Are these aspie traits?

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I was diagnosed with aspergers. I am successful and have friends.
One day my wife and I were in a store and there was a sign that said, " dog pen $200".
I thought wow a writing pen that looks like a dog. 200$ it must be an antique! Then I read that it was 6 feet! I asked the clerk if I could see this amazing pen! I was not joking!
My wife and I had to get passport photos to go to Thailand. The photographer said, lower your chin. I did. She said,"no,lower your chin". I lowered it further. I felt weird but then concluded that she wanted my facial skin to streach so that if I died in Thailand they would be able to identify my skull!! ! My wife was laughing and said,"don't lower your chin,lower your head."
I have a 140 IQ.I am not stupid! Was I having an aspie moment or just a normal lapse in intelligence?

When I read your post I had the EXACT same responses and thoughts you had before reading the explanation lines. Only difference is that I was dumfounded when the sign said the pen was six feet. I could not make any sense of that. But other than that my responses were the same. I even actually lowered my chin when I read that line. But I have to say, lower your chin would be interpreted how we interpreted it by anyone aspie or not. There is no way anyone would take that to mean alter your chin's bone structure.

Oh. I thought the sign was referencing a pen that dogs could use to write with. Perhaps it would attach to their paw with a velcro strap. I assumed the 6 feet was a typo.

Yes, literally interpretation is an aspie trait.
I don't have it nearly as bad as you though. I knew what dog pen meant right away. I still don't understand the lower your chin one though. Why didn't she just say get lower or lower your head?

I believe it's supposed to be "tilt your chin" and she messed it up. I personally have no issue with stuff like this.

I would have quickly realized what a 'dog pen' was, however, I would have still pictured a dog sitting at a table writing with a pen...which is what I did when I read the original post.

I took the 6-foot dog pen thing literally too... aspies rock

My first thought was correct (the intended meaning) in both cases.


But yeah, OP, aspies can be very literal, so those were aspie moments.

I've made those same kind of mistakes in taking things literally all my life, and yes, even with a fair-to-high IQ, people have become convinced I must be stupid because of moments like these. It can be quite painful to be that misunderstood.

Lower your chin in, I would think it means lower your chin. I didn't know saying lower your head was another way of saying it. Well your head does move when you lower your chin. I had to read it over and over to understand what you were doing and I thought "What does lower your chin mean" and then I thought "isn't that what you were doing" when you wrote your wife told you to lower your head and then I realized you probably were opening your mouth wide.

There are two different pens, pen you write with and pen you put a baby/toddler or animal in. I knew they meant dog kennels but I knew what you were exactly thinking and I also pictured a pen looking like a dog and it's a huge pen.

No, I don't usually take things like that a different way, but what you're describing sounds something that's fairly common in people with ASDs.

Obviously I sometimes make mistakes, but that's because I'm human. But I'm pretty good with knowing which way to take things compared to a lot of Aspies. I would give some examples but I can't think of anything off-hand at the moment.

How do you lower your chin without lowering your head?
I tried, but my neck doesn't move that way.

Actually I kept my lips together while I lowered my chin. My cheek skin got tight and I thought that that was what they wanted (in order to see my skull and use that info to possibly identify my body). I grew concerned because I knew that I couldn't keep lowering my chin and keep my lips together.
I just realized that this post is at the top of the page. Imagine reading the above without knowing the context!!