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Aspergers traits

walkerbretm

walkerbretm

Active Member
To often I have focused on the negatives of Aspergers. I want to try and look at the positives. How have all of you been able to use your specific Aspie traits to your benefit? I have recently learned I have Aspergers and realize that some of the things that make me good at my job may be related to my aspergers. I am a correctional officer in a prison. I am hyper sensitive to hearing. Helps hear what is being said and done. Also I notice everything again a good thing in my line of work. What about you?
 
Well, I've always had a talent for immaculate grammar and spelling, at least in English. I can't turn it off. I've only known about my autism for a few years in comparison, but I suppose my "typo-sniping" could be considered an Aspie trait.

Currently, I'm working two internships and both involve a lot of writing. :D
 
I work with data which can be quite boring but I think I have a high tolerance for it because of my Aspergers. Also, I can see patterns in the data and spot when things are not quite right. I also get to do a lot of problem solving.
 
See Spinning Compass for some of the positives I have. In addition, I have been given an amazing gift with numbers.
 
I'm now part of a new Australian organisation called "I Can" that's trying to get people to define autism in terms of strengths, not weaknesses.

Personally, I've found that my blunt honesty makes it much easier to be unashamedly straightforward with people when I need to be. Also, the strongly linguistic wiring of my brain makes it much easier for me to learn and discuss different languages and dialects. Plus, I have something of an encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to movies, which comes in handy for many people who know me.
 
Christian T said:
I'm now part of a new Australian organisation called "I Can" that's trying to get people to define autism in terms of strengths, not weaknesses
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Defining strengths while being on the spectrum seems more useful. Too bad there's not a lot of that, but rather support and treatment to strengthen weaknesses, which doesn't really underline strengths and talents. People tend to be become more average/bland rather than excelling in certain fields. But making people feel useful in fields they're good at seems to be more expensive than to marginally strengthen weaknesses just to serve a certain standard.
 
Christian T said:
I'm now part of a new Australian organisation called "I Can" that's trying to get people to define autism in terms of strengths, not weaknesses.

This sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing!


As for two of our characteristics that can be strengths. 1. Is Aspies self- criticalness, 2. Our intense ability to hyper-focus.
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Without AS, I most certainly wouldn't be in the job that I am now - I work in IT Networking Security and without my diverse problem solving skills and out of the box thinking I just wouldn't have been as successful.

One of the most proud things I have is that I left school with nothing (literally, fail grades) and now I'm doing so much more than the people I went to school with. Bully's at school that shot me down are now not doing much with there lives.
 
walkerbretm said:
To often I have focused on the negatives of Aspergers. I want to try and look at the positives. How have all of you been able to use your specific Aspie traits to your benefit? I have recently learned I have Aspergers and realize that some of the things that make me good at my job may be related to my aspergers. I am a correctional officer in a prison. I am hyper sensitive to hearing. Helps hear what is being said and done. Also I notice everything again a good thing in my line of work. What about you?
Click to expand...
walkerbretm said:
To often I have focused on the negatives of Aspergers. I want to try and look at the positives. How have all of you been able to use your specific Aspie traits to your benefit? I have recently learned I have Aspergers and realize that some of the things that make me good at my job may be related to my aspergers. I am a correctional officer in a prison. I am hyper sensitive to hearing. Helps hear what is being said and done. Also I notice everything again a good thing in my line of work. What about you?
Click to expand...

You're a corrections officer? I had been thinking of becoming one too, but I wasn't sure if an aspie interacting with criminals daily was a good idea or not. I was debating between becoming a cop or a CO. How has your experience been? Do you like the work? Any tips?
 
I am a corrections officer. First let me say I am a corrections officer in Iowa. The experience of a corrections officer would be very very different in states like California. I find a job to be very rewarding. I also find it very easy to adjust to. In prison there is an established hierarchy and way of doing things. This not only applies to staff but also to inmates. There is rules they must follow. When they break the rules there are consequences. Due to the established internal society among inmates it is easy for me to identify behavior and patterns. Even in the mental health areas I find it to be rather easy. When a mental health patient is having a meltdown there is no reasoning with him. All you can hope to do is appeal to his primal instincts such as survival. For me it is much easier two get along with the inmates then what I thought ever would be. due to the internal rules in the somewhat us versus them dynamic I find it to be rather easy.
 
Ok the survival comment needs explained. I do not threaten or attempt to make someone feel there life is in danger. I do try to put them into situations where they don't or can't think, but rather force them to react. Their reactions are more or less predictable based on primal or instinctive responses.
 
walkerbretm said:
The experience of a corrections officer would be very very different in states like California.
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Interesting comment. I'm just curious as to what gives you this perception. The sociology of the convicts, or the protocols of corrections officers? Or both? Just wondering. I went to school with a fair number of CJ majors, some of which likely chose to become California corrections officers.
 
Actually I was fortunate enough to work with a lieutenant that had spent over 20 years in the CA super max system. He was very informative. I think there are several reasons for the difference. The gang population in CA is I think one of the biggest. Another is the size of the system. In CA they have 8000 people on transport each day. That is about the size of our whole system. As for protocol. CA has us beat as well. The one thing inmates excel at is lawsuits. They do know the court system. Through litigation CA has adopted many rules and the rest of the nation sort of follows suit. Lastly, allow me to toot our horn a bit. We are top 5 in rehabilitation. Our offender recidivism rate is one of the best in the nation. Other states look to model us in this area.
 
walkerbretm said:
Actually I was fortunate enough to work with a lieutenant that had spent over 20 years in the CA super max system. He was very informative. I think there are several reasons for the difference. The gang population in CA is I think one of the biggest. Another is the size of the system. In CA they have 8000 people on transport each day. That is about the size of our whole system. As for protocol. CA has us beat as well. The one thing inmates excel at is lawsuits. They do know the court system. Through litigation CA has adopted many rules and the rest of the nation sort of follows suit. Lastly, allow me to toot our horn a bit. We are top 5 in rehabilitation. Our offender recidivism rate is one of the best in the nation. Other states look to model us in this area.
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Ahh...so in Iowa you don't have those dynamics of groups (in large numbers) like the Crips, Bloods, Nuestra Family, EME, Black Guerilla Family, Aryan Brotherhood, Cosa Nostra, etc., etc.. Stands to reason, although it continually concerns me to hear about the spread of such organizations into other states. Different logistics across a broad scale. Different fiscal considerations as well. California strikes me as being spread too thin on too many levels.

Yes, definitely California is one state I would neither want to be a con or a guard!
 
We have them to a degree. Most of them imported from Chicago, but it functions. For instance it is not uncommon to see a man tattooed with the whole white pride ensemble playing cards and hanging out with a gangster disciple who is of course African American. We have the groups but there is a peace for the most part.
 
One thing for sure, such a job has disciplined routine. That's got to be quite a comfort zone for most Aspies despite the inherent risk factors.
 
walkerbretm said:
I really enjoy it. I work overnights. Very routine based, little interaction with people.
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Nice. I've never had a job that wasn't dynamic or didn't involve contact with people until I became my own boss. I must admit, it gives me peace of mind I didn't have with other types of employment.
 
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