ASDs and having connection to animals and nature?

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I have always felt a special connection to animals, maybe even more so than I do to people. Do any of you feel the same way? I feel this connection with all animals, but none more than I feel it with horses. Horses are absolutely my passion and I have never met a horse I didn't like. I even work directly with the management and conservation of feral horses for my summer job and I'm great at what I do. Does anyone else feel a special connection with horses? I also always feel better when I'm outside in nature. I feel calmer and happier when I go outside. I'm drawn to anything that helps preserve nature, I'm not radical about it like some are though. Does anyone else feel better in the natural world? Just curious.

I definitely feel like I can connect much more with my dog then I ever could with a human child. Sure, I want to have children someday, but I know my asperger's will probably cause me not to see them as "special" as a NT father would.

Animals love unconditionally; it is this lack of judgement that leads many to favor animals over people. My cat doesn't scoff at me when the color of my clothing doesn't fit on some predetermined "color chart."

Personally, I feel much more at peace in nature than in the unnatural "man-made world." While the artificial smells, sights, sounds, tastes, and textures overwhelm my senses, natural sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures, even if they are as "strong" as the artificial stimuli, do not irritate me as much.

It seems like they can pick up when people are really sensitive to everything and they enjoy it. That's always been my experience. If I leave the animal alone, it will end up loving all over me and sitting or laying on me. I enjoy nature and the outdoors a lot, personally. The same happens with children. Children tend to like me a lot.

I've always felt more connected to animals than to people. My pets are family, and I'm drawn to other animals as well, as well as to nature in general. I was lucky to grow up in a household that always had pets, and we also camped a lot and took road trips.

I'm most drawn to cats.

Completely natural settings appeal to me as well, being away from man-made things, although that seems pretty much impossible these days, and I haven't had the chance to get away in a long time.

@Kinme Children seem to be drawn to me as well which is ok because I love kids. Actually my first experience with anyone on the autism spectrum, this was before I was diagnosed, was a little boy with moderate-severe autism. He had never met or seen me in his life and the minute he saw me he gave me the biggest smile, made direct eye contact, and gave me the biggest hug ever. His mom said he had never shown that much affection or interaction with anyone before. All he wanted the rest of the day was me to play with him and hold him.

Absolutely! I have always had an absolute trust and love of animals. This is the first place I ever lived where I had a state park like Paynes Prairie within bus distance. Paynes has wild horses, buffalo, alligators and more!
What makes it so cool is the trails allow you to get as close to them as you want.
On a good day you could walk the La Chua trail and count 50 or more gators most just casually walking right past you!

I know what an animal is thinking way easier than what a person is thinking,they don't lie. Or deceive you.I live in the woods and I have found that if you are quiet and still and don't look directly into their eyes they will let you get really close and learn to trust you.it's not good to stare directly at their eyes because they think you are a predator.in the wild if something is staring at you it usually means it wants to eat you,or fight,or breed.these are not usually desirable.I too feel more peace in the outdoors.I could never live in a noisy,smelly,busy city.my pet iguana was my best friend,sadly he just died and I miss him terribly.I know that some people will think I'm a kook but I really loved him and I also liked him more than most people I know.

Nature has always been a safe haven for me, a place away from all the madness. I agree with Misslizard, I think animals have a lot to give us to compensate for the distrust that keeps us away from other human beings. I'm currently living on the edge of the city, near a protected national park, an looking forward to getting a place in nature where I'll be able to get a dog and ideally a horse. I absolutely love horses!

I feel closer to my dog than anything else, he will never judge me on my clothes or habits and he doesn't run away when my stims are at their worse... I can look at his eyes and am comfortable to do so, I like hugging him aswell

I saw a t-shirt once that said "The more people I meet, the more I love my dog". I think this is the smartest thing I've ever heard. As long as I feed him, snuggle him, and occasionally "drop" something from my plate for him every now and then, I am the center of my little dog's world. He likes my husband and our boys, but makes it clear beyond a doubt that he is my dog. I've never been this close to a pet before, and it's really neat. even if I'm late feeding him or when I go away to work for 2 days, he still loves me unconditionally. I rescued him from a puppy mill as a valentines gift from my husband and he is a smart little dog so he realizes I saved him. Or maybe just that I need him more...

Animal nature is one of my interests. Their intuition is simply impressive. They can tell which humans are approachable and who they can avoid. And I'm not even talking about cats and dogs.

In my neighborhood are several sea gulls, crows, robins, whippoorwills, and starlings. They must be used to be because when I walk near them they barely move away. I wouldn't be surprised if I could get one of those crows to eat out of my hand.

I feel more connected to my dog, than I do any person. My dog is my best friend. I also like it out where my parents live, because they're out in the country and there's lots of animals around. I've also enjoyed camping as well, because I enjoy nature and wild animals as well.

I've always felt more connected to animals than to people, I can read them better, and they appreciate me unconditionally. I love horses too, and took riding lessons when I was younger, unfortunately I had to stop eventually because it became too expensive, but it was one of the most fun things I've ever left the house for. As far as house pets go, I'm far more drawn to cats than to dogs because of their energy level. I love my dog Mousse to bits, but he's so wound up all the time that I can't keep up with him. My cat Molly is far more my pace, lying on my lap while I try to work on my computer, batting at bits of string I dangle for her without demanding that I wrestle with her. I used to have a little yellow budgie named Jinx. He was pretty much wild when I got him, never having been handled by humans at all, but after months of patience, stillness, and a lot of millet seed, I managed to coax him onto my finger. The day I got him to sit on my shoulder was one of the most rewarding I had.