daydreamer84
butterfly
Joined: Jul 09, 2009
Age: 28
Posts: 3303
Location: My own little world
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 Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:05 am Post subject: autistic adults- attachment to objects? |
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I've been reading a lot about ASD's lately and studies show that for ASD people who are higher functioning (especially people who are diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome) stimming and "persistent preoccupation with parts of objects" as well as attachemnt to objects and lining objects up are supposed to be transitory characteristics (i.e. we have them in childhood but they go away by adulthood...while interests, sameness, routines etc. tend to persist). Anyways I'm diagnosed with AS (although possibly should have been diagnosed PDD-NOS) and am 26 years old.........I still have sensory stims and I'm really attached to some of my stuffed animals. I make sure they are aligned in a particular way and always check to make sure they are in place, kiss them if they fall etc.  Anyone else?
Last edited by daydreamer84 on Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:39 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Verdandi
Miss Kitty Fantastico
Joined: Dec 08, 2010
Posts: 10197
Location: University of California Sunnydale (fictional location - Real location Olympia, WA)
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:09 am Post subject: |
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I am attached to quite a few objects - including a stuffed animal I bought several years ago  and other than that an article of clothing I wear a lot, glasses, a coffee mug, even my computer, and I stim regularly. I'm 41 now. |
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rabchild
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Mar 26, 2011
Age: 42
Posts: 65
Location: Seattle WA, US
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:16 am Post subject: |
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| The phrase "supposed to" bugs me. I done the same "stim" for as long as I can remember, definitely have the objects attachment, old radios in my case, and they need to be in the right places on the shelf. IF you're ok with it I don't see the problem. |
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anbuend
Oak-Type Autie
Joined: Jul 06, 2004
Age: 32
Posts: 5482
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:51 am Post subject: Re: autistic adults- attachment to objects? |
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| daydreamer84 wrote: | | I've been reading a lot about ASD's lately and studies show that for ASD people who are higher functioning (especially people who are diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome) stimming and "persistent preoccupation with objects or parts of objects" are supposed to be transitory characteristics (i.e. we have them in childhood but they go away by adulthood...while interests, sameness, routines etc. tend to persist). Anyways I'm diagnosed with AS (although possibly should have been diagnosed PDD-NOS) and am 26 years old.........I still have sensory stims and I'm really attached to some of my stuffed animals. I make sure they are aligned in a particular way and always check to make sure they are in place, kiss them if they fall etc. Anyone else? |
I've read that these things are supposed to disappear by adulthood in people who are not severely autistic, as well.
The "persistent preoccupation with parts of objects" thing is different from the attachment to objects. (It's "persistent preoccupation with parts of objects," not "persistent preoccupation with objects or parts of objects".) It's supposed to be about things like:
* Reacting only to sensory aspects of objects, rather than their intended meaning and use. For instance, pressing one's cheek to the seat of a wooden chair and rubbing the cheek over it repeatedly, rather than sitting in it.
* Reacting only to small parts of the objects rather than the whole object. For instance, spinning the wheels of a toy car rather than playing with it the usual way and making vroom vroom noises or something.
I do the first thing all the time. And I mean nearly all the time. I don't know what it is about me (and it doesn't seem true of most autistic people on these boards, from the polls I've made), but I really have trouble getting meaning out of what comes in through my senses. It takes work when I can do it at all. Most of the time, I perceive the world as a bunch of undifferentiated colors and shapes, with textures and sounds and stuff, but no actual identifying the objects until I work really hard at it. This causes me to frequently respond to sensory aspects of objects without responding to the "meaning" or identity of the object.
I would do a lot of stimming, if it weren't for a movement disorder I have that seems to actually prevent some of my stimming these days. I can still feel the stimming trying to happen somewhere in my brain, but one kind of stimming doesn't reach my body as often as it used to. On the other hand, the sort of stimming that involves my hands and fingers making odd movements, seems to still exist just as much, or almost as much. I just don't rock all the time now like I often used to. But that's actually about an autism-related movement disorder becoming more severe, not about things becoming less severe, so that's different. And as I said I still do the hand-movement stimming.
As far as attachment to objects (which is totally separate from preoccupation with parts of objects), I still have that not only just as much as ever, but more than ever. I have an old-fashioned key that a friend put on a ribbon for me, and I wear it all the time. Partly so I can feel it in my hand or rub it on my face when I need something familiar. (I hate people asking me things like "Is that the key to your heart?" though.) I feel wrong when it's away from me. And I have a lot of objects I have a similar attachment to, and that help me handle the overstimulation that comes from being in unfamiliar places, as well as just being... I don't know how to describe this either. But to me, objects seem as alive as any other person. I don't mean that I anthropomorphize them, but they each have a "personality" unique to each object, and I feel that as plain as anything else in the world. They're not human-like though, they're just very them-like, and I have a strong attachment to them. The key feels very light and friendly, for instance. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else -- I'm one of those autistic people where, rather than the way people assume that our attachments to objects and distance from people mean the world is kind of barren for us, it's more like I relate to objects just like I relate to people and the whole world is "alive" in a way that it isn't for most people.
Of course... I'm not actually classified as "high functioning" officially, so... I'm not sure if I'm a counterexample or not. But I do know lots of people considered AS or HFA who have issues similar to mine, so I'm pretty sure this stuff is common among "high functioning" people even if "experts" say otherwise. (I have to wonder exactly how they're observing these things for the studies, too. Could it simply be that people labeled "high functioning" are better at hiding these things for at least part of the time, than other people?)
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"In my world it's a place of patterns and feel. In my world it's a haven for what is real. It's my world, nobody can steal it, but people like me, we live in the shadows." -Donna Williams |
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ocdgirl123
Phoenix
Joined: Oct 11, 2010
Age: 18
Posts: 2447
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:54 am Post subject: |
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I have never had the trait.
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I fell. It didn't hurt. Big deal. |
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kfisherx
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 04, 2010
Age: 49
Posts: 1192
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:57 am Post subject: |
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I am much more attached to objects than humans. All of the realtionships (adult) that I have entered into have also ended in large part because of this. People tend to not understand this in a relationship. One of the objects of my attention/affection are computers and technology. The parts of computers, PCH, CPU, SPI, BIOS chips, all the way up to the Languages that run it. I like taking those Lauguages apart too and building them back into programs. I like solving complex problems with my pieces of knowledge and my code. I am also fascinated with my classical guitar and the music that I am learning. Each note sucks me into the paper.  Some nights I play the same measure over and over and over and over. I live this planet largely absorbed in my "things" with only occasional human/social interaction. People think that is strange but I think it is a great way to live. |
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Verdandi
Miss Kitty Fantastico
Joined: Dec 08, 2010
Posts: 10197
Location: University of California Sunnydale (fictional location - Real location Olympia, WA)
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:00 am Post subject: Re: autistic adults- attachment to objects? |
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| anbuend wrote: | | And I have a lot of objects I have a similar attachment to, and that help me handle the overstimulation that comes from being in unfamiliar places, as well as just being... I don't know how to describe this either. But to me, objects seem as alive as any other person. I don't mean that I anthropomorphize them, but they each have a "personality" unique to each object, and I feel that as plain as anything else in the world. They're not human-like though, they're just very them-like, and I have a strong attachment to them. The key feels very light and friendly, for instance. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else -- I'm one of those autistic people where, rather than the way people assume that our attachments to objects and distance from people mean the world is kind of barren for us, it's more like I relate to objects just like I relate to people and the whole world is "alive" in a way that it isn't for most people. |
This makes sense to me, or at least my own perception of objects works in a manner that seems similar to what you're saying, although I am not sure that it is as intense.
I wish I had more words today. Could use them right here right now. |
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daydreamer84
butterfly
Joined: Jul 09, 2009
Age: 28
Posts: 3303
Location: My own little world
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:37 am Post subject: Re: autistic adults- attachment to objects? |
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| anbuend wrote: | | daydreamer84 wrote: | | I've been reading a lot about ASD's lately and studies show that for ASD people who are higher functioning (especially people who are diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome) stimming and "persistent preoccupation with objects or parts of objects" are supposed to be transitory characteristics (i.e. we have them in childhood but they go away by adulthood...while interests, sameness, routines etc. tend to persist). Anyways I'm diagnosed with AS (although possibly should have been diagnosed PDD-NOS) and am 26 years old.........I still have sensory stims and I'm really attached to some of my stuffed animals. I make sure they are aligned in a particular way and always check to make sure they are in place, kiss them if they fall etc. Anyone else? |
I've read that these things are supposed to disappear by adulthood in people who are not severely autistic, as well.
The "persistent preoccupation with parts of objects" thing is different from the attachment to objects. (It's "persistent preoccupation with parts of objects," not "persistent preoccupation with objects or parts of objects".) It's supposed to be about things like:
* Reacting only to sensory aspects of objects, rather than their intended meaning and use. For instance, pressing one's cheek to the seat of a wooden chair and rubbing the cheek over it repeatedly, rather than sitting in it.
* Reacting only to small parts of the objects rather than the whole object. For instance, spinning the wheels of a toy car rather than playing with it the usual way and making vroom vroom noises or something.
I do the first thing all the time. And I mean nearly all the time. I don't know what it is about me (and it doesn't seem true of most autistic people on these boards, from the polls I've made), but I really have trouble getting meaning out of what comes in through my senses. It takes work when I can do it at all. Most of the time, I perceive the world as a bunch of undifferentiated colors and shapes, with textures and sounds and stuff, but no actual identifying the objects until I work really hard at it. This causes me to frequently respond to sensory aspects of objects without responding to the "meaning" or identity of the object.
I would do a lot of stimming, if it weren't for a movement disorder I have that seems to actually prevent some of my stimming these days. I can still feel the stimming trying to happen somewhere in my brain, but one kind of stimming doesn't reach my body as often as it used to. On the other hand, the sort of stimming that involves my hands and fingers making odd movements, seems to still exist just as much, or almost as much. I just don't rock all the time now like I often used to. But that's actually about an autism-related movement disorder becoming more severe, not about things becoming less severe, so that's different. And as I said I still do the hand-movement stimming.
As far as attachment to objects (which is totally separate from preoccupation with parts of objects), I still have that not only just as much as ever, but more than ever. I have an old-fashioned key that a friend put on a ribbon for me, and I wear it all the time. Partly so I can feel it in my hand or rub it on my face when I need something familiar. (I hate people asking me things like "Is that the key to your heart?" though.) I feel wrong when it's away from me. And I have a lot of objects I have a similar attachment to, and that help me handle the overstimulation that comes from being in unfamiliar places, as well as just being... I don't know how to describe this either. But to me, objects seem as alive as any other person. I don't mean that I anthropomorphize them, but they each have a "personality" unique to each object, and I feel that as plain as anything else in the world. They're not human-like though, they're just very them-like, and I have a strong attachment to them. The key feels very light and friendly, for instance. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else -- I'm one of those autistic people where, rather than the way people assume that our attachments to objects and distance from people mean the world is kind of barren for us, it's more like I relate to objects just like I relate to people and the whole world is "alive" in a way that it isn't for most people.
Of course... I'm not actually classified as "high functioning" officially, so... I'm not sure if I'm a counterexample or not. But I do know lots of people considered AS or HFA who have issues similar to mine, so I'm pretty sure this stuff is common among "high functioning" people even if "experts" say otherwise. (I have to wonder exactly how they're observing these things for the studies, too. Could it simply be that people labeled "high functioning" are better at hiding these things for at least part of the time, than other people?) |
Sorry I didn't realize I'll edit my original post. I think it's either mentioned as an associated characteristic in the DSM (attachment to objects) or it's just known as an associated characteristic (?). I was reading a summary of results from different studies about ASD'S that have contributed to the changes they are going to make to DSM V criteria (for ASD'S) which talked specifically about attachment to objects (in addition to preoccupation with parts of objects). The study mentioned lining up objects as well. I guess it was just grouping object related traits together. The study (a meta analysis mentioned in the summary) grouped them together so I thought they were part of the same criterion.
I feel that way about certain objects (like they are alive and have a personality) but not all. I get particularly attached to stuffed toys.
In terms of stimming I still dangle a string (or something with the same feel) in front of my face (while scrunching up my face). I can so this for hours while doing other things. I also like to watch dripping water (excessively…..I think). I'm glad you and other in HFA/AS people you know do this (not that it really matters anyway) but it made me feel left out to think only young children with AS/HFA did these things. I'm immature even for a person with PDD! It's possible that high functioning people just hide their stimming/do it in private.....but then wouldn't that come out in a diagnostic interview and in studies wouldn't they still be classified as having that characteristic? |
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anbuend
Oak-Type Autie
Joined: Jul 06, 2004
Age: 32
Posts: 5482
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:46 am Post subject: |
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Yeah attachment to objects is definitely an autistic thing, and widely written about.
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"In my world it's a place of patterns and feel. In my world it's a haven for what is real. It's my world, nobody can steal it, but people like me, we live in the shadows." -Donna Williams |
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Apple_in_my_Eye
I don't remember
Joined: May 08, 2008
Age: 44
Posts: 3947
Location: in my brain
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 2:33 am Post subject: |
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| daydreamer84 wrote: | | It's possible that high functioning people just hide their stimming/do it in private.....but then wouldn't that come out in a diagnostic interview and in studies wouldn't they still be classified as having that characteristic? |
I also wonder about that (people hiding and/or not mentioning it rather than it not happening).
Re: stim objects: On my computer desk I have a large, clear rubber ball that has a bunch of smaller, transparent, multi-colored balls floating (in water ?) inside of it. And glitter, of course. It's good for spinning (to get the internal balls circulating) and then holding up to an eye while looking toward a light source. Don't know why it's so relaxing but it is. It's kind of like kaliedoscope, but more fluid. I've tried taking video of it, but my phone has really crappy video-recording performance. Not sure if I'd have the guts to do that on an airplane or something, though. ("he's crazy!" "it's a bomb!" "won't somebody please shoot him?! Think of the children!") |
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Yensid
Lonely Ghost
Joined: Mar 19, 2008
Age: 52
Posts: 5252
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 2:53 am Post subject: |
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I have a number of collections. They give me security. I collect DVDs and books. On my computer, I have files that are 20 years old, if not older. I keep them around, because I like having them.
I have a lot of repetitive habits. I'm not sure if they are true stims, but I do have a need to do them, and I find it impossible to do without them. I have tried to get rid of them, and new ones just appear. I finally decided to live with a group of them, which are relatively harmless, and easily hidden. In general, I don't do them in public, though there are a few that I can do without attracting attention.
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"Like lonely ghosts, at a roadside cross, we stay, because we don't know where else to go." -- Orenda Fink |
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CockneyRebel
Mick Avory, Sensitive brown-eyed Sweet Pea
Joined: Jul 18, 2004
Age: 38
Posts: 87216
Location: In a quiet and peaceful garden, where gentle Mick Avory-like Sweet Peas grow.
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DemonAbyss10
The Drill That Pierces The Heavens
Joined: Aug 24, 2007
Age: 24
Posts: 2508
Location: The Poconos, Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 6:38 am Post subject: |
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My list...
My computer - Ive put so much time and money into the damn thing its like an extension of my own being.
My Guitars and music hardware.
A pillow I had since I was little (the thing is just mad comfortable and the perfect size for covering my head with.
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Myers Brigg - ISTP
Socionics - ISTx
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Yes, I do have a DeviantArt, it is at.... http://demonabyss10.deviantart.com/ |
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ruveyn
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 22, 2008
Age: 76
Posts: 29328
Location: New Jersey
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 6:51 am Post subject: |
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How would one classify NT coin or stamp collectors. Are they not attached to physical objects?
I know an NT who loves his sports car more than his kids.
ruveyn |
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wefunction
Christian Soccer Mom
Joined: Jan 05, 2011
Age: 36
Posts: 2486
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:43 am Post subject: |
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| I have been sentimental about many objects, like the post describes, but I have learned to let go. My mother was a hoarder and I hated her guilt trips for not feeling sentimental about every damned thing. I have learned that objects do not matter. I have made myself less materialistic. I think trauma makes high-functioning aspies deviate from common aspie traits. I think trauma can also throw off medical professionals who are trying to diagnosis and don't compensate the affects trauma can have on an aspie's behavior. These professionals end up confused and misdiagnosing those aspies as some other disorder. |
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