Do you ever feel ret*d?

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I know many aspies are above average intelligence usually. But there comes a point when we hit something that we DO NOT understand and CANNOT understand.

For instance. I downloaded an inhanced paint program today; took some of the tutorial; and never learned anything. The program didn't make any sense to me at all. But I went to a forum of people who were using the same program, and it seemed to make a lot of sense to them. Like ABC's or 123's.

I'm not ret*d. But sometimes I feel inferior when it comes to thinking things through.

Anyone else ever feel this way?

When I'm trying to learn how to drive properly and my mum is screaming at me that I missed the turn, yes, I do feel a bit stupid.

My daughter wanted to learn how to knit - and I can sew and do lots of artistic things like draw and paint, but I hadn't knitted or crocheted before. And I know all these little old ladies do it so I thought this is something I could figure out. I tried looking at some free project instructions from the sewing store, then tried books at the library and then finally found some tutorials on the internet. I learned how to knit enough to show my daughter and do some basic things. I am left handed and most of the instructions were for right handers but still, I felt kind of stupid because it was so hard to figure out .

Only when I try to meet women. I become a babbling idiot. lol But completely true.

I'm aloof but very inteligent.

Simple things I tend not to figure out or cannot be bothered to, while other things people cannot speak of I can.

Some girls find aloof cute.

Whenever I do something wrong I call myself "ret*d."

But isn't it all part of being human. . .to make mistakes? I doubt there's a person who can't say that of themself.
It just how you handle it. . .learn from it or repeat it. I've done both.

I don't feel ret*d, but i'd bet my life other people think I am.

I ask a lot of questions - I don't like to make assumptions and screw up. Sometimes this is because I find them hard to understand and need to be explained to further. They probably think i'm dumb or something.

God yes! I mean I can do most things that I try to do but there are times that I will run across something that everyone thinks is so simple that I just can not get.
I feel like I am the only one in the world that is not "in" on the joke. It is so frustrating.

Looking back at pre-teenage reports from my school district, it had down that I was once borderline ret*d. That was, of course, a lie, but I was so young at the time that I probably didn't have the patience to fully accomplish some of the testing arrangements. I also was said to have very low emotional maturity and problems with reading comprehension. I was skilled at counting and basic math. I was skilled at reading, even reading well above my own level, with the exception of comprehension, which was stupid, like why does reading novels denote intelligence? From what I gather, that's what they seemed to base their assumptions on.

But, really, though, I don't feel I'm ret*d. Quite the opposite, really. I have average IQ, but maybe it's higher, but my capacity for knowledge is quite strong. I have problems conceptually, so is this knowledge I have really useful? I don't know, since it tends to depend on the complexity of the problem at hand. I was also introspective, curious, that sort of thing.

Like, I took calculus in college. I knew how to do the calculations involved, like integrating and differentiating. I just couldn't seem to grasp why I was doing any of this. I didn't seem to fully understand when to do these sorts of things. The material seemed well above what I was wanting to learn, yet the calculations weren't a problem. It wasn't until I took a course in statistics later on when I learned out that integration involved finding the area beneath a curve. I just didn't seem to get that in the calculus course. So, I guess I kind of felt ret*d in some vague aspect. But, like, I have always known I have problems conceptually.

- Ray M -

Sometimes i feel really, really stupid and i know that people often think i'm thick when they first meet me, then they get confused when they realise that i'm actually quite intelligent, i can see their little brains trying to work it out.
I too like to ask a lot of questions and will keep on asking about something until i understand it properly, this can sometimes take a while, so i look abit stupid for not 'getting it' right away, i think.
Also i don't seem to know lots of stuff about everyday living that everyone else does....perculiar i think at the age of 27. I do tend to wonder round in a world of my own and miss a lot of things. So again people after think i'm either stupid or rather a simple person because i don't seem to understand complex things...though often the complex things are to do with people's interaction and sociaty and don't make any sense anyway.
Of course i can have quite complicated and precise conversations about the things i do know and i can understand some complex subjects, if their the right ones plus i have a really good vocabulary. So then i seem intelligent and that just doesn't make sense to some people.

[quote="Like, I took calculus in college. I knew how to do the calculations involved, like integrating and differentiating. I just couldn't seem to grasp why I was doing any of this. I didn't seem to fully understand when to do these sorts of things. The material seemed well above what I was wanting to learn, yet the calculations weren't a problem. It wasn't until I took a course in statistics later on when I learned out that integration involved finding the area beneath a curve. I just didn't seem to get that in the calculus course. So, I guess I kind of felt ret*d in some vague aspect. But, like, I have always known I have problems conceptually.

- Ray M -[/quote]

yeah i have a degree and am considered smart by people who dont know me well, but i had the same problems at school with maths.
i could memorise and leaRN HOW TO DO THE calculations and pas the exams , but apply them practically ?
no way, never understood the intricacies of calculus and integration/differentioation etc.

i have been thinking about my aspergers and it does make me slower to pick up on a lot fo concepts, roblem is, with the aspergers, it also hides the fact that i cannot see this, i.e i cant understand it and i dont know i unsertand it, and because i am often alone i have no one to point out what i did wrong or didnt "get"
so i think we all travel through life not understanding a lot of things and just not realisin we do, we get ripped off, cheated and looked down upon and we dont always see this.
i feel it is more a part of being apsregers than any of us fully know, the inabiolity to "get things" is one thing that every one has...but with aspies, we dony get them and we dont know we dont get them is the problem that we potentially have as well.

as "smart" as i am?
im pretty dumb and the skills aspregrs gives me to focus and concentrate gave me the degree i have.
it also take saway my ability to rationalise clearly, but would i change?
no.
i like me this way.

I'm definitely NOT that disabled, not ret*d, but I do have my dumb moments.

I am usually slower to learn new programs and pick up on the routine of how to do it, I was MUCH slower and felt dumber than many students in college, so it can really be heartbreaking when you only know of your cons and not your pros.

I as well most likely have ADD and I can't seem to learn or stay on task of much of anything so it really keeps me from happiness and success so I really need to get treatment and get diagnosed.

I'm mostly pretty normal though. No one would notice I'm any different. An embarrasing thing happened to me recently though where I felt like a moron:

I was at the pool with my parents and brother recently. My Dad gave me some money to get myself an ice cream. Now, there were two openings of this concesion stand, and a fence blocking the outside from the inside - cause you have to go through the front and pay admission to get in. So, there was this window for the inside customers, but I didn't realise you could order from INSIDE. I thought you could only order from the outside for SOME reason, I dunno. SO I went ALL THE WAY AROUND, in the middle of the crowds, through the shower area, to the front to order it, and went all the way back. All the while I could have just went to the WINDOW that is meant for INSIDE customers. It is the SAME building/room, the lady was right there for either customers, but why did I think that window wasn't for order but for something else? Somehow I didn't clue into it?

I felt shame when I walked back in and I hoped no one had noticed.... For someone supposedly so intelligent, that sure seemed like an obvious thing that went right past my head >.<