• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Is this a "me" thing, or an ASD thing?

?

. . .

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
Use this thread if you're unsure if something you do is a "me" thing (i.e. - a quirk of yours that isn't very prevalent in most people) or something related to your ASD.

I know that I often think of things I do and think "is this a me thing, or is it attributed to my ASD?" Now whenever I think of something, I can post to this thread (and so can you, obviously). :)
 
Last edited:
Great idea for a thread. If I think of something, I'll be sure to post it in here.
 
Sorry but may I ask what difference it makes? Everyone is supposed to be an individual & therefore will have quirks. Some may be accepted & some may not but I don't understand why it matters if it's AS or not. Just wondering!
 
BruceCM said:
Sorry but may I ask what difference it makes? Everyone is supposed to be an individual & therefore will have quirks. Some may be accepted & some may not but I don't understand why it matters if it's AS or not. Just wondering!
Click to expand...

It's for peace of mind, mostly. People like to be able to relate to others. Back when I never knew that I had an ASD, I felt a strong feeling of "differentness". Once I realized that I could relate to lots of people, I felt much better about myself.

Also, if people happen to have problems that they think are ASD-related, they can ask fellow aspies if they know how to deal with them.
 
At first I was referred to a specialist because I could see and hear things that other people refused to believe were there. They thought I had a mental disorder. Now it turns out I may have an ASD (I'm currently going through the process of being diagnosed), it all makes sense. Does anyone else experience this? And how do you know if the things you are hearing are actually real or not, if no-one else can hear them?
 
Can you give an example of the sort of things that you hear?

When I worked at a pizza store there was a beep that would go off whenever the front door was opened. After a couple of months I began hearing the beeping when there wasn't anyone at the front. I would be in the back talking to a co-worker and stop mid conversation and walk to the front of the store all prepared to take someone's order but find an empty lobby. My entire time working there no other employees had the same problem.
 
SimplyDifferent said:
Does anyone else experience this? And how do you know if the things you are hearing are actually real or not, if no-one else can hear them?
Click to expand...

Oh, yes!!! I have gotten pretty good at either keeping my mouth shut about it, or being able to directly explain what it is and pointing it out to people. Some examples, I constantly hear a beep around my house that I know from experience is one of the neighbors' fire alarms needing its battery changed...I can also hear conversations taking place blocks away, and hear the person on the cell phone that the person across the room is talking to...I can generally use it to my advantage by hearing useful information that people are trying to keep from me, but it also lends itself to her insults that people think I can't hear...I try to think of the positive on the last one, that at least they are trying to protect my feelings by whispering.
 
Does anyone else have a history of thinking differently from other people as far as academics go? For instance, my elementary school used Hooked on Phonics to teach the students how to read, but I didn't understand. I got taught at home, and quickly caught on how to read and write. I began to write mini "books" even. Then I remember in my math courses my teachers telling me how I solved the problem wasn't correct, but it was unique. I couldn't learn the material unless it was explained in a certain way I could comprehend. In English literature, the way I interpreted the text was wayyy off, but once again I told it was an interesting way to approach it. The more I think about all of this, the more I feel dumb instead of merely different.
 
My "is it me or is it AS" question is, my tendency to take things personally that can't possibly have anything to do with me. If a post doesn't get responses, that means it was stupid and I shouldn't have bothered posting it, nobody cares, I should just crawl back into my hole. If my cat doesn't feel like snuggling, there you see, even cats hate me. If someone suffers a tragedy, it is my fault because I didn't pray for them. Etc.
 
I can relate to the learning differently. I used to solve complex equations "graphically" rather than doing a step by step solution, I would draw something that represented the problem, and then I could see the answer. I had some teachers who found it interesting, but still wanted me to show work, and others who just gave me an F even though I had the correct solution. In 12th grade a teacher asked me to be in her advanced physics class. The prerequisites were Algebra 2 and calculus, I had barely passed pre-algebra and had spent most of my years in learning disabilities classes for math. I had been in her class the year before, taking physical science to make up for the biology course I had failed. (bad teacher) I ended up doing all right, and could understand most of what she taught, even if I couldn't do the math. And sometimes my novel approaches helped us solve the problem (it was a group based class) My class mates (all honor roll students) resented me, thought I was getting a free ride. I did fail a lot of tests, but she would have me build models, or write a paper to make it up. She loved that I drew everything, she used to have me draw out my solutions on the chalk board, she also taught me how to take notes visually by diagramming thoughts and ideas, they call it mind-mapping now. My notebooks were filled with indecipherable diagrams and drawings, but she would look over them and say "Aha! I see you made the connection between this and that". Somehow she could see that I just did it another way, and that despite my very low grades I had a good mind. I was so close to failing all my other courses, and wanted to drop out, I kept going to school for that one class. I think if I had more teachers like her I might could have gone on to make science a career.
 
I work just a few blocks from my place, 3/4 days a week. It's the only time I leave my flat, where I live, very happily, alone. As I walk to work, though, I always try to take the route with the less probability of meeting people. I mean, any people - if there's a group of three, four people ahead, I'll cross the street, i.e. I know at work I'll have to put up with all the noise and social interaction I've perfect to emulate through years of constant practice and self-regulation (saying things I don't mean, asking questions I don't care about for the sake of it), even if some days are harder (I get from cranky, unrested, snappy, sometimes with physical reactions - short of breath, fidgety, headache, muscular tension). When I get home, is heaven. The silence, the control I have over my routine, my things. Still get really pissed off if neighbors have loud music or slam doors, but still, I couldn't be happier, on my own.
 
redkmkz said:
I work just a few blocks from my place, 3/4 days a week. It's the only time I leave my flat, where I live, very happily, alone. As I walk to work, though, I always try to take the route with the less probability of meeting people. I mean, any people - if there's a group of three, four people ahead, I'll cross the street, i.e. I know at work I'll have to put up with all the noise and social interaction I've perfect to emulate through years of constant practice and self-regulation (saying things I don't mean, asking questions I don't care about for the sake of it), even if some days are harder (I get from cranky, unrested, snappy, sometimes with physical reactions - short of breath, fidgety, headache, muscular tension). When I get home, is heaven. The silence, the control I have over my routine, my things. Still get really pissed off if neighbors have loud music or slam doors, but still, I couldn't be happier, on my own.
Click to expand...

I can relate to that a lot. I work at home now. But I go to the gym every morning, and my girlfriend and I will go out on weekends. Still I'm never as comfortable as at home. I don't like meeting people on the streets, but I won't avoid it. I also hope I don't ever have to work in a company/office since I'm not willing to emulate anything. My place is paradise to me too. I'll listen to my atmospherical music, eat as early as I want and, most importantly, I won't have to listen to anyone's voice.
 
Pedro said:
I can relate to that a lot. I work at home now. But I go to the gym every morning, and my girlfriend and I will go out on weekends. Still I'm never as comfortable as at home. I don't like meeting people on the streets, but I won't avoid it. I also hope I don't ever have to work in a company/office since I'm not willing to emulate anything. My place is paradise to me too. I'll listen to my atmospherical music, eat as early as I want and, most importantly, I won't have to listen to anyone's voice.
Click to expand...

Do you mind me asking you what you do for work at home? Is it an online job?

To work at home for a living would be paradise. The only online "jobs" I know of are just freelancing jobs which only make you a small side-income.
 
Tropicalcows said:
Does anyone else have a history of thinking differently from other people as far as academics go? For instance, my elementary school used Hooked on Phonics to teach the students how to read, but I didn't understand. I got taught at home, and quickly caught on how to read and write. I began to write mini "books" even. Then I remember in my math courses my teachers telling me how I solved the problem wasn't correct, but it was unique. I couldn't learn the material unless it was explained in a certain way I could comprehend. In English literature, the way I interpreted the text was wayyy off, but once again I told it was an interesting way to approach it. The more I think about all of this, the more I feel dumb instead of merely different.
Click to expand...

Yes, my experiences are similar. I was so slow picking up reading when I was in the first grade that the teacher insisted that I get assessed for mental retardation - she thought I belonged in a special school. And yet when reading finally "clicked" for me I started reading at almost an adult level right away. By 2nd grade I was assessed as the #1 reader in the whole year.

It tends to be the same at work (IT, I worked as a programmer for nearly 20 years). I approach problem solving totally different to other people. Other people tell me that they have never seen someone approach problem solving in the same way that I do. I also get almost no benefit out of the sort of training courses that I have been on.
 
I talk to myself A LOT!!! Like I know there's no one there to hear me but I do it anyway. There's really no point to it, especially when they're jokes, but I do it.
No one laughs at my jokes anyways so I may as well have no audience.:)
Is that an aspie thing?
 
Withnail88 said:
I talk to myself A LOT!!! Like I know there's no one there to hear me but I do it anyway. There's really no point to it, especially when they're jokes, but I do it.
No one laughs at my jokes anyways so I may as well have no audience.:)
Is that an aspie thing?
Click to expand...
I do this a lot without noticing. I try to stop whenever i catch myself though, scared of being caught.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom