Hallo

[Len Huppe]

Thank you for the warm welcome and suggested reading, @LenHuppe. I haven't seen or read either book and will be sure to look out for them. I took an Aspie test only a couple months ago when a friend, familiar with Aspies, suggested that I might be one, so I'm new to ASD and have a lot of exploring to do. I was fascinated by the Swedish TV series Bron/Broen (The Bridge) with an Aspie female police detective and I share many traits with her which convinced me to take the test. I also hope to contribute meaningfully to the forums as much as I can.

When it comes to Asperger's Syndrome there is a lot to learn. I like to mention Kathy Hoopmann because her books provide a good overview. Both are great for helping friends and family to understand AS. Where you go from there is largely up to you. This community is a good resource when you have questions. Aspies face a number of challenges, and it can be very helpful to talk to other Aspies about ways to overcome them.

Thank you for your commitment to supporting this community.

 

[Domani]

Thanks for recommending books by Kathy Hoopmann, @Len Huppe. I went to Open Library.org to borrow them; they didn't have All Cats Have Asperger's but they did have All Dogs Have ADHD and I read that online. Concise and whimsical, it was a delightful read and it reminded me of the years I thought I had ADD (not quite ADHD) several years ago but I seem to have settled down now.
Is it you who likes Pink Floyd, or someone else?

 

[Domani]

@Len Huppe, I just found it again in Rotundi's introductory thread, that you like Pink Floyd and Roger Dean. I like both since the 70s, from Atom Heart Mother onward and Roger Dean from Yes album covers although I think he also did covers for other bands like Asia and Uriah Heep. I moved on to King Crimson and Stravinsky and neo-classical composers. It's a shame that Roger Waters split from PF because they're at their best together but not as good separate. Same with King Crimson; their best albums, IMHO, were from their Mk3 period, Larks, Starless and Red. Their current double line-up seems overkill to me, but that may be just me. BTW, I think I saw Gilmour walking about in Lijiang, Yunnan, China, in 2000 but was too shy to approach him.

 

[Len Huppe]

@Len Huppe, I just found it again in Rotundi's introductory thread, that you like Pink Floyd and Roger Dean. I like both since the 70s, from Atom Heart Mother onward and Roger Dean from Yes album covers although I think he also did covers for other bands like Asia and Uriah Heep. I moved on to King Crimson and Stravinsky and neo-classical composers. It's a shame that Roger Waters split from PF because they're at their best together but not as good separate. Same with King Crimson; their best albums, IMHO, were from their Mk3 period, Larks, Starless and Red. Their current double line-up seems overkill to me, but that may be just me. BTW, I think I saw Gilmour walking about in Lijiang, Yunnan, China, in 2000 but was too shy to approach him.

I have been a Pink Floyd fan since about 13yo when someone gave me a vinyl of Dark Side of the Moon. I was fortunate enough to have seen them in concert twice. Sadly Roger Waters was not with them either time. I will say that both concerts were excellent even w/out Roger Waters. I also grew up listening to Yes and that was how I came to love Roger Dean. I would listen to Fragile on headphones and be completely mesmerized by the cover art. Those were the days when I could escape into my favorite music. Of course it never hurt to have mind altering substances on hand LOL!

When Asia came out I immediately recognized the artwork of Roger Dean. And who can forget the masterpiece that is Demons and Wizards? The funny thing about that album is that it took me a while to spot the sex scene going on there. My friends had a good laugh over that one. I was introduced to King Crimson when my roommate in the Air Force had a vinyl of Court of the Crimson King. To this day I still love that album. I never really explored their music. I will check out the albums you listed. I definitely like Bill Bruford who I know left Yes and joined King Crimson. He is easily one of the most underrated drummers ever.

I like to think that my taste in music is rather diverse. I particularly like to attend concerts. Offhand I can think of quite a few bands that I have seen ... Pink Floyd, Yes, Blood Sweat & Tears, Moody Blues, Robin Trower, Foghat, The Fixx, Rush, Metalica, Godsmack, Chicago, Yanni, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, Jethro Tull ... gosh the list just goes on and on. Lots of good memories for sure. Are you a concertgoer?

I also like some classical music. I think I first learned to like classical by listening to Days of Future Past by the The Moody Blues. I also got involved with a marching band when I was taking drum lessons. I like too many classical pieces to say who my favorite composer is. I like to listen to classical suites such as Pictures at an Exhibition, Peer Gynt, The Four Seasons, Water Music and of course The Nutcracker during the holidays. I need to expand upon my collection of classical music.

Please tell me about the neo-classical composers you like.

 

[Domani]

I was 19 when DSOM came out. I had liked the earlier and more psychedelic PF, like Meddle, Obscured by Clouds and Atom Heart Mother and I liked the harder PF albums like DSOM and Wall just as much. Nobody talks about Final Cut, do they? Rather depressing album. It's really odd that Wish You Were Here could be so different and yet it's still very much the Floyd. I now listen to their PULSE CD quite often, perfect concert. I suppose Australia Pink Floyd does it as well as British PF but, well ..... In those days I was fixing up my first apartment so had no funds for the 3 post-Waters PF albums but I have them now and I think I had to have been hearing them at that time to get into them. I also recently got Rolling Stones best 4 albums (Sticky Fingers, Exile, Let It Bleed and Aftermath) and I like Led Zep up to Graffiti when I stopped buying records, so I think I really need to be listening to music when they were fresh. I didn't know the Uriah Heep album and I just had a look at the cover and I can't see any sex scene so don't feel badly.

I loved the Yes covers from Close to the Edge, the triple Yessongs, Topographic Oceans, Drama, Relayer and all the ones after. Yes used Stravinsky's Firebird Suite to open their concerts on Yessongs which got me to listen to his Rite of Spring (and the ballet which was choreographed by Nijinsky which was far ahead of his time), Ravel (esp Concerto for the Left Hand), Satie, de Falla and Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition was also done by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, there's a YouTube vid of them live, not all that good; I think Lake fared better in Crimson and Asia than in ELP). I think most drummers rate Bruford in the top 3 rock drummers although Bruford says his first love is jazz and his jazz band, Earthworks. Do you like Keith Jarrett? His Koln Concert is one of the milestones in my life. I had liked the Vivaldi you mention, but it was at a phase in my life that brings back sad memories so I don't play it now.

I'm an introvert (I only recently discovered I'm also an Aspie) so avoided crowds. The only concert I did go to was Glastonbury or Wakefield back in the 70s and I seem to remember Tangerine Dream there but I can't find any evidence of them playing in either festival.

How and when did you first think you might be an Aspie? I saw in a movie that autism might be the next step in the evolution of man. What do you think?

 

[Andrew206]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Domani]

Thank you, @Andrew206. It's nice to be here.

 

[tkcartoonist]

Welcome. I joined a few days ago myself. A lot of the traits you mentioned in your first post (hate small-talk, lies, crowds, busy people; love being on my own, writing, movies, etc) describes a lot of aspies, including myself.

 

[Len Huppe]

I was 19 when DSOM came out. I had liked the earlier and more psychedelic PF, like Meddle, Obscured by Clouds and Atom Heart Mother and I liked the harder PF albums like DSOM and Wall just as much. Nobody talks about Final Cut, do they? Rather depressing album. It's really odd that Wish You Were Here could be so different and yet it's still very much the Floyd. I now listen to their PULSE CD quite often, perfect concert. I suppose Australia Pink Floyd does it as well as British PF but, well ..... In those days I was fixing up my first apartment so had no funds for the 3 post-Waters PF albums but I have them now and I think I had to have been hearing them at that time to get into them. I also recently got Rolling Stones best 4 albums (Sticky Fingers, Exile, Let It Bleed and Aftermath) and I like Led Zep up to Graffiti when I stopped buying records, so I think I really need to be listening to music when they were fresh. I didn't know the Uriah Heep album and I just had a look at the cover and I can't see any sex scene so don't feel badly.

I loved the Yes covers from Close to the Edge, the triple Yessongs, Topographic Oceans, Drama, Relayer and all the ones after. Yes used Stravinsky's Firebird Suite to open their concerts on Yessongs which got me to listen to his Rite of Spring (and the ballet which was choreographed by Nijinsky which was far ahead of his time), Ravel (esp Concerto for the Left Hand), Satie, de Falla and Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition was also done by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, there's a YouTube vid of them live, not all that good; I think Lake fared better in Crimson and Asia than in ELP). I think most drummers rate Bruford in the top 3 rock drummers although Bruford says his first love is jazz and his jazz band, Earthworks. Do you like Keith Jarrett? His Koln Concert is one of the milestones in my life. I had liked the Vivaldi you mention, but it was at a phase in my life that brings back sad memories so I don't play it now.

I'm an introvert (I only recently discovered I'm also an Aspie) so avoided crowds. The only concert I did go to was Glastonbury or Wakefield back in the 70s and I seem to remember Tangerine Dream there but I can't find any evidence of them playing in either festival.

How and when did you first think you might be an Aspie? I saw in a movie that autism might be the next step in the evolution of man. What do you think?

I can relate to avoiding some of the music from the past. Sometimes it feels great and other times I have to hit the next button. That is probably a normal human behavior. One thing about Aspies is that we tend to feel some things with great intensity. Maybe that's why we make such powerful associations between various stages in our lives and the popular music of that same time period. I find myself searching for music from my past that I never explored. I have found some very interesting music that way. Bands like Shadowfax, Cusco, Apollo 440, Solaris, Peter Gabriel, the list goes on. Have you ever done that?

I first heard of Asperger Syndrome when my mother told me that my brother Marc has it. In January of this year I began reading The Complete Guide To Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood. I quickly realized that I was reading about myself. The correlations between what the book says and my life experiences were too numerous to be completely coincidental. Everything that I have learned in the months since then makes me even more convinced that I am an Aspie. Asperger's is the only explanation for the difficulties I have always faced in life which makes any sense to me.

I have not seen Tony Attwood's talk Is Asperger's Syndrome the Next Stage of Human Evolution? I think that its unlikely when you take into account the devastating impact that Autism has on most of the people who have it. Also, Autism is not the only example of a condition where the brain will show deficits in some areas and above average abilities in other areas. The brain seems to have the ability to adapt to damage in one area by utilizing other areas. That said I have tremendous respect for Tony Attwood's work.

 

[Domani]

Welcome. I joined a few days ago myself. A lot of the traits you mentioned in your first post (hate small-talk, lies, crowds, busy people; love being on my own, writing, movies, etc) describes a lot of aspies, including myself.

It's really nice being among like-minded friends who understand me and who I can assume are mostly genuine people. Being an aspie among NTs is frequently frustrating and I often have to filter my words and actions to the point where I wonder why I bother. Why not just be myself and let them say what they like?

 

[Domani]

I can relate to avoiding some of the music from the past. Sometimes it feels great and other times I have to hit the next button. That is probably a normal human behavior. One thing about Aspies is that we tend to feel some things with great intensity. Maybe that's why we make such powerful associations between various stages in our lives and the popular music of that same time period. I find myself searching for music from my past that I never explored. I have found some very interesting music that way. Bands like Shadowfax, Cusco, Apollo 440, Solaris, Peter Gabriel, the list goes on. Have you ever done that?

Yes, it's as if we went to the same school and sat on the same bench. If I hear Julio Iglesias now, it instantly takes me back to my arty first apartment with all my book shelves and a little cassette player on the fridge. I too look for music from the 80s that I never explored. I discovered Def Leppard and Supertramp and my niece laughed, "Look at Domani now discovering Def Leppard!"

I first heard of Asperger Syndrome when my mother told me that my brother Marc has it. In January of this year I began reading The Complete Guide To Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood. I quickly realized that I was reading about myself. The correlations between what the book says and my life experiences were too numerous to be completely coincidental. Everything that I have learned in the months since then makes me even more convinced that I am an Aspie. Asperger's is the only explanation for the difficulties I have always faced in life which makes any sense to me.

Does that mean that you discovered your own AS this year? I regret not discovering my AS much earlier as that could have saved me much frustration trying to mix with NTs and trying to explain my views. Now I simply don't bother and my stress level has gone down appreciably, lol. Chatting with other Aspies like yourself convinces me that being an Aspie is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. I wish more people were like us - genuine, honest, forthright, well-meaning.

I have not seen Tony Attwood's talk Is Asperger's Syndrome the Next Stage of Human Evolution? I think that its unlikely when you take into account the devastating impact that Autism has on most of the people who have it. Also, Autism is not the only example of a condition where the brain will show deficits in some areas and above average abilities in other areas. The brain seems to have the ability to adapt to damage in one area by utilizing other areas. That said I have tremendous respect for Tony Attwood's work.

I didn't know that Tony Atwood was the person who asked, "Is Asperger's Syndrome the Next Stage of Human Evolution?"

What a coincidence that you read his Bible and knew to point me to his talk. Frankly, his talk doesn't give any clues that we are the next step but, looking at the NTs that I know, I would choose to be an Aspie any day. Being an Aspie among NTs is frustrating but that is only because we're the minority and misunderstood. A lefty is also frustrated among right-handed people who used to burn lefties at the stake (the word 'sinister' comes from the root 'sinistral' or 'left-handed'). I'm aware that Asperger's is high up on the Autism Spectrum and high-functioning whereas many Autistics struggle to manage but I do feel that Asperger's is a gift and not a disability.

 

[Domani]

@Len Huppe You are too young to have served in the war but you said you were in the RAF so it may be of interest to you that Dame Vera Lynn passed away today, aged 103. She was also referenced in Pink Floyd's The Wall on the track, Vera.