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Engrossed by water?

Ender

Unemployed Philosopher
Just wondering if this is heard of within the ASD community. Ever since I can remember, I have been engrossed by water - that is - the sensory experience of it. If it's raining, I'm outside in it. The smell, feeling, sound, sight... it is both calming and fascinating to me.

I am also a swimmer because I feel very comfortable and soothed in water. It is my natural element, so to speak.

Only recently did I begin to think that maybe this has to do with my having Aspergers. I know that people with ASD tend to have sensory peculiarities, whether over or under sensitive in some respect. I've always been more sensitive to touch and sight, both senses being engaged by water.

How about you?
 
I would have to say that I am the same way. When I learned I'd had Asperger's. I started getting back into the sport of freediving after not doing it for over 20 years. I also like to stim underwater while freediving as well. I wear my mask and flippers only, as a wetsuit would only cut down on the sensation of the water flowing on my skin. Diving down deep to like 30 to 50 feel really give the feeling of being under a super weighted blanket because of the pressure down there.
 
Have a deep attachment to water since I was very young child. Went swimming most summer days in my childhood, like being underwater most of all. Used to listen as a child to the river talk (I thought) to me. Spent so much time near the water, I thought I could breathe there. A stranger pulled me up and out of the water while I was walking on a lake bottom attempting to go somewhere, this was before I knew how to swim.

Used to have quite lucid dreams about living in water, swimming down water filled glass corridors, communicating with humans through sign language from my water filled home. Water has some kind of primal attraction, it's an environment that changes sound and underwater is a slower sort of calming place, even a bath is peaceful.
 
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Also a water lover, swimming, surfing, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, walking in rain, snow, (skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, building snowshelters, avalanche models and control) I love water in all phases. Steam engines, clouds, fog.

Love to watch waves, from capillary ripples to pounding big surf. Can watch water flow for hours, from a faucet, off a roof, down a curb, rivers of all sizes.

I am very interested in flow control and fluid dynamics, erosion, tidal phenomema, taking baths, well you get the idea.

While I do revel in the sensation of being immersed in water, it's the whole deal for me.

The best birthday I ever had was on a beach on the big Island of hawaii, I was there with my partner, and later joined by friends who were there on vacation. I spent hours, most of the day, in fact, swimming and body surfing. I emerged from time to time for the wonderful meal our friends prepared or just have a rest.

Afterwards my partner chastised me for being so selfish as to spend nearly the whole day in the water. I steadfastly maintained that it was my birthday and I spent it in the best possible way. Should have been a sign that there was something odd about me.
 
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Oh, by the way... dream job; something at the Scripps institute of oceanography. I have done some work with the center for earth surface dynamics, water flow, sediment transport and erosion models.
 
Diving down deep to like 30 to 50 feel really give the feeling of being under a super weighted blanket because of the pressure down there.

That's crazy deep.

I'm not into free diving, but was very into scuba before having kids put all that on hold.

I don't like deep dives beyond 30m as I get a strong nitrogen narcosis effect, and it affects how safely I dive.

I've always had a strong affinity for the sea.
 
its very common for autistics to be either obsessed with water or have a hatred of water because of sensory issues with it,its especially common amongst more severely affected autistics;many have died or needed rescueing from running into ponds or rivers as we lack the capacity for danger.

for me,i grew up with acute complex sensory issues and part of that was a major problem with water,i was unable to wash with water as it felt like incredible pain and overload,i had to wash with baby wipes.
as a late 20s adult,i was sectioned into a intellectual disability hospital for four months and in there i was given sensory integration therapy which helped me deal with the feeling of water.
it suddenly opened up a lot of avenues for me,i was able to wash for the first time and even better i was able to attempt swimming but i have to wear a wet suit for that,i ended up competing in the special olympics but i had to leave my team as the spinal nerve damage i recieved around getting sectioned meant i would be in agony after swimming and unable to walk.

this week builders have just finished installing a wet room in my apartment for me so i can finally get washed properly but i am not looking forward to having the running water on my skin,i still remember how bad it was for me.
 
its very common for autistics to be either obsessed with water or have a hatred of water because of sensory issues with it,its especially common amongst more severely affected autistics;many have died or needed rescueing from running into ponds or rivers as we lack the capacity for danger.

for me,i grew up with acute complex sensory issues and part of that was a major problem with water,i was unable to wash with water as it felt like incredible pain and overload,i had to wash with baby wipes.
as a late 20s adult,i was sectioned into a intellectual disability hospital for four months and in there i was given sensory integration therapy which helped me deal with the feeling of water.
it suddenly opened up a lot of avenues for me,i was able to wash for the first time and even better i was able to attempt swimming but i have to wear a wet suit for that,i ended up competing in the special olympics but i had to leave my team as the spinal nerve damage i recieved around getting sectioned meant i would be in agony after swimming and unable to walk.

this week builders have just finished installing a wet room in my apartment for me so i can finally get washed properly but i am not looking forward to having the running water on my skin,i still remember how bad it was for me.
That must be diificult, hope things get better.

I guess I am opposite to this. I have soaked in natural hot springs up to 106°F and swam in 40° Lake Superior in winter.
 
That's crazy deep.

I'm not into free diving, but was very into scuba before having kids put all that on hold.

I don't like deep dives beyond 30m as I get a strong nitrogen narcosis effect, and it affects how safely I dive.

I've always had a strong affinity for the sea.

Actually, freediving to 50ft(15m) is not at all unreasonable for a semi-pro diver. What's really crazy, is those guys that do hundreds of feet just to get their name in the Guinness book of world records. Now that's crazy.

The Ideal depth for my underwater stimming is around 35-40 ft(11-12m). I go out to the swim dock and swim out to one of the boundary buoy's, and then climb the buoy's anchoring chain down to the desired depth, I do this instead of swimming down to conserve energy and I also have the buoy to rest on when I come up. Once I'm at depth, then I do my stimming thing. Even though I can stay down for more than 4 minutes. I limit myself to just 2 minutes for safety.

ICYW: In order to achieve that hugging effect that autistics crave. It must be done by freediving. Scuba diving down to depth will have no effect since your just breathing air at the same atmospheric pressure as the depth your at. It's the difference in the air pressure in your lungs and the water depth that create that hugging effect.
 
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i am not looking forward to having the running water on my skin,i still remember how bad it was for me.

I am just the polar opposite of you. I crave the feeling of water running on my skin. In fact, I do underwater stimming just for that very sensation.

If it's not too cold out. I will even dress in my swim trunks and go work/play out in the middle of a rain storm.
 
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That must be diificult, hope things get better.

I guess I am opposite to this. I have soaked in natural hot springs up to 106°F and swam in 40° Lake Superior in winter.
thankyou On the Inside ,it is still very difficult for me,sensory integration therapy just taught me to tolerate the feeling and not 'blow up' into meltdown when it goes on my skin,i still however feel some pain and experience a lot of flashbacks to the pain when the water hits me.
i guess this is why its much better to have SIT when you are a kid.

id love to be able to do that,a natural spring in winter sounds awesome.
there is a distant equivilent of that in the UK,theyre called lidos.
 
I am just the polar opposite of you. I crave the feeling of water running on my skin. In fact, I do underwater stimming just for that very sensation.

If it's not too cold out. I will even dress in my swim trunks and go work/play out in the middle of a rain storm.
underwater swimming sounds amazing,id love to go somewhere tropical and go swimming underwater to be with the fish,but in reality i probably couldnt cope with the feeling on me-id have to wear a full winter wetsuit.

rain storms are awesome,i love the sounds even if i dont love the feeling.
 
underwater swimming sounds amazing,id love to go somewhere tropical and go swimming underwater to be with the fish,but in reality i probably couldnt cope with the feeling on me-id have to wear a full winter wetsuit.

A wetsuit may just help you. I don't like wearing a wetsuit because it completely removes the feeling of water on my skin. That's not to say that you won't get wet under the suit. but it does remove the feeling.
 
I always wear a wetsuit anyway, even when the sea temperature is high twenties. I hate being cold and it protects you from minor stings from plankton and stuff.

There are too many sharks here for me to be happy free diving anywhere, and Ive never got deeper than about 5 metres when snorkelling.
 
I can't swim well, but I love water. I love to sit by it. I love reading by nice, peaceful streams, rivers, lakes, oceans. I love to be in it. When it rains, I'm the weirdo who is out for a walk whereas I don't really go for walks when people normally would. I'm out there in storms and going to sleep listening to the rain is my favorite thing to do. I have this recurring dream where enormous tidal waves form and crash down on me.
 
I love water, in every sense. My favourite dreams a night are the ones where I can breathe under water and so I hide beneath the surface. All the sounds are muted and no one can get to me so far down. It's very nice.
 
When I was little I was extremely fascinated with water even though I wasn't a good swimmer I use to love sitting in the water and was told that even I heard a tap dripping I would run towards it,I still cannot swim and now have a unusual relationship with water while I like the feel of it I'm deeply afraid of going into the ocean and when the waves get too rough and crash on me I freak out but with calm water I'm ok.
 
I have Thalassophobia so the sea is a no-no, same goes for lakes, rivers and swimming pools... though I can just about manage swimming pools as long as I can touch the floor and am near the edge.

Water is not a sensory issue for me.
 
I must be the odd one out here, because I simply cannot stand water. I hate being wet, can't swim, and I don't even like drinking the stuff.

...many have died or needed rescueing from running into ponds or rivers as we lack the capacity for danger.

Lack the capacity for danger? Since when?
 

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