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Question for Aspies experienced with being among other Aspie

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Avian
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

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30 Nov 2007, 8:16 am

Scoots5012 wrote:
Quote:
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2005 12:16 am Post subject: A Major Milestone For Me

I've been sitting on this for the past two days, not really knowing what to make of it or how to report it.

I had mentioned before that I had made contact with the local ASL/AS support group president and had gone to meet him.

At that time, the possibility arose that an impromptu meeting could be arranged so I could have a chance to meet the other members of this group before I head off to oshkosh to endure 3 1/2 months of social isolation.

That meeting took place tuesday night. The reality of what happened is far more important to me though than that meeting though.

To summarize, calling this a support group is a bit of stretch, it's more or less everyone getting together and yaking for three hours. There's no moderation at all. By no stretch of the imagination, this is something I've never been good at.

However, a meer 30 minutes into the meeting, I realized something different was happening than what I've witnessed before with NT's.

With NT's, I typically end up being the quiet one, unable to get a word in edgewise due to the complete forigen nature of the conversation they typically hold. Any attempts I have at input are typically not well recieved, and don't even start with my sense of humor vs. theirs.

However tuesday for the first time ever, I felt comfortable in a true social situation. The conversation followed an NT format, but the content of that conversation was on the same page as I was mentally. Simply put, there was a degree of intelligence to what was being said.

I found myself able to contribute, and my contributions were recieved. I tried making humor and suprisingly I got laughs.

Tuesday night was the first time I ever felt at ease in a social situation. I didn't have to worry or inhibit myself. I was me, and everyone else was being themselves, and we were all operating on the same wavelength.

Simply put - It was great, I enjoyed myself, as did everyone else.

Can anyone else relate to this? (Whether you regard yourself as high functioning or not?)

I'm not asking if you necessarily liked all of them — we'd have friends and enemies among Aspies as surely as NT's have friends and enemies among themselves; only if it's easier — and feels more natural — to socialize among other Aspies than it does to socialize among NT's.


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jread
Snowy Owl
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30 Nov 2007, 12:54 pm

I went to the local Aspie group meeting last night and enjoyed it very much! It was the only time I've ever been comfortable in a group setting and it was very nice to be around people who understood me. I did get a little excited and started blabbing about how I enjoy chaos, etc. and some people looked at me kind of funny (like I was going to turn violent or something) and that made me feel like an idiot, but that was the only negative part.

I did notice that everyone was very different and on various parts of the spectrum, from very noticeable stimming to some who could've passed as NTs. There was one NT there (a wife of one of the Aspies) and she didn't say much at all. She seemed to just be observing everyone... trying to understand us. I also have a lot of respect for the man who heads the group (an Aspie teacher) as he did a great job of keeping us on track. As you know, it's very easy for a group of Aspies to bounce around subjects and interrupt one another in a group setting :)



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Deinonychus
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30 Nov 2007, 6:46 pm

Glad it went well. 8) :)

jread wrote:
There was one NT there (a wife of one of the Aspies) and she didn't say much at all. She seemed to just be observing everyone... trying to understand us.

Anything akin to an Aspie's typical experience when among groups of NT's? (Awkward, lost, not knowing what to say to anyone; that type of thing.)


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Avian
Deinonychus
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03 Dec 2007, 7:07 pm

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