Weird Abilities And St00f.

[Emor]

What weird abilities do you have 'cause of your AS? I think I have some 'cause of my AS tbh.
They're mainly visual I think.
Like I can look at certain images and instantly know how to make them in Photoshop, and can go home and then redo the picture. Like, just certain techniques and stuff. I love walking around the school at break and stuff looking at other people's bags and their logos and figuring out how the designers made the logos in Photoshop.
A rather new ability is that when I'm looking at a sheet, I start coding the page in HTML... it's hard to explain really... And it's the same with when the teacher is writing stuff on the white board... I start seeing the white board like it was a webpage and it's source code... but not seeing :S?
And then there's this thing which I've had for around a year now. I keep seeing random images popping up in my head. I've usually seen them before. Like yesterday, I was in bed and then I saw a still images of someone willingly drowning in a bath tub :S? And then there was another time while I was in the shower and I saw a still image from an advert I saw years ago on Cube Worlds or w.e... I mean. There's hundreds of examples. And they're being more frequent. It used to be once every month if that but now it's usually one-three times a day :|. And sometimes it's not even things I've seen before. One time I kept on seeing guys with masks, still images, in locations I'd never seen before, with different types of weather, etc. And sometimes they're amazing conceptual images which I honestly hadn't thought anything about or contributed to consciously. One of my favourite ones which I can so clearly while typing this is where there's a desert, and then you can see some road which is then cut-off, and on the end of the road is a red-cushioned stool and a gun. I know that's sort of depressing, but imo it's still awesome... There's other more disturbing images that randomly flashed in my head about death but I don't want to right them down. And then there's other images which are just plain weird, but I still have never seen before. And then there's the hundreds of ones I've seen which when I saw them I knew instantly how to create in Photoshop.
The latter is probably the most awesome ability. I don't know if it's indicative of psychosis but I know that they're not real and stuff. But I don'y have much control over when I see them. It's annoying when I see a sad image and I'm happy, but usually they don't get me that down anyway because I'm weird and images about death send me into some sort of euphoric way.
But yeah.
Can anyone relate to the flashing images thing? Or know what it is?
And I actually genuinely do want to hear other people's experiences.
EMZ=]

 

[mikkyh]

I can look at a number plate for a second and read the number back exactly without having to look back it again.

Also, I have very strong sense of smell. Though this can be a bastard...smelling horrible **** when nobody else does.

And heading. I like hearing the door go when nobody else does (INCLUDING my dog!!!)

 

[Emor]

I have a reasonably good memory for numbers.
At Curry's I had to check all the stock's pricing most days and I got it done pretty quickly 'cause I could remember like 5 product codes in one go and shizzle.
Probably the only time I've used it in a practical context. LOL.
But the memory for numbers has come at cost. I used to be able to remember every single IM message I got and received and could have an MSN conversation with someone and then repeat it all word for word, or occasionally slip up and say 'bad' instead of 'terrible' or w.e and only forget things like numbers or stuff I didn't understand.
I also sometimes randomly remembered entire scripts :S. I remember after watching Sponebob Squarepants the movie and the DVD player dying I started to repeat the entire script... it was like a 4 hour journey and I was bored LOL.
But now I can't do that .
My memories a lot worse . And for the most part I have a terrible short term memory now. .
EMZ=]

 

[mikkyh]

I have a reasonably good memory for numbers.
At Curry's I had to check all the stock's pricing most days and I got it done pretty quickly 'cause I could remember like 5 product codes in one go and shizzle.
Probably the only time I've used it in a practical context. LOL.
But the memory for numbers has come at cost. I used to be able to remember every single IM message I got and received and could have an MSN conversation with someone and then repeat it all word for word, or occasionally slip up and say 'bad' instead of 'terrible' or w.e and only forget things like numbers or stuff I didn't understand.
I also sometimes randomly remembered entire scripts :S. I remember after watching Sponebob Squarepants the movie and the DVD player dying I started to repeat the entire script... it was like a 4 hour journey and I was bored LOL.
But now I can't do that .
My memories a lot worse . And for the most part I have a terrible short term memory now. .
EMZ=]

My memory seems to have gone tits up since I started getting depressed.

 

[142857]

I can't relate to the flashing images thing at all. The important thing is that you know that they are not real. I think if there was psychosis involved they would be harder to distinguish from your conscious reality. But I'm not an expert or even close to it - get a professional opinion if it worries you. It does sound very cool though.

Most of my "special abilities" have faded a little over time. I guess that is a good thing because it means that the less positive aspects of AS/HFA have diminished at least as much.

Until mobile phones became popular I used to be able to hear a phone number (8 digit), close my eyes and repeat it to myself, and then be able to repeat it back any time over the next few weeks. It was annoying because my friends knew about it and they used to get me to remember phone numbers for them. I'd struggle with it now, might have to repeat the number to myself 2 or 3 times to remember it.

Memorising chunks of text or long poems was dead easy for me in my mid to late teens. Also formulas, dates, stuff like that. This meant that I didn't need to do much, if any, preparation or study for exams. Not good, it made me lazy and I never developed any sort of study habits or organizational skills.

As a teenager I could remember every mark I got in every subject in every exam right from year 7 through year 12. I wasn't a great swimmer, but I did swim competitively, and I could remember the times that I had swum in every championship or regional or inter-school race I had ever swum in, in every stroke. Down to the hundredths of a second.

Mental arithmetic. I could multiply any 3 digit number by any 2 digit number in a couple of seconds. I could also divide any number up to 10,000 by any number between 1 and 10 and give the answer to as many decimal points as required, also in a couple of seconds. I can still do it, but I take a bit longer now and sometimes get a bit lost with the big numbers.

I used to be able to pick just about any song that I had heard before just by hearing the first few bars of the intro. I haven't even tried to do that in ages.

My gross motor skills are really, really bad. My handwriting is a childish scrawl and it is difficult to tell my drawing/sketching skills from my 4 year old son's. BUT in some ways my fine motor skills are way above par. I can thread the finest needle, tie a perfect knot with very light breaking strain fishing line and a tiny hook, put a big spin on a coin or a small ball just using a couple of fingers. When people are trying to throw food up in the air and catch it in their mouths I will sit on a stool and toss food up off my toes and catch it in my mouth (yes, I know it is gross). I used to be really good at playing "knuckles" - don't know if I still am because I haven't played in so long.

Okay, imagine the following: |||| are your 4 fingers (minus thumb). Most people struggle just to do this: || ||. I can do following sequence rapidly: | ||| ; || || ; ||| |; || || ; | |||. Then I do it with both hands at the same time. Then I do it with both hands in opposite directions. I've never seen anyone else able to do it. Not that anyone in their right mind would want to.

 

[Sipe]

Well my "ability" might be reading people. I read peoples expressions from their face and voice, At least I think I can. I might be wrong. And my other ability might be that I can see everything as art. Almost everything... But I don`t think I have anything "special" abilities tho. My "weakness" is that I can`t stand too bright lights. Winter is the worst season because of that; When sun is shining and everything is pure white thanks to the sow, its so bright that it hurts me. But luckily it gets more dark here early during winter.

 

[mikeg26843]

i can take stuff apart and put stuff together really quick

 

[Ana54]

Michael, I also smell and hear stuff nobody else does! My eyesight is horrible, to make up for that I guess. I need to see an optometrist.


I remember at sailing camp when I was 14 they took us aside one by one at the end of the session to tell us if we passed or failed and what we did good and what we needed to improve. Me and the other kids were hanging out many yards away from where the uinstructors and one boy sat. I heard the instructors telling him he would have to repeat the level because of such and such needing improvement, and the others were all asking me "What are they saying?" and I could tell them. They couldn't hear but I could.


I also memorized all the wanted fugitives and missing children on America's Most Wanted in alphabetical order.



I also memorized all the outfits Leisl and Maria were wearing in The Sound of Music.


I memorized everything about Myst and airport security and Elizabeth Smart, some of my classmates, some kids at day camp, my first-grade teacher's outfits, black girls' names, Jewish girls' names, European Jewish girls' names, Jaycee Dugard, the Fritzl family, Natascha Kampusch, Karla Homolka and the 3 girls she murdered, certain people on Dr. Phil, Jessica Lynch, Schapelle Corby, and interesting people I met in Houston,.

 

[Chris]

I can look at a number plate for a second and read the number back exactly without having to look back it again.

Also, I have very strong sense of smell. Though this can be a bastard...smelling horrible **** when nobody else does.

And heading. I like hearing the door go when nobody else does (INCLUDING my dog!!!)

My memory is good. I could probably recall number plates backwards, as well.

On the flip side, my sense of smell is really crap. Kind of ironic since I have a big nose. Lol.

 

[mikkyh]

I have a weird ability. I'm a wizard, I go to a school called Howarts and have a magic wand that can do magic ****.

(Not really.)

 

[Ruby_Aspergic]

I have no idea if my weird abilities are related to HFA. But I can smell when food is done cooking, I have close to a photographic memory, and I remember every word that is said to me.

 

[142857]

I have no idea if my weird abilities are related to HFA. But I can smell when food is done cooking, I have close to a photographic memory, and I remember every word that is said to me.

How many "regular" people do you know who have that sort of memory? That is actually a classic, stereotypical autism trait (think of the movie "Rain Man" where Dustin Hoffman memorises a phone book).

 

[Ruby_Aspergic]

I don't know, I don't know very many people to compare myself to. I've actually never seen Rain Man, I think I'll add that up next in my netflix queue.

The verbal memory is extremely useful. The most powerful weapon you could ever wield in an argument is what exactly comes out of your opponent's mouth. Combine that with an uncanny ability to see right through ******** (or perhaps to NOT see the things NTs throw into their speech to confound their true meaning), and I am one hell of an attorney.

You'd think I'd have more than a B+ average in school. >.>

 

[142857]

From Wikipedia:

Individuals with AS often have excellent auditory and visual perception.[28] Children with ASD often demonstrate enhanced perception of small changes in patterns such as arrangements of objects or well-known images;

It isn't a big leap to suggest that your ability to smell when food is cooked is similar to this.

Here is something I just found, which you will probably relate to:

http://life-with-aspergers.blogspot.com/2007/10/aspie-memory.html

One of the defining traits of aspergers syndrome is the "photographic-memory" whereby aspies can recall with precision events and conversations that are years old and forgotten by the other participants. As with all aspie traits, they differ from one person to another. Indeed some aspies claim to not have this memory - this could be true or it could be the result of misleading information in the Asperger's books which don't really describe the condition well.

The Mysterious Disappearing Short-Term Memory
Things that seem to be in the aspie's memory have a way of disappearing suddenly until they make it to long term memory. Quite frequently (more than usual as I get older), my words are disappearing mid-sentence and I have to say - "nope, sorry ... it's gone". It's quite embarrassing.

Recording and Playback
This is where the aspie memory really comes into its own...

During activities, even those where the aspie doesn't appear to be concentrating, they're taking everything in. Not just words, but expressions, feelings, touch, temperature, the whole lot. Those memories are then easily accessible and can be played back "in the aspie's head".

Still got any lingering doubts that your "special abilities" may not be AS related? :showoff:

Just as a side note, that website looks pretty awesome. I had a huge "Aha" moment when I saw the following:

What Aspies can't easily Remember
The aspie has trouble with short-term memory and with non-visual memory. In particular, the aspie has trouble remembering the things that people tend to tell them in mid-conversation.


Names

Birthdays

Dates and Times of Events

Shopping Lists

Specific Lists of Items (eg: Periodic Table)


Of course, any lists associated with special interests seem quite easy to learn.

 

[Ruby_Aspergic]

I literally said "aha" reading that last bit, having already forgotten that is exactly the word you just used. Fascinating.

What I smell best, I think, is the presence of varying temperatures. My sense of smell with regard to cooking works best if I am just thawing something, I can use my nose to detect the presence of portions of the food that are not heated as well as the rest of the food-- I think the colder parts don't give off as much scent as the cooked parts, so if I sniff leftover spaghetti sauce for example I can smell the parts that are heated up and an additional absence of scent where the colder parts are as well. I am not sure how I can take in both these scents at the same time, it doesn't seem like it should be possible but I did it instinctually for the longest time. I didn't even notice until my boyfriend put a bowl of half thawed spaghetti sauce under my nose and asked me if it was done and I was like, "what the hell are you doing?" and he said I always do that and can always tell, and he was right. I can also smell whether raw food is done being cooked as well, by the same basic principle for the most part, but that is harder to do as rather than detecting heat-smell vs cold-smell I have to detect uncooked-smell vs cooked-smell-- two different smells rather than a variation of one smell, which requires knowing how the flavors mature while being cooked and being familiar with the raw scent.

I suppose I should mention I am so nearsighted I am nearly blind and my hearing is probably below average, too. XD

 

[poodlepiglet]

My hearing is very good, I can hear small changes and know what people are doing often based on my hearing, also I get lyrics in music faster than the people I have lived with, and it will then annoy me when people sing with incorrect lyrics and I will correct them, if a piece of music has lyrics I can't decipher because of an accent, it will bother me, strong sounds will seem overwhelming to me.
My eyesight is also very good and I notice small differences, big visual changes seem also overwhelming.
I get underlying patterns pretty quick but can not always explain how.

 

[superboyian]

I can however look at an image and then instantly remember it and also the detail like, if I was to look at Emor's avatar, I would exactly remember she had green teeth, blue face and sticking out her tongue, but what most people wouldn't remember is that she wrote her name in a rainbow effect on the top right hand corner.

That's why when people talk to me about an incident, I would also be so good at remembering them and also picturing them over and over and over again, like one of the episodes of family guy. :showoff:

But letters and numbers I ain't very good at remembering... :lol:

 

[AdoringLove]

I'm not sure, I guess I have kinda a photographic memory, I bring up the picture in my head and can see it and sort of also play things back like a recording.

I guess I pick up songs and tunes pretty easily, I'm not very good at remembering lyrics but I can get the tune pretty quickly.

 

[142857]

My hearing when I was a kid was extremely good, and I could pick things up that other people couldn't. These days my hearing is deteriorating, at about the same rate as my 2 brothers and my sister, but at least I'm unlikely to go completely deaf.

My eyesight was really sharp as a kid, but when I was a teenager I went through a couple of extreme growth spurts (I'm about 2 metres/6'6" tall now) and became very short sighted around that time. An optometrist told me that they were related - he actually asked me if I had been through growth spurts and if the short sightedness had started around that time. I don't know how true that is. I had laser surgery about 15 years ago and my eyesight is still pretty good, don't need glasses anyway.

My thought processes are a little different to most people - I always knew that my brain was wired differently. I need to break processes down into basic steps to understand them. This actually comes in handy working as a systems analyst in IT, which is kind of my job - when I'm working that is.

 

[Ruby_Aspergic]

My eye sight has been deteriorating my whole life. The expectation was that once I stopped growing the deterioration would level off and when I turned 18 I should get lasik surgery performed to correct my eyesight before it got worse. But it didn't level off and I passed out of candidacy for lasik before I was old enough to get it. Now I don't know what to do. My prescription is so strong I've had to start wearing plastic frames because the lenses are too thick for wire, and I've been warned t hat eventually there won't be glasses strong enough. Then I don't know what happens.