I'm doing a report on AS

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Can anyone with Aspergers on here anwser these questions for me? It will be very helpful, and thanks if you can:

How do you feel abou having aspergers?
Do you have any nervous habits?
How do you feel when discussing in a group?
What is your opion on social events?
What do you like to do?

If you can anwser any of these it will be very helpful. Thanks.

As it happens, I'm doing a report on autism in general for English at the moment. More specifically, it's an anti-cure persuasive essay.

Anyway, to answer your questions:

1. I see it as an integral part of who I am, a defining aspect of my personality. Usually I don't mind at all being an aspie; sometimes I even honestly enjoy it!

2. Yes. When I get very nervous or anxious or something, I tend to pace.

3. Seeing as most of my social experience actually involves large numbers of other aspies (a side effect of attending a science and math magnet school), I always feel as I'm part of the group and always contribute.

4. It depends. If it involves friends from school (see 3 for explanation), I'll go if at all possible - I love them! If it doesn't involve school friends, though, I don't especially like them. I have warmed to social functions over the years, though.

5. I absolutely LOVE and ADORE photography. I would LOVE to have a darkroom. I also like music and vintage electronics, but to a lesser extent.

How do you feel about having aspergers?
Since I was only diagnosed a couple of years ago - and after most of the major hurdles of my life, school, university, marriage, kids, house-buying etc... Aspergers is nothing more to me than a label that helps me understand myself, my past and my present reactions. It doesn't define or restrict me. As a result, I'm actually quite happy with the label and was already very settled with the condition.

Do you have any nervous habits?
I bite my nails, knee bob and stim in various other ways.

How do you feel when discussing in a group?
Online - fine, I'm very open (possibly too open and trusting/naive).
Offline - It's a struggle every minute. Sometimes, for major events, I just define a new "personality" and pretend to be something that I'm not for the duration of the event. In either case, it's very hard work. I'll often find a reason to work through office parties etc.

What is your opinion on social events?
Other than very small close-knit group meets with my family and friends, I hate them. I'd rather be at home by myself.

What do you like to do?
Play with computers, watch TV, play games, read books etc.

The label gives me a better understanding of myself. I think it works similarly to the Meyers-Briggs things. I'd say that most here get the same gratification out of calling themselves "Aspies" as more superstitious souls derive from reading their horoscopes. Tough on them if they don't like the comparison. It is hope for a lantern to light the darkness. I don't see it as an entirely negative condition, actually. At least, I don't think of myself as a negative person, save for some impulsivity problems. If I were to define myself purely pathologically, for that matter, I would consider myself more akin to those affected with ADHD.

Pacing, often in circles rather than back and forth. Incessant chatter. Poking myself with a pen, although I can't think of any occasions on which I've ever attempted to break the skin or inflict harm.

When I was younger, boredom would drive me to sticking needles underneath the non-living surface skin of my hands, partially because I found the fact that I could do so without inflicting bleeding or pain very fascinating. I also used to tear up the skin on the bottoms of my feet fairly often, actually fairly large sheets of it at a time so that I could give air to the fresh, young skin underneath, but, again, this was more due to ennui than to nervousness.

Actually, nervousness usually causes me to repeat syllables, words, and even complete phrases, for which there actually is a clinical name that I can't quite recall. It got me put into speech therapy for a stutter, and I never did manage to get the ladies who taught them to understand that it wasn't a true stutter. Also, I'll occasionally attempt to say two words at the same time.

I'm often concentrating very hard on not monopolizing the conversation. I've learned to actually interrupt myself by saying, "Oh, pardon me, sir. What were you saying?" However, this has, unfortunately, led me to trying to "patrol" others who seem to be hogging the invisible podium, saying things like, "Just a moment, please, madame. What were you trying to say, sir? Oh, sorry. It seemed you were trying to say someth...okay. Do go on, miss." I wish I wouldn't do that. Even when I'm not monopolizing, I feel like I'm trying to be the conductor of the conversation, and I know I shouldn't do this.

When it is going well, however, I love having pleasant conversations with nice people. In fact, I find this to be one of the most enjoyable and gratifying things in the world.

I love to attend them, actually! I have often been personally invited to return to them, with compliments! I consider them a wonderful opportunity to interact with others. This is a stark contrast to my childhood and teens, though. In fact, I have only begun to flower now, in my mid-twenties. Such a late-bloomer, as I've been in many things. As a child, of course, I was highly highly scornful of them, but I have found that universities have a much better pedigree of people.

I think that my opinion on them can be encapsulated thusly: general social events have a tendency to be very trashy, tending to draw sociopathic prison rejects who have no ambition beyond creating for themselves an illusion of social dominance, but social events that are centered around a specific interest seem to draw a type of character to which I find myself much better suited. I suppose that my interest in social events seems to depend upon whether they have any purpose beyond giving asinine people an opportunity to verbally or physically bully each other.

A society without a purpose is generally no better than a bunch of cocks confined to close quarters and given nothing better to do than attempt to peck one another to death.

Post on Internet forums, obviously. I also like to study, chat on the phone with my boyfriend, and cycle to and from my classes.

I also consider myself a "furry," which is actually the origin of my name here. In some enclaves of the subculture, gryphons tend to be characterized as excitable creatures who have a very high intelligence coupled with extremely short attention spans, and I found them to be ideal characters to play for a while. For better or for worse, though, this occupies a significantly smaller portion of my time than it once did.

You are very welcome.

Last edited by Griff on 26 Feb 2008, 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

How do you feel abou having aspergers?

Most of the time I don't feel different, it is only around NTs that I do. Most of the time I am happy in my own world of interests. I don't like knowing I'm different when I find myself in a situation where I obviously am different.

Do you have any nervous habits?

Panic attacks. Worrying excessively about events prior to them happening.

How do you feel when discussing in a group?

Like no one is interested in what I'm saying, let alone listening.

What is your opion on social events?

I quite like them if I with close friends but it is painful when I don't know people well. Small talk is the most difficult thing in the world.

What do you like to do?

Research my interests - Genesis, aviation and disasters right now. I spent about $3000 on going to see Genesis in numerous places and buying their merchandise etc last year. I don't much like group sports but I like to go walks with my dog.

How do you feel abou having aspergers?
Well I found out that I have AS a few weeks ago. I'm happy that I found out I have it. It explains why I was always so different. It sucks to have something that's incurable, but hey, it's part of who I am.

Do you have any nervous habits?
Nervous habits? Well, I rock back and forth, I chew/pick at my finger nails constantly, I scratch at the pimples or bumps on my face constantly, and I pace back and forth.

How do you feel when discussing in a group?
Usually I am very quiet and only talk when I need to. If it's with friends that I know very well I tend to be more open.

What is your opion on social events?
I never get invited to parties or anything, and I don't go to any school dances, so I guess I tend to avoid them.

What do you like to do?
I spend my free time playing video-games and also I enjoy developing video-games on the PC.

How do you feel abou having aspergers?

It varies from day to day. Generally speaking, I feel indifferent about it, but there are somedays when I think about it and on those days I can't help but ask myself the question "What I would be like if I didn't have Asperger's? Am I only who I am due to Asperger's? Would I still be me if I didn't have Asperger's?" It's a depressing question that I try to avoid thinking about because I'll never know.

Do you have any nervous habits?

Yes, many.

One of my biggest ones is doodling. I constantly scribble when anxious, thinking, depressed, etc.

My other ones include tapping my fingers on things, picking things (skin on my fingers, finger nails, stickers, string that's tightly knotted etc) jiggling my right foot/ankle, twisting my hair, pulling loose strands of fabric from clothing, rolling paper up unto cones and straws etc.

How do you feel when discussing in a group?

It depends on what I'm discussing. If it's something I'm interested in, or know alot about, I'll probably dominate the conversation whilst everyone else will either get frustrated, or just bored while I carry on talking thinking they're interested. If people would just tell me when to shut up, life would be simple. I wouldn't be offended, I'd be thankful Too many times I've offended other people because I've dominated a conversation by accident.

On the other hand, if it's something I know little about, or dislike, I generally don't say a word unless asked.

What is your opion on social events?

Depends on the event. Some things I like, say, meeting up with an old friend, but generally, I don't like social events. Parties I hate. All the chitchat, all the "dancing", all the loud, booming, usually poor music, all the flashing lights and people bumping into you and never bothering to apologise... ugh, they annoy me like crazy. Why do people find them fun? I'd rather be at home on the internet, learning more about my current obsession, or even playing online games or watching youtube videos. People tend pity me because that's how I prefer to spend my time.

What do you like to do?

Tap my fingers, listen to music, play games online, watch documentaries, research my interests and generally learn. I love to learn. I do maths for fun in my spare time, and have been known to read dictionaries just because. My mother found the latter quite amusing when she saw me sitting there with my nose in the dictionary I only wish I didn't have a two second memory, so that I could remember all the new words I learn.

How do you feel about having aspergers?
When in the middle of an identity crisis, it's reassuring to look at it and see an anchor/fetters.

Do you have any nervous habits?
I do. I rub my hands together when excited, crack my knuckles when nervous. I also play with the zip on my coat if I have it on.

How do you feel when discussing in a group?
Not nervous, not anymore. When discussing something that doesn't have to do with somebody's social life, I'll be active in the group and I'll enjoy my new found confidence. When disscussing someone's social life, I'll say nothing for I have nothing to say, and feel slightly awkward.

What is your opinion on social events?
As long as my attendence is not required, their existence doesn't bother me.

What do you like to do?
Read up on my interests, mainly on wikipedia. Also, I like to philosophise.

1) Better than not having it, methinks.
Sure, being an aspie isn't easy. You gotta live with having a brain semi-incompatible with modern society. But who said modern society was any good, anyway? I'm a more independent thinker, I'm intellectually gifted, and I've been told I have a really awesome sense of reality. So pff.

2) Oh man... lemme get into this;
- Trichotillomania is a big one (both hair and eyelashes, though the former much less, no bald spots in years), don't know if it's to be associated with Asperger's, as I think it started out as self-harm and later evolved into a nervous habit. Probably low self-esteem due to bullying, caused by lack of social skills, caused by Asperger's.
- Scab picking.
- Pacing.
- Echolalia (repeating things over and over again), I often do this when I'm nervous or don't know how to express myself correctly.
- Nail-biting.
- biting on pens/pencils/etc.
- Knuckle cracking.
- Feeling uncomfortable in my seat, so I behave in it as if I had ADHD. I think this has to do in part with my shortness though.

Anxiety runs in my family very strongly, actually.

3) I love discussions. Sure, I often forget not to interrupt the teacher and appear as a complete smartass, but there's little I love more than putting a point across, which I do often.
Of course, if it's in a classroom and we're all taking turns in talking and the like. A normal freestyle discussion might be something else, especially if you mean small talk...

4) Social events = no.
Large social events = Me getting a headache.
Very large social events = me either breaking down or running out of there as fast as I can.

5) Being an obsessive internet junkie and a geek.
I'm not ugly or fat (I've been told I'm actually pretty good looking, but I'm not so easily convinced), but I have the social skills of a sick bat and I have no interest in pursuing strong friendships aside from the guy I chatter with at class.

Thanks again you guys! You were a big help.