Have I been brainwashed by NT's?

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ARGH!

There are no "norms"
Norms are a social construct invented to reduce ambiguity about behavior. If you can categorize, you can predict, control, etc, behavior.

People have autistic patterns in various areas of functioning: social, sensory, etc.
It is a disorder if it interferes with functioning. You can have a full complement of autistic patten behavior and not get diagnosed. You can have one or two behaviors that are disturbing to NTs and get diagnosed in a flash. Hence all types of people on this site, including those who have identified one or two autistic traits and adopt the diagnosis, usually without the disadvantages.
I have a full complement of aspergers symptoms but haven't been diagnosed because I have a lot of folds in my brain and can imitate NT behavior. The whole thing is superficial: it takes a lot of energy, and when I am tired, it falls apart and people confirm their hypothesis that I am wierd. Luckily I haven't completely lost it so instead of institutionalized I am just really marginal. But I have to support myself, so this is how I live.

I like a lot of things that NTs like, and I engage in the behavior. I do believe a lot of it is highly illogical, and sometimes I say its stupid because I am frustrated and angry that this lack of logic is the expected behavior. I say that aspergers traits are better because I want to feel better about myself. You are right to say they are not better. They are just different. But for NTs different, in particular different that they don't understand, is bad. So I counter by saying my good is better.

O.K. Making less sense now.

that's how i work out when someone is being sarcastic too.

but i've witnessed NTs misunderstand other NTs occasionally so i don't think people are expected to get it right EVERY time. my former boss, who is very socially-orientated, responded incorrectly one day. it was coming up to christmas and a man walked in to the shop and started chatting to my boss. the man said "have you noticed how christmas is becoming more and more about religion every year?" and my boss said "yes! i have noticed that." and the man replied "err, no... i was being ironic." what he meant was that christmas is becoming more about consumerism than christianity.

before i actually thought about what the words meant and applied them to their context i would've assumed that the man was being serious too. but i didn't admit that to my boss because it was usually me who made a fool of myself by interpreting something literally and it felt good for it to happen to someone else for a change!

Heh...in that situation ("Christmas is getting more religious every year!") I would have taken the person literally as well! I do realize that Aspies aren't the only people who take things literally -- we just seem to do it more often. I do it a LOT more often than everyone I know and it is so strange to encounter all these cases in which people don't say what they really mean, or speak in an imprecise manner.

I had a total Aspie-literal moment recently when someone told me to press the "stop" button on the oven and I just stood there staring at the panel since I didn't see an "off" button. He came over to me, reached over my shoulder, and pressed a button labeled "Off".

In retrospect I can see how maybe "stop" could mean the same as "off" but it just did not occur to me to look for any button other than one with the literal label "stop". This is the sort of literalism I do NOT see NTs engaging in often, and it is the sort that has gotten me in trouble throughout my life because the NTs think I'm being snarky or rude (as in, I'm deliberately "choosing" not to extrapolate what the person really meant, as opposed to what they said). It's part of the "you do X so well, it seems impossible that you could possibly have a hard time with Y!" conundrum.

Anyway, getting back on topic, I have encountered a few people online who can list of numerous autistic traits they had as children but who think they are "normal" or very close to NT now. It is my impression that though they may be able to emulate NT for certain periods of time, they didn't learn these skills the same way NTs do, and they execute the skills differently, drawing on analytical processes rather than subconscious emotional impressions. For instance, if I look at a person I don't get any initial emotional "feel" for them. I have to consciously choose to observe them and listen to them beyond what they are actually saying, and I'm often not very good at it. If I focus too much on trying to evaluate a person's vocal tone, I will miss most of what they are actually saying.

This is an excellent description of what I have learned to do. However, I know I am processing thing differently and there is a miniscule lag time in my responses while I do process and search my mental book for the right response/reaction.

Y

That shows him, that diabolical NT!

OK, I admit, I am an NT (though not an Earthly one, but from another, yet undiscovered, planet, I think).
NeantHumain, your post confuses me somewhat. Do you seriously mean it, or is it your sarcasm again?

Check out the TOM past present and future thread for more on this idea.

Did someone say normal? Normal is a myth. Their's average, but not normal. Too much variety for their to be such a thing as normal. Being Chinese is normal, because thier's more people being it than anyone else. Let's go join the party!

There is a press to act "normal" and we get rewarded for it. I find that most NTs cannot ignore this press because they have the wiring for social connection that makes it important to them.
I don't have this wiring, so it is not important what people think of me. That means my behavior is governed less by what the norm is and more by what seems practical and logical to me. I think if I were wired differently it would bother me that people shunned me for one reason or another.
I have tried to cultivate this caring about what others think, but I always forget about it because there are so many other things competing for that energy, like making sure I don't smell, and that my clothes aren't stained, brushing my teeth, eating good food, and being able to have minimal participation in social relations. These things are required to keep me employed, and keep me from being a burden on society (or on my mother).
So technically it's not brainwashing; it's kind of functional within the social paradigm in this country. It's more like reinforcement of the things you like that you have in common with NTs.
Hum. /me thinks I am not making sense anymore. Too much of a predilection to play with words.

I think this makes a lot of sense. Certain behaviors may require much more effort from us, but they are rewarded by society. So this becomes integrated into the person to an extent.

I definitely have AS, but I have much more in common and I am more similar to my peers than people here at WP.

Strangely enough, I tend to "get" and "give" sarcasm pretty well. Hmmm... the Sarcasm Center in my Prefrontal Cortex must be at a normal level of functioning...

I think I've finally found my soul-mate.

Same.



Most people do. I don't see why that is AS related..

bugger off - she's mine!

i refer you to:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... pic&t=5332

so there.

anyway, it's not true, as chocolate is likely to be involved, as well as retail therapy and Schadenfruede ("drooooool" to all three).