What are your strongest AS traits? What are your weakest?

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My strongest and most obvious traits are probably:

1. My unusual obsessions, imagination, and love for categories
2. My tendency to interrupt people and try to dominate a
conversation.
3. My black-and-white thinking.
4. My tendency to not warm up to either work or fun activities
that were not planned.
5. My problems with multitasking.

My weakest are probably:

1. Sensory issues
-I have some sensory habits such as clicking my pencil, rubbing my hair, and I have some issues like getting overwhelmed when trying to pay attention to more than one person and noticing sounds that others don't notice - but I don't find too much difficulty with a large crowd making a lot of noise.

2. Social life - I actually have a good number of friends in different circles.


When I was young, issues such as eye contact, invading personal space, and several other things were a much bigger deal than they are now.

Can you have AS and have a good social life and less obvious sensory issues?

When you say "black and white thinking" do you refer to "right vs. wrong" or your mental images actually appearing in black and white?


As far as my traits go, I personally find that my physical sensitivity is my strongest trait, I truly despise the fell of anything against my skin, bright lights, sounds at certain frequencies, and many odors. ..

Well, just thinking in terms of extremes - sometimes missing figures of speech - sometimes not taking people's emotions into account.

Example:

"For immigration, the U.S. should build a HUGE fence that keeps drug dealers and terrorists out, but open a few small doors and let everyone else just come on in after a three hour registration"

Stuff like that - I tend to make decisions like that. But it is tough to not see decisions as a choice between two extremes.

Does anyone else have this issue?

Wanted to keep this topic going.

strongest: lack of social intuition

weakest: sensory issues

Okay - so there is someone else here who can be in a noisy room (I can do it if I am not trying to talk to everyone at once).

Under that way of thinking, I am the same. I often completely miss on people's emotions, and figures of speech, though often with the speech, I catch on to what they're saying, but just don't care and take it in a literal fashion.

This is what affects me the most, i.e., what inhibits me subjectively:

Narrow and focused interest: it's better now due to medication, but I still have trouble absorbing anything that's not in relation to said interest (I cannot learn anything but the single interest)
Sensory difficulties: people and their manmade environment overwhelms me, the more people, sounds, sights, smells, the quicker I become overwhelmed
Rituals/routine: I need a ritual to do most things, i.e., everything I do I do in the same way, and if I deviate from such, I become extremely uncomfortable. I don't like unfamiliar environments

Not too bad:

Verbal impairment: I have good speech, and given the right circumstances, I can talk adequately
"Stimming" [to alleviate anxiety]: I don't do this much, and even though I constantly sway when I stand, it's barely noticeable

Strongest:
-obsessions
-black and white thinking
-love of analysis, evaluating, categorizing

Moderate:
-sensory issues
-poor social skills, for the most part limited to group socializing
-stims/poor posture

Weakest:
-ability to achieve intimacy (I have had several successful relationships, including one currently)

Strongest:

Good memory
Good vocabulary
Good organizational skills
Tendency to research a subject thoroughly
Love of animals

Weakest:

Social awkwardness
Clumsiness
Anxiety

I definitely have this issue. I either think something is the best thing since sliced bread, or I drop it like a hot potato. It tends to manifest itself most in my life habits... for instance, I have had eating issues my whole life where I will go through long periods of micromanagement with my food - calorie counting, no sweets or fast food, etc. - followed by long periods of totally letting go (downing pints of Ben and Jerry's all the time, eating whole pizzas, etc.).

On the other hand, as far as opinion goes, within the last couple of years, after getting into Eastern thought, I have come to be apathetic on many issues where I actually see both sides and don't believe either side is "right" or "wrong." For instance, I have no real opinion on abortion. Abortion should clearly be avoided whenever possible in my opinion. Does that mean it should be illegal? I have no idea. But the opinions I do have tend to be very strong (movies are either great or not worth my time, etc.).

Strongest:
Resistance to change, adherence to routine
Intense, narrow interests
Difficulties with (and little interest in) human interaction
Various forms of stimming

Weakest:
Sensory issues
Eye contact
Recognising facial expressions
Understanding implied meaning

Last edited by Icheb on 15 Apr 2008, 10:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

When I was a Kid:

Strongest:
Stimming
Literal Thinking & Facial Recognition
Socializing
Sensory Seeking ( diving down stairs, crawling full force into doors/walls.... fun times)


Weakest:
Sensory Issues*
Vestibular Issues

These Days:

Strongest:
Little Bit of stimming
Socializing

Weakest:
Sensory Issues ( never really changed)
Literal Thinking

Most of the Weakest today i still have problems with, just learned to cognitively counter them.

*I could never stand the vacuum cleaner, always plugged my ears. Still do, unless im the one using it. Also, Dishwashers are evil.

Strongest and most obvious traits:

1. Sensory issues...from the smells I inhale, the clothes I wear, and the noises around me...I definately have issues.
2. Social life...I really don't have one.
3. Unable to multi-task.
4. Problems with displaying emotions...or just displaying the wrong emotion.
5. Collecting junk.
6. Need for routine.
7. Clumsy.

My weakest are probably:

1. Lack of empathy.
2. For the most part I get jokes, and have a sense of humor.
3. Stimming...I stim, but I've found ways that are less obvious over the years...I think.
4. Fairly good at facial expression.
5. Varied interests...too many of them.
6. I'm okay with eye contact and can interact with people on a pretty normal level...just not for extended periods of time or when I don't feel well.

I'm digging out the DSM-IV for this, because otherwise I'm not sure what constitute "AS traits".

1. marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviours - Yes, I usually don't make eye contact and people often find me difficult to read.

2. failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level - This used to be the case but as I went through secondary school I began to be friendly with more or less all of the guys and a few of the girls.

3. a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests or achievements with other people - Again, this was more present when I was younger. As I grew older my interests became steadily more "common".

4. lack of social or emotional reciprocity - My mother told me that when I was a child she was afraid that I would never love her. I suppose what was more accurate was that I didn't tend to be aware of my surroundings, not even of her absence. Again, this is a characteristic that mostly faded after childhood.

5. encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus - Yes, though these preoccupations grew to appear steadily more normal as I grew older.

6. apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals - Yes, I don't like when my ritual or routine is disturbed and find it hard to "fix" my routine after it has been interrupted.

7. stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (eg: hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements) - I can bend my fingers back to my wrist due to persistent fidgeting as a child. This isn't so apparent now, but I still have my nervous tics.

8. persistent preoccupation with parts of objects - This doesn't ring any bells.

Strongest:
- Not being able to read body language/facial expressions well.
- Lack of eye contact.
- Intimacy issues and making the first move.
- And of course, most non-verbal cues are lost on me.
- Way too over-alalytical.

Weakest:
- Sensory issues.
- Stimming.
- Lack of social life, I happen to have one.
- Small talk.