autistic adults- attachment to objects?

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I've been reading a lot about ASD's lately and studies show that for ASD people who are higher functioning (especially people who are diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome) stimming and "persistent preoccupation with parts of objects" as well as attachemnt to objects and lining objects up are supposed to be transitory characteristics (i.e. we have them in childhood but they go away by adulthood...while interests, sameness, routines etc. tend to persist). Anyways I'm diagnosed with AS (although possibly should have been diagnosed PDD-NOS) and am 26 years old.........I still have sensory stims and I'm really attached to some of my stuffed animals. I make sure they are aligned in a particular way and always check to make sure they are in place, kiss them if they fall etc. Anyone else?

Last edited by daydreamer84 on 27 Mar 2011, 12:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

I am attached to quite a few objects - including a stuffed animal I bought several years ago and other than that an article of clothing I wear a lot, glasses, a coffee mug, even my computer, and I stim regularly. I'm 41 now.

The phrase "supposed to" bugs me. I done the same "stim" for as long as I can remember, definitely have the objects attachment, old radios in my case, and they need to be in the right places on the shelf. IF you're ok with it I don't see the problem.

I've read that these things are supposed to disappear by adulthood in people who are not severely autistic, as well.

The "persistent preoccupation with parts of objects" thing is different from the attachment to objects. (It's "persistent preoccupation with parts of objects," not "persistent preoccupation with objects or parts of objects".) It's supposed to be about things like:

* Reacting only to sensory aspects of objects, rather than their intended meaning and use. For instance, pressing one's cheek to the seat of a wooden chair and rubbing the cheek over it repeatedly, rather than sitting in it.
* Reacting only to small parts of the objects rather than the whole object. For instance, spinning the wheels of a toy car rather than playing with it the usual way and making vroom vroom noises or something.

I do the first thing all the time. And I mean nearly all the time. I don't know what it is about me (and it doesn't seem true of most autistic people on these boards, from the polls I've made), but I really have trouble getting meaning out of what comes in through my senses. It takes work when I can do it at all. Most of the time, I perceive the world as a bunch of undifferentiated colors and shapes, with textures and sounds and stuff, but no actual identifying the objects until I work really hard at it. This causes me to frequently respond to sensory aspects of objects without responding to the "meaning" or identity of the object.

I would do a lot of stimming, if it weren't for a movement disorder I have that seems to actually prevent some of my stimming these days. I can still feel the stimming trying to happen somewhere in my brain, but one kind of stimming doesn't reach my body as often as it used to. On the other hand, the sort of stimming that involves my hands and fingers making odd movements, seems to still exist just as much, or almost as much. I just don't rock all the time now like I often used to. But that's actually about an autism-related movement disorder becoming more severe, not about things becoming less severe, so that's different. And as I said I still do the hand-movement stimming.

As far as attachment to objects (which is totally separate from preoccupation with parts of objects), I still have that not only just as much as ever, but more than ever. I have an old-fashioned key that a friend put on a ribbon for me, and I wear it all the time. Partly so I can feel it in my hand or rub it on my face when I need something familiar. (I hate people asking me things like "Is that the key to your heart?" though.) I feel wrong when it's away from me. And I have a lot of objects I have a similar attachment to, and that help me handle the overstimulation that comes from being in unfamiliar places, as well as just being... I don't know how to describe this either. But to me, objects seem as alive as any other person. I don't mean that I anthropomorphize them, but they each have a "personality" unique to each object, and I feel that as plain as anything else in the world. They're not human-like though, they're just very them-like, and I have a strong attachment to them. The key feels very light and friendly, for instance. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else -- I'm one of those autistic people where, rather than the way people assume that our attachments to objects and distance from people mean the world is kind of barren for us, it's more like I relate to objects just like I relate to people and the whole world is "alive" in a way that it isn't for most people.

Of course... I'm not actually classified as "high functioning" officially, so... I'm not sure if I'm a counterexample or not. But I do know lots of people considered AS or HFA who have issues similar to mine, so I'm pretty sure this stuff is common among "high functioning" people even if "experts" say otherwise. (I have to wonder exactly how they're observing these things for the studies, too. Could it simply be that people labeled "high functioning" are better at hiding these things for at least part of the time, than other people?)

I have never had the trait.

I am much more attached to objects than humans. All of the realtionships (adult) that I have entered into have also ended in large part because of this. People tend to not understand this in a relationship. One of the objects of my attention/affection are computers and technology. The parts of computers, PCH, CPU, SPI, BIOS chips, all the way up to the Languages that run it. I like taking those Lauguages apart too and building them back into programs. I like solving complex problems with my pieces of knowledge and my code. I am also fascinated with my classical guitar and the music that I am learning. Each note sucks me into the paper. Some nights I play the same measure over and over and over and over. I live this planet largely absorbed in my "things" with only occasional human/social interaction. People think that is strange but I think it is a great way to live.

This makes sense to me, or at least my own perception of objects works in a manner that seems similar to what you're saying, although I am not sure that it is as intense.

I wish I had more words today. Could use them right here right now.

Sorry I didn't realize I'll edit my original post. I think it's either mentioned as an associated characteristic in the DSM (attachment to objects) or it's just known as an associated characteristic (?). I was reading a summary of results from different studies about ASD'S that have contributed to the changes they are going to make to DSM V criteria (for ASD'S) which talked specifically about attachment to objects (in addition to preoccupation with parts of objects). The study mentioned lining up objects as well. I guess it was just grouping object related traits together. The study (a meta analysis mentioned in the summary) grouped them together so I thought they were part of the same criterion.

I feel that way about certain objects (like they are alive and have a personality) but not all. I get particularly attached to stuffed toys.

In terms of stimming I still dangle a string (or something with the same feel) in front of my face (while scrunching up my face). I can so this for hours while doing other things. I also like to watch dripping water (excessively…..I think). I'm glad you and other in HFA/AS people you know do this (not that it really matters anyway) but it made me feel left out to think only young children with AS/HFA did these things. I'm immature even for a person with PDD! It's possible that high functioning people just hide their stimming/do it in private.....but then wouldn't that come out in a diagnostic interview and in studies wouldn't they still be classified as having that characteristic?

Yeah attachment to objects is definitely an autistic thing, and widely written about.

I also wonder about that (people hiding and/or not mentioning it rather than it not happening).

Re: stim objects: On my computer desk I have a large, clear rubber ball that has a bunch of smaller, transparent, multi-colored balls floating (in water ?) inside of it. And glitter, of course. It's good for spinning (to get the internal balls circulating) and then holding up to an eye while looking toward a light source. Don't know why it's so relaxing but it is. It's kind of like kaliedoscope, but more fluid. I've tried taking video of it, but my phone has really crappy video-recording performance. Not sure if I'd have the guts to do that on an airplane or something, though. ("he's crazy!" "it's a bomb!" "won't somebody please shoot him?! Think of the children!")

I have a number of collections. They give me security. I collect DVDs and books. On my computer, I have files that are 20 years old, if not older. I keep them around, because I like having them.

I have a lot of repetitive habits. I'm not sure if they are true stims, but I do have a need to do them, and I find it impossible to do without them. I have tried to get rid of them, and new ones just appear. I finally decided to live with a group of them, which are relatively harmless, and easily hidden. In general, I don't do them in public, though there are a few that I can do without attracting attention.

I have a strong attachment to my netbook. I'm also going to sleep with my drum sticks at my parents trailer for the first time, tonight.

My list...

My computer - Ive put so much time and money into the damn thing its like an extension of my own being.
My Guitars and music hardware.
A pillow I had since I was little (the thing is just mad comfortable and the perfect size for covering my head with.

How would one classify NT coin or stamp collectors. Are they not attached to physical objects?

I know an NT who loves his sports car more than his kids.

ruveyn

I have been sentimental about many objects, like the post describes, but I have learned to let go. My mother was a hoarder and I hated her guilt trips for not feeling sentimental about every damned thing. I have learned that objects do not matter. I have made myself less materialistic. I think trauma makes high-functioning aspies deviate from common aspie traits. I think trauma can also throw off medical professionals who are trying to diagnosis and don't compensate the affects trauma can have on an aspie's behavior. These professionals end up confused and misdiagnosing those aspies as some other disorder.

It's faulty logic to presume that symptomatic behavior for Aspergers Syndrome could only be associated with Aspergers Syndrome. Aspergers Syndrome is defined by more than one symptomatic behavior and is often an unique mixture of several different behaviors that, together, can define a diagnosis for a patient. It is not unusual for any individual with or without any disorder to have an isolated behavior. If one claims that AS patients may have an attachment to objects, one is not automatically claiming that those without AS have no attachments to physical objects.

That said, collecting can be a compulsive behavior, not one of specific attachment. There are several disorders that may include compulsive behavior, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Not all Hoarders have AS, and yet they have an extreme difficulty with functioning without compulsively collecting objects.

There must also be a healthy consideration for collecting. An individual may not possess an unhealthy attachment to or an unhealthy need to acquire objects for their collection. It may simply be a hobby that, if a hurricane were to wash it away or financial struggles make it necessary to sell, the collector could let go of the objects. Often when such symptomatic behaviors are discussed for a disorder, they interfere with that individual's ability to function in life. There are plenty of collectors who experience no interference.

As far as your straw man example of the NT who loves sports cars more than his kids, it's quite possible that he may have a disorder. Or he may just be an a**hole with screwed up priorities who lacks parenting skills. Arguing based on this one guy can conclude nothing here.