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LabPet
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21 Sep 2014, 1:33 pm

MathGirl wrote:
LabPet wrote:
The clinical polar opposite of autism is considered Williams-Beuren Syndrome (Williams Syndrome), a development disorder. Apologies for this non-academic link, but here's a quick look: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/williams-syndrome

Anyhow, apart from the other physical conditions those with Williams Syndrome suffer from, they are characterised by having "cocktail party personalities" and are highly socially orientated and personable. Hence why they are clinically regarded as the opposite of autism. Just to add, a physical characteristic of William Syndrome individuals are small "elfin" eyes. From my (unofficial!) experience, so many of autistic/AS individuals conversely have big beautifully deep eyes.
I've met somebody with Williams' syndrome and something she had in common with ASD was repetitive behaviours (she was stimming very noticeably). Also, they have good rote memories much like in ASD, so I wouldn't say they're the complete opposite, but that's probably as close as possible to being opposite a disorder can get.


Yeah, I know what you mean - comparisons are so inconclusive. Strictly from a biomedical point of view however, Williams Syndrome is regarded as the opposite.....for whatever that's worth! (At least according to certain 'experts', but then again, I guess I am an 'expert' too, so I don't know how meaningful such a comparison is).

Of course, those popular cheerleader-type socially political neurotypicals are our behavioural opposite.....and I totally agree with CockneyRebel et al. 8)


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21 Sep 2014, 2:20 pm

DevilKisses wrote:
You know those people hyper social people who enjoy smalltalk more than the average person. They also have exellent executive functioning. That means that they usually have very clean houses. Their executive fuctioning is so good that they think everyone else is lazy.

They tend to be soccer moms if they have kids. They tend to be very diplomatic and indirect. If they're nice people they can be very helpful, but if they are not they can be very manipulative. They are the type of person that would say you're haircut looks awesome when it actually looks awful. A regular person might say nothing or say it looks ok or good.


Yeah I know exactly what you are talking about, but I don't know what it's called, other than "Stepford." Or a "Martha Stewart" type.

Personally I tend to just think of a woman like that as a "b***h", even if they seem like a really nice person, because that kind of niceness can be really overbearing and pushy. But I've encountered very few who seem like genuinely nice people to begin with. It's phony and they will turn on you quick.

For men, it's called being part of the "good ol' boys network."



DevilKisses
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21 Sep 2014, 3:40 pm

dianthus wrote:
DevilKisses wrote:
You know those people hyper social people who enjoy smalltalk more than the average person. They also have exellent executive functioning. That means that they usually have very clean houses. Their executive fuctioning is so good that they think everyone else is lazy.

They tend to be soccer moms if they have kids. They tend to be very diplomatic and indirect. If they're nice people they can be very helpful, but if they are not they can be very manipulative. They are the type of person that would say you're haircut looks awesome when it actually looks awful. A regular person might say nothing or say it looks ok or good.


Yeah I know exactly what you are talking about, but I don't know what it's called, other than "Stepford." Or a "Martha Stewart" type.

Personally I tend to just think of a woman like that as a "b***h", even if they seem like a really nice person, because that kind of niceness can be really overbearing and pushy. But I've encountered very few who seem like genuinely nice people to begin with. It's phony and they will turn on you quick.

For men, it's called being part of the "good ol' boys network."

I have such a hard time understanding them. They sometimes act like they want to be my friend, but I don't think they actually do. I have no idea why they pretend they want to be my friend. If they actually want to be my friend I have no clue why they would want to be friends with someone like me. I have a feeling they just want to be entertained by me.

I do notice that they're "nice" a lot of the time, but their niceness seems patronizing, annoying and fake. I never trust people like that.


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Chickenbird
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21 Sep 2014, 4:00 pm

DevilKisses wrote:
Do you know what it's called? I have no idea what it's called. I usually call them extreme NTs or super NTs. That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to people here. I just want a word for it because I definitely encounter people like this.


It's called a Dog. They are loving, highly social, very physical and enthusiastic. I wish I got one much sooner.
She seems like the perfect complement to my own traits.


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qFox
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21 Sep 2014, 4:49 pm

The narcissist.

The autist thinks he doesn't belong to this planet, the narcissist thinks the planet is made specifically for him.
The autist tries to avoid chaotic situations as much as possible, the narcissist thrives in chaotic situations.
The autist tries to avoid social interaction, the narcissist actively seeks out as much social interaction as possible.
The autist is unconfident, insecure and vulnerable while the narcissist is self-possessed, arrogant and manipulative.
The autist is loyal and honest, the narcissist is a pathological liar who uses people to climb the social ladder.
The autist is passive and too concious of his/her own actions, the narcissist acts rash without taking responsibility and lacks remorse.
The autist is constantly pre-occupied with a specific activity, the narcissist is constantly pre-occupied with self betterment.

( obviously generalizations that may not apply to everyone )



Birdsleep
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21 Sep 2014, 5:35 pm

Simon Baron-Cohen writes in his book 'Zero Empathy' about this.
He writes that there is a continuous spectrum between the extreme narcissist and the extreme autistic brain-wiring.
Ideally a balanced person is right in the middle between them, which most people are,
that's why they are called neuro-typical.
The narcissist has a highly socializing brain-wiring, which in the extreme case can become
psychopathic, with a complete lack of empathy, which leads to cruelty and manipulation.
On the other end of the spectrum you find the extreme systemizing brain-wiring, which gets pathological in severe autism, when people become completely unaware of their surroundings and can't look after themselves anymore, but can develop special savant abilities.
The book 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' (forgot the author), is about the same issue.
Statistically girls are more often born with a more socializing brain-wiring, while boys have more often
a more systemizing brain-wiring, although most of them are still within the NT range.
But that is the reason why they often have problems communicating, and why so many
people find it difficult to maintain happy relationships with each other.
That book was written to help people with different brain-wiring to understand each other better.
It's also handy if you are on the AS spectrum and you want to know how NT's are thinking.



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21 Sep 2014, 6:21 pm

Sadly I have to agree, I was married to someone similar to this. But I don't agree that the narcissist "thrives", not really.


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Birdsleep
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21 Sep 2014, 8:16 pm

Yes, I had a boyfriend like that too. They seem to be very good at picking people with autistic traits for partners. Is that because they are easier to exploit?
And he didn't really thrive either, indeed he appeared to be very unhappy, because the world never complied with his will, so he needed to throw tantrums all the time.
And I duly empathized with him...



Chickenbird
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21 Sep 2014, 9:41 pm

Argh. I was exactly like his mother. Now, I see this everywhere. If I meet someone I consider "nice" they are often with someone
like my ex.
I think it is because we will accept their behaviour where others won't. And when others find us boring or odd, this kind of person sees us
as the perfect audience/entourage.


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Johannes88
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21 Sep 2014, 9:57 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
There is a neurological condition that is sometimes refered to as "the opposite of autism". Its called "Williams Syndrome". Like autism it appears in childhood. It causes you to compulsively socialize. You can't keep to yourself, and you're compelled to interact with others in the room- in contrast to autistics who are known for being withdrawn, and "into themselves".

But I don't think that that's what your're looking for as an "opposite of autism".

People who keep up appearances,and do everything seemingly perfectly?

If they happened to be female then they might be called "Stepford WIves" (after the novel and the movie of that name). Have no idea what you would call the male equivalent of Stepford wife.


Call me crazy but I thought asd was more about not being able to read peoples emotions and understand social cues. I was social, I was a social kamikaze. Maybe if I was smarter I would've been shy.



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21 Sep 2014, 10:00 pm

Being shy rocks but that mask always slips and I usually regret my lapse of attention


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LabPet
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21 Sep 2014, 10:02 pm

Johannes88 wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
There is a neurological condition that is sometimes refered to as "the opposite of autism". Its called "Williams Syndrome". Like autism it appears in childhood. It causes you to compulsively socialize. You can't keep to yourself, and you're compelled to interact with others in the room- in contrast to autistics who are known for being withdrawn, and "into themselves".

But I don't think that that's what your're looking for as an "opposite of autism".

People who keep up appearances,and do everything seemingly perfectly?

If they happened to be female then they might be called "Stepford WIves" (after the novel and the movie of that name). Have no idea what you would call the male equivalent of Stepford wife.


Call me crazy but I thought asd was more about not being able to read peoples emotions and understand social cues. I was social, I was a social kamikaze. Maybe if I was smarter I would've been shy.


You've raise a good point, and the consensus about autism is changing in this regard. I suspect that you are a highly sensitive being, attuned to your senses and the surrounding ambiance of others. While I might not be good at 'reading' emotions, or playing societal games, I strongly sense the tone of any given environment and react accordingly.


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rapidroy
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21 Sep 2014, 10:24 pm

The opposite of AS tend to be used car salesman or pressure salesman of different types, many highly successful politicians fit the description, like our past premier Dolton McGuinty. The people who use their words to acquire anything they want or need or as the shopping channel help wanted message said once said "if you can sell ice to people living in igloos in the artic" or something like that.



Last edited by rapidroy on 21 Sep 2014, 10:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ZombieBrideXD
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21 Sep 2014, 10:24 pm

Williams syndrome


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25 Sep 2014, 1:11 pm

Derek Jeter - Baseball Superstar

Social Skills wise although he certainly has hyperfocus. How does one be in public eye constantly for 20 years in today's world and never get in a scandal or seemingly say the wrong thing? That is a feat 99% of NT's could not come close to accomplishing.


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naturalplastic
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25 Sep 2014, 5:40 pm

Johannes88 wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
There is a neurological condition that is sometimes refered to as "the opposite of autism". Its called "Williams Syndrome". Like autism it appears in childhood. It causes you to compulsively socialize. You can't keep to yourself, and you're compelled to interact with others in the room- in contrast to autistics who are known for being withdrawn, and "into themselves".

But I don't think that that's what your're looking for as an "opposite of autism".

People who keep up appearances,and do everything seemingly perfectly?

If they happened to be female then they might be called "Stepford WIves" (after the novel and the movie of that name). Have no idea what you would call the male equivalent of Stepford wife.


Call me crazy but I thought asd was more about not being able to read peoples emotions and understand social cues. I was social, I was a social kamikaze. Maybe if I was smarter I would've been shy.


I dunno.

The "aut" in "autism" means "self". They named the condition that because children who have it are remote from other people, and dont interact.

But people on the autism spectrum also have trouble reading social cues etc. Do they get that way because they are not interested in other people and dont learn the skills? Or do they become withrawn because they try to socialized and fail, and hurt and withraw? Chicken, or the egg?

And I'm just saying what some folks say. Not everything in life has "an opposite". But among the few folks who are familiar with William's Syndrome (even more rare than autism) are those who describe it as "kinda the opposite of autism". But "willies" have some traits in common with auties as well Ive heard.