Has your ASD worked in your favour?

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I think there are a lot of people who focus too much on the negative aspects of Aspergers and Autism, but I just wondered how many of you guys felt that you have benefitted in some way from having an ASD.

For example I had an exam the other day and I was really worried about it and was obsessively revising for it, I was in the library while a lot of people I know were 'out on the town'. I think I did quite well.
Also I find that when I stim I can actually concentrate more than most NT people, so for example if I'm bouncing my leg up and down I actually concentrate better than if I'm sat dead still. Most NT people I've met don't understand this, I guess fidgeting is a distraction to them.
On top of that I wrote a coursework essay and the comment I got back I feel completely describes the way my AS makes me go about writing an essay, apparently it was 'systematically argued' but it was also 'not very subtle'.

I just wondered if any of you guys had any specific examples of how you benefit from having Autism or Aspergers. I think it's quite interesting

I don't think I benefited from it too much, perhaps my ADD traits or memory problems are stronger than most people's with ASD. I may have advantages that come from my AS, but detriments too. So, in the end, I think it's even. Two facts I would mention though. I've finished so much courses up to now I must admit it is something I achieved. Despite my problems, hyperfocus can compensate a lot. On the other hand, I struggle with relationships with the other gender, which, I suppose, is the worst part of it.

It's worked in my favour. I was able to get into a subsidized apartment in my area. I also have access to job placement agencies that help people with disabilities.

It is great for careers in engineering and science. In terms of jobs that have little interaction, you can contribute.

I wouldn't recommend becoming a trial lawyer.

But I find out that I can't work 24/7 for the rest of my life. I want to break the cycle and socialize.

For my parents, they have a lot of health issues, you know, age and all? So my dad doesn't hear or see very well even if he has glasses. Same with my mom. I can see things at a distance that can be almost impossible for them to see; even labels or things with small letters, I see much clearer. I know most people with autism have hypersensitive senses and for me, I can detect things much more than anyone I know. Most people are surprised by this.

Another thing, is also my memory. In school, I was hardly ever do my homework, even written school work or book reading; never took notes and never studied from study guides. Yet, what baffled my teachers was that I passed all my tests and quizzes for that class. It shocked them ebcause seeing someone like me, hardly doing any school work and then passing tests and quizzes, they knew I was smarter than an average person. I mean I was smart, its true but I still lacked the general rules of learning and development... I always felt more delayed.

I hardly think of my autism and other disabilities as a threat because they help me do things that most NTs would find harder to do or require more concentration to have to do. Yet for me, its like my brain knows more than it realizes. It's just at times, my brain tends to go into a lock down and I do get more panicked. But I am smart and someone people don't realize that if they taught me in a more auditory learning sense, rather than throwing text books or written worksheets at me, I could have learned at a much more higher level.

I hated homework because it was harder for my mind to focus; lol ADHD; and it got to the point where my parents were fed up with forcing me to do it. I hated it so much because it was like my brain couldn't process all of it. I felt it was easier if people asked me about it and I could tell them or write it down, but if it were questions on a paper where I had to guess than I just locked up and pushed away the work. My ways of learning are much more unique because of HFA and ADHD.

So its always harder for me to learn at a normal pace than others because I don't learn in that way.

I used to work for Intel manufacturing microprocessors. Certain aspects of ASD actually did benefit me in that environment. I could notice details such as scratches on wafers (the thing that microprocessors are manufactured on...) that other people needed microscopes to see. I was quite proud of my ASD back then. (before I got myself diagnosed...)

I had sex with an aspie I met at a aspergers support meeting. Does that count?

It definitely has, and I would have never found my future career, my current job, or my place in the world if it weren't for it.

I speak for school boards and numerous other organizations about AS related topics. It helps that I have been able to overcome most of my former difficulties with it as well, so I can see things from both AS and an NT perspectives. I want to give others a sense of inspiration and hope in that a diagnosis is not a death sentence, and that AS can bring strengths as well as difficulties.

I'm quite good at gambling due to my aspergers (aka rainman) especially horse racing.

Yes. I've learned to use my autistic traits to my advantage.

Almost every day. Countlessly.

In school it helped me a lot (due to hyper-focus/hyper-attention). In real life it's been mostly a disaster, except for special interests. They provide me with immense reward/pleasure.

Kinda, I studied less than normal people and still got good grades in school.

Socially, it has cost me.

In terms of having my own business based on an obsessive interest... it has certainly helped. But this is not an aspect of life which has much importance to me. My curse is that I really want to be around people, and be accepted by them, able to interact with them freely.