Mozart & The Whale... and Me

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That movie made me jealous because I reckon there's less than a snowflake's hope in Hell that there are any local groups where I am, eh? I wouldn't go so far as to say, you don't have AS if you don't relate to the characters, or to say that you don't have AS if you do. Because everybody here is SO different.

Anyway, speaking personally, I quite liked the movie. (I got my own copy) Although, there were aspects of it that I didn't - personally - like.

Hi Ping, thank you for writing.

Did you relate to any of the characters?

Mozart and the Whale is not an accurate representation of AS. That being said I could relate to some stuff in the movie and I liked it. You sound like an aspie to me. My interests change all the time, I suck at math and can't make eye contact too.

Willkommen!

Hi, ChatBrat!

I read your response and I am (finally!) coming around to responding to it as I procrastinated AND needed to figure out what to say...

Anyways, I have watched "Mozart and the Whale" repeatedly myself. That in itself is quite extraordinary for me as I rarely watch a movie more than once or twice ever unless it's been years since my previous viewing. I also enjoyed the soundtrack and especially like the songs "Hold Me Now", "Overwhelmed" and "One of These Days". I think "Overwhelmed" along with the unrelated 1960's tune "Everybody's Talkin' " by Harry Neilson should be the unofficial anthems of Aspies.

As for other elements of your posts:

I am 25-years-old, and self-diagnosed as an Aspie. I AM officially diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since December 1996 and I have taken Prozac for it since that time. I also took Risperdal from early-2007 until late-2004 but I my OCD no longer requires Risperdal to hold it at bay. I have never mentioned Asperger's Syndrome or had it mentioned to me by an psychiatrist or mental health professional.

I am originally from Florida where I lived from 1981 (when I was born) until June 2005. I have lived in Quebec since the time that I emigrated from Florida. I am currently learning French but am making improvements despite some difficulty. I found out about Asperger's Syndrome by sheer luck but only a few weeks before I was to emigrate here in Quebec.

My three obsessions are politics, computers and history (in that order).

As for politics, my main focus is in following elections (psephology) around the world as well as constitutional systems. I follow all elections for Presidents and Prime Ministers. I also follow the parliamentary elections throughout the world (most Prime Ministers serve by virtue of being leader of the majority party or by being leader of the largest party in a coalition government). I ONLY follow district-level elections in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, however. I also follow monarchs and a keen to look for monarchies that are likely to evolve into republics in the relatively near future. I also a interested in proportional representation and keenly follow the process of Senate Reform here in Canada and Lords Reform in the UK.

As for Asperger's Syndrome, Asperger's Syndrome and Autism almost certainly have a strong genetic component. I have a half-brother who I strongly think has it. He is a computer professional who worked for some major technology firms and NASA. By the scrap of information I have from my paternal grandfather, he might have been an Aspie as well but he died of a cerebral hemorrhage decades before I was born. My father was an extroverted NT and died last May at age 81 so I cannot find out any more information about his father (obviously) who would be over 110 if he were still alive today!

My mother is not an Aspie but she IS bi-polar but at the time, it was referred to as "manic-depression". I live with her. She is currently 62-years-old.

As for IQ, I've NEVER taken a formal IQ test but I have taken numerous online. My lowest IQ score was 122 and my highest was circa 155 or so. So at least I'm not an idiot. **LOL** My EQ has consistently been very low on every test I took. I think it is safe to assume by scoring scales that I score on the bottom quarter of all people on the EQ component.

I, like your husband, have problems looking people in the eye and during my school years was regarding as emotionally immature and albeit a person who was known for abiding the rules, I was occasionally scolded with "not following directions".

Like your husband, I have a major problem with auditory volume control. I often will talk loud when speaking and if in a restaurant, the waiter/waitress will ask if I am hearing impared. My mother also complains when I speak of talking a bit to loud. Additionally, if I am really happy about talking about something, I sometimes talk fast or convoluted in a stream-of-consciousness style of speech.

I also recognise the "exaggerated exhale" or sigh when annoyed or when people nag me about something, especially if I am on my laptop doing something interesting and then I need to do something. It annoys me and interrupts my train of thought. For me, a train of thought, once broken for even a moment, is never placed fully back on track even though it can come close to it. If I am writing something and am interrupted and resume, I believe my broken chain of thought becomes rather evident. It is as if I wrote is black ink, ran out and then resumed in red ink...

I am happy you and your husband have a happy and productive relationship. The example you and others in the Aspie community demonstrate gives me a beacon of hope for finding a girlfriend in the future. To date, I have never gone out on a single date nor have I received a single kiss!

In closing, as for a response, the best thing would be to guide him be enlightening him and let him travel the path at his own pace. It is more or less what seems to be the case now. Another possible angle to approach him seeking testing is that if he is re-diagnosed as Asperger's and as a result, un-diagnosed as bi-polar, health insurance premiums COULD go down. Insurance is calculated by risk factors and apparently, bi-polar people are regarding to have more than others. This could result in a rise in premiums, even to the point of health insurance becoming prohibitively expensive.

I hope this helps! Sorry for the long response.

I had lost this post but I just found it! David, thank you so much for your wonderful long reply. It was interesting and helpful reading!! ! I'm sorry that it took 6 months to reply to you!

I also do that. I think it's a pretty common trait among Firefox users.

When I saw Mozart and the Whale, it made me have doubts that I was actually an Aspie too..and it also made my boyfriend say.."see? Your're not an Aspie!" I posted a somewhat similar thread to this months ago...and the clarification was made that it was indeed a media portrayal and not something to necc. base one's self off of.
It made me feel bad that I don't have any real savant skills...(except for a mild uncanny knack with dominoes (ironic, since I seem to have a disability in math..and have had difficuly counting to 3 at times)and finding things..but those are not necc very reliable and don't really count.)

Anywhoo...I relate to alot of your issues. My sensory issues are not quite so bad, i guess, but they are present. And I have had meltdowns in public..

My family sounds quite similar to you....my mom seems to be very "AS" and the way you describe your household is very similar to what I grew up in.

That part sounds exactly like me. I was chronicly being sent home for "feeling sick" and missed as many days as I possibly could. I only made it because of my test scores, which were pretty high. I WAS placed back in the third grade because my first time in the fourth grade, I was in a constant state of meltdown. The principal said it was because I was "emotionally immature".
Even though my grades and organizational skills were deplorable, I participated in "academic decathalon" activities throughout Jr. High..where I would do stuff like compulsively blurt out the answers out of turn...I wrote for the school newspaper, even though it took more of an effort for me to produce my articles than it seemed to take anyone else. I worked for years as a student library aid (instead of p.e. )..because of foot problems I had due to walking on my toes...(which I have found is sort of an aspie thing to do if you don't outgrow it by a certain age)

The only thing I am diagnosed with is ADD..but I do have the issues with eye contact and social interractions and I never quite outgrew walking on my toes..I don't drive a car...mentally I am more-or-less still a teenager, and I am almost 32..so that's why I am here.

I haven't seen the aformentioned film, but I have seen other Hollywoodized films about people with AS or autism. I would never base my knowledge on one of these because, especially with the film Rain man, the characters are very extreme rareties.

I prefer to relate to characters who aren't diagnosed but share a lot of my quirks, such as L from the manga Death note. (check it out on Wikipedia) This fills me with calm and makes me happy. Unfortunately neurotypicals seem to think that ALL people with AS are like the ones they see on TV and this can lead to accusations of lying and ridicule. On the other hand, characters like L, who aren't diagnosed are much loved by NT's yet the link is not made with them and therefore once again we are left to be criticized.

Don't worry about not getting a diagnosis. Since you are of a much older age than me (19) you are pretty much old enough to know whether you are or aren't. There's no rule about THINKING you're an Aspie.

"Mozart And The Whale" is based on the story of Jerry Newport and Mary Meinel. Some of the features in that movie were a bit exaggerated,
such as her "melt down" in the restaurant, or some of the sensory issues.
I had a hard time in school, and going through three different foster homes was no picnic either, but I did graduate
from high school on time. My obsessions are not as intense anymore. And I still walk on my heels.

Same here. I was asked trivia questions about when game systems came out and playboy, when world war two happened, when someone's birthday is, etc.

I could relate to the female role in the movie, but i have long outgrown the outbursts. In fact, Poopylungstuffing, you sound like you could be my missing twin. My twin doesnt act much like me. Were the people in this movie overdoing the AS, or were they focusing on the autistic part of the spectrum a lot. I remember being able to mimic all kind of sounds and voices... Much like Josh hartnett's character and was put on the spot a lot. ooops, i am on my hubby's logname. Its really dawndeleon.

Jellybean, do you think the character Dr House has Asperger's?