What of the AS symptoms DON'T you have?

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Besides AS i have a math learning disability and ADD as well as a list of other things including gross motor skills which arnt very good. probably the reason I dont do well in sports. One thing i'm sure that I don't do is rock back and forth. I have the vivid imagination, I daydream alot idk where that came from and the rest I do have especially the no eye-contact thing. right now i'm recieveing social security benefits for autism so that seems more than enough proof of what I have.

- I don't think or interpret things literally.

- I actually prefer the abstract to the concrete. I’m good at higher level math (logic and proofs) but I’m really bad at doing calculations in my head. In this way I’m the opposite of what a lot of people think of when they think of autistic skills. I’m the opposite of a savant.

- I don't enjoy trivia or rote memorization of things. Here's a quote by Richard Faynman that I would strongly agree with.

- Body language: I don’t have too much trouble reading body language. In fact, with some people I can figure out what they are going to say before they even open their mouth.

I have much more trouble using body language. I don’t always convey as much as I think I do and people have accused me of thinking they are mind readers. I think this has more to do with me not always picturing how other people see me. I know how to use body language, I just forget to use it often.

- Pain tolerance: I’m not sure. Though I can tolerate acute pain for short periods better than most, I find pain bothersome and distracting when it’s persistent or prolonged. I’ve had fillings done without local anesthesia because I’d rather deal with the acute pain during the drilling than have a dull ache later on from the anesthesia.

- Stimming: I almost always have a game of Solitaire, or Tetris, or Minesweeper open. The games are so automatic to me that I hardly even think about them. They’re just something to occupy my eyes and fingers when I’m deep in thought. I switch back and forth between the game and whatever else I’m doing. I find Solitaire particularly soothing. I wonder if this is considered stimming?

Stimming - I don't do stims.

I'll add more to this list as I think of things to add.

*Stimming- This is something I definitely don't do.
*Eye Contact- I've never had a problem with this.
*Motor Skills and Coordination- I've always done pretty well at this.
*Being Anti-Social- I love being around people!
*Taking Things Literally- I'm often the first to realize people are kidding around.
*Being Brutally Honest and Blunt- I don't like it when people do this to me, so I don't do it to them.
*Staring- I find this very rude.
*Pain Tolerance- Pain just kills me immediately. I can't stand it and I've always avoided situations where pain could me necessary.
*Motonous Voice- My voice is perfectly normal.
*Problems with Gluten in Food and the Sort- I've never had this problem nor will I probably ever will.

I have it all. Except I'm trying to figure out if I have an imagination or not. I am really good at coordinating things, like colors and clothes (but I hate wearing them), but I don't know if that takes imagination or just logic.(?) I am a great copier. And in art class I could never come up with an original idea. But I remember playing I was a mermaid in our swimming pool 'cause it was so fun to see my loooong hair swoosh around my body. Huh?

I don't have repetitive routines or rituals that I HAVE to do. I am the opposte - completely disorganised, do one thing then start another...I do have very obvious signs of ADD but haven't been diagnosed yet. But it would explain why this well-known, very often seen trait of AS is not there with me! The only thing I do have is having to start off walking up or down the stairs, with a certain foot, because I feel that if I don't, something bad will happen. And if I start off with the wrong foot, I then have to stop, then do the foot I would have done if I had started with the correct one in the first place. If that makes any sense...
My handwriting isn't scruffy (I've been told it's very neat most of the time!).
I can understand some facial expressions, and sense sometimes what someone is feeling. Both of these have increased as I have got older.
I don't tend to take things literally.
I have an awesome imagination!
My pain threshold is average, sometimes over-sensitive.

Last edited by Michaela115 on 01 Aug 2007, 5:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

- I can make eye contact and do so without much thinking BUT I'm uncomfortable with prolonged eye contact.
- I suck at math/computers.
- I can read facial expressions (at least I think I can) and interperet expressions.
- I have an average pain threshold
- I have an active imagination. In fact my childhood stims were a way of drowning out outside stimuli so I could focus on my daydreaming.
- I have obsession but keep them under control so that they are more like hobbies or interests.
- I know full well not to go in depth about my interests to unreceptive people.

Sorry if it's already out there and I missed it, but does anyone have the definitive list of Aspie symptoms?
I'd love to say which ones I (hope I) don't have, but I don't know the whole list.

.I don't mind being touched, apart from on the back of my neck.
.I hate science and math.
That's about it.

I don't stare.
I can be quite empathetic if I focus.
I understand alot about how people work, psychology, and all that.
I don't seem to have any gluten problems.
I don't have any issues with authority, like some people.
I'm quite verbally clever, and I have a large vocabulary.


Nothing else, to my knowledge.

Quite the opposite of "lack of prosody" & "flat affect" (usually). My face, voice, and hand gestures are expressive, animated, and variable (not uniform). I pronounce words & sentences with stress (accent) on proper syllables & use congruent inflection for type of statement or query.
I'm quite emotional & illogical, my "feelings" are what drive/motivate me, not detached intellect.
I'm hypersensitive (instead of hyposensitive) to pain.
Am very good at identifying famous people's names by looking at their faces.
Am much better at (and interested in) language/reading/writing than high-level math/science/technology.

Last edited by Belfast on 14 Aug 2007, 12:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don´t have the agression part.
Maybe some more , but that´s the one that doesn´t discribe be the most.

Im terrible at math & logic/problem solving

I lack that ability many Aspies have of not being aware that they may be doing something wrong... I have social anxiety so Im always paranoid of how others percieve me, Im quite aware of my "aspieness" & that I might be do something embarrassing or socially off offputting to others...

I don't have a monotonous voice (in fact I tend to over-dramatise to compensate, or try to mimic the way people talk on TV). My accent also tends to vary a lot depending on who I am talking to, and my vocabulary is nearer to that of a teenager rather than a 41-year-old woman!

I don't have a problem with metaphors - in fact I love to think up new ones.

I can read the obvious facial expressions but not always the more subtle ones (anyone else not got a clue what the emoticons are supposed to represent unless they hold the mouse over them first?????)

I enjoy fiction, both reading & writing it, and I can understand emotions, but often in a logical and intellectual rather than empathetic way, if that makes sense.

I'm no good at technical things like engineering or computers, but I enjoy maths & science in a theoretical sense.

I have all the other symptoms to a greater or lesser degree.

I don't think I stimm, at least not frequently.

I inflect my speech quite a bit and talk with my hands, at least when interested in something.

I love metaphor.

I'm not sure if I can read facial expression and body language very well but I do tend to intuit the meanings behind the words. If I get really involved instead of being detached it's harder. And it seems just as easy on the net.

I'm not fond of math and have a hard time remembering dates and names.

I'm very imaginative, I think.

I do have routines but they're not really rigid. However disruption to them from other people irritates me.

I don't know that I even know all of the traits, but the ones that I've seen on here that I don't have are a sensitivity to light (but I do to sound) and an unusual sensitivity to clothing and fabrics. I think that I have most of the rest that I've seen on here.