Maddy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:22 am
Asperger's is an interesting subject that deserves its own thread.
It is generally described as "high functioning autism," consistent with the idea that autism presents on a spectrum. The idea of a spectrum (think linear) is probably a crude representation of what is really going on, since there are a whole lot of different presentations and because functionality has a lot to do with how well a particular set of abilities/disabilities fits into the cultural norm. A person who has trouble holding a job in a service-oriented economy may excel--and in fact define the norm--in a high-tech one.
In addition to the usual criteria, some defining characteristics I've noticed:
(1) Hypersensitivity to external stimuli--noises, touch, etc.--and the consequent need for a controlled environment.
(2) Inability to multi-task. A need to focus in on one thing at a time, usually intently.
(3) Inability to filter and process multiple simultaneous pieces of information from the environment.
Example: Can't sit down and do taxes until the room is cleaned up.
Example: Interpersonal interactions best when one-on-one. Interacting with two or more people at once becomes confusing and involves too much simultaneous processing of information.
Worst nightmare: A cocktail party in which one person is talking to you, the boss' wife is signaling for you to come over, there is loud music playing in the background, there are three other conversations going on within earshot, the smell of a woman's perfume is bringing back an unidentifiable memory from the past, a waiter with a tray has just approached and is vying for your attention, someone just told a joke that you didn't get and you're still trying to figure it out, there's a troubling waft of cigar smoke, etc.
(4) A great need for predictability. Difficulty adjusting to/accepting changes in plan. If an event is set for 3:00 and it gets put back to 4:00, many Aspies flip out.
(5) Difficulty planning and executing a series of steps toward a goal.
(6) A tendency to take things literally. A tendency to miss nuance and subtleties.
(7) A need to have social/emotional concepts explained in logical, left-brain terms.
(8) When confronted with an interpersonal problem (e.g., a marital problem), an Aspie will turn to research to solve it.
(9) Issues with trauma/chronic stress.
(10) Normal tone of conversation often viewed by others as pedantic.
(11) Inability to dance. Inability to understand why someone would dance.
(12) [For some] Inability to appreciate the real-world consequences of the pursuit of their special interests. (Think Bill Gates)
Thanks for this.
In my case ... 6 is a Huge one. 7 & 8 probably also apply.
To the counter...... Some have described me as the biggest multi-tasker they have ever encountered. Also, I'd regularly have on three sound sources - C-Span, sports talk radio, a replay of a baseball game - and let my attention drift to whichever was providing the most interesting content at the time. Now I either have only one but sometimes also two sound sources on at the same time. Though when I was exercising this morning in the living room I was both listening to C-Span on the TV and the music on the radios that is playing in both the kitchen and the bathroom.
