It happens to me all the time and it's really confronting to run into walls like this all the time. Sort of depressing too. Although people underestimate me too sometimes but it happens much less. But at least in that case it's not as bad because it's like "Hey, I did something you didn't expect I could do!" For example when I made muffins with a little help from a friend everyone was really impressed. Please share your stories :)



League_Girl
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21 Dec 2016, 1:14 am

Yes. At my old job, because I was fast to learn to do things, I was expected to remember to do something later after being told to do it than reminded and I was expected to remember how to do something that wasn't in my normal schedule and task for me to do. I was also expected to use my common sense but I wouldn't read between the lines because I didn't know I was supposed to do another task because my office clerk left out that part of the instructions. Even trying to ask questions made him think I wasn't listening so I never knew if I was being literal or if I understood correctly. Then he would turn around and tell me to ask questions if I don't understand. :wall:

In high school I was expected to remember every word the teachers would say and expected to understand everything that is being said by other students. Kids also acted like I should read their minds.

There is never a between for me, it's either I am underestimated or over estimated when people realize I am not dumb or incompetent. Now they have too high of expectations of me so I would have to go with I would rather have anyone think I am not very smart than dealing with the other and just have people think I am incompetent because it's better that way.


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CockneyRebel
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21 Dec 2016, 1:35 am

I've been both overestimated and underestimated by the same people. My parents always overestimated my ability to be proud of my birth gender and they've always underestimated my physical strength. It got to the point that I got so sick of being expected to be feminine that I've started wearing a war helmet.

Let's just say that those dumb high and low expectations turned me inside out and now everyone in my community has had the fortune of seeing me as I really am, in 2016.


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bowtruckle
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21 Dec 2016, 2:29 am

Yeah, people especially always overestimate my ability to process instructions quickly or even at all. Even I'm not sure what is an effective way to ask me to do something, and it's not about me not wanting to listen to people, it's about me not being able to understand what other people perceive as common sense. Like it isn't specific enough to be like "Oh you know, the yellow paint in the cabinet over there! Remember, I showed it to you yesterday!" I probably recall a blurry image of a yellow paint tube in space.



Shahunshah
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21 Dec 2016, 5:06 am

The people in my Classics, English and History classes consider me to really smart. Sometimes I have to tell that's not the case I am terrible at Mathematics.



ASPartOfMe
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21 Dec 2016, 5:49 am

Mostly because I am Jewish and wear glasses people think I am smarter then I am. There are times I am trying to answer a question and am clearly flailing because I was ignorant about the topic and yet I was told I gave a brilliant and insightful answer. Most people do not know I am Autistic and I did not know until age 55, so perceptions about my neurology are a non factor.


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IstominFan
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21 Dec 2016, 7:47 am

I get, "If you're so smart, why can't you..." The truth is, I never had the experience of doing a lot of regular things. Finally getting my driver's license at age 48 opened up a lot of possibilities and opportunities for me. I never thought I could play tennis, but I'm doing it.

I still have moments when I get anxious and think I can't do something. My goal for myself is to overcome that kind of thinking and move ahead.



Edna3362
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21 Dec 2016, 7:50 am

I end up being overestimated and underestimated by almost everyone I knew and met. (Unless they're children or toddlers or an apathetic) From those who knew of me, to distant long-ago acquaintances.

When I was younger, I set myself to make everyone underestimate me. It didn't worked out much, people still overestimate me. :lol: But at least I rarely get any demanding expectations.


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21 Dec 2016, 10:18 am

I went through a really bad time between 2011-2012. I felt as though my brain was dying due to lack of sleep. It was nearly impossible to make any strides forward toward achieving anything I needed to be independent. Now that my brain is finally healing from that mess, and my opportunities have increased, I am finally moving toward a good place in life.



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Snowy Owl
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21 Dec 2016, 11:34 am

All the time, especially as "the autism spectrum" wasn't a thing until I was well out of school.

An interesting side note to all of this is that although I was called "smart" a lot, it was usually in the form of an insult. Examples like, "You're smart, why don't you understand this?" or "You think you're so smart, but you're lazy because your grades are terrible," or "Stop acting dumb, you know you're smarter than that." It's as if "smart" were an all-encompassing talent, enabling you to be good at all subjects.


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21 Dec 2016, 12:29 pm

I don't think I've EVER been overestimated -- I've had the opposite problem, of a life full of constantly being under-estimated. I've been dismissed "off the bat" all the time in my life.



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21 Dec 2016, 2:29 pm

I think a lot of people do. My boss treats me like I can't do anything right if it takes me a while to learn something new. It really hurts. I feel underestimated too sometimes. My family I think overestimates me. They expect me to have no trouble at school or in my work. I struggle a lot with both and I don't get a lot of support from them because they think I should be doing as well as my neurotypical peers.


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21 Dec 2016, 3:10 pm

Yes. My sister had a bad habit of telling everyone I was a genius. I am not a genius. I am just smarter than average people, according to an IQ test. Also, I had an employer who hired me based on a pre-employment IQ test, but never took the time to train me. Being smart is not the same as being psychic. My IQ allows me to learn things- not to already know things I was never exposed to.



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21 Dec 2016, 3:37 pm

As far as my AS is concerned, I've been underestimated by a lot of people. Most adults in my life thought I was slow and that I wouldn't amount to much.


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248RPA
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21 Dec 2016, 3:41 pm

I'm Asian and living in a white society, so I tend to get overestimated regardless of AS.


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Skceb182
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01 Jan 2017, 6:13 am

I find people overestimate my intelligence, especially at work. Because I know a lot about specific topics it is assumed that I know a lot/ I'm good at most things, which is definately not the case.