Dusty285
Well-Known Member
I am well into my 70's; 'discovered' Aspergers a couple of years back; checked it and me out (online tests) and found my own answer to the problems I always had getting along and for my apparently very different perspective on everything. There is a very common thread in these posts (above) and I identify fully.
I never watched Star Trek for two reasons: I had a job working night shift or evening shift most of the time it played on TV; When I was a child I read sci-fi short-stories in magazines of that era and remembered the stories and recognized almost all of the Star Trek storylines as retellings with the details reworked to align with the Star Trek theme.
The point I want to express is that in spite of the characters in these stories being "Space Aliens" in appearance, they are/were all NT or Normal Humans in their thinking and motivations, etc. NT's really do not relate to or have any real ability to understand the minds of any being or creature beyond their own mindset.
I have had my own disconnect with a couple of therapists or psychiatrists. I wrote them off quickly and went my way. I did not and do not have any answers but I knew I did not want to waste my time (or money) with them. It was long after that I discovered AS.
Once I found AS: A discussion included in an online blog by a diagnosed Aspie which resonated and rocked my world followed by a (Google) search for more information and the online tests--- I have come to increasingly see me and the rest of the Autism Spectrum members as a community with quite different kinds of minds. There is a progression in this that is only barely started in my thinking and understanding.
Please allow me to set some ideas. I am not calling anyone 'animals'; it is parallels and examples. I was always afraid of dogs. There was no good reason for my fears. A couple of years before I discovered AS a friend suggested I watch "The Dog Whisperer" on TV at least some. I did. I realized how to relate to dogs. Suddenly I could interact, speak with them if you will, in ways they understood and like. Now I can approach a dog, act and interact in specific ways that they understand and like, and even with some known 'difficult' dogs I made and can make friends. It amazes me how easy it is to reach out and touch these canine minds and have them relate to me as their friend.
Cats are the same way for me except that I grew up with a big mean cat in my teen years and always understood cats. That cat, that ruled the neighborhood including the resident dogs, was my best friend and buddy. I recognized the cat mindset and values and needs and did not violate or impinge negatively on them.
It is probably just as well that I am as old as I am and mostly isolated from the world. I am deliberately (to some extent) finding that I am treating at least some people around me either experimentally or using some ways of stating things to cause reaction/interaction of kinds that I want and see that very often it is not really any different than the effects of proper approach is in influencing animals. I think it is often referred to as "Touching Buttons." It amazes me how much NT/Human thinking is programmed sequences that all have a button than can be pushed. The concern is that response packages can be started but often cannot be stopped. Or, I have not yet learned how to shut them down. Some of this can be scary.
All along the way I have experienced some or most of the emotional disconnect that is stated in most of the posts above. I always wondered why I did not feel the same intensity of emotion that the people around me seemed to feel. Or that I was evaluating the real changes in a situation while others were in a panic or blubbering tears. Thanks to all of you for making me know I am part of the group.
I never watched Star Trek for two reasons: I had a job working night shift or evening shift most of the time it played on TV; When I was a child I read sci-fi short-stories in magazines of that era and remembered the stories and recognized almost all of the Star Trek storylines as retellings with the details reworked to align with the Star Trek theme.
The point I want to express is that in spite of the characters in these stories being "Space Aliens" in appearance, they are/were all NT or Normal Humans in their thinking and motivations, etc. NT's really do not relate to or have any real ability to understand the minds of any being or creature beyond their own mindset.
I have had my own disconnect with a couple of therapists or psychiatrists. I wrote them off quickly and went my way. I did not and do not have any answers but I knew I did not want to waste my time (or money) with them. It was long after that I discovered AS.
Once I found AS: A discussion included in an online blog by a diagnosed Aspie which resonated and rocked my world followed by a (Google) search for more information and the online tests--- I have come to increasingly see me and the rest of the Autism Spectrum members as a community with quite different kinds of minds. There is a progression in this that is only barely started in my thinking and understanding.
Please allow me to set some ideas. I am not calling anyone 'animals'; it is parallels and examples. I was always afraid of dogs. There was no good reason for my fears. A couple of years before I discovered AS a friend suggested I watch "The Dog Whisperer" on TV at least some. I did. I realized how to relate to dogs. Suddenly I could interact, speak with them if you will, in ways they understood and like. Now I can approach a dog, act and interact in specific ways that they understand and like, and even with some known 'difficult' dogs I made and can make friends. It amazes me how easy it is to reach out and touch these canine minds and have them relate to me as their friend.
Cats are the same way for me except that I grew up with a big mean cat in my teen years and always understood cats. That cat, that ruled the neighborhood including the resident dogs, was my best friend and buddy. I recognized the cat mindset and values and needs and did not violate or impinge negatively on them.
It is probably just as well that I am as old as I am and mostly isolated from the world. I am deliberately (to some extent) finding that I am treating at least some people around me either experimentally or using some ways of stating things to cause reaction/interaction of kinds that I want and see that very often it is not really any different than the effects of proper approach is in influencing animals. I think it is often referred to as "Touching Buttons." It amazes me how much NT/Human thinking is programmed sequences that all have a button than can be pushed. The concern is that response packages can be started but often cannot be stopped. Or, I have not yet learned how to shut them down. Some of this can be scary.
All along the way I have experienced some or most of the emotional disconnect that is stated in most of the posts above. I always wondered why I did not feel the same intensity of emotion that the people around me seemed to feel. Or that I was evaluating the real changes in a situation while others were in a panic or blubbering tears. Thanks to all of you for making me know I am part of the group.
