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livingwithautism
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29 Jan 2019, 8:31 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
^^^Hi there,

I haven't seen you in a long time.


I have been busy.



kraftiekortie
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29 Jan 2019, 8:32 pm

It's always better to be busy than to be idle.....



magz
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30 Jan 2019, 3:12 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
It's always better to be busy than to be idle.....

Oh no, not always.
Unless you don't count rest as idleness - they may look the same.
And I've crossed some research showing that boredom is good for creativity.
Hooray for a healthy amount of idleness! ;)


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RetroGamer87
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30 Jan 2019, 3:34 am

magz wrote:
kraftiekortie wrote:
It's always better to be busy than to be idle.....

Oh no, not always.
Unless you don't count rest as idleness - they may look the same.
And I've crossed some research showing that boredom is good for creativity.
Hooray for a healthy amount of idleness! ;)

Idleness is the enemy of the soul, said those who have a vested interest in making other people work like dogs.


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MC1729
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07 Feb 2019, 1:49 am

I'm very high-functioning as well, enough to appear "normal" most of the time, but I don't get what the OP means by being "above Aspie/HFA" and "being normal in every aspect of life" because how are you an Aspie then? You can live a pretty much normal life as an Aspie, but you aren't a normal person if you are an Aspie, and there was obviously some level of "not-normal" you had to work through to live a normal life, as others described it feels like a performance at times.


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AQ Score: 46 out of 50

EQ Score: 5 out of 80

RDOS Score: Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 145 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 51 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


MoonRiver
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21 Feb 2019, 11:51 am

We have the skills to appear normal but we still think differently. Also, my emotions and meltdowns are off the chart when I’m super stressed. But I’ve never had them in public. I’ve waited to get into the car to go nuts. In my opinion, being high functioning has stopped me from getting help. I was tested as gifted as a kid, topped the class in a lot of subjects, trained at a high level in my chosen field, have letters after my name and yet I’m homeless and jobless and help agencies won’t touch me because I look and sound fine. I’m slowly wasting my life and I don’t know if I care anymore because there’s not much I can do to change.



magz
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21 Feb 2019, 12:54 pm

MoonRiver wrote:
We have the skills to appear normal but we still think differently. Also, my emotions and meltdowns are off the chart when I’m super stressed. But I’ve never had them in public. I’ve waited to get into the car to go nuts. In my opinion, being high functioning has stopped me from getting help. I was tested as gifted as a kid, topped the class in a lot of subjects, trained at a high level in my chosen field, have letters after my name and yet I’m homeless and jobless and help agencies won’t touch me because I look and sound fine. I’m slowly wasting my life and I don’t know if I care anymore because there’s not much I can do to change.

That's exactly the problem of super high functioning.
When you desperately need help, no one can see it or believe it. Because your mask of being normal is too perfect.


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CalicoMischief
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08 May 2019, 6:40 pm

rick42 wrote:
Nope and I'm not trying to be.I say screw being normal and screw NT people.


LoL. I agree. Im far from HFA.



quite an extreme
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02 Jun 2019, 1:30 pm

GuyInABlackSuit wrote:
Are you over the HFA/Aspie line of the spectrum?
Are you so high functioning that you are basically a normal person in almost every sense (emotionally and mentally, maybe even physically?)

I think I am. If you are emotionally an mentally a normal person then you aren't autistic (HFA/Aspie) but physically I'm rather normal. I had always a job since I finshed the university as a gradutated engineer. I'm a little bit different than other people but rather well liked and I don't think that anyone expects me being on the spectrum. NTs are quit different people too. May be my workmates did already realize that I prefere to be on my own instead of being in a crowd. But the only thing I always had to struggle with was to find a new relationship because of my nonverbal communication issues.


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DanielW
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02 Jun 2019, 1:56 pm

Functioning labels aren't static and don't really mean much. I work, own my home, and all the usual "high-functioning stuff" . I can also have meltdowns, shutdowns, and periods where I am non-verbal, and just can't cope.

I can be at a party, or just walking down the street and the casual observer probably won't notice anything unusual, but that takes a tremendous effort and energy...some days my batteries run down too soon and I flap, rock, chew and am probably as "low-functioning" as I can be.



Nydcat
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03 Jun 2019, 6:33 pm

Besides rare exceptions, people don't notice that I have asperger's. A qualified therapist would probably have noticed in high school. People usually find me nice but weird. I can socialise on a casual level but I have a really hard time making friends and fitting in a group. I almost completely self reliant, but I need a lot of emotional support, I still rely on my parents to coach me through bigger changes like buying a house or a car. I have a steady job and a boyfriend, but I still can't live with him, I get really grumpy when I have another human near me for too long.



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03 Jun 2019, 10:27 pm

I'm high functioning enough to be able to appear 'normal' to people. Those that meet me and know me casually might think I'm a little weird and shy/quiet but typically haven't a thought that I'm not NT.

I don't think that says much though. Most people who do not have someone that is already on the spectrum do not know or have the awareness to spot someone that is higher functioning that is on the spectrum. They know the general hallmarks of classic autism that which have a stronger visibility.

I'm not not so fond of high or low functioning descriptions, mostly because I don't think it accurately describes my experience. My autistic symptoms fluctuate; sometimes they're most fitting a level one (DSM 5 levels), other times they're more appropriate to be categorised in level 3. When they're bad my functionality goes down, when I'm 'up' my functionality improves. Also typically when I'm among others I am in a 'performance' mode and thus not going to appear as... as I actually am.


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Sahn
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04 Jun 2019, 8:09 am

Sometimes I feel on the same wavelength with NTs but during conversations, I find myself getting quite worked up while trying to explain something and then realise that what I'm trying to say is pretty unimportant and that my mind is kind of galloping.



Borromeo
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04 Jun 2019, 11:07 am

I thought I was pretty normal for 19 years. I'm 20ish now but didn't want to put my real age in the profile (security).

After being diagnosed I actually got MORE normal because I now knew what was going on and basically jailbroke my own brain, like people hack computers. It can be a freeing thing.

I'm still odd, though, but it's not hurting me too much from living a normal life. I only hope I can get situated in a good quiet place when I move out. Horses wouldn't be too bad. Then again, having a degree and a job would help too. We'll see.


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You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


y-pod
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13 Jun 2019, 4:18 am

I was "normal" enough until life's stress became overwhelming. When my kids were toddlers and I had to look after them plus my old grandma, and my sick brother. Then my dad got diagnosed with cancer. I developed anxiety and just couldn't cope with everyday life any more. I'm HFA all right, but I do think I need to have realistic expectations. We can't have it all. Like Temple Grandin did great in her career, but never tried starting a family. I have family and health, but I don't have a career. I still haven't got my anxiety under control (I am med-free right now) so I have to pace myself and relax a lot. A normal person probably thinks I'm lazy. But I don't want to go crazy and get locked up.


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magz
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13 Jun 2019, 8:34 am

y-pod wrote:
I was "normal" enough until life's stress became overwhelming. When my kids were toddlers and I had to look after them plus my old grandma, and my sick brother. Then my dad got diagnosed with cancer. I developed anxiety and just couldn't cope with everyday life any more. I'm HFA all right, but I do think I need to have realistic expectations. We can't have it all. Like Temple Grandin did great in her career, but never tried starting a family. I have family and health, but I don't have a career. I still haven't got my anxiety under control (I am med-free right now) so I have to pace myself and relax a lot. A normal person probably thinks I'm lazy. But I don't want to go crazy and get locked up.

I know exactly what you mean. I needed to take a leave from career because I couldn't take a leave from parenting... and now I'm not even a proper housewife.


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