glider18's Wonderful World of Autism

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Can't we make this a sticky? I think this thread will benefit if it is one.

Just making a point.

Well, I don't have a diagnosis so I am not sure if I qualify for this thread. But my most extreme autistic trait is my systemising - I score close to the top on the Systemising Quotient.

Two things I have done that I am proud of, that I (or others!) think are quite autistic:

I designed a simple bus map for my home city, which has around 1500 different bus routes. The old map looked like a roadmap of the city, and you could never figure out which was the best bus to take to get somewhere. I was working as a volunteer with an environmental group and we decided to deal with this. I got bus maps from different cities. By working methodically I noticed that the nightbus route maps for each city were all much easier to use. Nightbuses run on the routes that are most frequent during the day. So I drew a map that only showed the 50 routes where there was a bus every ten minutes in the rush hour. It looked like a spiderweb, showing that there were two circle buses and about 15 lines out from the centre which each divide into 2, 3 or 4 lines at the end. We photocopied it and handed it out to people in the street to see if they liked it, and then we sent it to the bus company. The bus company tidied it up and printed it and it is everywhere now. I love seeing it on the buses and bus stops and seeing people using it.

I learned to speak natural conversation, from a start point of speaking very formally and pedantically and "properly". In order to do that I observed lots of rules of conversational grammar that are not in normal grammar books, and I had to learn how languages work and develop informally. The main advantage of all this is that I can make sense of what my baby is trying to say, and how babies when they are learning language are learning conversation as well as words and grammar. I have used what I know to help a few mothers whose babies are showing delayed speech, by posting information on a parenting website.

Thank you AuntyCC---that is fascinating. You are very welcome to this thread---you don't have to be officially diagnosed to be here. I believe several on this thread aren't officially diagnosed, and I know of one here who is not even sure if he has Asperger's or not. Congratulations on the bus routes---you must be proud of that---definitely a positive accomplishment. And the language with the babies---again fascinating. I agree with you---those do sound quite autistic. Anyway...welcome to the ever-growing list of those of us who see positives in our autism:

Glider18
Garyww
SpongeBobRocksMao
Millie
Pensieve
DeLoreanDude
GeomAsp
BobTheMartian
Inventor
Sunshower
Outlier
Poopylungstuffing
Morgana
Fiddlerpianist
WaterWater
AnAutisticMind
Starr
Scorpileo
ProfessorX
Danielismyname (your poetry is a gift whether you think so or not)
CanyonWind
Sora (I think you have described autistic gifts in your life whether you realize it or not)
Itsallrosie
Gaya
Dustintorch
Ghfreak13579
TheDoctor82
Lionesss
ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo (in finding something positive about social aloofness)
Dianitapilla
Lita101 (I added your name because you stated that you want to find the good things in autism---that is positive)
Batz
Joshandspot
Prim8
SteveeVader
Tory_canuck
Alba
Odin
SplinterStar
Willmark (made comments about figuring out life---perhaps trying to look for the positives?)
Southwestforests (noted an interest in HO scale trains that is satisfying)
Seanmw
DarrylZero
LinnaeusCat
CockneyRebel
Dadsgotas
9CatMom
Ebec11
CerebralDreamer
AuntyCC

Today I revised the first chapter of my story--or better yet--rewrote it. Chapter 1 was about a page handwritten, so I had to expand it. Expanded it's seven pages, so seven times the length. The story's more interesting and a lot funnier than the original version.

I listened to classical music while writing it, and I think it helped me to concentrate, well for me that is.

So much more showing in the story--a lot more. Hmm.... I should rewrite the second chapter tommorrow. All I need is an expanded rewrite of the story. After that I should revise it. Hey, it's my own style, and I should revise it any way I want to. What works for me works for me and no one else.

I decided not to rewrite it in the antagonist's point of view. Why? Well, let's just say I found a theme besides good and evil--deceit, or people are not who they appear to be. I think it'll work for my story. Glad I'd found it last night; otherwise I would have destroyed the story.

Well, good luck on your story glider, and good luck on me revising my short story.

Until next time!

I think most people here at the WP know me for this thread. I have been overwhelmed at the responses I got with it when I began it several months ago. I truly wanted people here to see the good things that autism could give---and I have been very pleased at how many of you have found those good things. In the world that we live in, autism can be very challenging indeed---I am faced with challenges daily---so, in order to get through challenging days, I think of good things such as:

*what I can write in my novel that will be fun
*music
*my train models
*my house plans
*amusement parks and roller coasters
*etc.

Hmm, thinking of special intense interests while not engaging in the NT social scene---that can be a part of autism. I bet most of you have similar interests that you think about. One thing I have found that bothers many of you is the inability to socialize in a manner that you want to. Well, even though I have tried to socialize in the past, I have just come to realize that I don't fit in. And I never minded because I enjoyed my interests more anyway. But, as a teenager, I do admit that I felt awkward at not fitting in. While I sat on the bleachers during school dances, I often felt awkward at sitting alone on the sidelines---like I was supposed to be out there dancing. But---I can't dance---I don't have the motor skills for it. I didn't play the typical sports either---again, not the right motor skills. When I did try baseball as a youth, I was the easy out. In junior high school, the basketball coach kept bothering me to play since I was 6'1" and the tallest in my class. But I said "No," I am staying in the band. The coach just couldn't get it in his head that I wouldn't play---at my school it was expected that if you were a tall boy, you would play basketball. But not me. I knew my limitations. I couldn't even make a lay-up properly in gym class. Hmm---this is sounding negative. But it's not. You see, my interests carried me through life. Some of my most cherished moments growing up are the endless hours spent alone in my room with the electric organ, house plans, etc. Those were my friends. I was very happy. I am still happy. And my diagnosis of Asperger's was great because it showed me the reason for my eccentric life. I wasn't alone in the world as I had once thought that I was---there were others like me---they are those of you that also have Asperger's/autism.

So, if you have enjoyable interests, then I believe you have met your postitives in life. If you do not have these fun interests, then there is still a positive---you are not alone with this difference we call autism. We have each other here at the WP. We can support each other---and I have posted to The Haven several times when I felt quite bad---and the support I got from the members was wonderful---it truly helped me get through. No matter how tough and challenging times can get, let us not forget that we are here at the WP to not only gain a better understanding of ourselves, but to potentially be able to support each other in times of need.

Today was a fun day. This morning, our local autism support group met at the movie theatre. This was primarily designed for us parents with an autistic child. We went to see an animated movie---and our group's management took care of the costs. The movie was free, the popcorn was free, the soft drink was free, and each child got a bag of candy. There were several autistic children in attendance. The showing of the movie was a private viewing for our autism support group only. The children enjoyed the film, and were better behaved than most of the children I have observed at general public showings.

Wonderful thread! Since you opened this up to input from NTs, here is mine: The people with ASD diagnoses that I have gotten to know are some of the most courageous people on the planet. They are a fiercely independent and proud group of people. They are intelligent, witty, charming, and good-natured. In short, they demonstrate some of the greatest and noblest of all human qualities.

Thank you DenvrDave, I appreciate your post. I believe it so important for everyone to appreciate each other. Please feel free to contribute to this thread anytime.

I wish I could be part of the list, but I have only found it to have hindered me and make me upset.

Hi Hush6, and welcome. Gifts in life can often be hard to find. Sometimes we just don't look in the right place. And sometimes it takes a while for those gifts to surface. But, even though you relate here to difficult things with autism, you have stated something very good---you have a wish to be a part of the list here. So, there is a desire in you to find positiveness. If you keep wishing for that---you may very well find your happiness. If you don't mind me asking, what are some of your interests?

You are most welcome. And thank you for making me feel welcome here

I really don't think my asperger's is much of a 'gift', nothing that is me is a 'gift'. That's like saying having purple hair is a 'gift' because it makes me different. I am different, everyone is different even if many people are sheep. I will not venerate a part of myself as 'positive' or despise it as 'negative'.

Everything is grey, there is never good nor bad. My skin colour of nigh pure white is no more of a 'gift' then my 'gift' of a sensitive stomach.

This is just silly to the utmost.

The gifts here are the talents and special intense interests many of us with autism have as a result of our different wiring.

It's the same thing with the talented and gifted---IQ of 125 and up. We call them gifted.

When you put autism together with talented and gifted, you get twice gifted.

So these are the gifts I am talking about---not the differences like "purple hair" analogy.
You discover those interests in your life, and you let them become fun. You discover your talents and let them become fun. Those are the gifts---it's enjoying life through what our different wiring allows us to achieve.

Thank you for posting MussoliniBismarck.

You sound like an existentialist. To you, I imagine this thread would, in fact, seem very silly, indeed. Then again, we might think the same thing of you.

I get what you mean glider but this is just ego stroking to me.

You have missed the whole point and misread the thread MussoliniBismarck. This thread is a place for us to unwrap, nurture, and use the gifts that autism can bring to us. There's definitely nothing wrong with that. No "ego stroking" here.

Remember what you said in your first post to the WrongPlanet, "I hope that you guys are as nice as your web design implies." I can tell you that I treat people here with respect. Please remember that. I wish for good things for the members of the WrongPlanet. But calling a member's thread "ego stroking" is not respectful---especially if that thread is meant to help people see good things in autism. So please, be nice too, and respect what many of us are saying.