quaker wrote:
I think this question is more directed for those diagnosed with AS in later life, or for those with AS whose autism was neither affirmed nor respected in their most formative years. I am curious, as after spending a life-time acting normal, I often believe I am more socially able (rarely comfortable) than I actually am.
I have developed a facade as a reflex - a lot of learned habits, playback routines for casual interactions. I had always wondered why I feel like such a mimic in some areas. I know I am strange to others, something of my presence itself. I have been informed in roundabout ways (and through the grapevine) that there is a silent intensity in my eyes and demeanor that make people afraid of me. I am often totally silent (yet usually comfortable) in social groups. I find myself stating things obvious to people, then going into much pedantic detail elsewhere. I always miss the mark concerning the correct amount/type of information appropriate to the circumstance. I as well find myself believing I am higher functioning than I am - because I can usually work things out cognitively, and seem "intelligent" in one area - but I have an almost childlike naivety in more social areas, as well as sensory difficulties. Just this morning, before I had any coffee, I was grocery shopping and I could not make out what was being said to me by the checkout employee over the noise in the background. There is always something like that cropping up on a regular basis that reminds me to keep myself in check everywhere else.