Of all the Aspergers symptoms, which ones DON'T apply to you

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I do NOT have a high intelligence; my intelligence is probably very low. I did horrible in most academic stuff; I only have a high-school diploma cuz some of my teachers curved my grades. I also do NOT have any special skills or talents that Aspies sometimes possess

I have empathy, though I'm not always able to express it.
I don't monologue any more. I don't talk to people enough to monologue, really.

I don't have an "extreme male brain". If anything my emotionality is more feminine. I actually like it when I find someone where I can be open and share how I feel. I have the typical aspie tendency to be self-absorbed and hyper-focused on my own activities a lot of the time but I can be very empathetic and empathic when I try. I can understand people even if I'm not always good at communicating my understanding to them.

Trying to hold on to a sameness, otherwise, I'd still be Punk.

Me too - I never just inturrupt people. My ears remain open at all times (except when I'm asleep), and so I can keep track of who's talking to me and who isn't, and when they're started and when they're finished, ect.

I also don't take things literally - I can always tell when somebody jokes with me, just by reading their tone of voice (so that's 2 symptoms I don't have, rolled into one. I can read somebody's expression on their face or in their voice, which tells me if they're are joking or meaning it seriously.)

I'm not sensitive to bright lights. Actually, let me sort this part out. Everyone in the world are sensitive to light, especially sunlight. How often have you seen people wearing sunglasses on a bright day? I see it all the time. So I'm probably a bit sensitive to sunlight because we all are. But I suppose what Aspies mean is any bright lights bothers them. They don't bother me.

I don't stim, or speak in monotone, or give unnecessarily long answers, ect.

I can't think of anything else, but there are other symptoms I don't have. I must say, I'm not too bad with social events, actually. If somebody came upto me and started a full-blown conversation about me, words come rushing into my mind and I inwardly feel excited and want to spill them all out - and I mean the right words. I like getting to know people, and I don't do too badly once I get to know a crowd. So I get accepted quite easily. I am shy, though, but once people start complimenting me and accepting me, then asking for my number, I suddenly feel rather confident. Especially if they're friends of my own - I don't really like, say for instance, my NT cousin coming round and making me go out with all her friends (they are all teenagers). I like to be surrounded by friends I have made myself, not other people's friends.

I am also quite good at hiding my AS a lot. So if I wanted to tell somebody that I have it, they will look up and become shocked.

The only sensitivity I have is tactile... I'm not hypersensitive in hearing or sight and my sense of taste and smell are actually dull
I don't speak in monotone unless I'm nervous
I'm not a routine type of person and I crave novelty
I enjoy small talk but when it's one of those days I'm stressed as s**t, I don't have much to talk about
I don't monologue, I'm actually very random when it comes to my convo topics
I don't have bad coordination
I enjoy parties, but it's my social anxiety that gets in the way
I'm not literal
I lie whenever I feel the need to (Not that we're so much more morally superior, I think the whole brutal honesty thing about us has more to do with rigidity when it comes to morals)
Eye contact is natural to me... a lot of Aspie's don't know how long to look... well it's about 2 seconds but don't overthink it... just think of it as a glance...

This.

I WANT routines, but I don't allow meltdowns (I shut down instead) so I don't often keep routines. Too many external factors intrude upon them.

Derp, I've just realised I've posted in here already. >_>

Last edited by Wraythen on 05 Dec 2010, 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I can read tone of voice, to the point I pretty much use it as my gauge of someone's mood. I can pick out very small changes in vocal tone and figure out when someone is feeling bad about something, even when they themselves don't know it, especially if I know the person very well. It's not very specific though. I can only pick out basic things like if the person is feeling bad or feeling good or using a highly sarcastic tone. I don't think I always had this ability, rather it's something I learned as I got older and observed more of people's behaviors.

I can be sociable and even charming one on one or in small groups, but it requires a great deal of effort to do so. I learned this by imitating people around me that were good models, and by copying television personalities. My social "face" is a mix of various stand-up comics, cartoon characters, and a few friends and people I've known over the years.

The biggest one is routines. As a child, I thrived on routines and hated it when anything changed or was different. I wanted to eat the same foods, and do the same stuff day after day. I have, with tremendous effort, broken myself of this, because I saw how limiting it was (my father was obsessed with his routines also), and how much needless angst it caused. I still have my daily routine, but I don't go nuts if it gets messed up, and I'm more open to changes. I've replaced my guttural "OH NOES CHANGE" reaction with a more measured "go with the flow man" kind of mellowness. It took practice, but has been well worth it (medication helps).

I can lie with a straight face (also practiced), but not to someone I care about, and not about very important things. I can do eye contact too, but that's really fake because I've actually got a little timer running in my head during the whole conversation (buzz, now make eye contact again).

If everyone at the party were all nice and descent and I knew them all, I'll love it.
But if I go to one where there's loads of popular, out-going youngsters who are judgemental against shy mugs like me, I'll rather steer clear.

Oh, and another thing - eye contact comes naturally to me aswell, especially when greeting someone. In a full-blown conversation, though, sometimes I'm concentrating so much on maintaining a 2 to 3 second eye contact at a time that I'm not following the conversation properly, because I'm too worried about whether my eye contact is normal or not. My brain can only focus on one thing.

Last edited by Joe90 on 03 Dec 2010, 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I've never experienced sensory overload. I don't have facial blindness either.

But just about everything else applies to me at least a little.

i can understand sarcasm usually and i always understand figures of speech, even if i think they're stupid.
i use body language that NTs can usually understand, particularly if they're used to being around odd people (i live in a liberal college town in kansas... LOTS of borderline aspies, so people tend to be nice... i was never bullied much, especially after a more charismatic classmate who now suspects she may be aspie decided to be my friend)

although both of those are from imitation and training myself mostly

i also don't talk about my interests much because i know no one else cares about them (people will sit through more of it when i'm talking about harry potter though, and they seem interested when i try to teach them how to solve a rubik's cube, but cat genetics and disabilities usually they don't listen)


however, i always wonder how i'll fare once i move away from this city... i'm starting to think that a lot of the social success i had in public school had a lot to do with earning people's respect by being good at stuff, and having befriended a few people in elementary school who weren't cool then but became extremely popular later (popular in the good way, not the bad way. these people weren't fake.) and also the simple fact that like i said, it IS a college town, so people are used to crazy borderline-aspie professors and the like, and since my mom was a ph.d student (not anymore, she has it now) it made sense that i'd also be weird. also, since it's a college town, being good at school is actually a good thing and not a reason to bully people...
(this is all speculation btw, i honestly have no idea why my town is so aspie-friendly, those are just my ideas)
although i know of at least one instance where a couple of girls were just using me to get the answers in physics... but i didn't want to give them the answers and it made me sad that they didn't understand because they seemed nice, so i taught them not only how to get the answers, but how to figure out how to get the answers (so basically what exactly each variable was doing and how to manipulate them to get the number you need)
but then they realized they didn't need someone to give them the answers anymore, because they could do it themselves
then they stopped talking to me =(

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/asperge ... mptoms.htm

27 Aspergers symptoms.
not applicable to me at the present set in bold

# Impaired social interaction
# Clumsiness
# Uncoordinated motor movements
# Limited interests
# Unusual preoccupations
# Repetitive routines or rituals
# Speech and language peculiarities
# Non-verbal communication problems
# Word repetition
# Few facial expressions - apart from anger or misery
# Excellent rote memory
# Musical ability
# Intense focus on one or two subjects
# Being "in their own world"
# Preoccupied with their own agenda
# Lack of empathy
# Deviant verbal communication
# Deviant nonverbal communication
# Idiosyncratic attachment to inanimate objects
# Eccentric personality
# Socially unadapted personality
# Particular aptitude e.g. arithmetic
# Flat, cheerless demeanor
# Single-mindedness
# Social withdrawal
# Lack of interest in other people
# Poor coordination

Never had the motoric problems, but the rest I did have as a child to some extents.

I don't:
- use overformal speech.
- have long monologues.
- have poor ball sense.
- have high intelligence.
- talk about my interests.
- have lack of imagination.

Thanx for that list. I'm going to do similar here

# Impaired social interaction~ Defiantly HAVE
# Clumsiness~ HAVE
# Uncoordinated motor movements~ HAVE
# Limited interests~ HAVE
# Unusual preoccupations~ Defiantly HAVE
# Repetitive routines or rituals~ Defiantly HAVE; I'm more inflexible than Hank Hill I tell ya what
# Speech and language peculiarities~ Defiantly HAVE
# Non-verbal communication problems~ Defiantly HAVE
# Word repetition~ Possibly have
# Few facial expressions - apart from anger or misery~ Sometimes I don't have many but I can show lots at times but they they tend to be inappropriate
# Excellent rote memory~ I sometimes have lots of problems with that
# Musical ability~ Unless memorizing lyrics to comedy songs & coming up with offensive parody ideas for songs in my head that I cant express; & memorizing useless info about songs & artist counts; I do NOT have musical ability
# Intense focus on one or two subjects~ HAVE
# Being "in their own world"~ ALL TIME FREAKING TIME; I'm never not in my own world
# Preoccupied with their own agenda~ Defiantly HAVE
# Lack of empathy~ It depends on how empathy is defined; I care a lot for others but have major problems expressing it the correct way, I am not sure what to do about it or I'm not aware
# Deviant verbal communication~ Defiantly HAVE
# Deviant nonverbal communication~ Defiantly HAVE
# Idiosyncratic attachment to inanimate objects~ HAVE
# Eccentric personality~ Defiantly HAVE
# Socially unadapted personality~ Defiantly HAVE
# Particular aptitude e.g. arithmetic~ I WISH; I seem to have only weaknesses & i am very weak in some areas that Aspies tend to be strong in like math & I'm not great with computers or memorization
# Flat, cheerless demeanor~ Have at times but I can get very excited & happy to
# Single-mindedness~ HAVE
# Social withdrawal~ Defiantly HAVE
# Lack of interest in other people~ HAVE
# Poor coordination~ Defiantly HAVE


I seem to have all the weaknesses/limitations of AS but none of the strengths/positive aspects

Last edited by nick007 on 04 Dec 2010, 3:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

Well I'm NOT some math wiz. In fact I need a B for Statistics (for the Psychology Bachelor at the local University) and I have a C close to a B with 1 more test and a FINAL to go.) I'm also not a trivia person as someone else said aswell. I am shocked at times of how many traits I do have.