I'm looking for an autist to help me

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I'm schizophrenia which symptoms include awkward behavior flat affect and delusions. I've learned how to fake affect, how to handle conflict situations and social rules which helps with the awkward behavior but I cant stop talking about my "delusions". Although I do it in a socially acceptable manner its still annoying to the people around me and I want to learn how to fake normal social discourse. Are there any autists who are currently learning this or are very good at it and would be willing to teach me. When I was learning how to handle myself socially I found it helped to help other people who weren't as good as I was yet at whatever I was learning. The difference between Schizos and autists is that schizos are exceptionally good at reading social cues, which is part of what leads to the illusions which create so called delusions. So I can try to explain social cues to you though I dont know how.

I don't know that I'm good at this, but I try to focus on whether the other person is interested in what I'm saying and, if in doubt, look for what they ARE interested in. That seems to help some, focusing on the conversation being something that needs turn taking in order to be successful or satisfying.

I don't have a problem with that. I need to learn how to articulate shallow things.

I'm not sure delusions rise out of being too good at reading social cues...

I think a common strategy for autistic people is "scripting". We learn a set of social scripts to say in certain situations so we can keep improvisation to a minimum. The quality of an autistic person's socialising then depends on their range and use of scripts, with improvisation skill being secondary (and there's more positive feedback from the scripts than there would be if everything was improvised). I have a friend with about three rigid scripts for most social situations, and conversations with him are so dull. Personally I can handle myself quite well day-to-day, but drop me in a new social situation and I'm a total fish out of water.

Hehe, maybe not but it's certainly a component. I've read articles that say the brain activity in schizophrenics for empathy or social reading is overactive.

I'm mostly interested in improvising since I'm best at that, so now I'm wondering how you make the scripts so that I can try to make scripts on the spot. Thank you for trying to help me, this is really helpful.

We can't help you with this over the internet.
You need to be face-to-face with your helper.

I've known a couple schizophrenics (as acquaintances) and no offense, but they freaked me out. One was on meds and his doctor went on vacation and he was up s##t creek dealing with having to go cold turkey. which was scary to watch. I had to remove myself from the situation.

I grew up in an angry, irrational, and hierarchically arrogant family, so I can't take wild, or irrational behaviors. They literally freak me out, like a wasp in my car when I'n driving. Freak out and drive off a cliff.

Hope you find a teacher

I rarely act irrational after I learned the rules but I'm afraid I'm still arrogant, hierarcical, angry and irrational at the core.

That's the thing about "scripts" you can't make them up on the spot, you train yourself the script well before the interaction. You may find scripts that you can recycle though and use "on the spot" in a later interaction.

An example script would be, say I'm going to the grocery store and am going to have to talk a bit with the cashier. I'd
make a mental list of the possible greetings I'd get: "How are you?" "Did you find everything ok?", etc. I'd then think out my response to said questions and make a list of follow up questions I may get. "Do you have our storebrand discount card?" "Would you like to get said card?" "Would you like ice as well?" "Is there anything else I can help you with?". Then make a list of appropriate responses to said questions and continue. Scripts are basically having the conversation with yourself before the actual conversation takes place.

The benefits are: 1. They give confidence-- you've had the positive conversation in your head already, now you just need to act it out. 2. You'll have answers to questions immediately so you don't have to stop and think, which is equated by most people as being slow and dumb. 3. They're calming, being prepared for a variety of responses alleviates the stress of the "unknown".

The downside to them ties in to point 3 of the benefits-- scripts don't always work. Sometimes the conversation goes in a completely different direction than the script was built for and then there's unknowns all over the place.

Well, first-of-all, I agree with The_Walrus in that, you have to make scripts----and, you accomplish that, mostly, IMO, by observing others. Another idea might be to get a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left side, write a social "thing" (ie. what to do when someone says: "Nice weather, we're having, huh?"); then, on the right side, write the response (ie. "Yeah, I'm really looking forward, to summer!")----stuff, like that. Then, when you've listed, say, at least, 10----and, your responses----just study them every day, so that they just pop in your mind, automatically.

Here's some ideas:

1. See above.

2. "Hey, how 'bout those Mariners, huh?" (If you're in another country, substitute with YOUR country's sports team.) Your response could be (because you've kept-up with pop-culture----even in the most minimal way, just so you are prepared, for this----and, because you said you're good at reading social cues, and will be able to tell whether the person's facial expression / tone-of-voice is negative or positive): "I didn't get to see the game----but, I heard it was EXCELLENT!" (See, by reading / listening to the mornings top news stories, you knew who the Mariners [or, whomever, in your country] WERE----AND, by saying "I didn't see the game", you're cutting-off them asking your opinion about it----BUT, you sounded interested / engaging, in what THEY were saying / interested-in----and, that's, pretty much, all anybody wants, anyway.)

3. "Seen any good movies, lately?"; "Nah, I'm not really that into movies..... How 'bout, YOU----seen anything, really good, lately?" (One never knows----they might mention a movie about robots, or something, and because YOU like them [JUST an example----I obviously don't know what you like], it opens-up a conversation----even though you didn't see the movie.)

4. "Man, I can't remember the last time I had enough money to go-out, to eat!"; "Oh, man----that's a bummer----I can relate----what types of food, do you like to eat?" (This lets the person know you heard them, and also shows you're giving something of yourself, BACK to them.)

5. "OMG, these people are makin' me so sick, I'm about to PUKE!"; (chuckle) "Yeah, I know what you mean----they're not ALL bad, though----at least, I like that they speak their mind----that way, I don't ever have to wonder, where I stand." (Again, you heard the person, are engaging----AND, you might get them to come-down, a little bit, from, possibly, going-off on a tangent, or whatever.)

ALL of these situations may vary, depending on your country----maybe, for instance, there are some things that you've never heard people talk-about, where you are----you have to write on your paper, the most common things you've heard people say, at YOUR location, and then write things that YOU think, will be good responses. Suggestion: Write them, in PENCIL!! LOL

As for your learning to stop talking-about your delusions: I equate this to us ASDers talking, often too much, about our "special interests", and you just have to realize that NO ONE is going to think like YOU do----or, at least, very, VERY rarely! A good rule, for you, might be to just wait until you hear someone else mention something, in that regard, to which you can relate / of which you have the same opinion, etc.

Good Luck!!

Anyone wanna chat about being social on skype (just text) ?

Lion2zion,

I'd give you facetime on skype if I could,
but I have an old lo aptop that I put puppy linux on , that's how poor I am. I'm surprized I was able to figure out how to use linux in the first place. Well, it's free and I thank the programmers who devised it. Without it I'd be sitting in a dark room, staring at a wall, going mad.

You have to be a master programmer to make skype work on linux. Lotsa shell-code you gotta divine somehow.