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littlelily613
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11 Aug 2011, 1:59 pm

I have a serious lack of ToM--something I just realized recently....likely because I lack ToM. :?

NTs are just much more adept at reading the non-verbal emotional cues people send off. I don't send off quite as many as though do though. I show very little emotional expression, and people have actually told me that I look like I am in a bad mood (I guess because I am not sitting there with a big, goofy grin on my face :roll: ) Sometimes NTs will ask me what is wrong when I am just sitting there, not realizing that anything is wrong...


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Diagnosed with classic Autism
AQ score= 48
PDD assessment score= 170 (severe PDD)
EQ=8 SQ=93 (Extreme Systemizer)
Alexithymia Quiz=164/185 (high)


Scandium
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11 Aug 2011, 2:18 pm

littlelily613 wrote:
I don't send off quite as many as though do though. I show very little emotional expression, and people have actually told me that I look like I am in a bad mood (I guess because I am not sitting there with a big, goofy grin on my face :roll: ) Sometimes NTs will ask me what is wrong when I am just sitting there, not realizing that anything is wrong...

Same. Once in a while, whenever I'm in public, I try to "clear" my facial expression to make sure I don't have a weird expression on my face for people to try to interpret. (randomly frowning or smiling, etc)



Mummy_of_Peanut
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11 Aug 2011, 2:31 pm

I think NTs just think they know what others are thinking. I'm actually very good at mind reading (not literally, but I can figure out that certain people are less than genuine, I just don't tell them I've worked them out). There's another thread on here with a similar theme: www.wrongplanet.net/postt170997.html.

Here's a personal example of an NT thinking they know how someone feels and then showing that they don't get it at all:

Before I had my daughter, I had 8 years of infertility. My sister-in-law asked me why I never spoke about it, as she knew we were having treatment. I told her that I preferred to deal with it in my own way. She then said, 'I was told that I would be unlikely to have children, so I completely understand, maybe I could have helped'. However, she failed to mention that, 3 months after being given this news, she actually became pregnant, without any intervention. I started trying for a child a few months before her and she had 2 children (7yrs and 2 yrs) by the time I eventually had mine. I don't think that 3 months of thinking you might never have a child can possibly equate to 8 years of infertility and fertility treatment. Yes, I'm sure it's possible to have empathy for someone even if you haven't experienced it, but her 'empathy' was totally off-base.