The benifits of Aspergers

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I don't spend money on stupid things like fancy clothes

I can read for days without being distracted

I am more efficient at work because I do not need to stand around and talk about pointless things

When things blow up at work and everyone else is running around like morons I can ignore their craziness and keep myself calm. Generally I've fixed whatever they were flipping out about before they've shut up long enough to think about the problem

My lack of concern for my appearance means my bosses know they can count on me to jump in when the extra gross jobs come up (I work with animals)

I have super powers

I'm good with kids because they think on my level-they don't have the social skills to be deceitful or sarcastic

I am very loyal and dependable

I don't like not being in control therefore drugs and alcohol scare the hell out of me-I don't have to spend money on them and I don't have to worry about an addiction

I couldn't think of a single thing. First I was like: Then I was like:

1. For my job is everthing in my life, everything else is secondary to it.

2. I don't mind being alone, in fact I really miss living by myself

3. I am not a slave to pop culture

4. Not really concered if my pants match my shirt and shoes

I feel a really special connection to my kids, knowing most people have no clue what they are thinking but I do. Does that count?
There is no doubt my ability to focus on certain tasks for hours on end and remember many details that are missed by typical people has benefitted me.

Since when do you need to be an aspie to be any of these things?

When I was in HS, I used to obsess about art. In college, I obsessed with all things East Asian (yes, anime etc too..). This pushed me get into liberal arts and art history, where I got to apply my visual analysis skills.

I kinda fell into regulatory compliance after college and found the investigative aspects of the job fitting. The jigsaw puzzle analogy applies...

It was nice to turn a Special Interest from a hobby to my living. They pay me to mess with computers and the Internet.

I like the ability to sponge up new ideas and subjects. And I seem to have a bit of synchrodipity and ability to synthesize ideas from radically different sources. This comes in really handy- being a trivia sponge has been a good thing. I've learned to be taciturn, so that people listen to me when I speak. That has given me a weight of perceived wisdom that I am not sure is realistic but it tends to counterbalance my youthful appearance. I look like a youth until I open my mouth. Then the wise old curmudgeon appears. I love cognitive dissonance.

I don't mind being alone- I prefer it, actually.

While my keen senses can be painful at times, it's also fun to be able to pluck the various ingredients from food and perfumes and reverse engineer them. In fact, I love playing the 'what went into this?' game with the ladies at the perfume counter. And while I don't gossip, stuff I overhear when people think I am out of earshot has been... interesting. I've learned a few things about myself, too- people think I am scary smart.

That's kinda cool.

1. Missing out on peer pressure (and its common effects like STDs, chemical dependency, and a criminal record)

2. Memory

3. Misanthropy: Belonging to Wrong Planet instead of the NT world gives me a more objective perspective of humanity, the meaniing of life, etc. And ergo, as an outsider, the freedom to question cultural standards, traditions and expectations. Call it denial/projection if you want, but it works for me.

4. Wonderfully esoteric hobbies/fixations
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You laugh at me because I am different; I laugh at you because you are all the same.

Animals and babies just love me
Nobody else does thou, so I guess it evens out.

Im not really sure, even if i have some it wont change the fact i am who i am.

Perhaps my ability to hate "reality tv"

and study very narrow subjects until you know it as an specialist... (and feel happy about it)

1. I can get along and work with people nobody else can. Sympathy for the underdog!
2. I can't lie.
3. I can beat a roomful of NT's at Trivial Pursuit, even if they're playing as a team against me. (I've done it.)
4. I have very few wrinkles on my face at my age, from not overdoing the facial expressions.

1. Due to my obsessive fact-gathering trait, I know the basics about a wide variety of topics, making me seem to be a sea of knowledge to those who ask the questions. I've been called "Professor Ann" before. It's kinda nice to be respected as the nerd who has all the answers. Down at work, whenever anyone has a question, they come to me, whether it's work related or not.

2. My ability to hyperconcentrate allows me to whiz through Reg Docs at an incredible rate, even though there is a lot of wasted time being distracted by various things. Once I'm in that mode, I'm like lightning. It's just difficult to switch into that gear once interrupted... Since taking a promotion, the number of interruptions are greater as more people need my guidance.

3. I can live without cable TV and not regret it one bit. Reality TV bites! Gimmie some Doctor Who (classic or new gen), and give it to me on DVD without the annoying commercials!

4. I am the Tetris master, which also makes me an efficient bagger on my part-time job as a cashier in a grocery store. I'm great with visual puzzles!

5. I am an invaluable resource of understanding and compassion for my daughter with PDD-NOS, my soon to be Dxed somewhere on the spectrum son, and my self-Dxed AS husband. We understand what's going on and have the experiences to share and guide one another through situations that would otherwise baffle even the most educated of NT parents.

And when you get older, people attribute your Aspie traits to NT senior moments.

That made me laugh. This is a really nice thread because I'm so bad about focusing on the disadvantages to having AS. But after reading just part of this thread it's helped me to start seeing a different side of it. An advantage I tend to ignore because I don't trust it is a 6th sense I have mostly with people. If I pay attention to it I can usually sense when someone is bad or dangerous. I try not to read to much into but it has proven to pay off in a few instances so maybe I should pay more attention to it.

I also like I can be alone and enjoy it and feel secure with that. I think I would be happy just becoming a hermit but I need food and to get food I need money so I have to go to work.

There are other things mentioned here too that I never really viewed as an advantage but I think I will work on that.

My inability to hold down a job for very long is turning out to be a blessing in disguise. I plan to start my own business, and I've found that I already have a lot of the skills I'll need. I picked them up at all the different jobs I've had.