Are you too articulate to have autism?
Someone wrote this to me in their comment:
It's normally pretty easy to identify someone online with those conditions because they communicate like Chris Chan... very odd, very disconnected, overly inarticulate, often flustered in their wording... on the flip side you're expressing yourself beautifully with absolutely no verbal hiccups or hangups.
I didn't let it bother me because I know lot of us have gotten we are too smart to have it or because don't seem like it, or because we write too well, etc. But looking through through their post history, they have negative karma and he seemed to be the sort of guy who goes around armchair diagnosing and undiagnosing people. I told him lot of autistic people sound normal online and write well and I wouldn't guess they have it.
Has anyone ever told you you are too articulate to have it? Plus how would anyone know what you are trying to say if they can't read your mind? They will just assume what you are trying to say by how you are saying it and go by what your words are implying not even knowing you don't mean that unless they know you.
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Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
Being articulate is possible with Aspergers, certainly. I can be very articulate if on top form. I can also be very unclear, verbally and I'm much better in this sort of medium. I suspect that people who tell you you're too articulate for ASD don't know enough about Autism.
I have been told a similar thing (by a clinician), that I shouldn't worry very much about Aspergers 'because you function', as if just functioning should be enough for someone on the spectrum!
I think I'm extremely articulate - probably must more-so than most NTs, and I think it is actually a sign of ASD for me. I use very good grammar most of the time, and often find myself correcting the grammar mistakes of others, either silently or aloud.
If explaining a logical concept, I think I'm quite good at taking people from point A to point B to point C, leaving out no details and drawing a logical line from the basic to the complex.
I think my diagnosis actually touches on this: in the diagnosis, it says that my speech is "somewhat formal and monotone". I think that speaking formally and having good articulation tend to go hand in hand.
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Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder / Asperger's Syndrome.
Okay, so that's kind of ironic. And it's funny how that person acted so sure of themselves, like they are some authority on the subject. It's ironic because while autistic people can have delayed language/communication issues early in childhood, they can suddenly become communicative and to the extent that they use more advanced language than normal. In other words, the child that didn't communicate all of a sudden becomes exceptionally articulate, and uses advanced vocabulary. Many people might refer to such a child as precocious.
That being said, autistic people would usually have trouble NOT being articulate....i.e. talking in more down-to-earth, basic terms. It's something we would have to learn over time and it would actually be a struggle for us.
So, in a nut shell, your general aspie would be articulate and nerdy, and struggle with being regular and using expressions and such in place of formal language. This guy basically took an autistic trait and used it as evidence that you are not autistic. "No offense buddy, but the fact that you can't walk leads me to believe that you don't have a spinal cord injury." That's basically what that guy did.
I think I am more articulate online than in real life because online I have time to think and type and make it come out right and I can say everything without being interrupted and I can get my thoughts out right. Don't get me wrong, misunderstandings still happen online where I come off wrong. It could also be anxiety too that makes my mind go blank when i want to say something in front of a large group even though I feel fine but yet in autism groups I have been too, they seem to talk very well in front of everyone without losing their place or forgetting what they were saying or losing their thoughts if interrupted. As a child if you interrupted me, I would have just started over because I would lose my place. I still do but I refuse to start it all over again. Plus it is hard getting pictures into words in my brain so I tend to not be detailed at all like I used to be as a kid because I didn't have a word filter to leave out the unimportant details or know where to start when I wanted to talk about something that happened at school. My mom said that was part of my language development.
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Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
ASPartOfMe
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Writing is a skill that does not involve multitasking, and non word communication such as eye contact and body language. To write well you need to have a good vocabulary and understand rules of proper grammer. Lack of these is not a disgnostic criteria for autism.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
Funny enough, I have been told I used poor grammar and stuff for my stories and do some errors but don't all writers? At least it was a compliment then that person gave me because he basically told me I used proper spelling and grammar and punctuation. I took it as he meant communication and what I wrote. I have used run on sentences before because I don't always know how to shorten them or I put a period in too late. Plus Microsoft Word will tell you when you do a typo or use poor grammar or punctuation or a repeated word and on here, the word gets underlined it it gets misspelled and I can right click and use spellcheck.
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Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
I'm guessing that the person probably imagining more severe forms of autism, where people have difficulty talking at all. In those scenarios, it could certainly appear that the person is not "being articulate". But I think even in that case, I'm betting that if one really took the time to understand what the autistic individual is saying, one would still find a high level of articulation; it would just be more difficult to spot.
P.S. Note the semicolon in the last sentence above. It seems like very few people use semicolons properly. Do you think my use of semicolons indicates a high degree of articulation?
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Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder / Asperger's Syndrome.
This for me too!
If we're getting to something where I'm less knowledgeable, my speech tends to slow right down and I'll say about one word per second so my brain can keep up with my words.
If it's something I'm uncomfortable or nervous about, my head turns almost completely to the side so I'm not looking anywhere near the person I'm talking to, and there will probably be a long silence before I say anything.
But then again, maybe both of these are articulation again in that I'm scared to say something that isn't exactly what I mean.
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Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder / Asperger's Syndrome.
Looking at the first part of the quoted text in the original post, I have to think that being articulate and social interaction are two completely different things.
Another thing to consider is the "marked verbosity" that sometimes goes along with Asperger's.
I can be pretty articulate when I'm doing well. I can write really well. Sometimes I talk A LOT.
None of that actually helps me interact socially at all. Honestly I think it makes it worse.
Another thing that I have to note, that people don't seem to want to believe, is that even at my most verbose it is almost entirely scripted.
I just felt like I needed to say something.
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