Positive ASD moments

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I thought I would make this thread, because I've not seen anything like it on here (forgive me if there is already one) about positive moments:
When have you had a good day with aspergers?
When have you overcome an element of your ASD or avoided a meltdown?
Has your ASD helped you or been a benefit?
Even if it's a small thing, if you're proud of it, post here.

There must be some positive aspie moments!


I just had one (it starts out bad but ends up good!)
I had a meltdown in a shop yesterday. I couldn't find what I was looking for after I'd planned and prepared to go to that shop because I knew they'd have it. I had to go into another shop next door to find what I wanted which was horrible and loud and full of people running around. Everything became too loud and I only just held it together long enough to buy what I wanted and get out.

Today, I didn't want to go shopping again, but had an idea for a really nice meal.
I went somewhere else, which is on a busy high street. My phone's out of battery so I couldn't listen to music, but took my headphones anyway to hide some of the sound and avoid people talking to me.
I couldn't find something I was looking for, but I kept calm.
I thought logically about where it would be and even felt nearly okay about asking someone. Found it in the end. Didn't clam up and forget what I was after. I even bought some stuff which wasn't on my list without panicking and buying half the shop.
Someone nearly ran right into me and I didn't freak out.
On the way out there were people everywhere, buses going past and even an ambulance and I stayed calm.
I even took a new route on the way home, which unexpectedly involved about a mile of down hill on my bike, which was really fun

I am good at the job I do because of hyperfocus. I have to read a transcript and listen to a recording and sync them up for closed captioning. I do it at double-speed because I can read that fast and can still understand the recording.

And since costume history/art history/English history have been special interests of mine, I saved the day once when I prevented a show from going to air with a picture of the wrong Cromwell on the screen in a show about St. Thomas More.

I never lose my keys/sunglasses/purse because I always keep them in exactly the same place, no matter what I have to do to actually get them there. I will not put them down until I can put them in the right place. I have carried my purse around at home for an hour after work sometimes on chaotic days because I know that if I don't put it in its spot, I will not be able to find it.

Positive aspie moments? Yes, there are few of those.

- Special interest/ability to possess large amounts of information (that may be strange for NTs). Like knowing the structure of hundreds of drugs/molecules and use that to impress other people. Or to be able to cite DSM-IV (or V), pathological mechanism or drug effects (fun when talking to doctors).
- Hyperfocus when doing programming/scripting "at double-speed" (as Mindsigh said).
- To be able to sink into a dreamy state and focus on things inside your head. (Avoids boredom)
- To be told that "you are like Sheldon Cooper".

I just did a play that was part of orientation at my university. Thousands of incoming first years came to see it. Part of it included a monologue I wrote myself about my experience as a first year. I spoke about being transgender and transitioning at university, but I also spoke about my Asperger's diagnosis and how it made things difficult. People have been approaching me on campus ever since to tell me my monologue was amazing.

The best part was the other people who were in the play with me - they understood all of my autistic quirks, because by the end of the show, they knew that I couldn't handle people whistling, were happy to turn the music down if it was bothering me, understood how much I faked eye contact by looking at noses or mouths. They treated me like an equal, and it was the first non-autistic space where I felt free and myself.

Now I'm sad it's over.

The positive moments that always come to mind for me are the times having AS has helped me process information and react quickly, usually while the NT people around me are or would be stuck in panic.

-Gave a chocking friend the Heimlich while everyone was standing around screaming.
-Driving on the highway, a pickup truck lost several pieces of furniture, which I dodged.
-Jumping out of the way of car that ran a red light and would have hit me.

And others. Basically, I'm alive because of that lack of panicking. Possibly a few others have been saved by it too. I've read of several accounts of aspies being able to react like this, so I don't think it's just me.


Also computers. I'm quite sure being aspie helped with my thorough understanding of computers.

I did all of the online assignments for one of my classes in two afternoons, because they are statistics assignments and I got interested. My lowest score was above 95% correct.

I realized I'd memorized about half the rules for a tabletop role-playing gamebook... enough to actually use the tenets of a fictional creed in my role-playing. Word-for-word. And effectively. I had been reading that rulebook for the first time that evening.

I'm the most prolific crocheted-blanket maker in my crafts group. The blankets go to foster children.

The other day, I was idly singing a song. I realized I had heard it only once, over ten years ago. I remembered the chorus and some of the verses.

I found a beautiful pattern in the brickwork of the medical sciences building.

I've made people laugh by saying things in unusual ways.

I had to leave a noisy meeting because I was overwhelmed. My friends understood and didn't even think it was odd.

I can't think of any isolated incidents right now, but I'm always noticing things that no one else does, and sometimes it can be helpful.

This paper by Tony Attwood focusses on positive aspects of asperger's as criteria for identification... I see lots of them in myself, and they are things I like about me...

A "feel good" paper to read : http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/index.php ... Itemid=181

Hmm, affinity for/with animals? (I know that not all ASD people like animals, though.)

Ability to enjoy ant trails, tree bark, fallen leaves/petals and other simple things without being on drugs.

Good with 3D design in my head (current project is a cat ladder).

Can space out at any time (also without needing drugs).

I guess none of those are universal, but they seem to come up more often here than I've generally observed in the world.

Mine are similar to the OPs.

Im getting better at staying focused and comfortable in situations that have been stressful earlier.

Walking down the street, dressed like young Mick Avory showing society that I'm not afraid to be myself.

I've been speaking about AS since high school to countless schools, school boards, agencies, and service providers. I mainly do it because my biggest passion is helping people understand where AS behavior really comes from, that it's not all negative, and there is so much hope for success on the spectrum. I'm at my happiest when parents, teachers, support workers, and people on the spectrum come up to me and tell them how much I've inspired them.

To these people, my AS and my involvement in the AS community is seen as a positive because I use it to help others. It's hard, however, bringing up my same passions up with people that aren't in this community and don't know about AS because they haven't been there, are uninterested and rely on stereotypes and ableist perspectives to shape their understanding of it. When I bring this up with these kinds of people, I feel different in a negative and "special" way and feel earmarked as such. It's discouraging, and I wish everyone had the same amount of understanding of AS.

I currently mow greens at a fairly prestigious golf club and was recently told that I'm extremely good at it. I believe this is because of my ability to focus entirely. It does hurt when someone is looking over my shoulder, but because I'm left to do most of the work on my own I am much quicker and more precise than most of the other mowers. Unfortunately my job ends at the end of the month and I'll need to find another. This is the first job where I've felt truly content and don't exhaust myself with social stuff during the day.

The best thing I did to help me with my AS was befriend a girl who is an ESFP. She's basically the opposite of me but we really get along. I feel comfortable opening up around her and talking to her. She is extremely outgoing, kind, open-minded and loud. I find that I mimic her a lot. I do a lot of things today that I never would have done before meeting her.

I got a job bussing tables today because the lady who did the interview saw me stimming. She told me she thought it was cute, and cuteness is the most important qualification.