Are you good at imitating people?

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I was reading Tony Attwood's book on Asperger's, and at one point he describes different coping methods children may develop in order to deal with their differences. One of them was by observing others and learning to emulate the people who are socially successful. When I read that I immediately realized how accurate that was of me. Especially during my last couple years of high school, I had one friend who was very NT, and by the end of high school, I talked and acted very similarly to him; same slang, same accent, same movements, etc. I even copied the way he walked, because the way I walked was apparently very awkward, at least that's what I was told. I still have to consciously think about walking like a normal person, I don't know what the natural way I walk looks like but people always said it looked weird.

In the book, he went on to say that Aspies like this can develop a really good ability to mimic. I am very good at accents, as long as I have heard enough of what they sound like, and I can sometimes even imitate a person's unique way of speaking, as long as I am quoting them or have heard them talk for a decent amount of time. I can't remember why, but I was recounting something somebody said to me to someone else at school once, and when I quoted him imitating his voice, the person I was talking to said something like, "Wow, that sounded exactly like him, seriously!"

I think this is why I haven't had a horrible time in social interactions in my more recent years (it was pretty bad when I was a kid). I usually am able to analyze the personality of the person or group as a whole, and after a little while I can interact and seem somewhat normal. I am pretty sure, though, that after a certain amount of time, people realize I'm kind of a fake. For a long time I felt like I didn't know who I was anymore, I had no idea I had Asperger's, and I'd been imitating NTs for so long that I'd do it even alone out of habit. I could always tell it wasn't my actual personality but I had forgotten what it was. This actually poses a problem for me now, too, as people who have known me would still say I was nothing more than a bit eccentric, and only I know it was all an act. I think that's why I am having a hard time convincing them to even consider it.

But anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else could relate.

No, I can't do accents or mimic other people to save my life.

Trying to emulate socially successful people wouldn't have worked for me, because I could never think of anything to say.

Last edited by NiceCupOfTea on 18 Aug 2014, 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ive been known to break into imitations of people, when in stressful situations usually. I often combine the accents with something the person wouldnt say or that is amusing to say in their voice. I remember once saying in Sean Connerys voice "I always wanted to be a lounge singer" (complete, and importantly, with trademark speech "defect"). Then theres time when i really dont want to do something and slide off into whiny Ray Romano mode. Most often though when im not me im partial to imitating my favourite person, Hunter S Thompson, particularly when out in public, a burst of lunacy parts crowds just like it did for him. If im watching movies i sometimes find myself repeating and trying to imitate actors when the ad breaks are on.....

The big thing is i dont plan any of these imitations, if i try and do it on demand it doesnt work, it has to be spontaneous, its like im not really in control of it, so yeah ill never make a living at it.

I am good at imitating people, but as far as voice acting goes, it comes pretty close, but as far as I can stretch my own voice.

This is where I am on this. I don't go out of my way to learn accents or mimic others. But if I hear an accent long enough, I can usually pick it up without trying. I can do a pretty good Irish accent "Top of the mornin' to ya!" And I can do a bit of Cajun and Mexican (lots of both in my area). I can occasionally drop a little Russian accent in also. I wish I could keep it going though -- I can usually only do it for a couple of sentences. When I speak to someone with an accent or speech pattern different from me, I find myself picking it up. I'm not TRYING to sound like them -- it just happens. I'm in Texas and have family in New Hampshire. I can easily lose the Texas drawl and pick up that accent after being with them for a few hours. After a week with them, I could almost pass for a local...heheh. And finally, surrounded by country hicks and hillbillies like I am, I can throw on a HEAVY Texas accent and sound like I just crawled out of the woods.

that is a real talent to be thankful for, I wish I could do the same thing.

I'm only decent at imitating people in a funny joking way to make people laugh but not in a serious way that would help me excell in social situations or something similar.

I'm very good at imitating people and have had some fun with it over the years and even gotten myself into trouble imitating others.

I can imitate every Muppet on the Muppet show as well as do a perfect Yoda. I've had people tied in knots with my Swedish chef and Miss Piggy imitations.

you must have the same talent as peter sellers did.

No i am much better at imitating trolls because I find it much easier to go out into a forest crab a heavy club like stick and run around banging on things while screaming like well, a troll....than to imitate people.

I don't know if I'm all that good at it, but yes, I've observed and emulated people I thought were closer to some sort of "ideal" than I felt myself to be, in my younger years. When I was young it was almost like trying on for size different ways to be in life, as I felt that the way I was -- with my social awkwardness, sensory issues, lack of smoothness in handling normal social interactions -- was not good enough. I took on some mannerisms I saw "normal" people using in order to fit in more. I can't speak to how successful that was -- probably not very, realistically. But I felt it was better than my natural self, particularly since I was severely introverted when young and had to come out of my shell just to join the world more, as I grew into an adult and lost my parents and family.

On a lighter note, in terms of the lighter side of emulation, I did go through a phase in my first days of high school, of observing my new teachers closely enough to mimic their voices and behaviors back to some classmates -- who then bullied me a little less as I'd managed to make them laugh. Again, I don't think the impersonations were very good, likely, but it was kind of like the old thing of "make 'em laugh" and they'll leave you alone, kind of thing.

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