do you fit the stereotype??

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there are so many autism stereotypes that just don't apply to me. for instance: i have very good muscle tone and am physically quite strong. i don't have any bizarre interests like bus schedules and whatnot. i am very good at communicating my feelings and thoughts. my gross motor skills are pretty normal. i don't come across as dorky or nerdy. i am able to judge social situations pretty accurately (although sometimes i would rather be oblivious). i never had any weird eating habits and am pretty open minded with new foods. i cannot do routines! i hate them and they drive me nuts. i am not studious and cannot understand math and certain types of science. im not too big on repetition. i have no attention to detail whatsoever! in fact that has gotten me in trouble.... i could go on but i shan't. oh and humor.. it's what i'm known for.


i do fit the stereotype in that i hate feeling anything grimy/dirty anything with gross textures, i am very good with words and language, i have limited empathy when bad things happen to "bad people" (gang members), very anxious at times, no desire to "kiss ass"/put up a front...

thats all i can think of right now.

Nope. Me neither. I am different than lot of aspies but I can say the same for other conditions too I have.

also i am not sensitive to the effects of drugs in the least. i can tolerate more than most when it comes to almost any drug. alcohol, cannabis, amphetamine, cocaine, opiates, hallucinogens. i am however very sensitive to cigarrettes and cannot smoke nearly as much as anyone i know .
i do not have a "photographic memory" and have a hard time remembering my work schedule, obligations, chores and any important details. i have some mechanical ability such as fixing things around the house, but no idea how things actually work.

I know what you mean. I have a hard time because I was diagnosed with dyscalculia, but I don't fit the stereotype at all because I'm an engineer and tutor other people in math. Some people might be all like, "well you obviously don't have dyscalculia then." But duh, what do they know because my doctor said I have it.

I fit the socially inept science nerd/geek/dork stereotype. I like STEM subjects, don't like and not good at humanities subjects. Fit male-biased autism criteria.

When I was a kid, I fit the "in own world" stereotype verry merry berry well, so I changed from in own world stereotype to nerd/geek/dork stereotype.

I fit the socially inept nerd/dork in own world stereotype and I have no intention of leaving own world. I like it here.

I am different than a lot of other aspies too I suspect. I do not get sensory overload that most seem to get, nor do I have any hypersensitivity issues. I also don't do strange rocking motions than some seem to do.

I fit the stereotype fairly well. One thing that I did not fit was having "fits" or "tantrums" that were inexplicable and from melt-downs, instead I shut down. I am a girl, and the stereotype is generally fixed to boys.

I am nerdy, socially awkward, highly visual recall, I disappear in my "own little world" frequently, I am excellent at math and biology, I am not very physically and I am clumsy (although that has gotten better with martial arts), I like routines (although I can survive with out them) you can set your clock by my schedule, and I have several sensitivity issues, and I stim.

My interests are not considered odd until you talk with me about them, and then the degree of fixation is more than most PhD's have.

I'm differ from the stereotype in that I...

- am a girl
- changes in routine generally don't upset me
- I'm not physically awkward unless you ask me to go to a dance and just move to the music. I don't know what to do.
- not much hypersensitivity, or at least it's not handicapping
- not particularly odd obsessions, but I'm still obsessed
- am into art and music rather than math and science
- I don't really stim (though I'm still not clear on the definition of stimming)

That's me almost exactly, though my social performance is very bad, but I seem to be aware of when I and other people screw up socially (which means I have debilitating social anxiety).

I wonder how many aspies are misdiagnosed as aspie rather than a very severe NVLD. What does NVLD that is very severe without ASD look like?

About me, I fit almost all the stereotypes: I have scientific interests, my motor coordination sucks, I do routines, etc. The only stereotypes that seem to don't fit me are being good at Math (I am good only at algebra, but I suck at arithmethics and geometry) and the total lack of friends (it's true that I have few friends, but I still have them).

I'm kind of new to having an ASD so I don't exactly know the stereotypes. All I know is that primarily due to social incapabilities, I was diagnosed with an ASD but because I had developmental delays, it was PDD-NOS instead of AS.

But anyway, from what I'm reading here, it seems like the stereotypes would include:
- being nerdy/dorky
- not being physically active?
- being socially awkward
- hypersensitivity
- being good at STEM subjects
- having fits and tantrums
- being obsessive

So I'm guessing where I fit in....
- I do fit the nerdy and socially awkward stereotype synonymously. But the truth is, the "nerds" didn't seem to like me too much, probably because I end up being so aloof with my own world that if I'm not alone, I feel so, strange. Plus, it doesn't help that for some reason, the lunch tables at my school, and little cliques, were racially divided, I just didn't want to partake in that I guess. :p

- Because of my clearing acne, urging of various medical professionals, and slight progress, I'm actually physically active now for the most part. Don't get me wrong, I still dread exercise, just that I happen to be able to do it now for short bits of metabolic boosts.

- Hypersensitivity, with that word comes the fact that I hear things, I think things, and I do things pretty differently from how others would perceive them. Probably part of the socially inept stuff but yeah, I think I'm an empath since despite this diagnosis, whenever I take an EQ test, it ends up telling me I have a higher than average score. That seriously explains why my sympathy can become overbearing, it's my best quality on an Achilles heel!

- For the most part, me and STEM subjects don't get along. I did decently at most Science subjects but bring me to Math and I always have to go on overload every night before a test. About the only STEM-related subject that I did pretty well in was a Psychology class, but that's a Humanity. For some reason, I do pretty well with Humanities courses unless you come to a high level of writing (I don't know if that's why my verbal IQ was so high while performance was just above average). I mean, my lowest grade in any non-English subject related Humanities course was an 85. It's strange since I lost my book that whole semester and I thought I was screwed since it was a college-level course. But yeah, no STEM for me, just Humanities and Art. Damn it, being still awake at 5:30 in the morning makes me brag. >.<

- But I do have bad, big bad tantrums. The walls at my house show it I'm afraid. :/

- And being obsessive? I think I have that tendency. Every so often I have bouts of compulsions that change but during their term, seems to become impulses that take charge of my body. As for scheduling, I can't do that with important tasks, but if it concerns something like what I'll watch on TV for the next week, that's when scheduling comes in! :3


But other things I could add on to say that I'm either unique or the same as the typical Autistic (though I have atypical Autism so I got no idea why I should be typical):

- I'm gay, I don't think that's a commonality in any community but the LGBTQ community.

- I have dietary restrictions, wait, I did see that somewhere here, sorry. But I can't eat meat since I've just decided to be a vegetarian (it's something about the conscience of an animal and etc..... for me) though before that, it was always the pork that disgusted me for some strange reason. My blood type apparently should be vegetarian anyway if we want to diet.

- My IQ is higher than average. I think that's pretty common about most of the people on this forum.


So there's a load for me, oh yeah, one last thing, I'm definitely always in my own world. Though, the only thing that's changed with me throughout the years is becoming more introverted for some reason. Wonder why that is....

And exactly what stereotype should we fit in in the first place? AS? According to which criteria? Autism? LFA, MFA, HFA, Kanner, or what? How many different stereotypes are there in circulation for Asperger's? The geek, the artistic, the scientist, the unrecognized genius, the irritating know-it-all, the modest and aloof 'professor'? And for autism? The non-verbal or hardly verbal, the aloof genius or savant, and so on?

I somewhat fit in the techie/geek stereotype but my interests are varied. I could be focused on one subject at a time for long but I don't have the systematizing power some appear to have. I do have sensory issues and I can experience overload (resulting to meltdowns) but my overloads lie mostly in the emotional domain. My emotional IQ is below average but not the lowest, perhaps because I have a relatively long life experience nearing the forth X. My gait is unusual, I can't dance and move to the music, but I have a liking for music. Also, I can't play any musical instruments well despite I really like them since I was a little kid. I can repair and fix some stuff due to fixation on fixing everything that broke down from a very early age. I had some issues with self-care and I prefer comfy and light clothing, but nothing too serious. Oh, and I don't have a good sense of humor...

I didn't think muscle tone was anything at all to do with Autism, well maybe severe cases of Autism but not just a mild case of AS like what I've got. I've just got normal muscle tone.


I have an obsession with bus-drivers, but that is an obsession with people, not the actual bus schedules.


I always have been naturally OK with expressing my feelings and thoughts. I just cannot bare to keep feelings bottled up, I just have to tell someone.


I don't know what ''gross motor skills'' means, the word ''gross'' always throws me because I always thought it meant ''disgusting''.


I don't either. I do look pretty mainstream too (I wear stylish clothes and a trendy handbag, et cetera).


I am good with ''reading'' non-verbal cues like body language, tone of voice, and all of that. I always have been. It just looks like I don't because I am quite slow to react to it, but that could be due to lack of social confidence too. That doesn't mean I can't read the social cues.


Me neither, not to the extent like not liking foods touching on the plate. There are certain foods that I don't like, but then again I know lots of NTs that have certain foods they don't like aswell. But I don't mind how my dinner is set out on the plate, in fact I hardly ever notice.


Me neither, I've never been good at maths, and some science is interesting but I've never been into science. Most people find certain forms of science interesting to a degree anyway, you don't have to be Autistic to want to know about interesting facts that are related to science.

There are plenty of other traits/stereotypes that I don't have. These are the traits that I DO have:-

-Routine change affects me emotionally
-I don't like certain noises (both sensitivity and irritation)
-I do have obsessions (but only with particular people, not facts or video games or whatever)
-I have a lot of anxiety, depression, anger, and other emotional issues
-I can have outbursts (involving screaming, swearing, hitting myself, et cetera)
-I have some social issues, but this affects every ASD person in different ways. I just appear as a shy or anxious person to other people

gross motor skills would be like balance, coordination. fine motor skills would be things like handwriting and such.

what is STEM? never heard of it

i just meant the general "autistic" stereotype whatever you make that to be.

i have a great amount of empathy for people close to me, people i consider "good people", animals especially, and anyone whose never done me harm.

i have heard a lot about low muscle tone on here.

I like this thread a lot- great reminder that no two Aspies are the same. Here's where I fit in.

I would say that for an Aspie, I'm physically in good shape. I think that my body is wired to be physically clumsy and awkward, but the effects are minimized because I was a gymnast when I was younger and am in to fitness now. (If I stop working out, it seems that my AS behaviors become MUCH more pronounced.)


I don't have any "bizarre interests", though I think that every special interest has some value. I also am still having trouble understanding the difference between a special interest and hobby. I have two topics that may qualify as "special interests." Both are normal in scope (and not nerdy) and I don't spend too much time on them, but I notice that I have emotional connections to these interests that I often lack elsewhere.


Me too! I am always aware of my emotions and thoughts, and good at both writing and speaking them. I can also help others do this. My issue is making the relationships and connections in the first place which would allow me to communicate these things. I am TERRIBLE at reaching out and asking for help.


I'm not sure about this one as well, but I don't notice issues with my motor skills.


I don't either. I also don't come across as cool or trendy, however.


I think I'm very good at reading non-verbal cues, though I had to learn this and didn't do it by instinct. I've been working on it for a few years, and have an excellent read on social situations I observe. I'm still working on communicating the right way in social situations which I'm part of.


I actually do have an eating disorder. I find the connections between eating disorders and AS very interesting. I have an acute sense of taste (I think I'm a supertaster) and don't like spicy food or foods with uneven textures. However, I will try absolutely anything to see if I like it, and am willing to eat foods I dislike if I think they're healthy.


I have never thought of myself as studious or smart. (I have a college degree and got good grades, it's more that if I don't feel an emotional connection to a topic, then it bores me.)

Some others based on Joe90s list:
I don't think I'm routine oriented and I think more routine would actually benefit me.

I am extremely sensitive to noise. Once I learned this was a processing thing rather than actually having acute hearing, I have had some success training myself to ignore the noises that bother me.

Joe90-I kind of understand having obsessions with people. I will become focused on a person if I find that being around them improves my social skills because I'm able to mirror them in a way that actually works for me. Then, the person I become around the original person is actually a version of myself that I like. My goal is to be able to have the same positive social skills even when I'm not around people who I can mirror.

I used to be an anxious person and have actually overcome this. The only emotional issue that I have is that I cry at the drop of a hat. I actually like this about myself. Other people don't like this, so I have to make an effort to get out of the situation before I start crying.

I do have significant social issues. I usually believe that people are going to reject me based on my personality and appearance, so I make very little effort to connect. When I am in a conversation, I appear awkward because I'm thinking about whether I'm doing it right and how the other person is reacting, even though I know I should be focused on what the other person is saying.

Oh, and I can be long-winded in writing.