millie wrote:
so, i am particularly interested to hear of the last poster's experience where he had an advantage in a similar way.
Well, I don't know if I have AS (both in ASQ and AQ my ratings are higher than the expected for a NT, but lower than the expected for an aspie), then i am not a good example.
And, reading the other posts, I begin to suspect that my "popularity" was similar to what other members will call "unpopularity" - having a small group of friends (a typical "
childhood secret club"), being respected and influent within the group and have little connection (positive or negative) with outside society (in my case, our interaction with the "global society" of the school where when was a fight between our class and the class of the other room - when thes occur, our group joined with the other groups of the class against the "common enemy"). It was the kind of school where the kids spend much of the playground time, not in the playground of the school, but in the fields and the streets nearby (it was a small village of fishermen and factory workers), what I suspect that was also good for someone who prefers small groups to large groups.
When, at 10 y.o., I was to "junior high"/5th grade, it was the disaster: after few days all kids started to making fun of me. Probably it was because I allmost did not talk with anybody and was almost always alone , but about what I will talk to people that I barely knew? (and, after the others begin to tease me, what was only an unconsious tendency to stay alone becomes a conscious tendency).
When I change of school again, at 15 y.o. (to 10th grade), my popularity becomes good for my standards (probably remained bad for the standards of many people): I find a small group of friends, and we spended our time playing games, discussing politics (I had - and have - very radical views...), etc. (basically, the tipical "nerd" pastimes) and more or less ignored by the rest of the world (for me, this is Heaven on Earth, but other people could think differly). Probably my relative rise in popularity in my new school was also because I decided to change a bit my "social style", and begin pretending to be more social and talkative that I really was (I don't know if you understand what I am saying - perhaps my English is a bit confuse).
However, there is a point that perhaps is peculiar in my childhood/adolscence story: even in my 10-14 years, I think that I was never "excluded" (even the bullying/teasing that I sufferend in these ages, was more "forced inclusion" than "exclusion").
04 Jan 2009, 10:06 pm
