Some questions about Aspergers

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Hah! This describes me exactly. I can't get over the idea that "X, Y and Z" is correct. I was taught that it was "X, Y, and Z." Do you know why it changed? Apparently the New York Times wanted to save ink! I also have a hard time taking people seriously when they cannot use proper grammar, particularly when writing professional articles.

In case you haven't figured it out, I'm a spelling and grammar stickler, too. Misuse of "it's" and "its" drives me mad as do run-on sentences and random quotation marks or apostrophes.


The way I understand it, HSP is an invention of Elaine Aron and has no basis in science. HSP is the "nice" view of autistic traits which are not inherently problematic.

Yes Ozzie girl, I also get the urge to smile or laugh at the wrong time.......such as when I'm being told something very serious or terrible. I'm always scared that the other person with "see" that I'm struggling to keep a straight face and be insulted.

Today a friend who has an Aspie boyfriend asked me about Aspie men and intimacy to which I had to admit that I didn't know, however, I told her about my almost asexuality. I'm a Fem Aspie. I am married and have a low libido. have wondered if I'm gay but think rather that I'm a bit "ho humish" about sex.

Question #1

I'm a spelling freak personally. I used to absolutely die if I didn't spell something proper on here, but a letter or two out of place is bound to slip out of my fingers...

Question #2

I grieve over weird things myself. I didn't cry at my grandfather's funeral but I broke down when I lost my internet connection last week. It turns out it's totally fixable, a little electrical tape involved...

Question #3

The difference between guys and girls with AS is that girls hide it better. You can spot guys with AS from miles away but a girl has it and people assume she's shy and stuff like that. Girls also get away with more because autism researchers typically ignore them.

Question 1: although, ironically, my own spelling is not 100% perfect, I'm a stickler for correct spelling and punctuation. I can't understand people who say, "Oh, it doesn't matter!" I can't understand how they can let themselves put out a piece of text that they know, or strongly suspect, contains errors. I have gone back and edited posts here and on other boards because I noticed a spelling mistake/a mistyped letter/etc. I just can't leave it.

Question 2: I'm not sure. I think of myself as a very emotional person. I cry a lot. Yet often I don't seem to feel anything at times when I 'should' be feeling it; when everybody around me is. Like others have said, sometimes I can randomly think of or remember something and start crying. I notice that emotions can come up in me very quickly, and pass over again just as quickly. I can be quite literally laughing one minute and crying the next.

Question 3: I think it's true that boys with AS are more likely to be noticed when young because a boy frustrated by his difficulties might be more likely to act out, whereas a girl might withdraw into herself and so be seen by an adult not paying close attention as simply quiet or shy. The boy is labelled a 'naughty' child and so draws attention to his behavior, while a 'quiet' child equals a 'good' child.

I think that typical Aspie/autistic interests such as sciences, technology, etc., are perhaps thought of more as male, although I would personally describe them as 'neutral'. It is not seen as particularly unusual for a male to be into them, but it is seen as quite odd for a female to be. It's also suggested that although girls with AS may have these types of interests, they may also have more 'normal' ones - but it is the intensity of the interest and the way they pursue it that differs. A young girl liking horses, for example, might be very normal in general, but an Aspie girl might become completely obsessed with horses. Maybe she might like Barbies, but collect a very large number of them and like to arrange them in a set order.

I (am also female) tend to make fictional movies, TV shows and books a special interest of mine and become obsessed with them. Then it will often branch out and I'll become obsessed with everything remotely connected to them. Like I might become obsessed with a movie set during World War II, and go on to become obsessed with everything about the wartime period, or perhaps just one particular part of it, such as WWII Germany and German military.

I sometimes wonder if the HSP label is being used as a way for therapists to avoid using a label that they think might be somehow damaging or limiting to a higher functioning individual. I don't happen to agree; as far as I'm concerned a firm diagnosis can only be a good thing since it gives a clear indication of what's wrong and how to move forward from there, but some people seem to think certain labels and diagnoses are somehow perjorative. I have a sister who absolutely refuses to admit that she's bipolar, even though she's been diagnosed that way in the past, for precisely this reason.