High-functiong asperger differs from autism to me

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I don't have any sensitivities to loud sounds and I can understand and generate metaphors. Some tests on autism I was able to answer as a NT would.

Of course there's a difference, but I also think that people can learn and grow. There's also a difference between a developmental disorder, disability, and a dysfunction. It just means that a person hasn't learned, in their own way, how to do some things, yet.

I think it also depends, in large part, on how much life experience people have, "In The Real World" as people my age like to say to teens.

The old saying, "What doesn't kill me, only makes me stronger" is something I truly believe in. Not that I like to force myself to do things that stress me out, but often there are hidden benefits to activities that seem to be torturous at first glance. (lovemaking comes to mind) Working and paying rent on time affords a person much more freedom, in the long run, than sleeping in on Saturday can.

Once some of these things become obvious, it is much easier to tolerate the drudgery that we must push through to have our freedoms and pleasures. It's simply realizing that you have a goal with a reward at the end and keeping the goal in mind can alleviate some of the stress as you attend the seconds of each day.

It's also the same with your ability to interact with people more freely, using their rules. There can be benefits, although they are not 'free', they must be 'bought'. It would be great if some of the smart people would enter this topic.

Some people with HFA don't have sound sensitivity, and/or can use metaphors. Especially as you get older and learn things, HFA and AS aren't all that different.

The main difference is in early childhood, when AS tends towards early speech or hyperlexia and HFA starts out with a language delay.

By mid-teens, they're functionally similar, though HFA is a bit further up the spectrum (more pronounced traits) on average.

I'm one of those that don't see the (value) difference between AS and "HFA". They're different, in that AS doesn't have speech delay and classic autism does. However, part of my son's speech delay was an extended period of using echolalia to learn speech. That gave him a longer time to study pitch, tone and expressive emotion. He's behind in idiomatic/pragmatic speech, but when he is speaking, he uses a very emotive style of speech.
My husband had a speech delay and was slow to read (dyslexia and no one knew how to teach to him). But he mastered everything in his teens and is now a far superior speaker, writer and can read people very well. He is highly praised at work for his skill. Ironic, since verbal language is difficult for him and he is a visual thinker.

jonathandoors,

I read the symptoms of autism, and AUTOMATICALLY figured WOW, I'm autistic!?!? But then it dawned on me that I have an above average IQ, have LOTS of knowledge, etc.....

I AM sensitive to loud noises. I have ALWAYS said my senses are SKEWED! This is not usually obvious unless some IDIOT turns up the volume on a PA, speaks in a LOUSY voice, and speaks close to the mike, or an alarm goes off. Even THEN, unless it is an alarm that is loud, nobody ELSE could notice. I HAVE heard/seen things others couldn't. Some of these were measured, or progressed so EVENTUALLY others could see/hear them, so it wasn't something I imagined. Based on actions I have seen from others, such behaviour or lack of tolerance might be present in .1-.2% of the groups I have seen exposed to it. I don't know how many people around me are autistic. Outside of AS people, which I am sure I generally don't see, I don't imagine I have seen many autistic people at all.

I can understand/create metaphors ALSO! Sometimes I describe a problem by relating it to something else the person might understand, or point out how their beliefe would lead to chaotic behaviour, etc... so I MUST be right. STILL, I WAS more stubborn earlier about how some things WERE unclear as a proper understanding could not be gleaned SOLELY by understanding the statement. BTW OF COURSE AS people have less trouble with that! THAT stems from what makes them UNIQUE in the Autistic spectrum.

I ALSO, today, do things I would not have DREAMED of when I was a little kid. I STILL hate it! It is DUMBER now than when I was a kid! Yet I MUST do it or wait forever, etc.... I STILL remember all the discomfort, etc... because of my having to wait while others blocked my way, etc.... I truly DO understand, even TODAY, about how monk would feel if he was real.

I took normal classes, used normal transportation, suffered through more alarms than you could believe, etc..... I was never diagnosed as having ANY sort of disorder! It was always like OH, he's lazy or OH, he's shy or OH, somethings wierd, because he doesn't like sports or OH, he's a jerk because he won't let me eat off his plate(even though I even OFFERED to buy her her own, ad she wasn't even really a friend) or OH, let's make fun because he doesn't make eye contact, or looks down as opposed to forward. If I wasn't so communicative, more stubborn(I AM suppressing some autistic traits), and had an IQ below 100, I would INSTANTLY be pegged AUTISTIC! NO QUESTION! Yet when I told someone that knew me that I fit in the spectrum, they laughed and said YOU? NAW!

Steve

For me it's about having focused obsessive interests (evangelical xianity)

and being clueless in social situations, not knowing what to say or what to talk about, other than my focused interests

OH, I am HORRIBLE in social circumstances.

As for the evangelical xianity, I would LOVE to believe in a God, ETC... I have been raised Christian/Catholic. But every time I turn around I see hypocrisy, etc..., and it turns me OFF! Anyway, I am not trying to dissuade you.

My interests are REALLY eclectic. When I was a kid just learning English. English IS my first language, but at the time I DID have a goal of being able to read just about anything. I would find a word I KNEW, and look up any word I had the SLIGHTEST doubt about and, if it got TOO hard, research the topic. I had nothing better to do. I ALSO was interested in Mechanics and Electronics at an early age. When Electronics got too complicated(to design multilayer PC boards, etc....), I moved off into computers. If I found some part of me lacking, or thought there was a problem, I would research THAT! That is how I found out about aspergers.

So I know a LOT about the human body, chemistry, Mechanics, Electronics, Computers, the internet(Nearly every aspect), Marketing, etc....

Anyway, I don't claim to know everything, but many have claimed that I did(claim to know everything) simply because I DO know a lot, and haven't made it a secret.

STILL, I couldn't name big sports legends, or tell you who won the last world series or superbowl. I truly AM like I am on the wrong planet. People could talk to me for 15 minutes about stuff I know nothing about, and LAUGH at my lack of knowledge(I try every trick to avoid that circumstance, so they RARELY laugh), and suddenly ZONE OUT when I start talking about what I know(I usually stop talking a bit after they zone out.).

Steve

I don't know if this is an autistic symptom or not, but when I think about concepts such as emotions or people, I think of them as shapes instead of as words or memories. So I tend to use a lot of metaphors because I can't translate the shape-thought in my head into word-language. Apparently they are not very good metaphors though, because a lot of people don't know what I am talking about.

I have a lot of trouble understanding when people are speaking literally and when they are being sarcastic. Growing up in the New England region of the US, where people tend to be very sarcastic, was difficult for me, and I found myself an outsider because I could not communicate like everyone else.

I suppose I am high functioning in a way because I always have a job and can support myself, but my relationships never last, and it's very hard for me to make friends. So I am low functioning socially.

Even posting here makes me anxious because I worry about not fitting in. I have belonged to other forums (though not for autism), and it has always ended in grave misunderstandings and disaster.

Sue,

The idea of SEEING emotions, etc... Is a symptom of odd learning styles and/or mismapping of the brain, and that remapping is the CAUSE of Autistic symptoms. SO, in a way, it IS due to autism.

The problems with sarcasm or society are KEY symptoms of aspergers. Those are the most obvious differences to others.

As for the posting? WOW, DEJAVU! Checkout the warriorforum.com/forum! I am seasoned there! It is a love/hate relationship! Some see my intent, and that I help people, etc.... They LOVE me! Others see me as ALWAYS complaining, and hate my guts! But HEY, I am ADICTED. Maybe NOW, I can come HERE! I have better input and am better understood, and there is a BETTER chance I will LEARN something here!

Steve

SteveK, I hope this won't come across as insulting ... but would you mind capitalising a few less words in your future posts? Those words wouldn't have that much emphasis put on them if they were spoken aloud, don't seem to need any more emphasis than would come from your sentence structure, and your current use of capitalising words does make your otherwise interesting posts rather hard to read. It's kind of distracting. Thanks, and again, I hope I don't sound impolite. Just thought it might be worthwhile asking.

And jonathandoors, I have Aspergers, and am auditorially, visually, olfactorily and physically hypersensitive. Although I do tend to be able to understand and use metaphors. However, I still have trouble recognising sarcasm and understanding/projecting meaning via voice tone.

Wow Louise. OK, for you, I will try to limit it. 8-( But hey, you did temper it with a compliment. Thanks!

Steve

Thanks Steve. And it's not an empty comment - I really do enjoy reading your posts.

Unfortunately the Autistic spectrum is very broad, hence the spectrum, but it doesn't mean that because you don't have all the associated symptoms doesn't mean you don't have it.
Personally, i love sarcasm, irony and metaphors and use them constantly, although i can't always tell when others use them.
I feel that AS is almost a pick and mix type thing, some things you have and some you don't, so i wouldn't worry if your not extra sensitive.

A psychiatrist diagnosed me as having Asperger's, with a rule out of narcisstic personality disorder. He did say I was very well compensated, borderline case. He then prescribed me meds.

I tend to experience considerable anxiety in social situations, and I take medication to reduce it. SSRI Paxil and Xanax.