What Aspie traits DON'T you have?

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Happily I do not have the gross-motor clumsiness common in ASD people. I'm actually quite agile and coordinated :)

I have this!! My reflex speed is 50 milliseconds slower than normal. But I'm getting faster...

I am capable of eye contact & I have ok body control (unless I'm nervous or stressed, then it's bad)

I have the same issue with looking hard into people's eyes. This is more of a problem if I'm overstimulated or anxious. I argued with the Clinical psychologist when she dxd me Aspergers, "I can't be Aspergers because I make eye contact" when talking. The DMS-1V diagnostic criteria actually states inappropriate eye to eye gaze, not specifically eye contact avoidance. This behaviour frightens the 's**t' out of some females, sure they think I'm attempting to steal their souls or something sinister. I've tried looking elsewhere but I do not process the others talk and I feel lost/umcomfortable.

My obsessive interest is bizzare, 'People Watching' and it has been with me since childhood. Would have preferred 'Trains' etc, less hassle, people don't like to be observed.

Repetitive behaviours took me a while to understand, then the 'Penny Dropped'. I would tease or be sarcastic to people as a child/adolescent, no idea why because there was no intention to hurt their feelings. I would annalyse this behaviour, regret it, be harsh with myself and promise this will not happen ever again. Same circumstances and I would repeat the same negative behaviour. So distressing, like an uncontrollable impulse. I have displayed this type of inappropriate social behaviour all my life, seem to stop myself from doing it most of the time.

Sensory issues are subtle, not extreme.

I have visual spacial Intergration problems. Three dimensional shapes, geometry, trigonometry confuse me to the max which is apparently uncommon for people with Aspergers. My psychologist informs me I am an overly visual Aspie and this is where I obtain my majority of stimulation/pleasure.

While I had the "special interest" as a kid, I don't think I had it to the same degree and intensity as some. My special interest had nothing to do with fact finding or research; it had everything to do with listening to myself talk and sing into a tape recorder. For hours. And hours.

I am apparently in the minority in that I really like math am good at numbers and some types of spacial thinking. Other times, however, I definitely fall under AS / NLD (I have a lot of trouble finding things that are staring me in the face.)

I used to have aural sensory problems. The vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, and furnace would all bother me. And tags used to itch something awful. But I never remember it being so bad that it would overload me. All of those issues are gone for me now.

I don't think I've ever had a monotone or flat voice. Then again, I suspect it's because I am a really good imitator of all sorts of sounds. I am decent at the eye contact thing now, but I still very consciously know when I am and when I am not looking into someone else's eyes.

Well, some of us in that age group have thought that we were normal because every joe average and their "expert opinion" have told us so all our lives...


So, anyway: i tried to get as much down by reading this thread, so here goes:

* I got a great sense of humor.

* I have learned not to interpret words so literally.

* I have learned to make eye contact.

* I have learned EQ - to think myself into "other peoples shoes", i.e. how do they perceive the world, what is their situation.

* I have learned to associate facial expressions to feelings, but it is not an exact science.

* I walked funny until i took budo. My eye/hand coordination was also improved by a factor of 1 billion.

* I can express my feelings with some success, even though my face is mostly in "neutral".

* I have empathy (was developed after watching lots of Startrek TNG).

* I suck at math and do not fit the "AS stereotype".

* I swing my arms when i walk, mostly because my father told me to when i was younger, i remember it well "Only people with mental problems do not swing their arms". Now it just feels "natural" to do it.

* I found one job that was just perfect for me and i could have kept for longer than a year. I got a very good review from the employer too, but things got screwed up.

* I have few routines and i can stray from them. At home i prefer chaos, at work i need precise planning.

* I have learned to communicate well and to express my feelings.

* I have very few depressions nowadays. I have learned to deal with them and find solutions to them, i only have a mild depression now.

* Whenever i have a seminar or a lecture, i speak with a clear, loud and lively voice (normal sounding). Normally my voice is staccato and monotonous.

* I do not get meltdowns or panic attacks. I used to be worried alot about new situations when i was a kid/teenager, but i guess i learned to deal with it. Nowadays i rarely get any worries.

* I have learned to not ramble on about my special interests (much) when i talk to other people. I have learned to spot when they get uninterested or fall into a boredom-coma.

* I have a Normal-to-High IQ, i honestly do not know. The WAIS test i did said i had normal IQ, the test i did on the mensa homepage (those rotating patterns) said i should apply for membership, other tests have shown varying results too.

* I think i had some sort of OCD symptoms when i was younger and probably echolalia too - i remember listening to a cassette-tape of myself when i was a kid and i was singing a word over and over again.

* I have zero motoric/movement symptoms.

I've also learned most of the things you've mentioned above; however, it doesn't mean that these are still not a part of my personality. Even though I can fake it and look like an NT (again I think so, I don't know what are other people's opinions on my behaviour), when I don't control things like eye contact and tone of voice, it can get out of hand. While it's true that under social pressure, we have learned many things that make us more normal, the way our mind works still hasn't changed.

Also, I believe the repetition of same words, thoughts, behaviours, etc. is one of aspie/autistic traits. I do it as well.

A sense of humor and sardonic wit.

ruveyn

I don't monologue about obsessions (anymore)
I get sarcasm, jokes, metaphors etc
I have a good sense of humour (if a little twisted )
I don't rock
I'm crap at maths
I'm more emotional than logical
I do feel alot of empathy

Obsessive routines. I've never followed routines.

I believe I can read facial expressions as well as the average NT but I don't necessarily respond as quickly. Sometimes I sense certain emotional undertones better than the average male NT, especially in hindsight, but again I'm not that quick to respond, especially if I'm nervous or uncomfortable.

I don't have a photographic memory or the ability to perform mental calculations at lightning speed. I'm bad at remembering trivia as well. I think trivia is really boring. There's a certain stereotype that aspies/auties are all rote ability with little intuition (i.e we all think like Rainman). I'm the opposite. My thinking style is more intuitive than rote.

I do that. When I write something then read it later, I often noticed that I've used a word or phrase over and over and it sound messed up.

I don't stim other than shaking my legs which is normal
I don't take things literally
I'm not a nerdy person
I suck ass at math
My walk and body movements look normal unless I'm nervous
I don't have a monotone voice or weird intonation unless I'm nervous
I don't have hypersensitivity in the senses except for when it comes to clothing
I actually have a less sensitive of smell
I don't have meltdowns, though I do get angry real easily (meltdowns are from overstimulation, a short fuse is from chronic anger, big difference)

I don't experience any sensory overloads.
I have practiced conversational skills in psychotherapy so I think that my social skills might at least be adequate. I have smooth conversations and can make friends fairly easily. (However, I've never been able to get together with someone in a romantic relationship.)There are some social situations in which I have good insight.
Also, my interests are varied even though I do have some obsessive tendencies.
The bulk of my problems are with verbal and non verbal communication and a lot of the secondary characteristics of AS (ie poor spatial perception, problems with multitasking, and clumsiness).

Routines. That's the big one I've never had at all.

Traits I do NOT have are:-

-difficulty understanding body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice

-difficulty understanding when someone's joking or being sarcastic, ect

-misinterpreting Theory of Mind

-being good at remembering numbers

-good at maths and science

-photographic memory

-speaking in monotone

-being unable to express my feelings

-problems with sleeping, eating, bathing, ect

-difficulties with empathising

-flapping hands, rocking backwards and forwards, ect

-being unaware of what other people may think

-honesty

-sensory issues with light, smell, taste and touch

-not like being touched by people

-not making eye contact


That may seem a lot, but the Aspie traits I DO have are a pain in the arse, and interfere with my life so bad. I have:-

-difficulty adapting to change

-severe anxiety disorder (this may be a separate condition)

-sensory issues with sound

-mood swings (not sure if this is an Aspie trait or not, but I am moody most of the time, as in can't be bothered to smile)

-very serious face most of the time

-selective memory

-obsessions, special enjoyments

-frequent outbursts

-angry feelings inside me a lot of the time


I can't think of anything else, but if I realised I missed something out I will edit it and write it in, but if the 9999 minutes are up then I will have to start a new post.

Last edited by Joe90 on 05 Mar 2011, 2:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I have a strong -albeit a very odd- sense of humor, and I don't have trouble understanding when people are jokeing, though I do sometimes have problems with other types of non-literal language.

I'm not very clumsy, though I do run into stuff sometimes. I have a very good sense of balance, and faster than normal reflexes, I just misjudge how much room I need to go around things.