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iheartmegahitt
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16 May 2012, 11:54 am

What are some really positive traits about Autism? Like, not intelligence wise but anything maybe about yourself that you know has to do with AS that you find more positive about yourself? I don't mean that maybe you have good intelligence or anything... I just mean, for example, you are good at memorizing things or you happen to be good with your hands, etc.

Basically anything that might contribute to a positive personality you have as an autistic person. I'm looking for some inspiration for the story I'm still trying to commit myself too. >_< It's the same one that's about an autistic girl trying to win the heart of a boy with ADHD but her mother objects to it and whatever.

So, positive traits you can think of? I don't want to use my own because i want to have more positive sides since I know that Autism can have different sides, both good and bad. So I need more input on the positives.


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izzeme
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16 May 2012, 12:16 pm

there are quite a few actually.
they may or may not count for everyone, so listing them is hard; however, this video does a prety decent job at displaying them



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16 May 2012, 12:21 pm

What people claim are positive Autism traits are just general personality traits what anyone could have, regardless of neurology. Like for example, some Autistics could use ''I am clean and tidy'' as a positive Autistic trait, but you can get NTs that are clean and tidy people too, like exceptionally clean and tidy. I can play the piano but I don't think it's because I got AS because I know NTs who can play the piano, learned from memory, too.

I think good points of Autism depends on how much you enjoy having special interests, or how much you enjoy focusing too hard on details, etc.


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AdamAutistic
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16 May 2012, 12:24 pm

i am happyer than smart people (just as long as my routine is not disturbed)


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iheartmegahitt
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16 May 2012, 12:32 pm

AdamAutistic wrote:
i am happyer than smart people (just as long as my routine is not disturbed)


I don't know i that counts. O_o I think that is considered being eccentric which my character already is like that. She's much happier than most people think she is, unless you do anything that upsets her.


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TB
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16 May 2012, 2:09 pm

http://theotherside.wordpress.com/my-ra ... dvantages/



Personally i see all the ''negative'' traits which can cause a lot of pain for example social miscommunication and resulting isolation as hidden positives aswell. Yes it hurts but every experience is a chance to learn and grow. Negative experiences have much more potential to bring personal growth then just doing alright will.

Its like people start building themselves a house of cards. They start out sloppy in childhood, continue it during teenage years and when they reach adulthood know how to manage their wobbly card house always balancing on the edge of everything coming down without realizing it.

When your attempts to build a card house get crushed over and over early on in life you either lose all hope in living or you figure out how to lay a solid foundation from the ground up.

Being autistic does not offer as much leeway to get away with flaws in character. Yes its hard, in some ways much harder then the average person. If you can start to see the positive sides in ''negative'' experiences then the more painfull experiences you have the more you will learn about handling them. My depression and the resulting lessons in learned make me feel so much more secure in living life now. All the pain it caused was worth it in the end. The difficulties we deal with can be a valuable asset if you train yourself to harvest the positives they bring.

Eckhart tolle said something about this in the way that people who live a nightmare are more likely to want to wake up while people who live in the ups and downs of a regular dream might never wake.



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16 May 2012, 2:17 pm

TB wrote:
http://theotherside.wordpress.com/my-ramblings-about-autism-aspergers-syndrome/good-qualities-or-aspie-advantages/



Personally i see all the ''negative'' traits which can cause a lot of pain for example social miscommunication and resulting isolation as hidden positives aswell. Yes it hurts but every experience is a chance to learn and grow. Negative experiences have much more potential to bring personal growth then just doing alright will.

Its like people start building themselves a house of cards. They start out sloppy in childhood, continue it during teenage years and when they reach adulthood know how to manage their wobbly card house always balancing on the edge of everything coming down without realizing it.

When your attempts to build a card house get crushed over and over early on in life you either lose all hope in living or you figure out how to lay a solid foundation from the ground up.

Being autistic does not offer as much leeway to get away with flaws in character. Yes its hard, in some ways much harder then the average person. If you can start to see the positive sides in ''negative'' experiences then the more painfull experiences you have the more you will learn about handling them. My depression and the resulting lessons in learned make me feel so much more secure in living life now. All the pain it caused was worth it in the end. The difficulties we deal with can be a valuable asset if you train yourself to harvest the positives they bring.

Eckhart tolle said something about this in the way that people who live a nightmare are more likely to want to wake up while people who live in the ups and downs of a regular dream might never wake.



Not all negative experiences have positives...and in my experience they typically don't....but yeah I'd say my 'card house' has been crushed over and over again throughout my life and I've pretty much lost all hope. What do I have to build a solid foundation on? nothing.

Perhaps I could have some more bad experiances like what caused my PTSD and learn to just not develop PTSD in response. :? And I did not find that that article really applied to me........and I don't like the notion AS should not be a diagnoses because while some peoples AS might fit was described there.........what about all the people that don't have all those great abilities? they should just be disregarded as not needing any support even if they do?


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Last edited by Sweetleaf on 16 May 2012, 2:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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16 May 2012, 2:23 pm

I can only think of one. I am good at being alone. Lot's of people can't stand to be alone. I know some of them. I am an introverted hermit type person, and don't mind that at all. When necessary I can handle being with others, too. I feel sorry for people who can't stand to be alone, because they do get stressed out by it. Because I can handle being with others okay when I have to, I think I am better off than my opposites on this issue, as they really don't handle being alone too good.

On the down side, all of my other traits tend to have a negative effect on my life.


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16 May 2012, 2:36 pm

Joe90 wrote:
What people claim are positive Autism traits are just general personality traits what anyone could have, regardless of neurology. Like for example, some Autistics could use ''I am clean and tidy'' as a positive Autistic trait, but you can get NTs that are clean and tidy people too, like exceptionally clean and tidy. I can play the piano but I don't think it's because I got AS because I know NTs who can play the piano, learned from memory, too.

I think good points of Autism depends on how much you enjoy having special interests, or how much you enjoy focusing too hard on details, etc.



I THINK that some traits are more commonly found in people who endure the kinds of experiences we are likely to experience.

nature vs nurture, the traits autistic people end up with do not have to be inherent to the wiring of the brain they get born with but could also be a result of that different way in which you experience and interact with the world.

I know my life is different from most people in a number of ways due to having a different brain wiring. My experiences have been different in general and i find that the way i think and view the world and many character traits and beliefs that i developed are a result of this.

I think having autistic traits inherently weigh far far less as much as the accumulated life experiences you gather and the way you handle them.

This is only speaking from my limited experience with high functioning people. I do not mean to devalue the problems that some people have.



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16 May 2012, 2:49 pm

If you do something at work, you will do it good, people will also appreciate your honesty.



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16 May 2012, 2:55 pm

The only thing I see as a positive is my ability to memorize numbers. I have an almost a photographic memory when it comes to certain stats. When I was in retail management, my superiors always loved the fact that I always knew how my store was performing. Other than that, I think that my other AS traits "drain me" on a daily basis.


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16 May 2012, 3:03 pm

Uprising wrote:
If you do something at work, you will do it good, people will also appreciate your honesty.
Aspies often do well at work because it is a structured environment.When I am in a structured environment with a set protocol, I usually do quite well.The traits of being honest,hardworking,intelligent and determined are traits I naturally possess and they serve me well at work. When it comes to situations that are not structured or when I am in unfamiliar territory such as trying to figure out if a woman is interested in me and the best approach to to take,I struggle.



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16 May 2012, 3:09 pm

bruinsy33 wrote:
Uprising wrote:
If you do something at work, you will do it good, people will also appreciate your honesty.
Aspies often do well at work because it is a structured environment.When I am in a structured environment with a set protocol, I usually do quite well.The traits of being honest,hardworking,intelligent and determined are traits I naturally possess and they serve me well at work. When it comes to situations that are not structured or when I am in unfamiliar territory such as trying to figure out if a woman is interested in me and the best approach to to take,I struggle.

I find I work best either in a highly structured environment, or one where I have a complete or near-complete autonomy where I know what I'm doing.



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16 May 2012, 4:52 pm

bruinsy33 wrote:
Uprising wrote:
If you do something at work, you will do it good, people will also appreciate your honesty.
Aspies often do well at work because it is a structured environment.When I am in a structured environment with a set protocol, I usually do quite well.The traits of being honest,hardworking,intelligent and determined are traits I naturally possess and they serve me well at work. When it comes to situations that are not structured or when I am in unfamiliar territory such as trying to figure out if a woman is interested in me and the best approach to to take,I struggle.


Typically I cannot quite live up to sticking to the exact structure....I do better in relaxed environments with as little stress as possible. Otherwise its all too much and I get overwhelmed I guess I am an unusual aspie in this regard because honestly I don't think I could stick to a specific routine if my life depended on it. But it could be maybe without my other mental conditions that I would be better with structured environments but I could go on all day about the ifs.

I do kind of like familiarity though I do like to explore new environments....but I have my limits and prefer to have somewhere familiar to mellow out afterwords.


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16 May 2012, 5:18 pm

Well, there are upsides to the downsides. Many autistic impairments come with talents but the skills can be tough to be put to use.

Think of sensory issues and how bad they can be. In the worst of cases, sensory dysfunction is so bad that someone cannot talk, is hardly able to communicate, will significantly injure themselves or others and will have a lot of trouble to focus on something and watch, hear or otherwise endure the sensory stress of normal activities, even seemingly simple movements.

Heightened or diminished sensory perception can be hell but can be just as "handy" and at times, even advantageous. When I am not too overloaded to function, I still pick up on so many more details than most typical people: more things I see, hear, feel and more things that I taste or smell.

Yes, details fry my brain if there are too many but I also got many compliments in the past for noticing more details about my environment than other people who "missed" them and are glad I noticed and commented on it/pointed it out/took care of it.

Even sensory issues with pain aren't all bad. If I am hurt but cannot tell how bad it is because I hurt less than other people, that's bad. Not going "ouch" and getting all tear-y when I get hurt a little (think of martial arts of accidentally knocking into something) can be good however. Someone who feels pain more intensely might, well, hurt often a lot, but there's a good chance that because of their heightened sensitivity to pain they better notice small injuries or bruises and take care of them while someone else would completely overlook the same.

Then there's language.

Struggling to talk, write and struggling to understand others can be an impairment ranging from mild to most severe and seems to come with no positive that anyone could appreciate amidst all the troubles and difficulties they endure because of it.

However, I personally do feel quite content at not being as caught up in language, specifically the limits of the use of language and that language dictates a huge part of reality for people speaking that language. This ability is the lack of ability to communicate in a reliable, efficient and flexible manner and that side of it I greatly dislike. Not being able to say what I want, not understanding what was being said and not understanding what I read, that's so horribly frustrating.

However, I'm glad that my lack of ability to use language as other people means I have more insight than the average person in that it is a tool to express yourself, that it has a peculiar history, that it isn't logical, that it is ever-changing because language is made by people, they influence it and it's not the steady truth that people treat it like.

There are things I cannot say - and I wish I could because every day, there are so many things I want and need to say or write that I can't express and so, on one will know, unless they notice what I want/need by chance. But I am glad that I am capable of noticing things that I do not have words or sentences for. You'd think that other normal people are perfectly capable of noticing some of those things but they don't - language restricts their ability to consciously notice them.

I also like how what I read, when I can understand it (because some things I do not understand) gets translates into visuals and sounds and mental stimuli for all other senses. Makes books fun because what's written comes to life. On the other hand, this ability is very closely connected to that frustrating autistic impairment to translate my thoughts into the correct words (into any words other people understand, really, because if you say "hot" when it is cold, then your verbal ability doesn't make your life all good and easy and painless just because you use language).

Oh and that freakish body language and lack of body language? It's way more problematic than it is worth (and it is frustrating and problem-causing and at worst, nobody will notice you're in pain and you die which is really bad, sort of) but there are always a few rare times when not "wearing your heart on your sleeve" (meaning you can't help but make it obvious how you feel and what you think all the time) and others not understanding your body language can be advantageous.

Besides, flapping your hands and bouncing up and down out of happiness instead of just plain laughing can have some charming style. Seriously. Some people call you "enthusiastic" for it and rarer so, they say it is a "charming" expression of honest excitement and joy.

(Oh yeah, same thing with ADHD. Impulsively and accidentally sticking a knife through me is no fun (don't try that fully clothed, everything's going to be soaked red, on second thought - don't try this ever, it's horribly stupid and the scar will be lifelong) but I so am the one who impulsively reaches out and gets the one and only chocolate cookie left... if I manage to focus on the cookie at the right moment, that is.)


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16 May 2012, 6:59 pm

Sweetleaf wrote:
TB wrote:
http://theotherside.wordpress.com/my-ramblings-about-autism-aspergers-syndrome/good-qualities-or-aspie-advantages/



Personally i see all the ''negative'' traits which can cause a lot of pain for example social miscommunication and resulting isolation as hidden positives aswell. Yes it hurts but every experience is a chance to learn and grow. Negative experiences have much more potential to bring personal growth then just doing alright will.

Its like people start building themselves a house of cards. They start out sloppy in childhood, continue it during teenage years and when they reach adulthood know how to manage their wobbly card house always balancing on the edge of everything coming down without realizing it.

When your attempts to build a card house get crushed over and over early on in life you either lose all hope in living or you figure out how to lay a solid foundation from the ground up.

Being autistic does not offer as much leeway to get away with flaws in character. Yes its hard, in some ways much harder then the average person. If you can start to see the positive sides in ''negative'' experiences then the more painfull experiences you have the more you will learn about handling them. My depression and the resulting lessons in learned make me feel so much more secure in living life now. All the pain it caused was worth it in the end. The difficulties we deal with can be a valuable asset if you train yourself to harvest the positives they bring.

Eckhart tolle said something about this in the way that people who live a nightmare are more likely to want to wake up while people who live in the ups and downs of a regular dream might never wake.



Not all negative experiences have positives...and in my experience they typically don't....but yeah I'd say my 'card house' has been crushed over and over again throughout my life and I've pretty much lost all hope. What do I have to build a solid foundation on? nothing.

Perhaps I could have some more bad experiances like what caused my PTSD and learn to just not develop PTSD in response. :? And I did not find that that article really applied to me........and I don't like the notion AS should not be a diagnoses because while some peoples AS might fit was described there.........what about all the people that don't have all those great abilities? they should just be disregarded as not needing any support even if they do?


The more the s.h.i.t. the stronger and more resiliant you become. People let you down, the closer you allow them to become, the more the pain and you get to a point that you can let people into your life expecting the inevitable let-down. Judging peoples behavior is a very strong social skill.


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