Powers that comes from being ASD

Post Reply New Topic

Hello,

I recently got my aspie or ASD HF designation. I was wondering if anyone else felt like it could explain their ability to just know what they needed to do to fix everything. I grew up in poverty and abuse and for a long time thought my asd was trauma related but after I did all the research possible to understand it I realized I had healed myself and the rest was just my nature.

How did I do this? Could it be our special interests are actually a survivial mechanism? Could it be our sensitivities allow us to move through uncharted territory using all our senses fully?

I was wondering if anyone out there wanted to chat with me about exactly how high functioning we can be. I have children who are freaking scary astute and our system wants to deny them this fact. They certainly denied me it.

Except depsite having so much stacked against me and no clue how to overcome it I have managed to always secure exactly what I and those I was responsible for, needed. Sometimes even strong arming those I needed along the way until they realized I was right against much opposition. Anyone else feel like this? Thanks!

Congratulations on your recent diagnosis and welcome to Wrong Planet.

I think your gifts are self-confidence and the willpower to stick with it. These traits put you at a significant advantage over most people autistic or not but especially autistics where lack of self-esteem is often a big inhibitor.

Special interests are a coping mechanism from all sorts of things we have to deal with. Outsiders often mistake them for unwanted intrusive thoughts, when we love the topic we have an interest in. As far as being helpful it depends on how much of a market for that topic there is.

The trick is to figure out how to "sell" your knowledge. Often we are not naturally good at those skills but there is a lot of information out there on how to do that. Plenty of times these skills are effective but hard for a lot of us to learn.

I don't have the gift of self confidence. It's not a gift. It's an earned thing. It's not easy to earn but here are the two steps I used to get there.
1. I freaking love this s**t of everyone I bring into my inner circle.
1. If they don't set off all my autistic built in sensitivities they get to stay. This has weeded out all those not as loving as I am.

The end result is a lot of loss but the best people have stayed and harmony is the result. I will admit I am not in contact with my entire family of origin but if I were to tell them today I was autistic they would only use it as weapon against me so its better they are all gone.

Hello Alien99,
I really resonated with your post. I too came from a traumatic background. I did seek therapeutic help and got through the thick of cptsd, and lo and behold many traits attributed to trauma weren't because of trauma. I was on the spectrum.
I also have a few uncanny senses and the ability to get through some rough things, and will strong arm- like you mention, to do what I know needs to be done. At the time, people can resent the pressure I exert to do the thing, but once they see the results, they are like, oooohhh, I get it now. I have heard since we are wired in a different way, we can see things differently and it can be like a 6th or 7th sense in many ways. Can be good or bad I guess. And not all people appreciate it as a gift.

I think it depends on the particular situation you've faced, and the makeup of your own mind and body. Some people with ASD can overcome and even thrive, but they don't necessary have the same set of functions as others on the spectrum. Props to you for having persevered, though. You should put to best use that which you have.

I was wondering if it there could be a threshold that activates something more. They say HSPs can sometimes rise up in the worst situations and be strongest.

But in less horrible but hardly ideal situation that threshold is not reached and so the person flounders not finding their true potential.

It's the theory of Orchid child vs the Dandelion child except there is an extreme case exception for the Orchid child. Sometimes I wonder if my life is the extreme case exception and what that means exactly. I would not wish my childhood on anyone and I am confused why it's so prevelent in my family and I am the only who managed to break the cycle when I should be the least likely candidate to be able to do so.