executive ordering dysfunction and AS

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I took that test a long time ago, and scored below average on both as well...

Hmmm..let's see here....

My room is a DISASTER....luckily I don't live with my parents so nobody comes in and snoops and nags.
In badmington or baseball or anything that involves hitting something with a racket or a bat, I misjudge the speed of the birdie or ball due to a too early or too delayed action.
I have poor memory...for example, at work, Id be doing a task such as putaways, then I would be called to get baskets, Id do so, but then get called for a price check.I go to do the price check, forget what I was doing after, then remember I was getting baskets, do that, but then I totally forgot what initial task I was doing and where I last left the basket of putaways I was doing in regards to the said initial task.

Well, he sounds particularly together when it comes to cooking. I mean, not everyone, no matter how they're wired, can finagle a meal like that. That said, I do not cook regular meals. I always get the kids food, but it's usually something different for each, or the 11-year-old gets her own most meals! I'm glad she's becoming self-reliant, but I only wish I could teach her meal planning. A lot of old-fashioned life skills have gone out of vogue when they were really very useful. Sometimes you just need to know these old-timey homely things, like how to scrub a tub, or how often. I still don't know if I wasn't taught or if I just didn't take it in when I was. I wonder if our predecessors in this parenting gig did better even with executive dysfunction just because certain things were taught standard.

But I can cook. I just have to start three hours ahead, read and re-read the recipe and still miss steps sometimes, you get the point.

My husband is sweet to keep his mouth shut but the trouble is not knowing where I stand. He feels his irritation is his problem but still I sense it sometimes, or think I do, and it bothers me. He comes from people who think that not mentioning a problem means it never is fully a real problem. He thinks he doesn't act like them but sometimes he does, poor man. I suppose there's a fairness there. I really quite arrogantly think of myself as far more interesting and unique than the average drudge who is deemed to be my peer. With all my faults, I still find many qualities about myself delightful, in that I have reached levels of ability and imagination in art and writing that I never I thought I'd manage. And yet I can barely make myself call for appointments for my kids, and forget everything and take all day to get a few tasks done while others sit. I explained to my husband that I can actually stall out when I have too much that needs my attention because whatever I choose to do, it means I won't be doing any of the other things I need to do. Please tell me that one rings a bell, along with looking at a jumble of different objects that need putting away and woefully sinking to the floor and forcing yourself to pick them up one by one and categorize them into little heaps, only to freeze when the time comes to figure out which pile to put away first!

And he doesn't understand why I get so rattled driving, or why I spent 4 years not driving because we only had a car with manual transmission. Even back then I knew I was not up to the additional complications of dealing with a clutch.

I'm not sure if depression is really an AS trait though. With some aspies it seems to be a side effect of social rejection and life hardships. For me I don't know what it is. All I can say is depression is much more disabling to me than AS. I need access to joy/stimulation/excitement to keep moving and when it's not there I'm totally stuck.


My systemizing ability only works well for tasks that are clean, orderly, and logical. Messy, open-ended, or ill-defined tasks get me into trouble. I had major trouble with school projects unless the project happened to be something that interested me strongly. Otherwise I just could not start. I often flat out refused to do them. I used to always ace tests and get zeros on projects.

elderwanda wrote:

Me too and that confused me-how can you be an extreme systemizer if you scored below average?
I think I'm better at empathizing but understanding the laundry doesn't get it done.

Yes. Sorry, that's what I meant. It just appears to be a very common (and unfortunate) co-morbid.


For me, things with a forseeable start and end and a means to get there are much easier than things that are more open-ended. Cleaning up in the kitchen is much easier for me than, say, organizing a pile of papers and figuring out which ones to file.

I have trouble with papers too-I'm afraid to throw away something important so I save everything. I did go online and found a gov site that tells you what to save and for how long. I'm very slowly amassing piles.

We read an organizing book that talked about different organizing styles. I took the test and fell under the "innovator" category. Their recommendation was to simply throw papers in a big box and go through it a few times a year. It's like they knew how I liked to work!

my life is an explosion of papers ...all kinds of papers...I help run two businesses...both with tornado filing systems.. I make haphazard attempts when I am able, to organize...but my lousy sytemizing skills do get in the way...and also since I am the only one willing to make any attempts at all...that makes it kind of hard..it is the sort of stuff my partner can't be bothered to think about...

Last edited by poopylungstuffing on 15 Jul 2009, 6:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

fiddlerpianist

I've read that boxes are good for people like us too.

Oh, yes. That's pretty much the story of my life. My friend insists that she has the same problem, but SHE lives in a great big mansion (compared to my house) that has whole extra rooms in which to store un-sorted stuff. So, at least she can relax in an uncluttered room for a bit before attempting to tackle the mess. Our house is tiny, so if you were to come to visit, you'd have to find space on the couch or at the table amongst all of the piles of stuff.

I have huge problems with prioritizing, getting things done, all of that. I can plan certain little things in great detail if it's something like, say, a vacation.. then I get pretty annoyed when everyone else, inevitably, starts to deviate from it(getting used to that part, though! ha. No one ever leaves on time or ANYTHING...). Although when it's actually things like planning how to get work for a class done, planning out my life, planning for the future, i have pretty much ZERO ability. I think that's a big part of why i suck at school so much, despite being intelligent. I haven't even tried in those classes that try to teach you to be organized and everything, because it just ends up confusing me more.

I'm not diagnosed(YET) with AS, but i'm pretty sure i've got it. If those test results don't come back with an AS diagnosis, i'll be one freaking surprised person. I don't know much about ADHD, though... My family always thought that, even though i don't keep my attention on things i'm not interested in very well, i COULDN'T POSSIBLY have ADHD because of how obsessive and hyper-concentrated i get on certain things.. And someone who is unable to keep their attention on things couldn't possibly be like that. But, from what i've read here, a lot of people with ADHD seem to be able to keep their attention focused on certain things very well.. It's just things outside of their certain range on interests that they can't concentrate on, or they get distracted by certain sensory stimuli easily. And that describes me pretty well. But, i don't know enough abotu the rest of what ADHD entails to really know if i fit into it or not. I'm not hyperactive at all, that's for sure.. In fact, i often feel pretty tired, lazy, and lethargic... I just sit around most of the time. Unless lots and lots of stimming counts as hyperactivity(but it's still while staying in one place.. definitely not the sort who got up and started running around during class as a kid or anything like that). But, i dunno. The executive functioning thing looks like an AS thing to me.. And, i hope it is, because it's a better explanation than what i used to think, that i was just being a lazy idiot who can't get their life together and who is completely incompatible with the functioning of the rest of the world. Heh.

I generally group executive dysfunction in with AS. Seems pretty prevalent around here, at least.
There are exceptions, of course. My dad, for instance. He is AS, no doubt, although the word is scarcely in his vocabulary. He's adapted to his condition and gotten through life just fine. He managed to find a wife who took care of him, and followed through on his interests well enough to make a career out of it. He is one of the most organized, prioritized, crisp, functional guys I've ever seen... With his work, at least. He's helpless in social situations, but he's incredibly professional and "together" with his work.

I'm far less so. I've always had serious problems with organization, priorities, completing tasks I've started, judging the time things will take, meeting deadlines, and so on. My life just seems to slide from one improvised scaffold to the next, with no apparent design or blueprint. I have very general goals, but no specific plans about how to achieve them. I'm always late, I procrastinate terribly, I'm very bad with routines and schedules (aside from my obsessive ones), and I generally cannot seem to "keep it together".

Execute, retry, ignore? topic

I believe my theory/practice dysfunction has something to do with EFD, but in a different way.
I am still analyzing it.

If this could become special interest, I would be all set.

The problem is, I've heard two different definitions of "executive dysfunction".

There is the definition that WE use, that refers to the ability to multi-task, and bring ourselves to do daily, routine activities.

I've been getting much better at this, since I've been forcing myself into positions where I have to. If the task isn't seen as being imperative, the average person with AS would much rather focus on what they want to do.

Examples:
"Doing the dishes, and not letting them pile up"
"Doing laundry every week"
"Plugging in your cell phone before bed"

However, there is a second definition that I've seen being used. This second usage of the term seems to have much more to do with impulse control, and understanding that actions have consequences.

Examples:
"Yelling at your boss will get you written up, or fired"
"Going 75 mph in a 60 mph zone will get you a ticket"
"Swearing at your parents will result in punishment"

While I understand these concepts perfectly well (as do the majority of people with AS that I've met), my boyfriend (who has ADHD and ODD) has trouble fully understanding them, and has committed all three of the above at least two or three times.

My best friend (suspected ADHD) has also made some not-so-wise decisions regarding money, school, and employment.

I have troubles with both kinds of tasks....

by the second definition...overeacting with very little prompting...as in dialogue (Flakey:) Hey Poopy!! (Poopy:) WHAT??! ! (irrational overeaction to him just trying to get my attention..as a kneejerk response to the sudden interruption to my train of thought)...would count as a sort of executive dysfunction...

Maybe by that definition, my inability to undertand that we are not going to crash almost every time we ride in the car so I make shrieking sounds that really bother the driver(Flakey)....would count as executive dysfunction

I rationally know better, but am very bad at controlling my reactions.