So, this is where I get to tell you what life is like when you are autistic… Well, it’s hard! The best way for me to do this is to tell you what my autism does to me, but I shall use correct terminology (don’t worry, I’ll either use brackets to give you the explanations in, or I’ll create a link to a glossary page (if I can figure out how the hell one does it!!!) Or I could try telling you about it in the way that my friend Martin and me would talk things over when I turn up at his house and we get into the saga, and complicated ideas get turned into easy-listening academia! Martin’s a good mate, and he believes there’s an autistic side to every one, if they’d only admit it to themselves… he’s a true individual, and that’s what I like about him - as well as the propensity to have 'saga!
Hi 0_0.
Thanks for your post, very informative. Did you mean to post it in the Pit though? You might want to email a mod and ask them to move it to MPSIMS or IMHO.
(O_o): Help me out with this one, please:
How do you plan to accomplish that when you’ve abandoned the educational system in your sophomore year?
Welcome t’ boards (O_o). Cool name. When I sober up I’ll enjoy finding out how you managed to post 35 posts in at most 3 days.
Cool thread! Like Primaflora said though, you might want to ask for it to be moved. I know there are a few people on the boards whose children have Asperger’s, but I think you’re the first poster with it.
I do have a few questions that you can answer if you like. Do you find interacting with animals easier, harder, or about the same as interacting with people? What sorts of aides do you use to help in learning? Would you find it easier to communicate by drawing pictures instead of writing or speaking? And last, did you have any trouble learning to speak?
Good luck on your thesis!
I hardly know where to start.
I guess first I would like to congratulate you on having learned the cause of your problems at such a young age, and having learned the science behind them well enough to be able to explain them clearly.
Now, on to practical matters. You seem to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses (and will become more so as you get older) and know which types of situations are stressful for you.
You are obviously an intelligent and articulate person who is capable of making a contribution to society, whether that is earning a living if your level of disability so allows, or (if you are not able to perform paid work) contributing to society in other ways.
What isn’t going to work is this:
You may not be able to “feel” this in your gut, but you are capable of understanding that people in general are only interested in being like themselves. The fact that a typical person’s brain functions differently from yours (and mine, and my child’s) means that there are more of them than there are of us. It’s a simple case of numbers. So they’re wired differently. So what? It doesn’t make them better or worse.
It’s your job to figure out what you need to be able to function, and then to find a way to get it. Blaming society for not being able to deal with people with differences isn’t going to get you anywhere; learning how to work with society to get what you need will.
For one example, I started a new job several months ago. One of the first things I learned when observing the office was that people tended to give each other verbal messages, and that there was lots of noise and confusion and seven different things going on at once. I needed the job, and I liked the people. So I had to find a way to ‘fix’ the situation to make it workable for me.
I wrote a memo to my boss and co-workers, and explained to them that I had a problem with processing verbal information, and requested that anything they wanted me to do be put in writing. I explained briefly my difficulty with overstimulation in an environment, and even went so far as to explain difficulty in making eye contact when listening intently. (If I’m looking at someone, I’m not generally absorbing what they’re saying.) I threw in some nice comments about their knowledge and professionalism and how eager I was to do a good job, and it went over very well. I now rarely have any situations at work that cause sensory stress (although stress for other reasons inherent to the job itself is common) and I believe it’s because I asked for what I needed in order to function.
[/hijack]
Welcome! And email if you’d like; I know of a private email list that might interest you.
To those wihing (O_o) success in his thesis, he’s already told us that he’s left school and is done with it & that he left in his sophomore year.
To those wishing (O_o) success in his thesis, he’s already told us that he’s left school and is done with it & that he left in his sophomore year.
Nuh-uh 
. I and Jennifer McIlwee Myers also have it. Asperger’s occurs in differing degrees, and mine does not seem to be as severe as his.
I’ll field a question or two, tho.
You asked if he found it easier to interact with animals than people; while I can’t answer for him, I can say I find people much harder to interact with. Animal behavior is easier to reliably predict than human behavior, and an Aspie (Asperger’s-Syndrome-haver) values predictability and the routine very much. Those who are diagnosed very young can learn how to interact with people in a cognitive manner as opposed to an emotional manner, by the use of situational scripts and such.
As to language development, one of the primary differential diagnostic elements between Asperger’s and autism is that there is no significant language delay. Those who are severely dyspraxic may have difficulty learning to write, tho.
This isn’t a personal attack on you (O_o) but could you explain to me the method of testing that was done to determine whether a corpse had Asperger’s Syndrome.
I am somewhat familiar with the disorder (I have an autistic nephew) who was misdiagnosed for years. I did my grad. work in clinical psych at UT. I recognized the subtle clues, but when I confronted his doctors about his disorder I was told there IS NO TEST. and he was of course labeled ADHD and given meds. AARRgh … a few years went by and guess what? Damn he is autistic. Makes me wanna just (never mind)
Also, since it’s often difficult to diagnose this disorder in a LIVE person who has only a mild case. Granted, Asperger’s has a different onset than Autism and can be differentiated but either can be easily confused with a person who is mildly OCD or several other disorders.
Again, I applaud you on your ability to deal with your cards. I on the otherhand am not convinced that Issac Newton’s mental state can be accurately diagnosed. Einstein maybe, we do have his brain to study. IIRC his superior mathematical abilities have been attributed to an excessive amount of neurons in comparison to normal brains. If he had been Sx I’m sure it would have been diagnosed since that has a physical abnormality that can be observed. But as far as I know, we have yet to find a definitive test for Autism.
Perhaps IMHO next time. 
IIRC my astrophysics prof said Newton died from mercury poisoning as a result of his mirrored telescopes that he built. Of course that would explain much of his behavior. It has also been confirmed by tests in which samples of his hair were found to contain high levels of Mercury and lead.
He was at the end mad as a hatter.
My bad. Thanks for the answers, though!
Actually, this is only one of the places where he tells us about his autism. The OP was copied from this website:
http://www.angelfire.com/in/AspergerArtforms/autism.html
If this is your website, (O_o), it certainly does contradict other information you have posted about your views on education. How is that?
I see that Thylacine beat me to it. Good on us!
I do believe you would have beaten me had I bothered to add any text. The moral victory is yours Zoe. 
t-keela, the Einstein diagnosis is very debatable. Einstein’s claimed as Aspergers by a lot of the Aspie community but it’s not necessarily correct.
Diagnosis of Aspergers is highly subjective. I’m running with a 50/50 score rate with my older son as to whether he is or he isn’t and that’s with psychologists who have worked with Tony Attwood saying he isn’t, a developmental paed saying he is and a neuropsych not giving a diagnosis. Here in Australia, the late talking aspect of Aspergers is not used as a diagnostic tool. I don’t know why – both my kids were very late talkers and yet both of them have Aspergers as part of their varied diagnoses.
Interesting detective work ** Zoe ** and ** Thylacine **. I’m hoping there’s a simple explanation here but I’m feeling a touch sick if this is some weird unfunny joke.
Heh. I just came in to post that same link. Interesting choice of topic to plagiarize. :dubious:
Even if this particular poster turns out to be a fraud, it would be cool to have an Ask The Autistic Person thread.
Quoted from the OP’s profile:
“I am waiting for the personal accessments of myself by others to explain away my content.”
I’m thinking any time now would be a good idea.