are we really slow?
Well, AS does involve a delay in social skills. So technically you're slow in that area. You have to remember, though, that most people are slow at something; it doesn't make you all that unusual to have a big weakness like that.
AS doesn't involve global delay, though Kanner's might.
And then there's the weird cases in between, like mine, where you have some delay in the areas of self-care skills, matched with an unusual aptitude for learning, that doesn't fit into any category easily...
Meh. But no, AS doesn't involve being overall "slow". You will have some areas (social definitely, maybe others) where you are; but typically the autistic brain will also have some very noticeable strengths. The way we develop, we don't seem to do everything at the same level at all--some things are way faster than others.
The only time "slow" is a problem is when people expect you to do something you can't do yet. Generally if you need an accommodation, extra tutoring, etc., it'll be in those areas; because if you're slow but so is everybody else, it doesn't particularly matter because the world's structured to take that into account. It's not the actual skill level that matters, but the difference between your skill level and the mainstream.
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I'm slow. Everyone says I'm not but I think I am.
I suppose I am quite happy to talk about being slow because there are all sorts of labels/names people give you, pleasantly or unpleasantly, medical or otherwise, and I take little or no offence at most of them.
Callista - I feel like I have global delay with a few specific areas of ability in between. But I have an AS diagnosis. Either I'm HF Kanner's, or autism consists mostly of exceptions!
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- Liresse
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I wouldn't say I'm slow, more so I just spend more time thinking about my responses to people in order to cover all grounds. If it's factual data I can bring it up right away, but anything of an opinion I have to think about it first to make sure I articulate it in the right way.
For physical reactions I am quite agile. Though I find myself doing things like reaching for the bathroom lightswitch to turn it off even if I never turned it on in the first place.
Katie_WPG
Velociraptor
Joined: 7 Sep 2008
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 492
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
I've been called "slow" before, even had a job where they wanted me to make dough for their rolls. I lasted three days. It was the toughest job for me, personally, even though the people training me didn't have a problem with tasking. All I could think about was physical pain. My feet were hurting, and so was my arms and my back. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I am not cut out for that kind of work, no use decieving myself. It was too physically demanding and it was impossible for me to clean up all the flour when I was finished. I couln't live up to their meticulous standards of clean. So, the manager fired me, heh.
The key is to find your niche and work toward it. My mistake was being unfocused and thinking I could do anything. I found out quickly there are many things I am not good at despite all the brainwashing I'd recieved. If someone would have pushed me in the right direction...into something I had a genuine interest in (not rock science. Rock science, not rocket. My mom really believed I would be a geologist when I had absolutely no interest in it whatsoever and it was the most boring subject.) I would have been better off. Just find what you are interested in, realize a goal, and work toward that. Find people who will compliment you and support your efforts.
I've not been called slow, but I know I am in some areas. I am not good at thinking of quick witty replies to things - I find talking in real time (as opposed to writing, like here in a forum) quite daunting and I can often get muddled, because it's hard to focus simultaneously on what I'm saying, the act of talking, my tone of voice, how others are responding, etc. Because I can't multitask, I have to switch from one to the other, and it slows me down. And I don't process things on the spot very well when there are lots of different things going on - too much sensory information slows me down considerably.
But if I'm on my own, focusing on one thing (like doing maths problems, or reading a book, or writing something) I can be remarkably quick. And with many concepts, I can understand them instantly, without the need of an explanation. Often I get confused in lectures, because if I understand something automatically, the explanations that the lecturers give seem unnecessary and distracting.
A substitute band director that was at the school where I teach last week came in my room. We used to play music together. He told me a joke and I didn't get it (I rarely get jokes). The class was laughing at it, but I was standing there trying to figure it out.
You know, that would have bothered me in the past---but not anymore. I am the way I am and that doesn't bother me. I am autistic and proud.
The NTs may not understand those of us who are autistic, and we may not understand them either. It is a difference.
But to answer the question, yes, I have been told in subtle ways that I am sometimes slow to pick up on things.
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"My journey has just begun."
I'm just like this. Except I don't forget stuff easily.
It feels like I'm always playing catchup with the world. Something will happen, and I won't know how I feel about it until a day or a week later, by which time it's too late to do anything about it. Or when I'm reading a thread on WP, I won't know what I think about the issue being discussed straight away. Figuring out what I'm thinking takes a lot of time. It takes me longer to process stimuli than other people. Or maybe it takes the same time, but I am just dealing with so much more information that most others.
I think we perhaps seem slow because we process things in a different order to others. Perhaps.
I don't mind being called slow, even though I know that in many ways I am not slow at all. I suppose most people's opinions just don't bother me.