If A Friend Wants You To Explain AS

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1) What do you say?

2) Is there a good website you could share with them which may help explain it?
-Would wiki be any good?

The last time I tried explaining, I failed brutally. They looked at me in a very confused manner and they didn't understand at all. I just explain, now, that I have issues with correctly expressing myself in social settings. I also have trouble understanding sarcasm and jokes- that kind of stuff. They seem to understand and comprehend 'on-the-surface' explanations. Different scenarios. You can always use examples from every day situations to explain. Sometimes, I'll tell them when I didn't understand what they meant and they seem to grasp how I am a little more.

As for websites, I'll look around for some. I haven't really found any good ones.

I seem to just fumble around and say only about a tenth of what I mean. It's actually super frustrating. Especially when I get reactions like "my roommate/cousin/friend is shy and doesn't like crowded places. do you think they have AS?" Or, what I count as my personal best reaction ever: "I have autism, so..." *everyone around me takes TWO giant steps back like I'm contagious!* D:

I'm in the process of making a video out of powerpoint slides to try and explain it in my own words, but progress is slow...

This isn't exactly a good "intro to AS" video, but I've been waiting for an opportunity to show a friend nevertheless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fTBM_3s ... e=youtu.be

I would describe my symptoms to them, and that each person with autism has a different set of symptoms. I'd also go send them to wrongplanet if they were really interested.

I've never explained it to anyone though, beyond just my basic symptoms.

I'd ask them if they'd ever travelled overseas. If they said yes I'd say 'well however you felt in that new country for the first few days? That's how I feel all the time'. If they hadn't travelled I'd use someone else's analogy that I read here on WP that said 'Imagine when someone's talking to you, you're trying to pay attention and listen but at the same time you have to try and solve a maths equation in your head' and I'd add to that the idea that everyone's wearing a plain white mask so you can't see what their face is doing so you don't know how they feel or what they're thinking. Also I'd ask them to remember the last time they thought they were going to get into a fight or were being followed by someone at night or something like that, I'd tell them that my sympathetic nervous system is in that state to a lesser degree most of the time except when I finally get to sleep.

I like Greenturtle74's guide to Asperger's. My friend who has AS thought it was great. Its here in this forum at the top. It may get the ball rolling.

Thanks kinme

Dan_Undiagnosed, I like your analogy. I've said something similar, that it was like being in a foreign country where you only slightly understand the language, don't know the gestures or customs, strange and alarming things keep happening and other people behave unpredictably (laugh or get mad suddenly for no apparent reason).

Hey bluecountry, glad you liked the analogy. The maths equation bit isn't mine but, I saw it somewhere else and really liked it.