what things that you do are unique to you?

[LucyPurrs]

My daughter thought so too, and now she’s studying Japanese with the same app.
Of course, I did not mention “why” I was studying German with Duolingo.

I was wondering since you live in Mexico I started studying Portuguese with Duolingo but stopped- my "aspie" like friend lives in Brazil but his English is so good I don't really need to learn Portuguese, however it would be nice to do so.

 

[Sabrina]

I was wondering since you live in Mexico I started studying Portuguese with Duolingo but stopped- my "aspie" like friend lives in Brazil but his English is so good I don't really need to learn Portuguese, however it would be nice to do so.

That’s a great idea, even if he speaks perfect English, it’s a nice gesture . I think he would love that you learn Portuguese, even if it’s just the basics. I’m not Brazilian, but we are culturally similar, so I think he would like it too.

A long time ago I started a Portuguese course, but it was affecting badly my Italian, since it’s so similar, and I had to quit. I can read in Portuguese, though, because of my Spanish (although I don’t know how to pronounce it).

 

[LucyPurrs]

Well, you've given me new motivation to start again, thank you! He may be coming to visit (and meet me for first time) next year so it would be nice to surprise him. Good luck with the German

 

[Chance]

Sometimes I think that I'm the only Aspie who doesn't play video games!

I don't play them either... The noises drive me nuts, too much eye strain, I get really frustrated, plus I just see no logic in it. If it serves me no real purpose in LIFE, then I see it as a waste of LIFE, but to those who enjoy it, go for it... So we are 2 who don't play : )

 

[Shonda]

I had trouble wording this question, despite the simplicity. You don't have to be the only one in the world that does what you might be thinking of, it just has to be rare enough to be noteworthy.

I have a tennis ball underneath my blankets, I use my feet to push it around to stim when I am laying in bed, which is a lot of the time. I do have to fight my dog over it sometimes since he sleeps on my bed, and slobbery tennis balls under my bed sheets is not that nice.

Not sure if this counts, but sometimes, I will space out and trace one particular word from what I hear (from someone talking to me, background noise, etc.) onto any surface near me. It's hard to explain, especially when someone asks me what I'm doing.

 

[Coupe]

Hmmm....well, one of my favorite ways to stim is to listen to music while tossing around a small tattered baby doll's cap around in the air. I also rarely go anywhere or leave the house without at least one small stuffed animal and a variety of other comfort/stimming items (small plastic toys, Safari LTD animal figures, Tangle toys, smooth stones, die cast cars, scraps of fabric with especially nice textures, etc). I also wear a hair scrunchie on my right wrist at all times....not because I wear them in my hair (my hair isn't even anywhere *near* long enough to put up in a ponytail anyway ), but b/c I like the gentle, squeezing sensory input of them around my wrist - it's calming.

 

[kay]

Sometimes I think that I'm the only Aspie who doesn't play video games!

No, there are at least two of us.

I don't play them either... The noises drive me nuts, too much eye strain, I get really frustrated, plus I just see no logic in it. If it serves me no real purpose in LIFE, then I see it as a waste of LIFE, but to those who enjoy it, go for it... So we are 2 who don't play : )

I don't play either. Tried Pac Man when I was a kid and a couple of times someone tried to interest me in Mario something another but it wasn't fun. I think the newer stuff would give me a migraine.

 

[Progster]

I chase away negative and repetitive thoughts by studying German with the Duolingo app.

Ich kann auch Deutsch. Hablo también un poco de español

I don't play them either... The noises drive me nuts, too much eye strain, I get really frustrated, plus I just see no logic in it. If it serves me no real purpose in LIFE, then I see it as a waste of LIFE, but to those who enjoy it, go for it... So we are 2 who don't play : )

I agree with all of this. Especially the frustration, I think I would have continuous frustration meltdowns if I played video games. The only ones I would possibly try are creative ones, simulations for example, where one might actually learn something from them.

 

[Coupe]

Sometimes I think that I'm the only Aspie who doesn't play video games!

I actually never really got into video games, either...they just seemed too complicated to me, although I knew other kids my age who genuinely enjoyed playing them and sometimes became completely engrossed in them to the exclusion of all else. I can recall being about 8/9 years old and sitting between my two older cousins on a car trip - they were playing Pokemon Red and Blue on their Gameboys (Red and Blue were the only two Pokemon Gameboy games available at the time, I think) and when I expressed curiosity in what they were playing, one of my cousins offered me his Gameboy for a few minutes.

From there, the conversation went something like this:

Me: So when do I start seeing Pokemon?
Me: What do the A and B buttons do?
Me: Is there any sound?
Me: My guy's about to walk into a tree, what do I do?
My cousin: ....Give me my Gameboy back.

I do play Disney Tsum Tsum and Disney Emoji Blitz on my phone, tho.

 

[SusanLR]

I like playing fun amusement games on my PC like POGO games for example.
Not into the true video games with the remotes that you use on TV screens like Playstation and such.

I did love the arcade games like Pac Man, Asteroids, Mario Brothers, Tetris, the old ones you can't find anymore.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I copy everyone. Either intentionally or by habit or intuition. I think it's quite subtle so nobody - if anyone - has been able to pick up on it. That's the reason why I eventually ended up with a good group of friends at school.

I'm also quite rare in the case that I have both Asperger's and Tourette's syndromes.

 

[Chance]

I copy everyone. Either intentionally or by habit or intuition. I think it's quite subtle so nobody - if anyone - has been able to pick up on it. That's the reason why I eventually ended up with a good group of friends at school.

I'm also quite rare in the case that I have both Asperger's and Tourette's syndromes.

I try not to copy others but I have caught myself doing it many times... I want to find the real me in this mess also, but it helps that we can "act out" what we maybe don't have inside us naturally at times (to get us out of a mess-maybe). Its like there is this hollow place within me that only knows what is learned from watching others. It has no emotion, its just there.

I also have Tourettes... And it has gotten me in more uncomfortable situations then ASD possibly. When I get tired my words get stuck, or they drag out. To add shame to insult, for some stupid reason I squint real hard to get the words out... Its horrible, so I just choose to not talk a lot. Plus I get bad muscle jumps that are random and give me no warning, or bad ticks that seem to take their sweet time going away. Its not a lot of fun living in a neurological nightmare and being fully aware that its real, and part of what is supposed to be my LIFE.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I try not to copy others but I have caught myself doing it many times... I want to find the real me in this mess also, but it helps that we can "act out" what we maybe don't have inside us naturally at times (to get us out of a mess-maybe). Its like there is this hollow place within me that only knows what is learned from watching others. It has no emotion, its just there.

I also have Tourettes... And it has gotten me in more uncomfortable situations then ASD possibly. When I get tired my words get stuck, or they drag out. To add shame to insult, for some stupid reason I squint real hard to get the words out... Its horrible, so I just choose to not talk a lot. Plus I get bad muscle jumps that are random and give me no warning, or bad ticks that seem to take their sweet time going away. Its not a lot of fun living in a neurological nightmare and being fully aware that its real, and part of what is supposed to be my LIFE.

That sucks. The worst my Tourette's has been is a common tic at the moment where I have to punch myself in the head - now that I've typed it I have to do it.

 

[Chance]

That sucks. The worst my Tourette's has been is a common tic at the moment where I have to punch myself in the head - now that I've typed it I have to do it.

I do know what your saying... I think? my pec muscle or leg muscle will just start pulsing and I hit it to try and make it stop. I haven't ever punched my self in the head yet... Its already messed up enough...

 

[Esa]

I think I "think" more than most "normal" people... Of course I have no idea if this is true, nor do I have a way to prove it, but here is an example: I observe people and the thoughts they are acting on. For instance raving about how many commercials are on TV, or that they feel someone got more of something than they did, or they consume themselves in conversations concerning other peoples business that has nothing to do with them...

I will notice this and USE it to turn my own thoughts to... How can I better my LIFE? How can I not waste my thoughts on pointless chatter? How can I use my thoughts to be more aware of who I am?

I have this near fear of dying to be found to have wasted my LIFE... Its maybe one of my deepest driving forces, yet I have no idea how to use it to do any better than anyone else. I may not even use what I have as good as anyone else.

I get so consumed in thoughts that I just get lost. Its nothing to brag about actually, so please don't think I am ever putting myself above anyone. Its just something I notice a lot. Maybe everyone does and they just ignore it, where as I don't and probably should.

I think you "observe" more than most people.

 

[Coupe]

I like playing fun amusement games on my PC like POGO games for example.
Not into the true video games with the remotes that you use on TV screens like Playstation and such.

I did love the arcade games like Pac Man, Asteroids, Mario Brothers, Tetris, the old ones you can't find anymore.

I feel that I might have preferred the classic 80s arcade games, too, rather than the more modern video games that sometimes involve a lot of violence, noise and distracting/overwhelming visual stimulation.

 

[Chris Russell]

I'm really not sure if my lack of jealousy or envy is unique.

I can only say that it's a trait I have yet to find in another human being, regardless of neurological considerations. At times it serves me to live within my means, and at other times it confuses people close to me.

Jealousy and envy are traits I associate with neurotypical people, more than Aspies... and similarly, learned behaviours like racism and sexism. I don't mean to infer that Aspies are incapable of such feelings, nor that all NTs are likely to be jealous or envious, but the nature of our 'wiring' means that we are less likely to arrive at these 'solutions' to situations because we usually think about them more thoroughly, (and also fail to differentiate between people on purely social or cultural terms), and in doing so, we see the injustice and pointlessness of such actions. It is one of the characteristics of being an Aspie that I can be endlessly smug about, and it pleases me no end. So in this case, I am glad you are not unique, Judge!

 

[Chris Russell]

I don't play them either... The noises drive me nuts, too much eye strain, I get really frustrated, plus I just see no logic in it. If it serves me no real purpose in LIFE, then I see it as a waste of LIFE, but to those who enjoy it, go for it... So we are 2 who don't play : )

There does seem to be an affinity for gaming, especially with male Aspies, but not exclusively. I am Aspie and have never, like you, had the patience to bother with something which seems to have no real purpose. However, when I have spoken to Aspie friends and students who do possess this affinity, it seems so important to them, and in so many surprising ways, that I can no longer dismiss them as pointless. They are an essential escape for some, and a social lifeline, as an on-line gaming friend is still a friend... Just because I can't see the point, doesn't mean there isn't one...

 

[Mr Allen]

I'm English, but I swear like an Irish man.

Feckin' eejit!

Comes from about 6 years of watching Mrs Brown's Boys, plus Father Ted before that.

 

[Siobhan]

I only like about 5 foods at a time but they switch every week.