A-DAR. Does it work? Can you really tell?

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At this moment?

Just kidding. Supposedly, there is a "smell of fear". Perhaps you have strong sense of smell? Some AS do.

I don't know about Aspiedar (Ephemerella's sterling presentation notwithstanding ), but I'm starting to pick up on people with similar deficits. For example, I seem to be making friends (I think...maybe...hope so...who knows?...but I'm optimistic...) with a woman at work who a) walks into a room of people, cringes, and immediately exits (much like me), b) cannot stand being in close quarters with another person, and c) tends to go on a lot about a number of idiosyncratic topics. She's older than I am, and so most likely undiagnosed, but the markers are there. At any rate, we have a similar sense of humor and a great time at work.

It's ironic, because when I first met her, she was so blunt, she scared the hell out of me, but those are the people I ultimately love the most in the end.

I think intuitive learners (and a lot of aspies are) can learn and apply this social hierarchy-type logic after years of exposure to it. Most will probably never master it, but I think it's possible for some to get by. But I could see the social hierarchy game haunting and/or obsessing some aspies, especially if they have been subject to bullying. And I can see the internet being the perfect playground for acting out an "I'm socially better than you" scenario - for aspies trying to claim some mastery for this intangible thing that has dogged them in real life...so I wouldn't necessarily exclude them or undiagnose them for this.

But don't let me take one portion of your post/explanation out of context and criticize it, when I thought the idea was brilliantly purported and truthful. I agree with everything else. To join a site for a few days and imply that 80% of the people on it are not what they say they are? Wow. This is confidence in one's perceptions.

My gaydar is always spot on, sometimes even from 100meters. My A-dar has started developing since i got diagnosed.

It's easy to see if someone has an ASD or not (if you know what you're looking for).

(However, it's hard to differentiate between schizophrenia and an ASD if you're just looking at someone; they can mimic each other.)

I never understood most cliques, bashing others for the heck of it, etc... I wonder if you are right about them being "compulsive social instincts". As for bad mouthing traits, there are a lot of NT traits I HATE! Like the time RECENTLY when a person tried to thank me, and simply held my shoulder. I HATED that. If she KNEW how angry I was, she wouldn't come within 20 feet of me. I thought about telling her to never do that again, but it wouldn't have done any good, and *I* would have been made to be the bad one. Some things I just HATE. Some AS traits sound silly, etc... but *I* have traits others have found silly. HECK, my lack of desire to catch, play sports, or cuss has led to some ridicule.

Or very black and white thinking, a lack of intuitive empathy, and an inability to quickly pick up on contextual social rules. Why would someone like that post here of all places?

He apologized unreservedly, in the thread concerned, but what do we care? It's not like we know what it feels like to be rejected completely over one less than wise, maybe even inappropriate or rude comment.

I think that we, as a community have way-over reacted. The person said they were sorry, they are very probably never going to do it again, so why has the whole thing not been dropped? At this point, it feels a lot like bullying to me. Whether individual posters mean to pick on this person, it very probably feels like being picked on from their point of view. Many of us have made mistakes, and we appreciate it when others have the grace to let us forget. I wish WP were a more graceful place right now.

When I came to this college (a specialist college for the blind and people with other disabilities) I immediately worked out who was autistic/AS and all of the people who I said were autistic/AS are! Don't know if it is just because I have read lots of books on the subject or not. Still kind of amazing.

well kinda hard to smell over the internet:P

well that might well be it, but i also sense it with people on TV ect, i dont know why.. but when i can sense that i of course also sense the opposite Joy, but thats all i can sense, other feelings i am blind to...

but as my friends tend to mention, i do have a problem separating reality from fiction at times i guess..not that i notice;)


there was however a program/documentary about a Autistic woman who works around the world designing slaughter houses and animal facilities ect as she can somehow sense animals "emotion", much like what i feel i can....but of course since i am around humans most of the time i notice this primarily...

strange huh?

I get a feeling about someone being on the spectrum but I never jump to an assumption they are. I am aware of other conditions out there that share the same symptoms as autism.


I remember making a post a while back about a guy I saw on the bus who was talking about libraries. He didn't really look at the lady he was talking to. He was so into it, you could tell he was obsessed and that was all he was talking about. Even all his questions were about libraries. He wanted to know all about them from other cities.

Because I have this aspie detector on me, I see it in lot of people, even my own parents and brother. I just found out he is having troubles fitting in and he doesn't have friends at his school, he was going to a bunch of parties because he is trying hard to fit in but he just can't. Also my mother told me he had troubles with transitions to change when we lived in Washington. An aspie trait I was never aware of. I wonder if he always had troubles with friends. I know he had plenty growing up because he would invite friends over, have a birthday party.

My conclusion, lot of people have traits, doesn't mean they are all on the spectrum.

I can identify some people who are dxed autistic, but I've had a couple Aspies escape my detection. There seem to be a fair number of high-functioning Aspies who are able to blend reasonably well.

I'd like to think that I can.
I already know a 10 year old boy who I think was misdiagnosed with ADD when he really shows more signs of Asperger's. He reminds me of me when I was his age.
I've seen a few people around town I suspect too.

Look at the other stuff he said, tho. Like we are dangerous to normals' ideals. That the government has a program to identify us. That there are already spies here on the site. It's one thing to have black and white thinking. But if this were a black culture site and someone showed up talking that kind of "you're a collection of weird and strange" and all that conspiracy theory stuff, would it be off-limits in discussing his comments? And then look at his thread, attracting some posters who started unloading on how AS people are "idiots with no theory of mind" and how most of us are "not worth spit" (who are probably also not AS).

You're dinging me for discussing his comments. I'm not criticizing his right to post and say things. But is it also wrong to mention the things he said? I'm not attacking him and don't plan to either attack him or shun him or anything like that. He seems very nice and smart.

I think it's one thing for NTs to come here and use and share the board. It's another thing when they dump weird crap on us about our differences and conspiracy theories about how we're a danger to society and the government is watching us. I think it's okay to respond to the questions he himself raised. And my response to how to spot AS people here is simply, if he really wants to separate the NTs from the AS people, it's people who have social compulsions and social obsessions like him (and the socializers) who are probably not AS.

And I AM just responding to Q. I'm not the OP of this thread. It would be a kind of dead board if we we're too sensitive to respond to uncomfortable Q.

I appreciate the sensitivity and tolerance that is so remarkable on this website. I certainly benefit from from the constructive criticism and tolerance as I develop my verbal skills. I'm not trying to change the culture. I just talk pretty frankly and don't know how to say some things very tactfully. My opinions come out uncensored.

Edited to add: Maybe it is a better social skill to respond to the things people say and raise, more indirectly, so that it doesn't appear that I am picking at some sore spot about what someone said previously on the board.

Last edited by ephemerella on 10 Dec 2008, 8:52 am, edited 2 times in total.

No, actually I have a theory about a variation of AS manifestation... kind of like an empath or a psychic. If your sensory "channel" develops into a sensitive "detection" system, then the sensory integration dysfunction turns into a talent.

The AS hypersensitivity seems to develop in some people to make them abnormally sensitive to subliminal information. I have a weird thing where I pick up the thought behaviors of others around me if I have enough exposure to them (even if I don't know what those thought behaviors mean) and there are a couple of other people here who have said similar things. But if I'm around people long enough, I understand their thought behaviors at a level other people don't (like, I can even tell when some are corrupt or plotting evil and then others don't believe me). Or I start acting out some of their egotistical behavior even though it means nothing to me. Not a lot of AS people describe something similar but a few do. Those ones seem to talk about the same kind of focus on their sensory attunement. Temple Grandin, the slaughterhouse lady, is empathetic to the sensory response of animals.

how long did it take to make all that

I'd say that research and development started a few years ago. The actual formulation of the system requirements started about 1.5 years ago and designing the methods and prototype took about 9 months. The A-DAR system is currently in testing and not yet in production. (I'm joking). What, the pictures? A few minutes. I have Photoshop.