Does anyone else with ASD think that silence is beautiful?

[Samuel]

As all of you on here probably know, it is extremely common for people on the autism spectrum to be very quiet and anti social the majority of the time. I'm not saying that's a bad thing nor am i saying that all people on the spectrum are like that, i'm just saying that it's a lot more common than it is uncommon.

I have ASD myself and i've always been the quiet kid in school, i always keep to myself and i have only a few friends. I both love and hate being a quiet person at the same time. For example, i hate not being able to interact and have conversations with people in the natural way neurotypicals can and i often feel jelous and depressed because of it, but i've latley learned to appreciate my quietness because a lot of neurotypical's are loud and annoying anyway so i've learned to use my lack of verbal communication to escape from the overwhelmingly crazy and confusing neurotypical world. Because of this, i think silence is absolutely beautiful.

For any autistic people who are also quiet, do you feel the same way i do about silence or what is your prospective on it?

 

[Joel's Hear]

Noise is fine if I feel I have sufficient space around me and am a bit relaxed. Noise can be hellacious if I also feel closed in. Complete silence to me is miserable in many cases. Right now, the rain is falling beautifully and the friendly baby is crying in the thankful distance

 

[Mia]

Yes, I want absolute quiet most days. The only way to achieve it is to submerge myself in water. Then I'm calm.

 

[RiverSong]

I love silence when I'm around people. Especially when I'm tired and don't have the energy for putting up with small talk. Silence is wonderful. But I don't like the room I'm in to be totally silent if I'm doing something, like being on the computer, cleaning, reading, etc. In that case, I like to listen to music. Or I turn on the tv just to have background chatter. With the tv, it's like having people there talking without having to interact with anyone. Unless an annoying commercial comes on and I end up making snarky comments at it.

 

[pjcnet]

I often like quiet when I'm on my own, in fact I struggle to cope with certain noises, especially loud bass from others when I'm at home, even a passing car blasting music really winds me up. I also struggle with busy noisy places and like many autistic people I'd much prefer quiet. My favourite quiet is actually sitting listening for possible alleged paranormal activity in total darkness believe it or not, I started in 1996, but the influx of unprofessional "ghost hunters", fake or very unprofessional public "ghost hunt" groups and fake or grossly exaggerated TV shows has put me off in recent years.

There's other times where I can't stay quiet however when I have an uncontrollable urge to speak that builds up inside me wanting to explode if I don't release it, sometimes I'm told I go on and can't keep quiet and it can wind up others, especially if they're trying to watch TV or a movie. Sometimes even when I'm alone I speak to myself so I'm not totally quiet, but it's nice that I've now got a cat to talk to who I get on with better than any human being.

 

[Panthro]

I prefer silence as background noise bothers me. One thing that I have been doing is listening to white noise as a means of drowning out background noise, particularly when i'm trying to read or work.

 

[OlLiE]

yes, shhhhh

 

[SusanLR]

I prefer silence as background noise bothers me. One thing that I have been doing is listening to white noise as a means of drowning out background noise, particularly when i'm trying to read or work.

I could sleep well to that too.
Almost makes me think of rain.
Due to tinitus, I don't like total quiet.
Not much for having the TV on either.
I prefer the white noise or soft ambient sounds that really don't have words or tunes.
Put this on a big screen TV when I'm working around in the house.
The colours and shapes are relaxing to watch. Lie down and zzzzz...

 

[Progster]

Yes, I'm not particularly talkative and don't generally speak unless I have something to say. I don't consider not talking to be anti-social, though.

I generally like peace, quiet, to be left alone. However, I also like music a lot, so am usually playing some music of some sort, and if I don't have music on, I'm playing music in my head. My head is never silent! I need some quiet, alone time every day, but if there were complete silence (a thing which is not actually possible, because there is always something to be heard), I'd seek stimulation of some sort after a while.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Realy weird.
I love silence yes, because when all of the sudden I can shut all the ambiant noises its realy calming.

PRB is that It doesnt last very long, Soon enought my head will be full of thoughts.
I have some moments also when I completey zone out for few minutes and there I am silent buts its pretty rare.

Most of the time I listen to music has it help me not thinking.

 

[Gracey]

Silence can be exquisite.

Of course it’s never completely silent, if I can’t hear my own carotid artery, I can hear my breathing, or swallowing.

A huge reduction in extraneous noise can be most welcome at times.

 

[Ezra]

Silence is golden.

 

[WildCat]

Silence is golden.

No joke, I was going to post this...beat me to the punch here

Yes, there are those moments where the only thing I want to hear is the sound of my heart beating, lest I go insane and erupt like a volcano. Silence is definitely golden for these trying times.

 

[Mia]

I've found that when I'm tired in the evenings, noise actually causes a slight disruption or effect that startles me. It a slight reaction in the brain, that is much like you feel when being woken up by a noise, although not as extreme.

 

[Tom]

Its like light and darkness. Each is good in its time, because of the other.

 

[Observant]

I enjoy silence, especially on warm summer nights where it feels like someone with a warm blanket coming behind me and wraps it around my body.

Several years ago there was a blackout in my town. I could see everyone outside with flashlights and talking amongst themselves -- the conversations were hilarious. A lot of them thought that it might be a terrorist attack, others were talking about their faith in Jesus, but I was so comfortable that I decided to leave my apartment complex and walk around in the moonlight just to soak everything in. I felt like that moment was mine. I could see a coyote crossing the road and hear the clacking of its claws on the asphalt. The stars weren't as beautiful as they are when you got out into the desert, but I still admired them.

I really do live for those moments of silence and darkness -- they're good companions.

 

[Nihil]

Silence helps the brain juices.