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Danfun128 said:
For some of you this may come as a shock, others might have guessed this and will be thinking "I KNEW IT!" when they hear this, and other still might think I'm lying to excuse my more outrageous behavior, but what I am about to say is true.
I also have autism. I have been diagnosed with autism at an early age. I find it very difficult to make friends in real life, am an adult picky eater, get overwhelmed by certain sensory input (certain noises, like one persons voice or people clapping their hands to a song with loud speaker going off, hurt my ears or drive me nuts), get really attached to certain interests and take a strong interest in learning about them, etc. Occasionally, change bothers me as well. If its a change that I know in advance, like school delays or spring break, the change won't bother me. If it happens suddenly, I have trouble handling it.
Like DrCrow, I have trouble communicating at times. By that I don't mean that I can't talk, but I do have trouble explaining myself. Sometimes I feel like this is my biggest weakness. On the other side of the coin, sometimes I can't tell if people are being serious or sarcastic, which may make me easier to fool than other people if I am not knowledgeable about a thing. Ironically, sometimes I worry that in an emergency, I will refuse to do something unless I know why I should do it, like I'm worried that I would make the wrong decision because I never got the chance to think about what I am going to do.
As you have probably guessed, my life has been a struggle. I had to have occupational and physical therapy when I was 6 or 7, and unlike many other kids, never spoke much before then. I was constantly bullied for my behavior, especially in daycare (which to this day I hate with a passion don't like thinking about). Despite all the negative experiences in my life, I have tried to at least have one. As I slowly get mature each year, I hope one day to control angry impulses so I can drive (well that and not always being aware of my surroundings; not even having a permit at my age is embarrassing, admittedly.), along with learning how to be more active in social interaction. For now, I wait.....
edit: Frink, I didn't see your post until after I posted mine. I didn't know you were a father, let alone a father of a child with aspergers. I hope she is doing well.
I think you just described me to a tea, but I wasn't diagnosed until I was 20, so i went through a good portion of my life having no idea why I was different with most adults just thinking I was a trouble maker who refused to make friends.
I can relate to the sound thing, my dad has a huge collection of heavy metal music and while I can listen to other things loud for some reason when he turns that up too loud I can't focus and and I start having panic attacks. I have no idea why since I went to a Weird Al concert and was fine and I can watch action movies with the sound turned up. I have no idea why this one thing sets me off.
Also for some reason i just can't stand stories where there is a really sad ending. It has always tied up my insides and I have no idea why. I am not just talking about movies or Tv shows where someone dies, that I can take if there is a reason for it but seeing characters end up sad and depressed or seeing things end without closure just really upsets me so I have had to learn to stop watching certain things when that starts to happen. I used to think this had nothing to do with my Autism but I have talked to other people with it who have the same problem so i think it may have something to do with that as well. I think it is why I just couldn't let the Mass Effect 3 ending go after everyone else stopped caring.
Well any way it's just great to talk to some people and see an article written by people who really get what it is like to have autism in the real world.
