Forgetting other people, are people?
I expect this to be common, almost definitively, among all people with an ASD at a varying degree, but I just wanted to express this occurrence I suppose. I think it is one of the traits that causes me to do the worst in social situations. Often, almost inherently; without realizing it, I categorize people based on what their position is and what they do, and treat them almost like machines meant to give me information or perform a task. I think the best examples are my teachers at school. Often I treat them like a search engine I think. I ask them question after question, relevant to the topic they teach or I'm learning by myself, and don't really think of whether or not they are capable of answering the questions, if they have something else they must do, or if they are in the mood to answer it. Also I seem to have this barrier in which I only ask questions I believe are relevant to the subject material they teach, although not necessarily limited to what is being taught. I really don't understand that they would like to talk about something other than math, science, english, etc. Although I do notice that their conversations with other students are quite different in terms of content. I think I forget they are human beings, and sometimes I'm disappointed when they don't understand me or if they haven't got an answer to my question, which at the time I believe they should be able to provide me with one. I think while they enjoy that I ask questions, I somewhat test their frustration with the amount of resources and mental energy they spend on me. I don't ever realize this until afterwards, when I think about the situation again. Then I almost obsess over not doing this, but that affects my happiness, or some other emotion similar to happiness I can't describe, because I don't think happiness fits the feeling I have. This isn't limited to instructors or teachers though, often if I am at a store, performing a task, or if I know a person has a particular interest or expertise, I will dedicate my entire conversation to getting the task I require accomplished or to discuss their interest, which I believe isn't of the same nature as the interest of somebody with Asperger's. They are interested in that topic, but they don't like to talk about it all the time. I wrongfully assume they want to talk about it, and they are too dishonestly kind to tell me that they don't want to talk about it anymore, even though they like the topic. I find this quite difficult to comprehend. Often I think I'm on the right path in terms of social progression as well. I think "Oh well I found out their interest, now social interaction should be easy, we can talk about what they like" but no that isn't how it works apparently.
So I'm interested to know how others, who have this way of thinking, have found an equilibrium in which they aren't too demanding to others and are capable of not being so "selfish" in real-time conversations. I just can't help it. Either I don't notice it, or if I do notice I can't really control my behavior without ending the interaction entirely. Worst of all, after thinking about it alone I can recognize my mistakes, but for some reason I don't retain and fix them in real social events afterwards. Every situation seems different at the time, but after reflection they are are all the same.
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Your Aspie score: 157 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 47 of 200
You scored 112 aloof, 112 rigid and 115 pragmatic
Why don't you try prefacing all your conversations with a question about how they are feeling? Ask them if they have the time or if they could answer some questions for you before you ask them. Let them know "This won't take long" if you only have a couple of questions, or say, "this might take some time" if you are anticipating a long discussion. If you do this beforehand, they will be prepared mentally for what you have in mind. If it is taking a long time, ask them "Is this taking too long?" or "Am I keeping you from something?" This will acknowledge that you are concerned about how they feel and respect that they are people. At the same time they will probably respond with either "No that's ok, I'm listening" or "Yes, I really need to get to 'this' or 'that." They might suggest another time when you can talk about it in detail, or you can ask them for their email so that maybe you can communicate your questions this way.
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My whole life has been an exercise in original thinking. While I was looking in vain for the answers in books, I found them within myself.
