Help my correct my misconceptions of AS

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Please humor me for a bit. I've recently become interested, okay, I admit, obsessed with thinking of an comprehensive list of ways that AS would likely affect a person. Perhaps this would be useful if say, I sat down to explain the nuances of AS to someone for an extended period of time or if I were to evaluate whether this shy girl in my class were on the spectrum. Or say I were discussing AS with a social worker who works with people on the spectrum and wanted to help with their own misconceptions. Since this is quite long, feel free to just skim certain sections and tell me how I may be misinformed there. Also let me know what I haven't covered that is important in relation to AS.

These are simply traits that an aspie would more likely have compared to a 'pure' neurotypical. Yes, I realize that stereotypes are silly but reflection into them has definitely helped me understand myself a lot better as AS does dictate a lot of my own behaviors and thoughts and I feel I'd be better equipped to deal with life having known the fullest breadth of knowledge as possible. This pertains to higher functioning autism, or 'mild' autism, however that is defined. An aspie doesn't need to have all, or even most of these traits. However, they will have many of these traits in different degrees on a sliding scale.

These are my own conceptions as to how autism is likely to influence an individual. Example statement: Aspies are more likely to be asexual. If 2% of the general population is asexual and 20% of aspies are, then this holds true, irregardless of the fact that 80% of aspies aren't asexual. (numbers are fictional). Similarly, we have to be careful to not ascribe traits that frequently appear in anyone as aspie specific traits. Some of these conclusions I have no idea how I got to and my understanding of the world in general is very shallow and poor. Please assist.

I use autism/aspie interchangeably in reference to higher functioning members of the spectrum.

General influences: Autism drives individuals for various reasons, away from the mainstream. Sometimes this could approach a contrarian line of thinking even if its much less plausible than a mainstream idea. For example, if there is a huge wave of people pushing for drug decriminalization and a large number of people who propose that marijuana is harmless and simply demonized by the government and large corporations, an aspie may grow more wary and suspicious of marijuana as a potential harmful agent due to the sheer amount of positivity toward the drug. Or in another case, it may lend sympathy - for example, though an aspie may have no love for beings such as Hitler, they may seriously question the fairness in how his legacy is interpreted and be interested in finding out all the positive aspects of his reign. This also manifests in more simple ways, such as non mainstream/indie music, games, books. Sometimes a shift away from mainstream is due to practicality, because of weak social ability; hence we like to avoid parties, clubs and enjoy solace.

For whatever reason, higher functioning aspies often have a very large vocabulary. Some may even approach hyperlexic. This may be due to not being afraid to sound pedantic on a forum like WP, or a penchant for reading books, or simply reveling in the ability to use language when they have the time to carefully compose a message rather than verbalizing it. Also interesting is to note that higher functioning aspies tend to have rather high IQ scores; the median being perhaps in excess of 130. This however is often not an accurate reflection of their overall intelligence; their achievement quotient is often far lower. Self reporting and online tests further muck the results.

A humorous over simplification of the spectrum is that it is a combination of ADHD, depression, social anxiety, sensory processing issues, OCD and Tourette's.

Origin: Autism is purely genetic. Different combinations of genes will lead to a different manifestation of autism while maintaining an overarching cohesive set of changes, hence the large spectrum. With more research in the future autism may be subdivided more accurately. Neurological abnormalities caused by non genetic factors, say various chemicals administered to an infant that cause traits similar to autism is not autism, though it could create and worsen traits that would make a pre-existing case of autism appear greater in severity.

Cure: Though there is no 'cure' for autism, its symptoms can be dealt with and worked on. Many aspies later on in life blend in and you can't tell them apart from an NT in any method. I'd also like opinions, facts about the efficacy of diets/nutrition/removal of certain ingredients from diets that may or may not have helped you.

Prevalence: 0.5-2.5% of global population. A wide range is given due to differences in strictness of diagnostic criteria and definitions. In this case we'll include classic autism and aspergers. An upper range of 2.5% is given due to potential inability to get a professional diagnosis (financial issues, lack of psychiatric services..) and a lower range of 0.5% in the case that autism is over diagnosed and other mental irregularities are lumped in with autism when it is something else entirely.

Appearance: Most aspies care less about their appearance than a NT would. That doesn't preclude them from developing a fashion sense, though they have more difficulty fitting in or 'finding their style'. I'd think that aspies are less likely to use hair hairspray/gel, makeup, highlights, tattoos, have lots of bling accessories...

It is also humorous to note that Alex Plank likes to paint the face of autism as girls attractive enough to be models (hell, even more attractive if you factor in photoshop used on models). Then again, it is equally vexing that of the few pictures/videos I've seen of female aspies on this forum hasn't really convinced me otherwise...

Speech: Speech can be pendantic as aspies often have large vocabularies. Aspies may need to spend a significant amount of time preparing what to say in order to not trip over words. I personally find that I almost always will trip anyhow during delivery and then will be confused of what my original idea was to begin with.

Aspies may speak with a staccato rhythm, as it takes all their processing ability to verbalize their thoughts. They may slow down in an extended train of thought as they can only pre-prepare so much before they must actively think up of the next words on the spot. I think this is a reason why eye contact is difficult for aspies. When it takes all of their processing ability to A) actually listen and process the words of their partner B) then think of a reply, they may have no processing power to simultaneously 'see' as sight also takes up so much processing power. Even if their eyes are open, heck even if facing the speaker, they may not have the ability to register minute changes in facial expression. This could be a reason why reading the body language of others, gauging how they feel – these skills may never develop as there is simply no way to practice them. As a result, multiple social skills will be crippled.

Aspies are sometimes monotone. They are more likely to mumble and not enunciate properly; as they can hear themselves but may not realize others can't properly discern his words. They may lack inflection and or add too much; or be completely unaware of what they're doing with their inflection. They may have issues with voice modulation and can speak too loud or softly when not called for.

Another issue is that aspies may not understand/have a firm grasp on irony, sarcasm, oxymorons, figures of speech and the like and will process them literally. This can lead to a lot of confusion in communication. This differs to the situation where an aspies understands the concepts and may not know the definition of an uncommonly used acronym or idiom.

Finally aspies tend to focus heavily on their interests and can drone on for hours, oblivious to an ever waning interest (many people would like to hear a cursory view of your interest, but not have an in-depth dissection). They can also go off on heavy tangents. Wording and phrasing isn't as concise as it can be; to do so would require much preparation beforehand.

Other social quirks:
general eye contact
processing delays of speech (It takes all your effort to listen to others, process what they say and think of a reply. It may take so much of your focus that you can't even watch them and analyze body language)
processing delays of text (this might be just me. I used to be a very quick & avid reader, but after I was 12, somehow I lost all interest in reading and became more severely ADHD and ritualistic). Now I read both slowly and uncarefully, while constantly needing to circle back and re-read passages.
Anxiety in general social situations. (This pertains to when roles are in place ahead of time and in reference to people you do not have to see on a constant basis/can control how often you see them. Ex. A cashier at a grocery or a bank teller. You can do whatever you want, wear whatever you want and a social faux paus doesn't carry heavy penalties; you can just avoid them in the future).
Anxiety in friendship scenarios. (This pertains to people who are not your close friends that you see on a frequent basis for an extended period of time. Ie. Classmates, co-workers. You can't just yolo and piss them off or you'll need to constantly deal with them and alienation. You need to be much more careful. Worst off is in relationships; with all sorts of social handicaps this is a minefield.)
breaking the ice in conversations
carrying on conversations, finding subjects to keep it going
staying away from taboo topics or topics not suitable for acquaintances/the specific relationship you have with your conversational partner.
figuring the intentions of others
figuring body language of others
projecting your own intentions
projecting your own body language
projecting a positive/neutral image of yourself; it is often difficult for aspies to avoid the label of 'creepy' due to apathy, inability or otherwise failure to conform to expected social standards
freezing/mind blanking when under stress/duress
posture, how to stand
where to keep hands in conversations or in a public setting
manners in public
table etiquette


Emotion & Logic: Aspies experience emotions as anyone else. They may or may not however, perceive emotions different from NTs. They also may lack the ability to properly express their emotions, or withhold expressing emotions when they should to be socially acceptable. Aspies may also lack empathy compared to an NT. They may not understand why they should feel sorry for a starving child, perhaps an effect of perceiving the world more through logic & rationality (though it is to be noted, aspies are just as prone to being silly and irrational as anyone else. Worse, they may not realize or understand how they are irrational. However, in the GRAND scheme of things, aspies are probably, for better or worse, marginally more rational than an NT in thought). These factors contribute to both aspie and NT sentiments that aspies might not understand emotion and are cold, heartless individuals.

Thought Patterns: I can't speak for anyone else, but my own thought patterns are highly restrictive, always of the same subjects. Fantasizing of a different life, wanting to kill people, suicide ideation, serendipity in the future, theorycrafting in a game I like – most of the things I think are always the same, again and again and again. I feel like I could be much less sane than I am currently.

Interests: Aspies are extremely devoted to their interests at the expense of everything else. They may forgo or delay eating, sleeping, social interaction, work, schooling.. in pursuit of these interests. My hypothesis (not a novel hypothesis, I'm sure) is that the trifecta of motivation, the sheer time spent and neurological differences including the heavy emphasis on logical thinking is what enables aspies to achieve 'superhuman' feats, a stereotype of aspies thats commonly portrayed in the media. The intensity of the tunnel vision on these interests may fade with age and these interests may constantly change after an aspie gets bored of them. Incidentally, this is one of the things they like talking about the most and can go on forever, delving in endless tangents that branch underneath the subject.

Sexuality: Aspies are much less likely to be simply heterosexual as an NT would. Though most aspies are probably simply heterosexual, there is a glaringly large portion of aspies that are asexual (though many of these people still desire companionship and affection). There may also be a larger number of homosexual, bisexual, pansexual etc. Aspies than the general population.

Though reporting may be anecdotal, aspies are much more likely to have little or no sexual experience well into their 20s. Some aspies become permanently or indefinitely asexual after their first sexual experience if they find no taste in it.

Non-social Anxiety: I'm not sure if this is related to autism, but I feel very out of place and antsy when I'm away from home or a very familiar place/friend's house. In public areas during outings I'm always concerned for ensuring a nearby washroom and a nearby source of drinking water. This is mostly due to a very high intake of water and the fact that I need to go to the washroom a lot. I'm wondering if the frequency of having to go has to do with sensory issues reducing my threshold of being at ease.

Posture & Physical health: This one I'm really not sure of. I once heard something about autism affecting certain muscles that help you sit straight. I for one really hate sitting normally and will have my feet on the chair, back bent backwards or slouched forward.. I need help with this one for sure.

Also, is it true that aspies have reduced motor skills & hand/eye coordination? I'm slightly clumsy. Also not sure if related, I can't hold a pencil/pen in the 'proper' way.

Common comorbid disorders:

ADHD
OCD
Depression
Anxiety?

Glossary/Other

Stim/tic: A repetitive motion that is often calming and cathartic. The best giveaway is flapping hands, perhaps while bouncing up and down when in an excited state. Other examples include clearing throat constantly, scratching imaginary itches.. My own question: what are the effects of attempting to suppress stims?

Ritual: The OCD component of the AS spectrum. These can take up a very large chunk of a person's day, every single day, which can ruin lives. After discussing with my psychiatrist yesterday we realized that I had no idea that the things I were doing were even rituals. For me it was aimlessly pacing around the house while pondering philosophy/politics/how to explain autism to a layperson and aimlessly browsing the web and getting entangled in a highly stimulating loop that is difficult to break. I'd constantly look for updates/replies on WP, Facebook, Email even though it is highly unlikely that there is anything new. Common stereotypical rituals include incessant handwashing and the stacking or arrangement of objects in a very specific manner.

Hypersensitivity: As I understand it, hypersensitivity is a reduced threshold required for pain when a person is stimulated by any of the 5 primary senses (sight, sound, tactile, smell, taste). For example, a ringing phone for an NT would be loud but very bearable, but that same sound would be piercing to an aspie. Its not that an aspie perceives that sound any louder than the NT, the aspie simply as a lower tolerance and a lower threshold before pain. Too much of this for too long a period, along with social pressure can cause meltdowns. Light and sound sensitivity are particularly common. Aspies may also dislike certain textures in food, for example.

Hypersensitivity is a hallmark of AS, which while isn't present in all individuals with AS, it makes discerning whether an individual has AS more easily, as it is more quantifiable than evaluating your own social skill.

Meltdowns: A result of too much stress from environmental, social or mental pressures. An aspie will shut down, perhaps cover his eyes and lie in fetal position. Or perhaps just cover himself in a blanket to shut out the light and get a moment of respite. Other times they may break down and cry or lash out in aggression. Babies may have tantrums as they feel that the entire world is hostile. Covering eyes and lying down are also good calming measures for destressing to prevent meltdowns in the first place. Aspies may also become non-verbal in a meltdown.

Non-verbal: An inability to communicate with words, or a limitation to simplistic replies, such as one word yes/no. An aspie may be non verbal only when triggered (such as during a meltdown), non verbal nearly permanently (but retain the ability to type perfectly coherently) or selectively mute.

Re: Speech

There are a few bits I've noticed.

1. Some aspies can't filter out what is appropriate or inappropriate in conversations. As far as they're concerned, all topics are on the table. This leads to awkward meetings where too much is being revealed or the NT may become uncomfortable or even insulted.

2. Some aspies refer to themselves in the third person and/or use alternative words or pronunciations when they speak.

Wow, sounds a lot like my own conception of AS.
I usually don't read long posts, but I read through this one.

I'm curious too as to what others have to say.

Excellent. I am saving this.

I wrote this on another forum ...

Self-identifying your ASD traits may be very helpful. ASD people have different traits of varying degrees of severity, here are some more profound traits that people might speak about here, but not define for you

1. "Executive functioning" aka "Executive dysfunctioning" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_dysfunction

2. "Theory of Mind" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind
aka "Mind Blindness" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindblindness

3. "Stimming" http://autism.about.com/od/autismterms/f/stimming.htm

4."Sensory Overload" aka "Meltdown" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_overload

There are MANY positive ASD traits, however, they don't get mentioned as much in discussion here.

You may consider the less profound traits too - like adverse to socialization, adverse to eye-contact, emotionless/expressionless face ....

That's great work. I think your post is quite well written and has good coverage. Added comments in bold.

- Aspie generally are weak in central coherence which leads to weakness in organisation. From what you wrote, I think your organisation is actually quite strong.
- Rigidity in mindset, means less coverage on alternative thinking of the same topics e.g. exceptions.
- weak in adjusting to new environment or new things due to less broad skill set and interest.

[quote="kanashimoo"]



General influences: . Sometimes a shift away from mainstream is due to practicality, because of weak social ability; hence we like to avoid parties, clubs and enjoy solace.

I think above is due to weak central coherence and executive functioning rather than practicality.


Speech:

- less focus on big picture concept and overemphasis on details and specific areas.
- lack of emotion wordings. Emotions are more likely express through writing/music, etc, instead of towards people

[

Posture & Physical health: This one I'm really not sure of. I once heard something about autism affecting certain muscles that help you sit straight. I for one really hate sitting normally and will have my feet on the chair, back bent backwards or slouched forward.. I need help with this one for sure.

Also, is it true that aspies have reduced motor skills & hand/eye coordination? I'm slightly clumsy. Also not sure if related, I can't hold a pencil/pen in the 'proper' way.

- due to anxiety, aspies may developed muscle spasm, slough shouder and move in a strange way due to muscle tightness
- bad hand-writing (very obvious on writing Chinese characters) and drop things when hold chopsticks due to fine motor clumsiness.


Non-verbal learning disabilities:
e.g. recognise micro-facial expression weaker due to less frequent attention shifting.
e.g. much more difficult to learn swimming just by showing. However, with very accurate and detail verbal instructions and breakdown, same person can learn swimming 10 times faster.
missing certain abilities e.g. sense of direction, ability to tie shoe lace.

More like probably Genetics as a or a major cause rather then "Purely Genetic" . Nothing has been solidly proven.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_autism

I did not read the whole thing but something did stand out to me as incorrect.

"A humorous over simplification of the spectrum is that it is a combination of ADHD, depression, social anxiety, sensory processing issues, OCD and Tourette's. "

This is not accurate. While these are common co-morbid disorders they are not the same as the core symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders. None of those things, except sensory processing issues, are used for a diagnosis of autism. Someone could also have all those things and not be autistic at all.

I will comment more if I end up reading the whole thing later.

Some more traits on real life examples:

Impose your own judgement to override the instructions or judgement of someone with higher authorities
e.g. A summer student were told that the office dress code is shirt and tie. But the student makes the judgement himself thinking that was not necessary and wear jeans instead to work. The end result is his losing the job because of his Ego and stubbornness in not listening to others who are more senior or experienced than him.


Taking statistics and facts too seriously

Octobertiger: "Forget the statistics. I'm not a number on a chart, and you are not one, too."

Lack of Emotion Wordings during Conversation

One of the therapy session will be practising emotion wordings e.g.
"I feel helpless...because..., so I need to seek help from ..."
"I feel pressured or stressed because..., so I need to take a break"

Emotion transfered through other means than express towards people

Aspies generally expresses emotions through music, writings, arts and nature, instead of express the emotions towards people during socializing.


Too Quick to Jump into Conclusion due to Bottom up Thinking Process

The autistic mind are less flexible and narrower than most people. The autistic mind is not designed for top down, instead they derive their big picture understanding based on specific examples. This resulted in, they having a strong tendency to jump into conclusion just because of a few similar incidents they experienced personally. Also, because of their lack of exposure to people of different mindsets due to their social withdrawal, they don't have a strong feedback mechanism to correct their dyfunctional thinking.


Over Empathizes on Negativity and Personal Experiences

Those have negative upbringing background traits usually can grow out of those traits as they mature. However, with mind-blindness, Aspies had a hard time detecting the impact of their behavior on others, making maturing out of negative upbringing traits difficult. The following are some of the negative traits from upbringing:

• Tendency to compare and put down
• Quick to observe and point out other people’s mistakes and thinking doing people a favor
• Teasing people when people make mistake or being dumb
• Self-righteous and critical

IQ much higher than EQ (IQ & EQ differences more than 1.5 standard deviation)
2-tiers maturity: Intellectual maturity much more than emotion maturity and social maturity (SQ - social quotient). Sometimes people cannot notice because intellectual maturity mask emotion and social immaturity.
Non-verbal learning disability
Facial recognition response time: a few seconds slower than normal people
Attention shifting among team of people is much less frequent than normal people
Taking things and conversation literally

I just want to say what an excellent overview I think this is. I too read all the way through although my attention span is nothing to boast about.

I wonder what the experience of reading this would have been for me had I read it when I was the OP's age. I'm in the category of older undiagnosed aspies who didn't imagination their issues to be due to a recognized "syndrome" and always I understood I should just "get my act together".

I like it.

I think the example of the starving kid is not the most accurate. In autistic population the deficit is in cognitive empathy (figuring out the mental estate). Due to the starving kid is physically suffering it's easer to generate an emotional response than if the person has is mentally suffering.

In general, this is spot-on. There a few comments that do not pertain to me all, but as you said, not every aspie will display every characteristic. I do want to point out, as someone with both Asperger's and Tourette's, that a stim and a tic are not the same. Tics are not an emotional expression, and do not relieve anxiety or any other psychological need. They are physical compulsions that relieve the physical urge to perform them. If you suppress them, eventually your body will perform them without your input, much the way that your eyes will eventually blink themselves no matter how much you don't want them to. They actually cause anxiety, not relieve it!

Stims are relaxing. They are often expressions of a mental state. While they may not be completely voluntary either, they at least serve a purpose. As far as I can tell, the only purpose of my Tourette's is to give me headaches and make be dizzy and embarrassed because of excessive blinking, grimacing and eye rolling.

My opinion is that being physically healthy can make it easier to cope thus improvements in physical health can improve functioning. This does not mean diet =cure

Example:

1) NT born with autistic traits(maybe BAP but not diagnosable) and a food sensitivity grows up very aspie-like, and definitely diagnosable. Why? He/she is physically ill causing traits to be amplified. Later, this person tries an elimination type diet in which he/she eliminates the food he/she is sensitive to. Now this person is NT with some nondiagnosable traits. Does this mean this is a cure for autism? No, the person in this example was never actually autistic but had traits worsened by being sick.

2) autistic person with same food sensitivity tries same diet. Although not NT, noticed significant improvements. Why? This person cured their physical illness and can now cope better due to having increased energy and overall well being.

3) another autistic person tries the same diet and notices no changes. Why? This person does not have food sensitivities. There was no physical illness making autistic traits worse. Later this person adopts bad health habits, gains a lot of weight, and is sedentary. Now this person is functioning worse. Why? He/she is no longer at his/her physical best. He/she changes health habits to a generally healthy diet(not a special diet just a healthy one) works out, and loses weight and is physically healthy again. Functioning level returns to where it was before developing poor health habits. Why? He/she is physically healthy again and can cope better.

I'm not sure what you're using "hyperlexia" to mean but it doesn't seem right....

Hyperlexia generally refers to precocious/advanced decoding (reading) skills, but being able to decode words doesn't automatically equal being able to understand them, let alone use them. (Decoding = recognizing the sound patterns made by the letters.)

Someone with hyperlexia may have severe problems with comprehension (little/no understanding of what they read) and also with language use, regardless of whether it's written or spoken language. I was hyperlexic and learned to read when I was around 3 years old (might've been 4, couldn't have been older because I could read well before I started kindergarten), but I had language delays and my comprehension lagged so far behind my decoding abilities that I couldn't use a dictionary until I was a teenager.

Can you elaborate on such positive traits? Mark me interested.

For example, an aspie being good at their interests. I really wonder if theres anything neurologically that gives them an advantage or being skilled at something is simply the result of many hours of dedication and a lifetime of thinking using very specific ways as they can't understand their environment using emotional terms.



Hmm.. I actually have very poor organization and planning. This is the result of days/weeks of contemplation and I did spend nearly 3 hours composing and editing. I also paid little heed to grammar and also paid little thought to ensuring that my words made sense and were concise.

Weakness in adjustment to new climates and inability to comprehend the big picture - good point! My psychologist was talking about that. I recorded the session. Perhaps I should play it back.

I also do have poor handwriting be it English or Chinese characters (I'm Chinese). Can't hold chopsticks properly either; can't pick anything up with it. I see my parents picking up those oily peanuts and just wtf.

Hmm.. that heavily detailed descriptions - I'm not sure if true but definitely I do have problems copying someone by mimicing what I see. I know I do hyper focus on details and I do piss off quite a few salespeople when I ask in-depth questions that really, no one trained them on.



Interesting, I need to look into this. I definitely have the wrong definition of hyperlexia. I thought it just meant exceptionally large vocabulary. I also seem to have a huge issue in knowing the definition of 'austere', I've struggled with this a plethora of times. Something about saving money, about ugh. Living a simple life?

I think it is more that OCD seems like the Order over chaos thing Like Autistic tend to Make Order out of Chaos.

This isn't accurate. Autism as defined by the DSM doesn't require a specific cause, and people with FASD, fetal valproate syndrome and congenital rubella syndrome, as well as people with cerebellar damage in infancy can all meet the DSM criteria for autism without any genetic predisposition.