Special Affinity for animals?

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I tend to believe that a lot of Aspies/ASD/ADD/ADHD will often have a special affinity for animals. My Aspie son has always loved animals and been wonderful with them, particularly cats, dogs and horses. We always had both cats and dogs while I was growing up and then when my son was growing up, since we lived with my parents (they were both teachers, so they helped tremendously with handling his AS, which was a real blessing). He loves horses too, and has always wanted one, never mind that he has no idea of the expense and amount of work involved in owning even one horse even though it's worth it. He seems to have a "special" communication with and understanding of animals and they are drawn to him. I'll never forget watching him in the horse barn at a county fair once, there were several horses that reacted profoundly to him, letting him hug their necks, nuzzling him and whinnying at him when he was leaving, until he came back to them. Dogs and cats always react that way to him, too, although he enjoys most other kinds of animals as well, including watching wildlife.

My husband is mildly Aspie, not nearly as much on the level of my son or many other Aspies I've known. He's very allergic to cats and mildly allergic to dogs. I have two cats that I had before I moved in with him last year, several months before our recent wedding. He insisted that I be able to keep them knowing how much they meant to me, and I keep them confined to one room in our house and take them out in the fenced yard when the weather allows. He may not be able to really interact with them in any meaningful way, but he's interested in them, cares about them and jokes around with them when I'm holding one in his presence. He enjoys watching them when they're outside. We live in an area where everyone lets their dogs roam free, for the most part, and he's good with the dogs when they come up to him. We've had friends with dogs where he's good with them as well and he likes to look at animals in natural settings (we live in a rural area with wildlife).

I've watched many other Aspies and ASD and even ADD/ADHD individuals appear to have a special communication with and understanding of animals, enough so that I don't think it's just a trait on the part of the individual. My own theory is that, with animals, you can cut through all the social nonsense that we have such difficulty with and get to the heart of the matter, so to speak. Animals don't care that you may bother NT's, they don't care that you're not "normal" according to some societal standards. They don't care that you aren't good at social schmoozing or that you may have what the NT world would consider "strange" leanings.

That's just my theory, of course. Any other Aspies/ASD here have a special affinity for animals?

I have & will always favour animals over people.
because animals just don't force you to talk when you don't feel like it- and dogs, they're also my favourite for
their unconditional love and loveableness.

lastweek, i went to the easter show and I met this sheep, he was just the sweetest thing ever!
he would lick your hand (like a dog would) and come up next to me trying to take a bite of my corn dog, but i didn't mind.

i would mind having a pet sheep or a goat actually.

I haven't been diagnosed officially yet but one of the reasons I am seeking a diagnosis is because I wondered why I could train animals like no one else could. At first I took it for granted that anyone could do it, but then I realized that no one else could do it like I could. I am just able to communicate better with animals than most people are.

Now that I have found this site, I can't believe how many topics on this discussion board I am "vibrating" to-- shoes, words, and animals, for instance. And I've just started reading it tonight.

Dogs:

The only beens i can read it's mind.

Yeah,,,I have an affinity with animals..I communicate very well with cats. dogs and horses

Communication with animals is easier than people. That is why I like interacting with animals too, it is so much simpler.

I've always been more of an "animal person", rather than a "people person".

Many have commented on the way that animals react to me. For example, I used to volunteer at a cattery when I was 12. There was this one cat who wouldn't let anyone pick him up. He would growl, scratch and bite. However, I was able to pick him up without him doing any of that. He was calm with me.
Just last week I visited a petting zoo as I wanted to get some photographs of animals. I was in the barn with other people around me. One of the workers bought in a goat. The goat ignored everyone else, looked straight at me and walked towards me. I was sure that he was going to hit me with his horns...but he didn't. He sniffed me, I rubbed his back and he followed me through the barn for 10 minutes before the worker offered him food. Considering this was the first time I had encountered a goat, it was good that he responded so well to me

I have many animals at home and I spend more time with them, than I do other people. Whenever I go to someone elses house, if they have pets, I will most likely spend most of my time with them rather than the person.

Animals are non-judgemental, they will love you if you are kind to them, regardless of "social ability". Thats why I like them so much...and I think that an animals reaction to you depends on what you think of them. They can tell in some way if you like them/are scared of them/are an animal abuser, etc. I have noticed it.

I'm also an "animal person" I do Dog sitting for a couple of people, the dogs are just so happy to see me. Every dog, cat, Muscovy Duck are really easy to talk to.

oh, I love animals, especialy cats, but every critter has a special place in my hearth for me

I like all animals, but cats are my favorite. I'm partial to tabbies and Siamese.

am had grown without the awareness and understanding of humans,but always had a deep connection to cats,they are always on the same level,they don't need speech to be with,stroking them is feels great and calming,some will protect their human like dog,the bad thing about them is they are not around for long.

Am have a deep connection with horses also,but have never been around them as much though given choice would have been.
Am used to go riding in Heaton Park on a brown pony called Charlie,to RDA [riding for the disabled association] sessions with a huge brown horse called Shadow,also used to borrow a thoroughbredxID horse for private walks on lead rope through quiet countryside,she was called Heather and am had the best connection with her,am remember if anyone else tried to ride her she would buck and they'd fall off,but she never did it to am-the owner sold her and am couldn't cope going there anymore,they had already sold previous friend Harry,a skewbald pony.
Am thinking of starting back at Ashton hall for the RDA sessions.

I have always had a special bond with my cats. I loved them all and got to know them very easily. Cats are easy to understand and they even have their own different meows for different situations. I love very much to interact with them and other animals. I wonder sometimes if aspies are better with animals because they have a repect and regard for them? As a kid, my favorite place to go was the zoo to see the animals.. my favorite spot? the petting zoo, with a pocketful of quarters for the food pellet dispenser. It was not enough to just see the animals. oh, no. I wanted to meet the animals.

My mum always notes that I smile at animals I see; doing such to a human is an impossibility for me.

It doesn't matter what animal, they just aren't..."threatening" to me when I look at them, even if I know they're "dangerous", it just doesn't hurt like when I look at people.

I have always enjoyed being around animals and i am generally able to interact with animals pretty well. I wonder if people with ASDs are more aware of non-verbal communication that NTs because we have to learn it. Someone that has always understood human communication and behavior might be less likely to pay attention to or even be unaware of non-human communication.
Perhaps autistics have more practice at identifying cues and gestures that we do not share and responding to those.

Also most animals are far less picky when it comes to the specifics, as long as a snake doesn't think you are going to kill it it will probably be fine with you doing whatever, but if a human thinks you share a different belief system or do something strange they may hold that against you. Not to mention the standards of communication with animals are pretty low, any type of connection or understanding is pretty good. With a human you expect friendships,relationships,business partners and so on. I would probably have just as much trouble establishing a long term friendship with a great white shark as i do with humans, if not more.