Has anyone genuinely said you've improved?
Wondering if anyone has received any genuine praise or feedback saying you've (greatly) improved?
Granted, the "genuine" part may sometimes be difficult to read accurately, if it's couched in subtle sarcasm...and a lot of the sincerity will come from the relationship you have with that person.
As a spin on this, has anyone said you've become "more NT" or "more like us"? I know this might be kind of controversial and offensive, but such feedback (to me, when I received it later in my 20s from a trusted and enlightened group of friends) could actually serve as a reassurance of survival of society. If you think about it, those who struggled with raw, unmitigated ASD/HFA (or Aspergers when I was in my 20s and most of my 30s) were more likely to: be victims of violent crime (esp. in that "volatile" 18-24 year old demographic of young males), more likely to be perpetual virgins / incels (may not matter for the asexual folks on the spectrum, of which there's a higher % than in the NT pop), more likely to be chronically unemployed or underemployed, more likely to endure "adult bullying" like with housemates or the workplace, even to the point where you leave to preserve your already fragile mental health, more likely to develop comorbid conditions, and more likely to have your independence threatened (i.e. due to having to leave very toxic situations, and you've got limited means as it is).
So, ummm, yeah... my preference ever since I was a young man was to be more like others and not just "be myself" - I had the insights to think beyond basic principle, as emotionally unpalatable as that might have been. And yes I did receive honest praise that I was becoming more in tune with others, less discernible that I was "other than" or "different" which would otherwise invite contempt.
However, in the 2000s decade, I almost lost a really good CS/IT job due to unspoken expectations and "seeing the big picture" - even though I was more nonverbally fluent and said inappropriate things far less than in my early 20s, I still made errors in not thinking more at the macro level, as one helpful colleague put it. At that point, I didn't realize that was part of Aspergers - I thought it was purely a social learning disability. So I worked my butt off on refining my habits and peers and managers told me I'd improved, but I was told a couple of times that I'd regressed "into old habits" - and I guess this regression was a natural part of ASD/HFA masking, b/c it's still not a natural thought process for you, it's just not part of your "default operating system", so emulation is subject to errors and crashing - to use a CS/IT analogy.
I also saw a recent post on Quora asking "are people with high-functioning autism more like NTs, than they are to people with low-functioning autism?" - and I think that's a very subjective and controversial question... one person with ASD answered in a rather upset manner...so, I don't know. I think it may be reasonable to say that with their "default operating system", no, HFA folks aren't "more like them" one way or the other - they're in a category of their own - however, they have a greater capacity and inclination to emulate the NTOS, and successfully at that, b/c let's face it there's very little basis or incentive for them to voluntarily regress into lower-functioning autistic traits. The only scenario I could see that happening is in one of those crucible type of situations of prolonged adult bullying, and you're torn between removing yourself from that environment when your independence is at stake, but your mental health is declining which means your autistic manifestations tend to increase
CockneyRebel
Veteran

Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 118,315
Location: In my little Olympic World of peace and love
Yes, my wife has recently said that I've improved from a sort of tedious-to-be-with boyfriend into a pretty decent husband.
It's my only reference though, as there's no one else apart of my family that I'm in touch with today, who knows me for more than a couple of years.
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2011: Your Aspie score: 139 of 200. Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 67 of 200. You are very likely an Aspie.
2021: Your broader autism cluster (Aspie) score: 106 of 200. Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 121 of 200. You have both broader autism cluster and neurotypical traits.
I'm getting better at this stuff!