do you find any advantage with autism ?

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Yeah. I speak the language of technology & machinery. Doesn't matter if it's material science, bytestates or engine design (physics or internal combustion). It's starting to seem like I'm only a few steps away from becoming a cyborg, I'm not even the only one who thinks so... @_@

There is such a thing as an "autistic" point of view. We see angles that "neurotypical" people don't see. We could provide a philosophical viewpoint which is innovative/beyond the box. We understand, in our finer moments, the divine variation of humanity, and feel in harmony with fellow creatures. Some autistic people have that FOCUS--such FOCUS--without which we would not have this forum to write why there's advantages with autism.

I am the go-to guy for troubleshooting tough technical problems in hardware and software.

For instance, some fonts used by NT programmers make it difficult to distinguish between upper-case "I" (pronounced "EYE") and lower-case "l" (pronounced "ELL"). Thus, when defining "ISS225" as a numerical variable, using "lSS225" at a critical point in the program may make the compiler throw an "Undefined Variable" error, cause the program to crash or hang at run time, or simply cause a formula to produce the wrong result in an otherwise stable product.

When the NT coder has been tearing his or her hair out trying to find the error, I will use a search function on the source code to locate all instances of the string "SS225" after having changed the font to something that makes the difference more obvious. Then I correct the error, compile, and test-run the software with the correction. Unless there are other errors, this usually solves the problem.

Sometimes, I will even tell the programmers what I found. Otherwise, they get the source code back with a note saying, "It works for me!", and no one questions the results ... Probably because they don't want to admit their own errors.

Yes, that's an evil act, but if you know how arrogant some programmers get, you also know that in such cases a little evil is justified.

Seeing the world differently often aids in creative endeavors.

Yes, I think it does. I see many NT people (even in my own field) that are mentally trapped "in a box" when they are required to formulate a new idea or project. They struggle with it so much, some simply cannot do it. Being an Aspie, I think that this is the easiest (and most fun) part of the job.

Other than being able to focus intensively on interests (and school tends to be one of mine, so that's good), I don't think so.

Here are some of the advantages I get from having Asperger's Syndrome:

/*
♠ Ability to focus on my Special Interests for long periods of uninterrupted time;
♠ Animals (especially cats) love and trust me (even timid and badly abused cats). We understand each other;
♠ Attention to detail BEYOND BELIEF;
♠ I can program in many different languages and can debug software like a machine;
♠ I don't need company. I love spending my time alone. I'm extremely self-sufficient and prefer my own company;
♠ I have an eidetic memory;
♠ I LOVE repartition;
♠ I see things from a different perspective to most others and I'm often able to use that to come up with unique ideas and solutions to problems that NeuroTypicals just don't see;
♠ I studied TCP/IP to the point where I even went into the personal lives of those who were mainly responsible for its creation (namely Vint Cerf, Bob Kahn and John Postel (RIP));
♠ I take people at face value (which has actually bitten me in the arse a few times though);
♠ I'm a perfectionist when it comes to doing things I care about;
♠ I'm honest. Sometimes to a fault;
♠ I'm loyal;
♠ I'm not sexist, biased or racist;
♠ I'm smart. Smart enough to hide my 'weirdness' but I choose not to. This is me!;
♠ I've always 'danced to the beat of my own drum';
♠ I've always been different (and I see that as a good thing);
♠ I've got a wicked good sense of humor (I like it);
*/

I do not regret having it at all!

Last edited by ImAnAspie on 08 Jan 2015, 7:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

I think Autism can produce a kind of neutrality in thought process. Although on one level I can be rigidly moralistic on another level I am almost completely nonjudgmental - I think that is pretty common with people on the Autism Spectrum. I think the broad tendency to think outside the box is common with people with Autism.

It makes me independent and with a unique way of seeing the world. It's responsible for the intense love I have for music and animals. It helps me understand people who suffer from schizophrenia, mania depression, and retardation, not judge them, see the real person underneath the mental health problem.

The biggest positive for me - the ability to think conceptually outside the conventional frame of the received version of things.

And a lot of what IAmAnAspie said too.

None. Well, I could say it made me a unique snowflake with powers of giftedness, insight, creativity, unorthodoxy, etc., but I'm not into self-delusion. So, no, none whatsoever. If I could go back in time and be born NT, I'd do it in a heartbeat. There's nothing romantic about being an unemployed shut-in with no romantic prospects and an inability to look people in the eye.

Nope, not realistically.

Yep, almost everything ImAnAspie said----like, computer coding, attention to detail, thinking differently than everyone else, hyper-focus, etc. I DON'T have an eidetic memory, though, in the sense that I can remember what date something happened; but, I have an EXTREME visual memory to where I can actually see, in my mind's eye, the room where a conversation took place, for instance, and see what everybody was wearing, where they were standing / sitting, etc. I think that's pretty cool!! (I understand it's not uncommon to ASDers, though.)

Probably, problem is I don't know how much can be attributed to autism.

I'm able to create many unique things when I'm working on my crafts. I'm also able to experiment with colours and effects when I'm making my WP avatars.