Impulsiveness and Aspergers?

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Is being impulsive part of having Aspergers?

I would say not, but a few web sites out there list it as one of the characteristics.

Well, I would contend that impulsive behaviour caused by Aspergers is a myth. I've had my share of people, be it co-workers or those in my personal circle, tell me (or gossipped about me) that I was impulsiveness. But, that was definitely not the case; if anything, I thought very thoroughly about what I was doing or saying or sending via email or whatever, before I actually did it.

Reflecting back, I think they perceived it this way because unlike them, I didn't intuitively grasp "the big picture" of the situation, which I would surmise is due to lack of ToM and central coherence. So they must have just assumed that because I didn't take heed of certain things right away (like they would have), that I acted impulsively. They can sense right off the bat if an action can rub somebody the wrong way, or create unnecessary friction or confusion from others, etc.

All of which to say, the "impulsive" label is really just an illusion.
Much in the same vein that we get labelled "selfish" just because we don't notice certain non-verbal cues in the environment and react accordingly.

In fact, at a previous job, they started rumours about me that I must have ADHD, because I'm impulsive and I frequently misinterpret messages from people. And to think I fought so long to get a proper diagnosis after being labelled ADHD for so long!!

Despite this, there are some times when I could be somewhat impulsive - namely, when I'm dealing with bullying or berating, it makes me feel like walking on eggshells and end up making "snap decisions". But that's due to the effects of anxiety, not Aspergers itself.

I have not read your post yet I will after I post this.

But being impulsive has been a problem all my life.

yes, definitely have a problem with being impulsive. Particularly with what I post on this site.

Impulsiveness is one of the major types of ADHD and in particular is connected to executive dysfunction (a core part of ADHD and common in AS too).

Many people with AS meet some or all the criteria for ADHD, so impulsiveness is probably widespread among Aspies, but it is not required for a diagnosis of AS.

In any case, executive function problems are very common amongst Aspies, regardless of whether they meet the criteria for ADHD. And because we can miss non-verbal cues, we may interrupt other people, which can also make us appear impulsive.

So I'd guess that impulsiveness is widespread, but not universal, amongst Aspies.

I think that lacking social intuition can give the illusion of impulsiveness. I often say things that other people wouldn't say because they consider them socially inappropriate or weird, and when other people hear me say these things, they think that I was impulsive, as in I was unable to inhibit my saying of something that they might also be thinking but wouldn't say, because they know that it is not the thing to say in that situation, but that is not what happened at all. Instead, I just said it because I did not think that there was anything wrong with saying it, and I don't have the social intuition for me to know what is OK or not OK to say in which situation.