Is this Autism?

Post Reply New Topic

I've been told by people they think I'm autistic.

If they are right, I would sum up the way it affects me as:

"A debilitating inability to stop learning and start doing."

Does this strike a chord?

Thanks,

Alex.

And that wouldn't be lazy?

Could well be.

Except that I always seem to be busy doing stuff, and yet never get anything done. In fact I really struggle to sit and do nothing.

My mind is always, always, always trying to improve its understanding.

Does it include walking in circles, talking to yourself aloud, fiddling with things, and other senseless, repetitive actions?

Last edited by dyingofpoetry on 25 Jun 2011, 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don't know if that is Autism but it totally describes me.

And I really like the internet but it debilitates me. The fact that the world is so wide open now, so much access, so much knowledge. My brain fills up. I can't know enough.

I would like to understand what it is like to be a god, omniscient.

That's a bit of a lofty goal though.

And, I feel like I'm lazy, even though I move around a lot and I get lots done but I just don't get done what the people around me expect me to get done. Which is both totally okay and kinda bad.

I'm constantly trying to improve on myself and my surroundings. I'm tidying, organizing. Not really sitting still. Sitting still is tough for me. I organize the gum while waiting in checkouts. (Seriously you can't put the gum back in the spot one rack above, where it belongs?)

Last edited by haruka on 25 Jun 2011, 11:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Circles...
Not really, unless I'm on the phone.

talking...
I think in words, and practice potential conversations in my head all the time. Occasionally a sentence will slip out. More rarely, I'll be talking to myself, rather than the imagined other.

fiddling with things...
Not so much since I got dreadlocks. On occasions, I have spent hours re-threading loose hairs, every day, mostly in the evenings. Also I fiddle aimlessly with my locks a lot when I'm driving.

other senseless...
Senseless? Are you joking? I have the best dreadlocks on a white man you have ever seen.

It's occurred me that an inability to stop learning would be incredibly frustrating for someone who also has learning difficulties.

Do you have a special focused interest/ obsession?

Can you read body language or ga ail expressions?

Do you have trouble making or maintaining friendships?

Do you have sensory issues?

Do you have specific routines you need to follow?

To find out if you might be on the spectrum you need to look at the dam criteria.

In ability to stop learning could indacate ADHD

I have a feeling that this discussion is starting to go in a direction a little different to that which I intended.

My fault though...

I have read and watched a huge amount about the World wars. I much prefer new information, but I'm happy to watch a documentary for an hour or so with nothing new in it.
However, I do think this is a very wide subject area (global issues, strategy & tactics, political history, social history, engineering etc.) I am interested in the full breadth.
Also, I have a passing interest in absolutely everything, especially if the information is coherently presented.


Sometimes when I'm talking, I stop to ask "what? what's the matter?" Usually there is something wrong (they're not following me, or I'm starting to offend them). Although I'm not sure exactly what's wrong, it must be non-verbal cues that tell me that something's up


At school, I was disliked. I don't mean not many people liked me. I mean a lot of people disliked me. Especially as a group. In one-on-one situations, I could get into quite deep conversations. Nowadays, on the whole people seem to really value me (maybe just find me interesting) but they still don't seem to think of me as a mate (buddy). I have very few friends, but the ones I have seem to like me a lot.


Does delayed sleep phase fit in here? I have been diagnosed with insomnia for years. Realizing it was Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome was a huge step forward for me. Most of the time I follow a sleep schedule of 3am - 11am very closely and easily.


Not need to. Very very strongly like to. Although my routine is very loosely defined, and includes a lot of time for pottering about.


I'm not really after a medical diagnosis. I certainly don't want treatment. I think what I would like to know whether I have a pronounced ability for autistic thought.

I am sorry. I know that's my fault. The excitement of potentially getting an answer caused me to put a misleading post title and poll question.

The important part is:

"A debilitating inability to stop learning and start doing." - Does this strike a chord?

That describes me pretty good. I find the doing part kind of boring and difficult. In school I loved theory but hated practicals/labs. In fact, I loved school (except the exam part) but hate work. Work just destroys any interest I had in the material. It feels like "forced" learning. But I don't think it has much to do with autism.

I could substitute "learning" with "analysing" or "considering the alternatives" etc.

That's not really very helpful if you want a more definitive answer I'm afraid. That would be like me, feeling all the symptoms of a cold, going to the doctor and saying: 'I sneezed five times last night'.

Basically he wouldn't be able to diagnose my cold without me adding, I have mucus pouring out of every orifice, My head is spinning... etc. Not that' I'd go to the doctor for a cold. That would be silly.

One cannot learn while being lazy. Learning takes effort.

But your answer has been really helpful in clarifying my thoughts.

I'm not really asking for a diagnosis of the disability that is called autism. It's more a question of whether I think in a profoundly autive (made up a word there to try and avoid confusion) way, in a similar fashion to people with an ASD.

To continue your analogy, I'm asking the doctor, "did I really sneeze five times last night?"

I don't have mucus pouring from every orifice, but I'm not sure whether that's because there isn't an excessive build up, or whether I've just become really good at sniffing it back up.

No. For me autism is always trying as hard as I can, but getting absolutely nowhere at all.

Actually, a better continuation of your analogy would be "is this what a spinning head feels like?"

peterd - Trying to do stuff, or trying to get better at doing stuff?