Jack of All Trades

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It was surprising when I went for me "pre-assessment" that they said I had all the traits of Aspergers. However one of the traits that seems to be coming through, is issues with Executive Functioning, Motivation, getting obsessed, nay, absorbed in an activity that you lose sight of everything else - so you end up burning food because you're indulging your obsession.

I have considered that I am a jack of all trades, master of none. I have awareness of various things, and can copy people quite well. I have a lot of varied interests. But I wouldn't say Im necessarily motivated in them all.

I do wonder how much that analysis holds up given this "diagnosis", or how much the diagnosis holds up given my "jack of all trades" label.

I like music, photography, programming, car maintenance, driving, cooking, genealogy. Actually those interests have pretty much existed for a long time, with cooking and genealogy adding themselves in there more recently.

However I haven't been motivated by photography, programming, car maintenance or genealogy for a long long time.

What I mean by jack of all trades, is that once I have a rudimentary understanding of something, if I am motivated to do it, and if I have the right guidance, I can do it with a high proficiency.

I'm still not convinced of this diagnosis. Everybody else seems to be though.

I believe you are / could be an HFA. I have recently come to that conclusion about myself because my friend is exhibiting the RRBs of Aspergers with no interest in other topics outside of the cherished favorites long revered. High Functioning Autism vs Aspergers are the things I have read a lot on. And this is a line where they diverge. My Aspie friend is 100% not a social media person because for him there is zero desire to share accomlishments with others. Me I’m very show and tell and observant and pointing things out that spark my observant nature and for him its his sensitivity to all kinds of things sights sounds smells tastes. I have it all but to a lesser extent. Its definitely still ASC. I lack his ability to instantly retell anything he’s just read recently or a while ago verbatim. Strong rote memorization skills vs me weak. I can do it but it’s a struggle. For my Aspie friends words are everything. For me words are words. I’m a visual thinker. Maybe it’s all the same.

I am also versatile technically. I suspect that your diagnostician was sloppy with language. If you had all the characteristics, you would probably be less functional. You are probably presenting a clear pattern - sufficient for diagnosis, rather than all possibilities.

In the things i do partake in I perfer to be a Jack of All Traders Master of All

When I was in High School (in the 1960s), I was given the Kuder preference test. It was supposed to reveal in what areas your interests lay and supposedly what career field you should pursue. As I remember it if you scored over a 70 in a particular category, that represented a field of interest. If you scored below 30, that was afield you should avoid. I remember the counselor being confused as I scored above 70 in every category.

Over the years I have found that having a variety of interests allows one to respond enthusiastically to many people as they raise whatever subject they are interested in. However, it also allows you to offend them with what they often consider excessive enthusiasm.