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Just wondering who many autistics are on here, and how many people are friends with them :).
If you know someone on the spectrum, would you mind telling me your relationship with them? You don't have to, I'm just interested :).
It makes sense to me. I feel the same way. And I'm noticing it more now than I ever did when I was younger. My cousin was diagnosed with aspergers though. But I'm no where near as bad as her. I feel really awkward in a lot of social settings though, and at work? Ugh... God, forget about it! It can 'sometimes' go beyond awkward. Sometimes it feels like; what the hell is happening to me? Why am I acting so shy and weird? And then I have moments where I don't seem or feel awkward at all. But I don't know. Its just complicated. I feel almost like inbetween, but not at the same time. Maybe I've read too much into it.
After reading several books on the subject I am convinced I have "high-functioning" Aspergers, and have done the usual self-profiling tests that confirm this, such as EQ.
I am one of those "don't get jokes" types, but only borderline ones (or I will see the genius behind the joke and not actually follow thru with a laugh, nor want to laugh), and I flunked the "Sarah and Sally" drama test where Sarah hides something onstage while Sally is gone, and I said that Sally will know where it's been hidden, when of course, she can't possible know, having been gone during that time (lack of empathy) - the irony being I was born with a supreme caring for the plight of others. I just can't READ their plight.
I can't "instinctively" read most body language except a sincere smile, shyness and total anger/despair, although I have learned how to read most of it since finding out I had this issue. I have had to "tune up" my own body language, such as posture, smiling, etc. to have my outward appearance match my inner feelings, because, quite frankly, what I look like on the outside is someone either bored-blase or thinking very deep thoughts - a disconnect that has caused people to totally misjudge my moods, calling me surly, bored, not interested in what they have to say, self-centered, etc., when nothing could be further from the truth. The only time they would have been correct was when I was totally angry about something, then my heart was on my sleeve so-to-speak.
Yet, this syndrome lets me concentrate for 10-12 hours on a subject without getting bored or fatigued, so if I could have chosen before birth to get not get it, I'd be ok with having gotten it rather than having been "cured".
I know 4 people who have aspergers BUT I just can't get along with them very well, so I don't talk to them much. I know, it's kind of rude but what can I do! We have things like music and tv shows in common but they're too obsessive with things and it's so hard to talk to them without getting stuck in a never-ending conversation about some trivial topic.
I have a friend with really bad autism, we both love drawing, so wen we were kids we drawed together, she opened up to me and we chat quite happily together (as long as it's about something she likes:films video games manga), but she will not chat with any one else.
I have been diagnosed with Asperger's, but I don't necessarily believe in the concept of "High Functioning Autism", or at least I don't believe that it is as prevalent as people like to think that it is.
I've known a lot of Autistic people. It seems like everybody in my life has some sort of mental disorder and Autism is a common one in my experience. A lot of the Autistic people I know are full on Autistic - speech difficulties, mental retardation etc. Not that socially awkward but intelligent woe-is-me bull-crap, but actual, serious autism.
I worked with them for a few years and they are difficult to make friends with because they seem very detached from the world and some of them can not even communicate at all. I also have a few friends with "Asperger's" but they are all just nerds and huge gamers. I know normal, undiagnosed people that are just like them, they just don't over-think things constantly like they do. So for all I know, I am normal and everyone else has Autism, or that I have massive Asperger's and as a result, I am so delusional that I think I am normal.
MINDFUCK.