glider18's Wonderful World of Autism

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For all that helped me with advice on my back---thank you. My back is much better.

I performed music at a church this past Sunday. I played six instruments (not all at once though ) and ended on the organ. Prior to Sunday, I had asked the minister about the organ, and he replied, "It isn't a pipe organ, but yet it has pipes." Hmm, I am thinking, "Ok" . It was a fun music ministry for me, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I discussed a bit about how Asperger's/autism was a gift in my life. The people seemed quite receptive of this.

Last week I was contacted by a major organization that wants me to join them. This would include speaking to much larger audiences across an area somewhat larger than what I am doing now with the music ministry. I would still be able to use music, but this would involve more public speaking. If I accept this offer, I would still be able to do the music ministry, but it would just mean a busier schedule for me. I am not sure what to do. They have invited me to a dinner with them next week, so I guess I will decide after that. It sounds exciting, but yet I wonder too if I should try this. I would also be able to speak about how autism has positively affected my life.

In approximately a week and a half, I will have been a member of the WrongPlanet for 2 years. And I will have been officially diagnosed with Asperger's for 2 years as well.

These past 2 years have been an incredible learning experience for my family. We all understand each other better now. And my youngest son was also diagnosed with Asperger's after my diagnosis. With his IEP at school, his school experience is much better now.

I have found that knowing what it is that makes me eccentric in life to be such a bonus in my life. I know the cards that have been dealt to me in life. I know what cards work for me, and I am using them. That is my recommendation for everyone---use the cards that work for you.

Each of our experiences with autism is different than anyone else. So we have different perspectives of it. For me, I am proud to be among the autistic. Please let me explain this type of pride. It is not the arrogant pride, but the other definition of pride that simply says that a person is satisfied/content/pleased with his/her accomplishments or position in life. This is not gloating. It is not bragging. It is simply stating that I am happy with my life with autism. I feel everyone deserves the right to be happy with their life.

Knowing the cards I am playing in life allows me to work through challenges that confront me. I am currently dealing with such a challenge now---one connected to an organization/club I just joined. They specialize in social events. Why did I join? I have wondered that a bit over the past few days. But I believe that I have services I can offer them that is not a part of their socializing services. I believe this can work.

I think in pictures as many autistics do. As I get ready to fall asleep tonight (a short time from now), I will enter my fantasy world and experience through my senses this magical place. I will stroll the streets and ride my roller coasters as I have done many times in the past. I can smell the popcorn and cotton candy of the midway as I gaze upon my selection of amusement rides. I can hear the shrieks of excitement of patrons as they plummet down the 64 foot curving drop of the Spiral Dips roller coaster. I can see the colorful sights of the active midway and feel the nearby lake breeze brush against my face. Then, I can sit down and enjoy a tasteful hamburger platter at a concession stand next to a thrilling ride. Slowly, this imaginary world is becoming a reality in the form of a HO scale model in my basement. It will measure 26 feet by 26 feet when it is completed. Over 300 HO scale models have been purchased for this large project. When complete, I plan of using green screen filming technology in order to put myself on the walkways of this place---in a recorded video format.

Aut it be so topic

Glad you bumped your thread, glider18. It would have been a great sticky, but there are too many now in this forum.

Be good to your back!

It's been awhile since I have posted to my thread. A lot has happened since my last post on this thread. Two pieces of writing have been published. And they were quite accidental as I did not pursue their publication. But since focusing on autism's positives and not paying as much attention to the negatives, things have happened that are good.

At this point there are 31 pages of posts on this thread. The vast majority of you have stated you believe that autism can provide us gifts, and that you are mostly happy with autism.

Before becoming a gifted intervention specialist, I taught general level English for 19 years. One thing that was difficult for students was learning the 8 parts of speech and identifying them. I told students to think of the 8 parts of speech as tools and supplies for building a house. The noun was the lumber, the verb was a hammer, the adjective was a chisel, etc. The lumber would become the house (noun), the hammer's action would drive in the nails (verb), and the chisel would modify and shape the lumber (adjective). For the most part, students learned the parts of speech under this method.

Now...I like to think of autism in this same way. When looking at the criteria for Asperger's, we note on the DSM-IV numerous criteria that we may have. Each of those traits can be thought of as tools in the toolbox. I will focus on the criteria that I believe yields positives/gifts.

encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
This is what I call the narrow focus beam that we have in looking deeply into our special intense interests. Many of us have these patterns of interest. We can often study them to the point of being an expert. These interests can be a lot of fun for us. They can develop into lifelong hobbies. For me, I utilize my interests into my creative writing. If you do not like to write, perhaps you can think of other uses for your interests. Perhaps you can build things to sell, or design things to be patented. We can find occupations relating to our interests. There is a lot that can be done with them.

apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
I don't know about you, but I have some routines that I do not like to break. For example, I check a multitude of things in the house each morning before I leave to work. On many occasions I have discovered that my wife left the curling iron plugged in. Had it not been for my routine/ritual of checking the house, then the curling iron may have burned up something. I also make a regular habit of checking the garbage for signs of things that shouldn't have been thrown away. A few months ago I saw an envelope in our kitchen trash can. Taking it out, I found a birthday card with a 20 dollar bill in it. Our routines and rituals can be positive indeed.

persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
I will leave this one for you to add to. What can you think of that can go here? Sorry, my allergy medicine is working on me and I am getting fatigued.

Are there other things you can think of that relate to gifts and positives for autism?

I realize this thread isn't as popular as it was when I first made it, but I sometimes add to it just as a record of my thoughts and progress. So don't feel like you have to respond to it, but if you do---it will be most welcomed.

I often times feel like Asperger's makes my mind go into overdrive with all the various interests that can encompass me. As I am needing to complete a story to submit, I often sidetrack myself into playing a computer word game or into trying to solve a mystery as a way to boost my energy to finish my writing.

But last night, I put aside the compulsion to sidetrack and went straight to my writing---it worked well. I was able to make more progress on the story than I did from writing after a sidetrack.

However this morning, I sidetracked and have yet to begin working on my writing of the story. So after this post, I am getting out my laptop and working on the story.

Although Asperger's can yield many gifts, it also has some interesting challenges that I deal with. Anxiety is one of them. I have had some anxiety issues lately, but a little walk down the hallway of the school where I work can ease that a bit. When I think a lot about projects that need to be finished I can get anxiety---being anxious to finish them.

Another thing that happens is that as I write a story---I find myself contemplating different ways to present the twists that lead to the climax. I am in a little writing dilemma at the present time in choosing between two different ways to reveal the climatic surprise. Before church last Sunday (I am the church organist), before anyone arrived, I paced up and down the sanctuary thinking about these two different approaches to the climax. Finally I had to get my music ready and think about it later.

As a gift---perhaps Asperger's can give us unique ways to solve problems or think of resolutions. Perhaps our attention to detail can allow us to think incredibly in-depth about outcomes and solutions. Also as a gift is that many of us with Asperger's/autism think in pictures (I think in pictures). As I am writing my stories, I see them play out as motion pictures in my mind. I also have a narrator voice that can accompany the motion pictures to help guide what I write.

So...I am going to walk down to the office, and return to my room with lunch (I have to eat early) and write during my lunch period.

oooh I like this thread...I haven't posted on it yet.....I definitely wouldn't get as much pleasure out of watching movies intended for children like the nightmare before Christmas over and over again as an adult if I wasn’t autistic.... not would I have found researching autism nearly as all-encompassing as I do. This has turned out to be a really useful preoccupation for me at the moment as I am in my last year of university and was able to change my major to psychology around when my obsession began..........

Also as for persistent preoccupation with parts of objects...I had this only when I was a child.......but how would we get as much pleasure from the feeling of spinning the wheels of a car or rubbing something with a particular texture (such as a coat in my case) if we weren't autistic? such great joy!

I am just posting an update to my "Wonderful World of Autism" thread. My family and I just got back from our vacation. One of the things we did was take an excursion train ride through the mountains. I had booked our reservations on the train last winter. I have a hard time being in the midst of crowds---and a train ride can be pretty crowded with people all around you. So---when I booked the reservations I had learned that you could rent your own private caboose---all to yourself. So I got the caboose. My family is a lot like me in liking personal space, so the caboose was a wonderful adventure for the family. My kids enjoyed being able to move about the caboose freely. We had our own snacks and drinks and didn't have to worry about anyone around us. Whatever seat we wanted in the caboose---we could get. So---thanks to my issues with people around me due to autism, I got a private caboose that turned out to be an adventure my family will never forget---they loved it. We want to do it again.

I have begun work on a screenplay that I would love to make into an independent film---with local talent. It utilizes many of my interests. I tend to think in pictures (as many with autism do), and that I feel is a definite plus in building a screenplay. I am visualizing the scenes and putting it down on the word processor. Due to my intensity of getting into things like this, I have already accumulated around 300 HO scale models to be used in the scenery of the towns, etc.---can be used in green screen process to merge real people into the scale model town. I am having a lot of fun with this project, and whether or not anything becomes of it---I will have had a great time in life in working with it.

So...no matter the challenges that we with autism have, I feel there are things in our lives that can give us joy. We just need to find those things and enjoy them. And remember that NTs have challenges too---just like everyone on earth. All of us on earth have challenges and pleasures---autistic, NT, or whatever. My wish is that we can all find things to enjoy.

Greetings to all, I just wanted to add something to this old thread of mine. Reading over the posts I made on this thread, I have come to realize that many of us feel autism has given us gifts while others may feel it has not. Everyone has a different view on the autism in our lives. Each one of us must make up his or her own mind as to how autism has affected us. Not everyone will agree with the overall message of this thread. There are things in my life that I give credit to autism for giving me such as my special intense interests and musical talent. Each one of you may look at your life and determine if autism has given you gifts. Although I praise the gifts autism has given to me, I also acknowledge the challenges it presents in my life, and I just wanted to say this today on this post number 5679.

This is an old thread I started years ago, but felt it might offer some good to some of us. I realize it may not be for everyone, but no matter our outlook on our autism, I hope that we can all find at least something in it that is wonderful.

"Special intense interests" was a criteria for Asperger's on the old DSM-IV. I assume there's something to that effect on the DSM-V? Anyway, I assume most of us have some special interest(s). Those can be fun and magical and a great way to relieve the stresses and challenges that autism gives to us.

What are some of your special intense interests that you really enjoy?

Mine are roller coasters, mid-century modern residential architecture, and music. I used to be into magic tricks, but even though I amassed a large collection of illusions, I don't do much with them anymore. I also love writing, but regard that more as a line of work I am pursuing. But in all honesty, I probably spend more time these days working on a horror anthology and a prequel novel. I did finish the writing of a two hour musical.

I've been learning to play better golf. Those on the spectrum tend to be better at looking at things objectively, which has allowed me to get better quickly by trial and error. Most people can't do that their biases are too strong.

^^
I used to golf a lot. I wasn't very good at it, but it was fun. A bogey round was excellent for me.

Wow!
Many things I answered in the other thread are very similar to yours.
Thinking in images with a narrative voice.
The feeling that it's better to travel with fewer people on the train, or at least in private areas.
The love of music.
Even though I have remarkable listening skills and excellent reviews of classical music (even at school), this hasn't led me to learn to play at least one instrument well.
At Christmas, I was in a church in this region where, for reasons unrelated to the pleasure of being there, I listened to a German musician play the pipe organ of the city's most important church.
We were sitting in front of him, even though he was about 5 meters above me from a perspective.
The pieces were chosen primarily from Bach.
Plus the inclusion of two other composers that now escape me.
I remember he received much applause.
Mine too, honestly only for some of his performances, not for all.
But he had a capacity for communicating joy that is sometimes uncommon.
A former orchestra conductor.

The organ is fascinating.

Then in Gothic churches it resonates wonderfully, and the scenery is also fantastic.

A friend of mine with Asperger's graduated from the conservatory in half the average time.

Perhaps something unites autistic people and music.
Even sounds.

Now I tap the keys on my computer, even though I should and could simply slide my fingers, touch them.
But sound is, as it were, vital.


For me, everything is sound.


I was reading all your posts very quickly a little while ago.

I never do because if there are so many of them, they stress me out.

But yours are, like, light and pleasant to read.


My interests are numbers.

Statistics.
Observing to understand strategies.
Strategies.
I also observe the details in things.
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Reading, I realize I dated your photo incorrectly. Sorry, it's earlier than I imagined. I deduce it from your mention of a thread that hasn't been lost over time.

You write very well.

I enjoyed writing even though I have dysorthography and sometimes I correct.

Writing and drawing.

Math.

And electronics.

Although I've put all or almost all of them aside now.

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You know, I remember an old RAI TV program about Asperger's.
A girl with Asperger's sitting with friends at a bar.
In the street.
Suddenly, a light rain.
The drop falls, many fall and break up into a sort of kaleidoscopic disintegration of lights, colors, and small visual splashes as the drops crash onto the furnishings there.

I can't find it on YouTube.
It was so beautiful.
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Your presence here is interesting.

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I don't play golf.

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In Italy, it's popular among the wealthier crowd but highly regarded.

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We don't produce champions, and perhaps that's why it's not a sport people play here.

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More for the wealthy here: unfortunately, it costs a lot to join, but there are courses.

I used to follow Tiger Woods when he was younger.
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Garry Kasparov's chess matches and the challenge with Deep Blue (the challenges), including the one with Hungarian chess player Judit Polgár. She's the only woman to have beaten Garry Kasparov in an official match, winning in 2002 during the "Russia vs. Rest of the World" event.

It was funny because she copied his games and used them against him, beating him.
He did the same thing casually with world champion Magnus Carlsen.

(Even though chess isn't the most difficult game in the world.)

Nice to read you.


H.F.

^^
Thank you so much for the nice response to my post. I feel flattered.

As for the organ, I have played that instrument most of my life. I currently play vintage Hammond organs hooked up to Leslie speakers. I am a church organist.

That makes me happy that you found my posts pleasant to read. I do love to write.

I loved reading your post here. I so appreciate you taking the time to respond to it.

I look forward to communicating with you more.

Well! Wow!
I am too.
Because you always convey a sense of tranquility and excellent quality in your posts.
As well as a feeling of positivity that others don't convey here.

I mean: it always shines through in your posts.
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About the organ you described, maybe I understood.

I love Hammonds; they even changed the course of modern music.

I love hearing them played well. In church, the first thing I do is see if one exists.

You know, in Italy, there are so many, both pipe and historic. We always hope for well-done restorations, and I always donate money when I can. Some have been played for many months and years by absolute geniuses of classical music.
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The ones you use are beautiful.
They convey a sense of three-dimensional sound, and they have also made modern music history.

I've always been impressed by the pedalboards we have in churches.
The Hammonds are different.
The sound of a pipe is almost solemn, while the Hammond has a more harmonious vibrato effect.
There are breaks in the pipe.
I perceive them as long.
Sometimes I watch them tune them, if they'll let me!

Leslie made speakers; combined together, they're brilliant.
I'm no expert, but I love them and understood them perfectly by ear.
Then, due to a small accident, I lost part of this hearing ability.

Perhaps a C3?

I remember being very impressed by the fact that Sir Elton John used one of our Farfisas on one of his songs!

In Crocodile Rock 1972.
(Sometimes I find little things in other later songs like "Gloria" by Tozzi, 1979, if I'm not mistaken, or small similarities with Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting), not plagiarisms, because it's a very precise thing to evaluate.)

I noticed you use numbers too.

Your mind is similar to mine.

Very much.

I don't have your inner beauty: at least here you show so much of it!

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The Hammond's structure is wonderful.

In Italy and the UK, it was hugely successful among the innovative groups of the time.

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Then the vintage instrument has an incredible sound compared to what we hear now, and the electronic samples.
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I wish I had your expertise, but that requires a lot of work!
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I've only had immediate empathy with three people here.
All different.
I discover the third is you.

The other two forum gifts.

I don't know if one is okay.
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Sometimes I struggle to write, but not with you.
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American culture in music is an excellence that not everyone can appreciate, and it's valuable in all genres.
Thank you!

^^
The model I use at church is one my mother bought for me, a Hammond E-143 with a Leslie 125. I have two Hammonds at home, one is a 1956 C3 hooked up to a Hammond speaker cabinet, the other is a 1961 A-102 with a 1957 Leslie 25H.

I also have a Kimball 500, a Lowrey Genie, and three Farfisas, one is the Compact Duo with two manuals and pedal board. The Farfisas need restored. I also have a new Vox Continental.

Like you, I am not sold on samples of keyboards. I always tried to use the real thing.

I used to tour with a music group. That's how I got a bad back -- the heavy equipment and loading it on the cargo bays of the bus. I often put my keyboards in my bunk ( I had a top bunk on the bus), so it was a lot of lifting. I used a Moog Minimoog and an ARP Omni. The Omni quit working, and I got an ARP Solina String Ensemble (a sound I am fascinated with). Although we had roadies who would set up the equipment, I always liked to handle my own equipment. One time I allowed my stuff to be set up, and it was live television show. As the director was giving the countdown to air time, I looked down at the floor and discovered my speaker cord lying in the middle of the studio floor not plugged into the sound board in the control room. It was too late to do anything about it. I had to tell them to plug it in on the commercial break.

You've got me reminiscing now. We had three busses. And the oldest one we used for parts to repair the two busses we traveled in. That oldest one had been James Brown's first bus. We left his name on it. And it was used for parts. I could throw up now thinking about that. That should've been put in a museum. We just didn't think anything about it at the time. Today I would never let that happen. That was a piece of rock and roll history.

Thank you for the kind post. Don't worry about your writing, you write incredibly well. I can tell you proofread yours -- which might make me look bad. I am bad on forums for not proofreading as I should.

Hi!
Sorry I only had time to read your detailed post.
You're hyper-precise about the technical part.
I'll give you a brief answer now, then I'll try to respond better!
Great! When I describe James Brown to you because he's a genius (even if he's no longer physically present on our planet).
I've always followed him, unfortunately only through original footage.
And on TV, in unique shows in Italy at least twice, including one very well-produced one, by a host who is now very elderly.
People haven't quite grasped the exceptional nature of James Brown; they are unique artists in the world.
He was also very physical, making some of his shows incredible.
The ones at the Olympia in Paris and in Bologna come to mind.
When he performs a very delicate Bobby Hebb song, "Sunny."
He completely overwhelms it!
But he does it in his own unique way: he brings it to life, he shapes it with his movements and voice, he makes it "out of the ordinary." The show is perhaps from 1970, the Paris one is exceptional. I hope the French restored the images.
On DOC, RAI TV channel 2, he sang several songs from his fantastic repertoire.
Of course, a bus, which was James Brown's first vehicle, should be kept indoors, perhaps even a small museum of the history of modern music because it's iconic.
Restorations are essential.
In Italy, we have excellent restorers of pipe organs, of countless musical instruments, and of absolute works of art.
I think that when we don't pay attention to these things, we lose something we'll never find again.

Everything has a specific context, a time, a place, a life of its own.
Some time ago, I saw an incredible collection owned by a hematologist.
He had a sort of small museum of musical instruments from around the world.
I was struck by the fact that there wasn't a speck of dust in the room where they were kept.
I absolutely wish I could see them...unfortunately, I had to leave, but luckily I managed to dedicate an hour to this!

I'm sorry you were hurt, I understand why I can see the scene in my mind as I read the post.

About the cable they hadn't connected, from what you explained in your description of your meticulousness, you couldn't help but notice, but they left it out.
I was reminded of some live music videos, in which the musicians mention that everything isn't in order for similar reasons.

I got online very late; it's 2:22 in the morning, and I have an early visit tomorrow (today, actually!)!

As for the technical aspects, I couldn't mentally identify some instruments, while others I can!
Thank you for allowing me to devote myself to watching old videos of Hammonds and Leslie amplifiers.
They're wonderful.
In Italy, some would have won an award for their creation.
The Compasso d'Oro Award is an important recognition awarded by the Association for Industrial Design with the aim of recognizing and promoting the quality of Italian design. It is the oldest and most prestigious industrial design award in the world.

The sounds those instruments give us are unique.
I love them.
I remain fascinated by the sounds of the past.
They cannot be reproduced in any modern way.
When the old CDs came out, I bought them all.
I spent eight hours listening to what I had bought!
I didn't even realize that so much time had passed.

Regarding the bus and the spare parts used for the other two, you weren't aware of that then.
Don't regret it.
We have that mental transition in common.
Moreover, he seemed to belong to an alien world to us. Like Hendrix and some artists: they are unrepeatable.

Then the music changed so much.

As for my writing, I often tend to make mistakes, even in languages ​​I should know very well. English is understandable to me if I have to read it, but I'm not that good at writing.

You're so straightforward.

Excellent.
2:35 am!

HF