I'm 29...close to 30.. new here with a ?

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This might sound really dumb, but I'm diagnosed with A.S. and there are many with A.S. who have "something" either they are good at writing, or art, music..you get the idea. I don't think I'm good at anything. I research alot, but alot of NT's do that also. Do all people with A.S. have something they are extremely good at, because as of now, I don't think I'm good at anything, that is significant.. Hope that made sense. Any thoughts?

Hi,
Welcome to WP! Lots of us are garden variety Asperger's Syndrome that are really keen on this or that, but aren't exactly savants. I was amazed when I first found out I was autistic because I had gone through various career paths and thought I was fabulous at them all. I probably wasn't.

Merle

Yeah, you don't have to be obsessed with one particular thing to be AS. Though in my case I do tend to have a very narrow focus at times. When I buy a new game, I will only play THAT game for a long time, ignoring all others. At work, when I'm given a task, I do nothing else but THAT task till it's done, even when I should be popping my head up and doing other things as well. "Can't see the forest for the trees" is a phrase made just for me.

There are things that I love doing, which I think I do better than the average person. For example, my photos are better than snapshots, as I take more care and put a lot of thought into the composition and so on, (I'll happily spend a day photographing a seed head or a feather), but they are nowhere near good enough to win competitions. That doesn't bother me, as I have had a good time messing about with lighting and lenses and depth of field.

I love writing too and again, I think I am better than a lot of people at this, but there are also stacks of AS and NT people who are way, way better at it than I am.

Some people, whether they're on the spectrum or not, are gifted in one special area, others seem gifted in many (Hugh Laurie leaps to mind as a madly gifted person), others, like my NT friend don't feel that they have any special talent. But they may be gifted in areas that are not traditionally valued or recognised as gifts... she is the most warm, loyal, giving and kind person. She is also really good at sports, which I am crap at. I see that as a gift, but she doesn't as it's normal to her.