Hanging out with other autistic people
normally I really don't think its a good idea to hang out with autistic people because I fear the more I hang out with them because the more autistic I might become more so.. I sort of want to but that is my chief fear. Im really not the sort who likes embrace in my own autistic tendencies such as my tourette or nervous ticks.
I'd like to hear some input and some other perspectives on the subject
I understand your concern. It seems pretty natural to expect that you might become more relaxed about the more obvious autistic characteristics you might want to suppress in the general world. Maybe you can look at it as two different worlds, and remind yourself that when you leave your autistic friends, you are leaving your safe world, and need to be more discreet.
But don't worry, there is no way you can become more autistic in any real sense, so I think you should going ahead and try it.
But don't worry, there is no way you can become more autistic in any real sense, so I think you should going ahead and try it.
_________________
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
I can sympathise with OP.
I mimic those around me, so when I'm around autistics...I mimic them. I'm getting better at not doing it though.
Last edited by JellyCat on 27 Jan 2013, 9:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
BlackImage
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 16 Sep 2012
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 58
Location: Australia
I do not think OP thinks of AS as infectious, just that you automatically try to fit in with the people around you and are to different degrees influenced by their behavior. Therefor if you hang out a lot with other autistics you probably will be a little more autistic. I am married to one and more than once we have thought that something we do is perfectly normal, just to find out later that other people think it is totally weird
Everything you have said is entirely wrong, OP. Autism is not contagious, and cannot be directly acquired from others by any means. Most Autistics don't experience sumptoms of Tourette's Syndrome, and therefore, wouldn't cause yours to intensify.
As an Autistic person who spends a significant amount of time with other Autistic people, I can say that overall, I prefer the company of those on the spectrum to Neurotypicals. They are far less judgemental of me, share common interests, and don't fell the pervasive need to irritate me.
So, yes, your concerns are unfounded. If I were you, I'd try to find out if there are any ASC social groups in your area. Good luck!
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Jane
I think the OP has a legitimate concern. when I was little, I was mimicking kids in my class when I was six and seven and they were all developmentally disabled. I was even screaming in school because a boy in my class did that. Some other kids copied him too. Mom found out I was copying other kids in my class and she and dad got me out of there.
I have heard that if you put an autistic kid with other autistic kids who are more severe, they act more autistic, put ret*d kids together, they act even more ret*d, put kids with behavior disorders together, they copy each other and they have even more behavior disorders.
NTs do this too, it's called peer pressure.
_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed and ASD lv 1.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses. Possibly OCD. Is very private about herself.
I have heard that if you put an autistic kid with other autistic kids who are more severe, they act more autistic, put ret*d kids together, they act even more ret*d, put kids with behavior disorders together, they copy each other and they have even more behavior disorders.
NTs do this too, it's called peer pressure.
As an Autistic person who spends a significant amount of time with other Autistic people, I can say that overall, I prefer the company of those on the spectrum to Neurotypicals. They are far less judgemental of me, share common interests, and don't fell the pervasive need to irritate me.
So, yes, your concerns are unfounded. If I were you, I'd try to find out if there are any ASC social groups in your area. Good luck!
Ok people I don't think people catch autism like the flu. my thought was if you just surround yourself with those like you, there may be a tendency to forget the social skills you had to learn to be around NTs, by the way the NTS i want to be around. I don't like telling people about my condition because to me its not necessarily a fall back excuse for all behavior it may explain it but not a excuse to just carry one that was what I meant. Sorry if i rubbed someone the wrong way
As an Autistic person who spends a significant amount of time with other Autistic people, I can say that overall, I prefer the company of those on the spectrum to Neurotypicals. They are far less judgemental of me, share common interests, and don't fell the pervasive need to irritate me.
So, yes, your concerns are unfounded. If I were you, I'd try to find out if there are any ASC social groups in your area. Good luck!
Ok tourette is comorbid(bad spelling) disorder associated with PDD Source: Developments in Autism
by Juan Martos Perez (Editor), Pedro M. Gonzalez.. I read a few medical treaties and consulted with my psychiatrist.
When I was 9 years old they wanted to send me to a school for kids with autism. I was kicking and screaming and fighting not to go to that school because I too feared at that age that I was going to mimic them. Since I already knew then that I was mimicking people. But as I got to read more threads on WrongPlanet, there are a lot of social tips and ways to deal with things in general. Even changing my perspective. I would say, they would be able to help you more than a NT do, because a NT seem to do these things instinctively without the need to explain it. I guess what I'm saying is the people with AS were taught skills (probably by trained NTs to recognise the deficiency)
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