Is this Asperger's Syndrome or Autism or Something?
During talking so someone most of the time i don't make eye contact with them and sometimes i even don't realize it. This might happen even if i am interested in what other person is saying but still i wont make an eye contact, i might be looking somewhere else, dunno why.
I rarely use non-verbal gestures while talking to anyone and sometimes I use the wrong gesture. For example, if i ask someone to give me 2 chocolates i may lift my 3 fingers, though i should life two. It has happened more than one time and i did not even notice it my friends were the one who noticed it.
During childhood I was very interested in factual information (like registration no of vehicle, models of vehicle, etc, capitals of countries). The only hobbies I remember during childhood was:
1) Watching maps on world atlas for hours
2) Using computer and talking about stuff related to computers etc (this was the only topic i liked to discuss)
3) I used to lay on the bed with a diary and a pen and used to make drawing, weird things like some machine, office maps, etc faces that i imagined as characters and imagined stories about them. For example i would make a picture of a soldier i would imagine a whole story about it. When i used to do it i was so much indulged in that if someone else used to see me they used to laugh at me.
I have a good number of friends but still its very hard for me to make new friends and mingle among people I don't know. Now I am 22 and it is getting better but during childhood making friends was a real hard task. Talking about communication I think i have to try a little hard while communicating with people while other don't have to.
I prefer to stay home alone when friends or family plan to go out in a trip or something, though when they pull me to go with them, i sometimes enjoy the outing but next time again, i do not feel like going.
I am very lazy and avoid doing some physical work.
Apart from all these things, people say i am nice, friendly and smart.....
Can anyone tell? Is this AS or something, what should i do? I feel i can be more better if i get rid of habits i mentioned above. Please reply? Is this AS? Do i need a treatment? Also share your symptoms?
fiddlerpianist
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Hmm... is that about the extent of your traits? If you are on the spectrum, it's sounds extremely mild from what you describe.
I think the line about whether you have Asperger's gets extremely fuzzy in adults whose traits have faded and they have learned to adapt. Certainly there are many of us with the traits, but the impairment may be less pronounced and not affect our lives quite so much.
Welcome to WP, by the way!
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"That leap of logic should have broken his legs." - Janissy
Are you really just lazy or do you avoid physical work because of sensory issues? Laziness isn't really an autistic trait but sensory issues can be perceived as laziness.
I'm not sure if that counts as not using the right nonverbal gesture... I was under the impression that these were things that you just didn't know how or what to do appropriately. When you hold up 3 fingers instead of 2, you are instinctively doing that and it sounds just more like a mistake or motor-problems (maybe holding up 2 fingers is hard for you?). On a side note for this reason I hold up fingers when counting differently than others do, I put down fingers and put up other ones and apparently you aren't supposed to do that!
2) Using computer and talking about stuff related to computers etc (this was the only topic i liked to discuss)
3) I used to lay on the bed with a diary and a pen and used to make drawing, weird things like some machine, office maps, etc faces that i imagined as characters and imagined stories about them. For example i would make a picture of a soldier i would imagine a whole story about it. When i used to do it i was so much indulged in that if someone else used to see me they used to laugh at me.
The first two sound autistic but the third one doesn't. Most people with AS lack imaginative play.
A lot of AS people are perceived as rude due to their lack of social understanding.
Also, if you aren't unable to get work or need(ed) assistance in school it's most likely nothing to worry about or pointless to worry about.
fiddlerpianist
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2) Using computer and talking about stuff related to computers etc (this was the only topic i liked to discuss)
3) I used to lay on the bed with a diary and a pen and used to make drawing, weird things like some machine, office maps, etc faces that i imagined as characters and imagined stories about them. For example i would make a picture of a soldier i would imagine a whole story about it. When i used to do it i was so much indulged in that if someone else used to see me they used to laugh at me.
The first two sound autistic but the third one doesn't. Most people with AS lack imaginative play.
Buryuntime, I don't think that's what imaginative play is. Imaginative play, I thought, meant more "playing pretend" with peers, not building fantasy. I believe that many with AS have a larger capability to fantasize than others.
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"That leap of logic should have broken his legs." - Janissy
That is, except if it has something to do with the special interest. OK, possibly it won't be great imaginative play, but it will still be. (Or else I've completely misunderstood what imaginative play really is, which wouldn't surprise me.)
I don't see how imaginative play with peers differs from building fantasy. They both require using your imagination... and anything involving peers is going to be more difficult for someone autistic.
It's different because stories have rules just like anything else. If you spend your childhood reading fiction, you pick up on the patterns and reproduce them. I was writing original stories by the time I was fourteen--yeah, that's later than most, but many Aspies don't ever do so. My mom, for example, has not read fiction since my grandma gave her fairy tales to read when she was a little girl, and they scared her very badly--possibly because she has never had a real concept of what "it's just pretend" means.
It is different from social pretend play because if someone else is in the picture you can't just remake the story whenever some new factor comes in; you have to react within seconds to someone else's new story element--which could be nonsensical or in the direction absolutely opposite to the one you wanted. That kind of flexibility is a large part of it, and is not at all a part of mental or solitary storytelling.
I think you can go either way. The "no imagination" thing is one of the less common traits in the first place. When you see imagination, you're more likely to see solitary, mostly mental imagination; when you see social pretend play, you're more likely to see scripts, or play only with children that are extremely familiar, like siblings. My own pretend play was there, though it was scripted and if I involved someone else, it was my sister and a couple of times my cousins (who lived down the street at the time). Actually, later on it was literally scripted--I'd write plays and have us perform them!
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AmberEyes
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What about so called "normal" people lacking imaginative play?
In the playground the kids played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers or Bulldog.
So, it was basically a choice between being smashed against a brick wall or being kickboxed in a sensitive place.
Most of the "imaginary" games were basically rehashed versions of cartoon TV shows. So it was imitative play, not original imaginative play from what I could see. All of the storylines and characters were predefined: there was no room for real creativity at all.
Some of the games verged on the utterly bizarre.
I was asked, at the age of 11 if I wanted to play "Rugrats".
I enjoyed watching the TV show, but was puzzled as to why I was being asked to pretend to be an American baby. I was trying to grow up. I had had enough of being a baby after about the age of three.
I had lots of great original ideas for pretend games in the playground, but no one would listen to me. They'd either be imitating each other or talking about TV constantly. This made it really hard for me to connect with other people in the playground.
I seemed to be much better at imaginary play when I was outside of that clique based environment (sorry I mean prison).
I used to really enjoy the rare occasions when I'd play with my cousins or my parents' friends' children. We used to play outside and explore. Sometimes the games would have fantasy or medieval themes. It was wonderful to be in a relaxed natural setting and not be surrounded by crowds of bullies.
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