Observing Other Aspies/Autistics...

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I wondered about a man I saw in a bookshop a couple of months ago. He was talking to the assistant about a book about numbers, then started getting very excited about numbers in general, telling her how much he liked then and how important they were to him. He was very enthusiastic and the other customers in the shop kind of smiled, like they liked him even though they thought he was a little odd. I don't know if he was Aspie but he was certainly obsessive about numbers. I mentally wished him well, thinking he was one of the good guys

Today in line at the post office..behind me there was a guy who was stimming like crazy..he was just all over the place..practicly ripped the stationary pen off the table for fidgeting with it.

Sounds very aspie to me...reminds me of the guy I fancy...he has a tendency to latch onto random customers in Asda and start up these very animated conversations with them...wish I was a fly on someone's shirt collar, would love to hear what he talks about...art generally, I believe as art and antiques are his obsessions. It has to be said, although odd, to me, there is this certain air of vulnerability to some aspie males that I cannot define. End up wanting to protect them from the world even though, more often than not, they are capable of protecting themselves.

In my high school these guys were called "duck and runners"...they'd bend down so they had a lower center of gravity and kind of rock back and forth, smiling or talking to themselves, and as soon as the bell rang they took off like a shot, which actually proved to be a pretty effective means of navigating the crowded hallways as people tended to want to get out of their way.

I caught a really good one in the record store the other day (I still call them record stores, this was a music store that sells CDs).

He was rocking back and forth and mumbling to himself as he was methodically looking through the used CDs. I also happened to be methodically looking through the used CDs.

I am not as severe as this guy (am I ?) but I do have my moments. He caught me staring at him. He looked up and we made eye contact for like one second...and then both sets of eyes shot straight back to the floor. That part was kind of funny I guess.

I kind of felt bad for him, because I have just enough of it to know what he's going through and how hard it can be. This guy was so obvious too. I wanted to say something to him, like maybe "Hey are you kind of autistic spectrum, me too!, so how's everything going." I wish everyone could be that open about it. But that's not happening, now is it?

None I've noticed in real life, but that wouldn't surprise me considering how un-observant I am. I notice Aspie-like characters in movies and TV though.

I had an experience like that in Borders not long ago. I love Borders for several reasons: 1) They have a great selection of CDs including things you can normally only get over the internet (like 20th Century 'classical' music for instance) 2) There is a coffee shop in it and 3) They have a reasonable selection of general interest (and some not so general) maths books compared to most other book stores I know. Anyway, they had some CDs that they were selling off cheaply and I noticed that they had Glenn Gould playing some Beethoven Sonatas so I thought that would be interesting as although I am not mad on Beethoven, I like some of his piano Sonatas (and have been trying to learn the first movement of Op. 27 no.2). When I took it to the till the man said he had Gould playing the Goldberg Variations and that it was one of his favourite CDs. I became so enthusiastic that someone else was interested in Glenn Gould that I ended up blurting out a load of stuff about one of my favourite recordings I have of him (Ravel's La Valse) and how I prefer his piano reduction the most, partly because it doesn't use the ugly glissandi of the original reduction. After a while I realised that I had been going on a bit except people didn't seem to be smiling; I believe the looks I was getting are more commonly associated with contempt and people having a strong desire for me to go somewhere else.

Ya, I know plenty of people in my community with AS. But in truth, there are only a few that I wish were lower on the Spectrum if you know what I mean. For the ones I identify with, there're 3 I know. One is this short kid who likes to call the stupid people who don't do work "efficiently" delinquents and tries to sit next to me all the time. Ya, we've been friends for awhile but he has a mean streak if you know what I mean. One time actually, he spit at this one kid in class and got in trouble. Next, there's this other kid I know who gets picked on alot. Me and him are actually close as PB n' J. He's extremely obsessed with cats, you know? He's not really obsessed as much as me but he only has one subject he's obsessed with (other then computers, but that's a given for this day and age for kids). then there's this blond kid (who dyed his hair purple) that I sit next to. He's abit higher on the spectrum I believe but he's the most interesting in my opinion. We have plenty of fun at eachothers houses. Well, those are all the ones that are near my spectrum I believe. Next, there're the other 3 people. You know, I just kinda wish their lives were better, but there's nothing I can do with it. People just understand their aspergers syndrome less then mine if you know what I mean. I guess there'll always be people who are better off then you and worst off, it's the way life is sometimes. I try to make them feel better. But actually, there is one who REALLY annoys me. He kinda doesn't get rules. He gets up at inapropriate times and leaves the class, spouts out random religious things at the weirdest times, and then he complains about not understanding the work. I know it's not his fault, but if there's anyone who needs help with their AS to function in the world, it's him. Other then him, most of the people I know here will most likely be able to function on a. . . so so normal level if people understand them.

I wonder if people see me and think that I am Autistic. I wonder how "obvious" I am. I know that I can "fit in" fairly well most times, but other days I just don't even care and don't devote as much mental energy to pretending to be normal as I usually do. But I have noticed several people who were on the spectrum. I just kind of watch them.

i don't notice other people, although i can see some of it in some of my kids now.

sometimes lately i wonder how obvious i am. i think some people suspect here at the office. it hasn't been a bad thing as they have made my work area very tolerable for me.

Yes me too (for the last two posts). I really wonder how obvious I am. Also I wonder how many of the people know about the spectrum and recognize me as spectrum, and how many of them think I'm just wierd.

I wish I knew a way to get an honest opinion from somebody on that.

The guy with the numbers sounds a lot like me when I get going about cats or Roger Bannister. Fortunately, I work in an animal-friendly workplace where nearly everyone has pets of some kind, so this is a safe obsession.

think i saw a girl in my lecture from the course i TAed for last term.

kinda had unkept hair... same trenchcoat rain or shine... and she always brought a little needlepoint project with her that she worked on right up until the professor began talking for that day's lecture. never spoke or even looked up at anyone.

that and i saw her on campus one day with a "Autism Rules" shirt.... so think that it's a safe bet.

during exams and such... when the TAs would circulate to answer Qs and prevent cheating... i always tried to walk past her... but she never once looked at me. i never struck up a convo before class either.

think she's really the first i've seen in RL. the AS specialist i was talking to for a bit really tried to encourage me to go to these local meetings... but i never could bring myself to go.