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MrMacPhisto
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17 May 2018, 12:01 am

Has anyone ever been curious about that one. If you had a chance to be NT for 1 day just so you can understand NT’s better. Sometimes I had that curiousty.

What about your NT friends or NT family members would you like them to be AS for the day just so they can understand your way of thinking and can understand you better.

Also question: If any one of us became NT for a day would we want to go back to being AS/Autistic or would we want to stay NT?

I think if I was NT I would want to go back simply because I am so used to AS now.



ASPartOfMe
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17 May 2018, 1:41 am

I would do it out of a desire for understanding but I would need way more then a day. There are definitely some NT’s (I am thinking of you ABA’s therapists) that need to experience life autistic.


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EzraS
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17 May 2018, 2:50 am

Have I ever wondered what it would be like to not be disabled by autism and operate like an ordinary person? The thought crosses my mind from time to time.



Joe90
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17 May 2018, 3:46 am

I do understand NTs most of the time. I just don't understand the desire to go out to bars on Saturday nights. So I'd like to be NT for a day just so that I can get dressed up and go out to a bar without feeling nervous or bored. I'd like to know what that feels like.

Maybe not all NTs feel comfortable going out to bars, but the NTs I'm surrounded by seem to think it's great. :roll:


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Janeiya
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17 May 2018, 4:48 am

Yes I am quite curious of what it would be like and have often imagined what my life/ what I would be like if I wasn't autistic.. Which I think I kind of know (of course one can never really know.. But I've got a pretty good idea)
I think if I wasn't autistic I'd still be traveling the world, working abroad here and there.. Being super social, going to party's a lot.. Just enjoying life and being adventurous.. Which I did for a little bit but autism keeps getting in the way every time, gets me into trouble, over loads my brain completely to a point I can't function or be nice... etc. So eventually you have to give up, which is often followed by depression.... Yeah.. I don't think I would want to go back if I could be an NT and live the life I envision for myself...

And yes there are also people that I would like to be autistic for a day so they can understand better what it is like.. There are so many things that I just cannot find the words for to explain them to NT's, they are more like feelings combined with thoughts that go through your whole body and sometimes take over but no matter how I try to explain it it never sounds quite right, to truly understand one must experience it for themselves.
When I was in a relationship I often wished my NT partner could be stuck in my brain for a day so he'd know what it is like as explaining is pretty useless.



Joe90
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17 May 2018, 5:38 am

I wouldn't say 'oh if I were NT I'l be super social with a thousand friends and a constant hectic social life' because NT doesn't necessarily mean that. But I know that if I was NT I'd probably have a full-time job instead of part-time, because everybody I know who's young works full-time and don't seem to be emotionally and physically exhausted from it (maybe a little bit but not as much as me).


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17 May 2018, 6:09 am

7Those on spectrum percieve things on a different level.

Clearly a different kind of perception gives a different kind of emotion and different kind of action, assuming that action is chosen by using your sense.
Emotion can be overwhelm, peace, etc., depending on what you're percieving. E.g. someone might lash out at you, and you might just look at them with your emotions undisturbed (thats how I used to be, when a kid atleast...). Or you might be overwhelmed in certain social settings, when others are just 'fine' .
Or you might have different standards of normalcy (which I think in today's world, is important... jeez...)

etc



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17 May 2018, 6:12 am

It would be an interesting experience to be NT for a day for sure but my disdain for NTs would definitely be off-putting for the experience at all. Do I wish to see the world from their perspective? Not really. It would involve becoming that which I hate in the way that the mouse would become the cat for a day.

I suppose that's the way I see myself as an Autistic person compared to NTs - the prey who would become the predator. I simply wouldn't want to cause the same grief to another ASD as they have for me.


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17 May 2018, 7:36 am

And their endless drama



SabbraCadabra
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17 May 2018, 8:45 am

If I could be NT for a day, I would just love to walk up to random people and hear their stories. I love hearing about their crazy stories and adventures they've been on, but I don't often get to hear that sort of thing when I'm just me by myself.

I wouldn't want anyone to be AS for a day, I don't think they would appreciate it like we do.

(well, maybe not all of us appreciate it, but maybe you get what I mean...)


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ASPartOfMe
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17 May 2018, 8:52 am

Joe90 wrote:
I do understand NTs most of the time. I just don't understand the desire to go out to bars on Saturday nights. So I'd like to be NT for a day just so that I can get dressed up and go out to a bar without feeling nervous or bored. I'd like to know what that feels like.

Maybe not all NTs feel comfortable going out to bars, but the NTs I'm surrounded by seem to think it's great. :roll:


I went out to bars and clubs when I was your age. Two main reasons. I wanted to see a particular band and to get out of the house. I was very into the new wave synthpop thing going on in the 80's. In those days there was no internet, wrong planet or 500 channels of TV and so on so it would get pretty boring staying at home after a while. Going out of the house was not terrifying for me. My family and me are big time walkers.

Crowds and smoke were very uncomfortable but not knowing I was autistic or anything about it I assumed everybody else was managing to overcome this why should not I. I almost got into fights a number of times when other guys did what they call "bro slapping" today or just put their hands around my neck. I am touch sensitive to those things and others often got insulted to the way I reacted to those things.


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livingwithautism
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17 May 2018, 8:58 am

EzraS wrote:
Have I ever wondered what it would be like to not be disabled by autism and operate like an ordinary person? The thought crosses my mind from time to time.


I've thought the same thing, but then I wonder if I could adapt to such a dramatic change in my life. Because I've been autistic my whole life that's all I know.



MrMacPhisto
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17 May 2018, 10:53 am

I can imagine the NT being Autistic for the day carrying on with there normal life with slight smug expression with the thought they know everything about being Autistic because they ‘know’ someone. But I wonder how long it would take the NT as an AS person to have a Meltdown because the person realises they can’t handle or cope with the fact they are Autistic maybe on the High Functioning end just for one day and carrying their stressful life as normal that during Meltdown they beg to be NT again.

I can imagine an NT won’t be able to adapt that easily.

I would also add for good measure is there any NT person you know you would like observe how they could handle being Autistic for the day.



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17 May 2018, 11:25 am

Oh yes, I've frequently wished I could be NT for at least a week, just to see what it's like because I'm so curious. The intensity with which they follow invisible social rules that ostensibly appear to be completely pointless has always confused and fascinated me. I've also wished many times that my family members and friends could be autistic for a week, so they could get a better understanding of what I go through. Maybe then they'd see that I'm not exaggerating my sensory problems for attention, and my meltdowns aren't temper tantrums, they're uncontrollable, horrible experiences that happen to me.


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madcats1967
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17 May 2018, 11:34 am

If you look at my age, you can see that I have had a lifetime of experience in "pretending" to be an NT. I'm pretty good at it, but I don't like it. Pretending was a way to survive before I was diagnosed with ASD.


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Joe90
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17 May 2018, 3:44 pm

I've been NT for the first 4 years and 5 months of my life, before I got "regressive Asperger's". So, yeah.


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