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Tufted Titmouse
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28 Sep 2010, 4:44 pm

I wish there were a signal that we could use to identify ourselves.

Say I meet someone and I suspect that he or she is an aspie. Since I choke up at the very thought of asking if my suspicions are true, I use a signal that represents aspergers.

If they are an aspie, they'll catch on, and if they're not, then they'll just continue thinking that I am weird.

This would also avoid the problem of asking an undiagnosed aspie if they are an aspie and opening up that can of worms.

I'm thinking a sort of Vulcan salute here. That's what my mother does to me when she wants to point out my aspiness. But maybe something our very own.

Thoughts?



QuelOround
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28 Sep 2010, 5:04 pm

I like your idea.



jmnixon95
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28 Sep 2010, 5:07 pm

No.



OddFiction
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28 Sep 2010, 5:14 pm

There already is one, didn't you know?

Rub your hand up and down your opposite forearm twice, and then switch hands/arms and do it on the other side, then interlace your fingers. :P

Just kidding. I doubt there are enough of us on this site and close enough to each other to actually make this kind of thing work. But wouldn't it be nice?

-- Residing in Ottawa, Ontario --



MXH
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28 Sep 2010, 5:21 pm

How about your thumb between the index and middle finger in a way to make an A?



jmnixon95
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28 Sep 2010, 5:24 pm

OddFiction wrote:
There already is one, didn't you know?

Rub your hand up and down your opposite forearm twice, and then switch hands/arms and do it on the other side, then interlace your fingers. :P

Just kidding. I doubt there are enough of us on this site and close enough to each other to actually make this kind of thing work. But wouldn't it be nice?

-- Residing in Ottawa, Ontario --


Yeah, I agree with you.

I guess I should have elaborated on my saying 'No'... It would just be too arduous of a task to spread this throughout Aspies across the globe.



Claradoon
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28 Sep 2010, 7:49 pm

How about working "regreps" into the conversation?



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28 Sep 2010, 8:42 pm

I love this idea! It has to be something distinctive enough that an NT wouldn't mimic it unconsciously (a real worry) and enough so that it would be recognized. It has to be something that won't alert NTs, though, if it is done.

There should be a separate but similar salute for allies, such as parents.

Here's my suggestion.
Aspies: Left forearm vertical, right index and middle fingers stroke quickly wrist to elbow (approximately) twice. (Note that by Aspie, I'm referring to anyone at all on the spectrum.)
Allies: Right forearm vertical, mutatis mutandis.

The benefits of having such a salute are numerous. We can communicate without the NTs around us eavesdropping (well, they could eavesdrop, but they wouldn't hear us say "I have Asperger's"), and we know whether we should ask for tips on preventing sensory overload or suggest that they read Pretending to be Normal. (Presumably, we already know they have a greater than average chance of being an Aspie. The question is whether they know it or not.) We can communicate it faster than speech, and possibly more easily. It demonstrates that we're not faking, as if that were a real worry, but still-- you know this person has done research and is on WP, whereas someone who claims to be an Aspie may just have heard about it on TV.


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CockneyRebel
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28 Sep 2010, 10:30 pm

MXH wrote:
How about your thumb between the index and middle finger in a way to make an A?


That's a really cool idea. I like it. :cool:


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Stellar
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28 Sep 2010, 11:28 pm

People might start to think they're gang signs :lol:



MicroChip
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28 Sep 2010, 11:51 pm

It'd be interesting to have some sort of signal. :)

We'll just have to figure one out that we all can agree on.



DandelionFireworks
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29 Sep 2010, 12:41 am

I can't execute the three-fingered A. That has to be taken into account.

I propose that we suggest various signals and weed out the ones members are incapable of making or registering (or suggest, say, an alternate signal for blind people), the really obvious ones, the ones you're likely to make or view in other contexts and the ones most members dislike. Then we can have a poll.


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Blasty
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29 Sep 2010, 1:16 am

This is a terrible idea.

There are already plenty of groups using various signals, and they're typically not the kind of people we'd want to be associated with.

Just because we're a bit different doesn't mean we need some secret identifier. It shouldn't matter so much anyway; people should judge others for the quality of their character, not their affiliation with a certain demographic.



DandelionFireworks
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29 Sep 2010, 2:37 am

That's why it needs to be subtle-- so the NTs don't know it's a secret sign.

We could come up with one really subtle that maybe doesn't even reveal the identity of the sender, just lets you communicate over a distance. Oh, wait...

But say, a particular origami thingy"?


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Tufted Titmouse
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29 Sep 2010, 9:02 am

I agree, it would have to be something that is executable on a wide scale. (I don't think I can quite manage the index-middle-thumb "A.")

Also, as with any signal, those who choose not to use it, obviously, don't have to.

I find the idea disheartening that simply because groups with whom we would not wish to be affiliated have used signals in the past, we should not have a signal. If we shy away from every action that might resemble the actions of evildo-ers, what actions have we left? I prefer to live my life.

Does anyone know how to set up a poll?



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Tufted Titmouse
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29 Sep 2010, 9:16 am

I also just wanted to highlight that the idea is to help someone like me to ask a serious question, in physical movement, that I would otherwise be unable to ask in words.

There are those, as well, who have no difficulty in simply asking, "Hi, are you an aspie?"

For me, this proposition is so daunting as to be near impossible. The idea of the salute/signal is to facilitate communication, not to be secretive nor to exclude.

If it were simple for me to just ask, I would. The problem is that it is not. Perhaps you could accuse me of being on the paranoid side, but I know that I am not alone in this.