Traits opposite of stereotypical autism?

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22 Feb 2013, 9:10 pm

I'm curious how many people have traits that are opposite from the stereotypical autism spectrum disorders, yet still have an ASD dx. These are some things Ive noticed that are different about me from most people on the spectrum.

- I can be very extraverted. I can make eye contact, make friends, and feel comfortable in social situations. However I still have trouble understanding social situations and body language and am often told I come off as weird.

- I dont like to do the same things everyday. However I don't like it when someone else makes unexpected plans for me.

- I'm very sensation seeking and am always looking for action as opposed to the avoidant aspie who doesnt leave their house. I get bored easily and like to keep myself going.

- I'm hyposensitive to senses and emotion as opposed to the highly sensitive aspie. However bright lights bother me.

- My nonverbal IQ is higher than my verbal IQ. I have superior visual spacial skills (rated 99th percentile on the IQ test) but I am not the best reader.


I think for me most of these contradictay traits are due to overlapping adhd symptoms.


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Yuugiri
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22 Feb 2013, 9:32 pm

I get really excited when my schedule is disrupted, depending on the disruption. For instance, if there's a freak winter storm preventing school from opening, or my mom takes me out of school early for an appointment or something... come to think of it, anything that results in less school is pretty awesome. I think most of my anxiety around disruptions has to do with a sudden change in environment; if I'm suddenly displaced somewhere, I get very, very stressed. That, and social situations in general.


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Zokk
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22 Feb 2013, 9:56 pm

Well... Let's see here...

- I'm highly empathetic; possibly even more-so than some normal people. It's sympathy I still sometimes have trouble showing people.
- I'm a competent public speaker (but that doesn't mean it doesn't make me really uncomfortable to have to initiate conversation with strangers or groups of strangers).
- I'm highly animated; I gesture, change my posture and my facial expressions a lot when I'm speaking.
- I can't organize myself to safe my life, but I can do it for everyone else.
- I'm highly creative, and have comparatively little patience for the more involved technical sides of most things.

And that's just off the top of my head.


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Noetic
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22 Feb 2013, 11:15 pm

- I am quite good at "mechanical" Theory of Mind eg reading information and mechanically extrapolating what each character knows.

- I often gesticulate quite a lot when talking, albeit more for my sake than that of who I am talking to. Like a memory aid as I often mime what I am talking about, even on the phone.



chlov
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23 Feb 2013, 6:43 am

I joke and laugh a lot
I talk a lot
Those are the two that are the opposite of the autism stereotype



Joe90
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23 Feb 2013, 12:37 pm

-I am bad at math

-I am not good with scientific knowledge and facts

-My special interests are not World of Warcraft or Star Wars. Instead my special interests are usually over people

-I don't monologue or use a flat/monotone voice

-I can make eye contact naturally

-I can ''read'' non-verbal cues like body language and all of that stuff, and I never had to learn, it seemed to have always improved with age, by instinct, like most NTs

-I don't go non-verbal when having meltdowns, nor do I curl up into a ball or anything unusual (to tne norm) like that. That's why they call my meltdowns ''tempers'' or ''outbursts''

I'm sure I have loads more but I can't think of any more at the moment. (Probably as soon as I hit submit, I would suddenly think of loads).


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23 Feb 2013, 12:56 pm

im not at all an autistic person some might expect me to be though i do still have a lot of the traits but not many stereotypes you hear so much about.

i dont know if this is a proper stereotype or not ( excuse me if i accedently offend someone here, i dont mean to offend ) but i always keep clean and i have my hair styled and i like to straighten my hair every morning and put make up on, i cant have no make up on its a matter of habit. my husband gets annoyed and says i look gorgous without make up as well but i like to put it on because i just like to, not to attract anyone

also i am not too introverted. it might seem like i am because i dont talk much at social events but thats because i dont like social events much. but i deal with the public in my job and i am good at dealing with the public, i dont become very anxious about it at all.



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23 Feb 2013, 2:06 pm

I don't have a lot of traits that are the opposite to the stereotypical ideas about aspergers but I do think that I am capable of feeling lots of empathy. I think I even experience hyperempathy on a regular basis.

However, the stereotypical ideas about autism need to be seriously and continuously challenged. I am convinced that many if not all people with autism are fully capable of feeling empathy. We just don't how to respond to those feelings and how to express them in a manner that is clear to others. Another factor is that neurotypicals have a strong tendency to pretend and fake all sorts of emotions, including empathy. People with autism don't tend do that because of the simple fact that we don't see the point in faking stuff, fooling ourselves and in being dishonest.



scarp
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23 Feb 2013, 2:52 pm

- While I do prefer to have a lot of control over my environment, I do not require or even prefer strict routines to function. Sudden changes to schedules aren't a problem for me so long as it isn't at the very last minute (but that would bother anyone). My family moved around a lot when I was a kid, and I was perfectly okay with this most of the time.

- I have a poor memory for very specific facts regarding my "special interests," so I have to keep very detailed reference notes. Similarly, I am not very good at "monologuing" because I find it difficult to draw on and organize my thoughts in such a way as to talk about anything for any significant amount of time.

- So long as I am confident and knowledgeable about what I'm talking about and have a well-practiced presentation, I am fairly good at public speaking.

- I like busy places such as malls, cities, grocery stores, etc. I like to "get lost" in them and observe all the little details around me. Needless to say, I do not suffer from intense sensory overload.

- The sensory issues that I do have are fairly mild and, luckily, are tied to things that aren't as much of a problem in the modern world. For example: my two biggest issues are with the sound of chalk on a chalkboard and the sound of dull, scratchy pencils. These days, white boards have pretty much completely replaced chalk boards and most people prefer to use mechanical pencils (which don't bother me) or pens.



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23 Feb 2013, 2:58 pm

Oh, come to think of it...

Like many others here, I'm bothered by smells a lot. The thing is, I'm only bothered by unpleasant smells, which is a fairly standard trait among all humans. The way I deal with it, however, is not. I tend to spray liberal amounts of air freshener around in areas, and I wear body mist almost constantly (never perfume; perfume is gross). Everyone else in my house hates it but me, lol. Apparently it gives them headaches.


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alexi
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23 Feb 2013, 5:15 pm

scarp wrote:

- I have a poor memory for very specific facts regarding my "special interests," so I have to keep very detailed reference notes. Similarly, I am not very good at "monologuing" because I find it difficult to draw on and organize my thoughts in such a way as to talk about anything for any significant amount of time.


Thanks, you found the words that I've been looking for to describe exactly how my brain works. Do you think this is ADHD related?



scarp
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23 Feb 2013, 5:22 pm

alexi wrote:
scarp wrote:

- I have a poor memory for very specific facts regarding my "special interests," so I have to keep very detailed reference notes. Similarly, I am not very good at "monologuing" because I find it difficult to draw on and organize my thoughts in such a way as to talk about anything for any significant amount of time.


Thanks, you found the words that I've been looking for to describe exactly how my brain works. Do you think this is ADHD related?


That's what I've been thinking lately. I'm not diagnosed with ADHD, but I am pretty sure I have it. Apparently it is not uncommon for people with ASD to have ADHD symptoms.



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23 Feb 2013, 5:36 pm

I'm an amateur actor, which one doctor thought to be a very odd interest for someone with autism.


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23 Feb 2013, 6:46 pm

- I don't shutdown nor throw meltdowns. I almost never throw a tantrum.
- I do not always depend on my routine. I will not get angry if my routine is disrupted. I will get annoyed if something happens without me knowing before hand.
- I have good hygiene.
- I am sarcastic and good in darker humour.
- I can make eye contact with some people for a certain amount of time.
- I can understand sometimes if people are angry, sad, happy etc. It has to be more obvious though.



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25 Feb 2013, 1:03 pm

I like socializing. jokes. funny stuff. I suck at math.



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25 Feb 2013, 1:16 pm

I prefer not to have routines. They're good for me but I don't like 'em.