How many Aspies and Autistics use Scripting here?

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you perhaps you don't realise how incredibly lucky you are with this--acceptance is not something i've found with about 98% of the humans i have encountered in my life, and i know a lot of people around here have had similar negative experiences, and this profoundly effects our ability to adapt socially over time. the misjudgements, misunderstandings, and opprobrium add up over time, so for some of us it gets harder as we get older, not easier. so much in life depends on who you are lucky (or unlucky) enough to encounter in your time here.

That's true. We never really know what's out there beyond our own experience until we hear from others who are in different situations. I do constantly wonder if I'm really in an exceptional situation or if I'm doing something well and others can improve by learning from me, but maybe it does have more to do with my specific circumstances.

P.S. You look like and remind me of someone I know in person. Even your birth days are close together (same month). I thought first that maybe she is you. Now I realize there are little things that don't match, but you do have a near-twin out there.

Last edited by MathGirl on 24 Apr 2014, 1:40 am, edited 7 times in total.

I say "I am the Wolfman!" This precludes the need for scripts. It makes people curious. You could then come up with your own script.

Awesome!

am unable to communicate verbaly or in text unless its built on script/echolalia,brain has never developed free speech.

How does that sound for you?



MathGirl, it *is* curious why you haven't had issues with it. However, it seems like most who are posting here are talking about using scripting for small talk. I use it for nearly everything--my speech is just not better than that. I do agree that small talk is boring.

The two most common ways for me to speak are: script or modified script.

As I've gotten older, I find that I more frequently "misplace" my scripts and that is frustrating.

I tend to blame my issues on my brain not holding onto words well. If whatever I want to say is over a few words in length, I have trouble holding it as words. My brain wants to convert it back to pictures or patterns. And it is very difficult to speak directly from pictures/patterns. Trying to do that was how I once got (incorrectly) diagnosed with aphasia. I have had some success recently with writing words on a mental whiteboard in a particular way. My usable speech is still very noticeably atypical.

However, in text format, I am able to be much freer with language. That's why I am very curious about KingdomOfRats experiences.

I sometimes use an AAC and my verbal communication increases leaps and bounds when I do. It's successful because my problem seems to lie in what I'd assume is some kind of specialized verbal working memory, if there is such a thing. (My actual working memory score, determined by digit span, is unimpaired.). Neuropsychologically, only my verbal memory and speech fluency scores were stand outs. Both were in the disabled range. Verbal memory was 68 (IQ distribution, below 70 is considered disabled for the test). My speech fluency was below the range used to determine dementia in elderly patients.

My speech has always been this way.

I don't know what marks the difference between you and I. I learned to speak with echolalia as a child. For years, I was only able to use unedited scripts. Eventually, I began to modify them before speaking.

To use a more creative expression, as it seems like most people do, I have always had to physically see the words and manipulate them. Even writing this, in the last sentence, I wrote, "creative expression", "words", edit - "see the words", "most people", and continued to edit in a similar way until I had what seemed a coherent sentence.

How do you form speech? How do you form written sentences?

Well, I don't think they are fooling anyone, and that is exactly what they are trying to do. It just makes me not want to go there, or talk to anyone.

Mathgirl, and Starvingartist... you two live in the same general 1000 mile radius. Maybe you should both get together and hash it out. It might do you some good.

I used to use scripting, but have abandoned it because I find it more stressful to try to adhere to the script than to just force my self to listen and think about what the other is saying. Whatever they want to talk about is fine, I can come up with something. Sometimes, you can tell the clerk is tired though and doesn't have a lot left for small talk, so I'll just leave them to it and not say much of anything.

Much of my speech is derived from a combination of scripts, response trees, well honed anecdotes, sayings, well thought-out idea-sets, direct honest answers, reporting on what is around me, direct questions, and sometimes extrapolation from known scripts, response trees, anecdotes, well thought-out idea-sets, and straight logic.

It flows pretty naturally, and I can just keep talking & talking & talking fairly easily much of the time, if given a chance to and if it doesn't seem like the other person or people are bothered by it, at least.
As my repetoire of responses & response patterns has grown over the years it's gotten a lot better.

Yeah I'm a scriptor, but my scripts are much more complex than just words. They include body movements, facial expressions, and If/Then commands.

When I was younger I tried the "scripting" thing and it was of little benefit to me. Most of the time it was at minimum awkward and worst case I came off as a total twit because it didn't fit the context of the exchange. Yes I tried to do the NT "small talk" thing and gave up as it failed miserably most of the time. Now I just act like I am in a hurry and busy, smile and/or nod and am on my way. Other times I mumble or kind of grunt more maybe say "hey" and leave it at that. I got discouraged putting effort into something only to have it blow up in my face. So now I suppose I come off as gruff or rude to some. Those that take the time to know me know better. I know I am different and all my efforts to cover that up came up horribly short so I gave up trying.

In my case it is not meant to be rude but it seemed the more effort I put into it, the worse the outcome. Besides, how much effort do most NTs put into attempting to communicate with us? The ones that know me that I have worked with, vast majority didn't care. It was easier for them to just snicker or treat me as sub-human. The few that did try I would put in effort into it as I felt like I wasn't the only one reaching out or trying. You only get treated like crap for so long until you realize that the only ones worth the effort are the ones that put in the effort themselves. Easier for most to treat us like socially inept twits that have a laugh at our expense...

Sorry if this comes out very negative, just that after many years or reaching out and trying I found it counter productive. Wasting much effort on interactions that in many cases will NEVER happen again as it is like two ships passing in the night. Total waste of resources in my book....

Hmmm ... from the sounds of it, looks like I do ... that is, try go over what could be all the possible outcomes, and try to have a response available. And of course I get something I didn't expect at all and I am floored.

Sigh.

That's where pragramming logic comes in handy.
You set up contingencies for most error situations, and a couple go-to fall-backs for the totally unexpected, fatal errors, uncaught exceptions & the like.

In other words, all you need to do is be prepared for that situation as well.
Took me a while to get any decent response sets for 'totally stumped as to how to respond', but eventually I came up with a few non-comittal type response sets that cover most contingencies.

Of course, I've been at a loss for words a few times anyhow, but most of the time there's something that fits well enough.

they say everyone has a doppelganger