NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4464434.stm

My brother has mild-autism and goes to Special Education for it. I'm the older and lucky one to not apparently have autism.

But according to this I am somewhat a little autistic? That I have the traits of autism?

It mentions the whole avoiding eye contact thing. I do know that I try to not look into peoples eyes when they are looking at me, it's just weird and I don't like it.

Damn! the way I figure it, as long as your a good person, and you support yourself, who gives a shit what labels people give you?

So what if you show autistic tendencies? I have my fair share of mental problems, but I don't let it get to me. It's just a label. Screw it.

Damn! the way I figure it, as long as your a good person, and you support yourself, who gives a shit what labels people give you?

So what if you show autistic tendencies? I have my fair share of mental problems, but I don't let it get to me. It's just a label. Screw it.
Well, I feel a flashback to that Family Guy episode, "Petarded."

ADHD/ADD is an autistic spectrum disorder too, I've read recently.

I remember reading that the first person to study autism refered to it as having extreme maleness.

The first three times I read the name of this form I read "I'm perticullarly Artistic" I guess I'm partially dyslexic.

The first three times I read the name of this form I read "I'm perticullarly Artistic" I guess I'm partially dyslexic.
If only you were a partially good joke-teller...;)

If only you were a partially good joke-teller...;)
Ouch. I guess I partially set myself up for that one.

Ouch.
Sorry, but I can't let an opportunity like that slide by...:fluffle:

But according to this I am somewhat a little autistic? That I have the traits of autism?

If it makes you feel better: so do/did most Nobel prize laureates. And the stereotyped "brilliant professor who forgets where he put his glasses all the time".
Autism is a wide spectrum.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4464434.stm

My brother has mild-autism and goes to Special Education for it. I'm the older and lucky one to not apparently have autism.

But according to this I am somewhat a little autistic? That I have the traits of autism?

It mentions the whole avoiding eye contact thing. I do know that I try to not look into peoples eyes when they are looking at me, it's just weird and I don't like it.

I wouldn't base a diagnosis on a media article.

But, given the symptoms you have in common and the family history, I'd check with a doctor.

Don't worry. If you are autistic, you are already getting by with it. A diagnosis could only help.

I might be able to get a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome - a mild part of the spectrum. But I'm functional (more or less ;) ), so what's the point? My biggest problem is that I'm somewhat socially retarded. Historically, I've interfaced better with machines than humans (or animals for that matter). Today, I can speak well to groups of people, and am good at and enjoy serious discussions - like the stuff I talk about on this forum. But I tend to suck at casual conversation.

Some dude: How's it goin'?
Me: Umm... good?
Some dude: :confused:
Me: :(

Okay, it's not quite that bad, but I really suck at responding to pointless statements and questions that aren't really questions. It's worse with women.

Some chick: What's wrong?
Me: Nothing, I think. ...Do I not look okay?
Some chick: You look depressed.
Me: That's odd, I don't feel depressed.
Some chick: What are you thinking about?
Me: Umm... You would have no idea what I'm talking about.
Some chick: huh?
Me: My thoughts are sporadic right now - they don't really make sense when you try to put them to words. I guess I'm kind of daydreaming. Well, not so much right now, as I'm trying to concentrate on how to answer this question without sounding too insane. I could just say that I'm thinking about nothing, but women never believe that, even when it's true. And actually, it's kind of true right now.
Some chick: :confused:

This is fun. I'll do one more.

Older guy at work: [as I'm walking by] There he is!
Me: Here I am!
OGAW: Catch any perps? [I'm a security guard, he isn't]
Me: No.
OGAW: This is really nice weather.
Me: Yep.
OGAW: So what'd you do on your days off?
Me: [Thinking: shit, what the hell did I do?] umm, nothing very interesting. This job has taught me too well how to waste time. And it's really amazing how fast time flies when you have things to do that you're not doing.
OGAW: :D... [he smiles no matter what you say]

hmm thats interesting... i didn't know you could have traits of autism without having the actual syndrome itself.
i know (knew, at uni) a bloke with autism and i'm nothing like that, but i've wondered for some time if i could have some kind of super-mild degree of it (or something)...
i generally can't stand eye contact for more than a fleeting glance cos it creeps me out (with most people - i trust my parents so its ok there)

Or the autistic may be unable to filter out sounds in certain situations, such as in a large crowd of people (see cocktail party effect).

yup. its impossible for me to hold a conversation in a pub (or worse, club) and again i'm prone to freaking out. i also have very sensitive hearing in general, am very easily distracted (especially by noise, not being able to 'tune out' things (well i can do it but it takes just so much concentration)), and hate, fervently, having my ear whispered into...it just makes me want to skin kittens and stangle stuff :mad:


then again, i might just be bog-standard weird :p

Don't kid yourselves autism is just the latest 'fad affliction'. Believe it or not I'm partially autistic too! So is my cousin, and my friend, and you! Basically if you are in the remotest bit introverted *and good at something* then guess what? You're autistic!

Autism is this decades' ADD. Do you remember that? At somepoint in the 90's suddenly half your class had ADD. Also funny to note that it was the pain-in-the-#rse kids too, but it turns out that they weren't actually brats produced from an upbringing of irresponsible parenting- They had ADD!
Do you remember when ADD got old and started to lack credibilty, suddenly ADHD reared it's ugly head! What's ADHD? well, its like ADD but worse and more 'real'.

Autism is this all over again. But instead of parents trying to excuse themselves of the blame for their childrens bad behavior, it is now parents trying to grant themselves some consolation that although their kid is a bit of a potato (I'm sorry parents of the world, but not every kid is smart), he's just looking for his 'special talent'. Either that or they are trying to champion their child over others by claiming he is in someway superior.

Autism? Don't make me laugh. Try going to the institute and meeting a real autistic.

According to that article I have all of the traits of autism but I'm too old for a diagnosis to be any help and somehow I dont think anyone should base their opinion on an article on the internet.

If you're really worried go to a doctor but if you've got along ok so far, i dont think it really matters.

i felt compelled to respond to the "autism is just a fad argument" sure there are some mild forms like asbergers syndrome(no idea of the spelling) but there are serious cases. i suggest that you actually do go to the institute to meet someone who has bad autism.That'll make u eat your words. I suspect you are one of these people who think the only thing wrong with downs syndrome children is the misshapen face.

Autism.. Hmm. Don't know much about it. Know that in many cases you can still live a great life, which is all the matters in the end.

i felt compelled to respond to the "autism is just a fad argument" sure there are some mild forms like asbergers syndrome(no idea of the spelling) but there are serious cases. i suggest that you actually do go to the institute to meet someone who has bad autism.That'll make u eat your words. I suspect you are one of these people who think the only thing wrong with downs syndrome children is the misshapen face.

I think you missed the point. A lot of parents seem to want to blame their kids' problems on medical conditions that have a far smaller effect than implied. Yes, there are people that really do struggle through the diseases, but a lot of people are given a label so they can be given drugs they don't really need to correct a problem that could be just as well treated by discipline and parenting.

Autism is a fad? No, it's just more prevailant than ever. Why? I don't know, but the correlation between it and the use of mercury in vaccines is more than interesting. I don't think me or any of us who are posting here really count for much of anything. It's the folks who are totally disfunctional that matter. I'm talking about 4 year-olds who can't crawl and pay no attention to other humans, 9 year-olds who are still in diapers, and 16 year-olds who masturbate in public.

My mum has to deal with autistic children from all over our area. Apparently, if you analyse any male there's a good chance there's a wee bit of an autisticness in there, just because the range of affects of autism is so vast. As someone mentioned ADD/ADHD are autism-spectrum Disorders, but so is Aspergers which, IIRC, is quite different. And don't worry about the eye contact thing, I've only just got used to looking people in the eye for extended periods. I dunno about you, but I just get embarrassed after a while :( .

By the descriptions in this thread, I'm partially autistic... I don't like making eye contact (and it pisses my bf off) I'm not very good at reading people and if I'm talking to someone I don't block out other stimuli. Although if I'm concentrating on a book or something then it's easy to do, I just make my own little world... which I inhabit for much of my time.

I dunno, Colodia might be partially autistic because he's got a family history of it, but I doubt the rest of us are. We're just socially inept in one way or another.

By the descriptions in this thread, I'm partially autistic... I don't like making eye contact (and it pisses my bf off) I'm not very good at reading people and if I'm talking to someone I don't block out other stimuli. Although if I'm concentrating on a book or something then it's easy to do, I just make my own little world... which I inhabit for much of my time.

I dunno, Colodia might be partially autistic because he's got a family history of it, but I doubt the rest of us are. We're just socially inept in one way or another.

IIRC Autism is 99.9% a male affliction so it's unlikely you have it.

I've got a mild case of autism that went undiagnosed for years because 'they' thought I was only Dyslexic, not autistic as well.

Ahh well, at least I can spot subtle shades of colour faster than most people and do the 'rearanging blocks into shapes' section of IQ tests in record time, yay me!

I might be able to get a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome - a mild part of the spectrum. But I'm functional (more or less ;) ), so what's the point? My biggest problem is that I'm somewhat socially retarded. Historically, I've interfaced better with machines than humans (or animals for that matter). Today, I can speak well to groups of people, and am good at and enjoy serious discussions - like the stuff I talk about on this forum. But I tend to suck at casual conversation.

Some dude: How's it goin'?
Me: Umm... good?
Some dude: :confused:
Me: :(


I've read quite a bit about Asperger's and I'm sure I'd get that diagnosis. That sample conversation IS what happens to me (and yes, that bad!)! It's like trying to deal with people with a social "fog of war" engine on. I match many other points, too.

Still, I don't see any benefit in having it made "official," and plenty of potential downside to having that on a record that insurers and the like could get at, so meh.

I do know that I try to not look into peoples eyes when they are looking at me, it's just weird and I don't like it.Me too! I've gotten very good at pretending to look people in the eye, because for some weird reason they get pissed if I'm obviously not doing so. But in actuality I never do. I don't even look at my own eyes in the mirror (just a glance will do, unless I have to get an eyelash out or something).

IIRC Autism is 99.9% a male affliction so it's unlikely you have it.
It's 4 males:1 female (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15689451&dopt=Citation), according to PubMed. And in a small subgroup like this, I think it's entirely possible that most of the posters in this thread have some form of it.

BTW I also do really good at the shapes part of IQ tests, along with a few other bonuses. :)

Fergi America']Me too! I've gotten very good at pretending to look people in the eye, because for some weird reason they get pissed if I'm obviously not doing so. But in actuality I never do. I don't even look at my own eyes in the mirror (just a glance will do, unless I have to get an eyelash out or something).


It's 4 males:1 female (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15689451&dopt=Citation), according to PubMed. And in a small subgroup like this, I think it's entirely possible that most of the posters in this thread have some form of it.

Looking people in the eye is an interesting phenomena... most people tend to look away while speaking, then look back at the person they're speaking with at the end of sentances to make eye contact and judge reactions. The listener tends to keep his eyes on the speaker until it is his turn to speak, and then the conversationalists swap roles... for most people this is an automatic process apparently.

1 in 5 eh? I didn't realize it was that many.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4464434.stm

My brother has mild-autism and goes to Special Education for it. I'm the older and lucky one to not apparently have autism.

But according to this I am somewhat a little autistic? That I have the traits of autism?

It mentions the whole avoiding eye contact thing. I do know that I try to not look into peoples eyes when they are looking at me, it's just weird and I don't like it.
I wouldn't worry about it, I have some friends that are autistic, it's okay once you get the hang of things (in fact it's much better after you are diagnosed and understand why you are the way you are)

How is your brother doing? My friends are having a lot of luck on a gluten free diet (that's how I met them, my daughters are on the GF diet for Celiac)

anyway, don't worry about it, my mom is bipolar, so when I got post partum depression they put me on all these drugs because they thought I had it too, then the drugs pushed me into a manic episode (which they will if you aren't unbalanced to begin with) and so then they told me that I had bipolar disorder. (I really don't think that I do, my new doctor doesn't either, since I only had problems when I was pregnant and only had manic episodes that were drug induced, and that I have been med free for 2 years and no problems)

sorry for the long history, but, unless you are actually having a lot of problems I wouldn't worry about it, you can't do anything about it except go on meds and if you aren't bad enough for the meds, then it is kinda a non-issue.

Looking people in the eye is an interesting phenomena... most people tend to look away while speaking, then look back at the person they're speaking with at the end of sentances to make eye contact and judge reactions. The listener tends to keep his eyes on the speaker until it is his turn to speak, and then the conversationalists swap roles... for most people this is an automatic process apparently.

1 in 5 eh? I didn't realize it was that many.
Ah--so *that's* how it goes!
Well, I may be able to remember that sequence on an intellectual level, but actually doing it is another story...especially since I dislike looking at eyes so much.

It's not 1 in 5 people in the general populace (I don't know the figures vs. the overall population); That was 1 female on the spectrum for every 4 males on it.

But I'd think a thread about autism would draw a substantially higher percentage of affected people than would be found in the overall population, regardless...

some random thoughts:

in regards to the OP: Who is older, your brother or you? And what is the age diffrence? If he's older or there is only a few years of diffrence then the eye contact thing could be a learned behavior, one so long embedded that it's natural for you now.

I do agree that the various "mild" forms of Autism, like AD(H)D before it are getting overdiagnosed and only meds are sought to fix them. I have ADD and when I grew up it was called "Hyperactivity", and they thought you outgrew it in your teen years. So I went off meds and evidentually learned how to cope. When I heard my son might have it I did some research and learned that adults could have it. I was tested and found I did. I tried meds but in most cases it made things worse. Likewise there are several children where the drugs aren't the answer and several where it is. This goes for all disorders, not just the Autsim range and ADD.

Ironically enough, in regards to the male/female ratio, the only people I've met with Aspergers were female. I don't know if that particular subset is more common to females or what. Maybe it's simply a matter of there being something in females that supresses a lot of the symptoms or something in males that applifies them. *shrug*

Finally, just because you show some symptoms of something doesn't mean that you have it. I could be sniffling with a runny nose, sneezing, have a headache and maybe even a slight fever. This could be symptoms of a cold, a flu or simply allergries....or maybe just too much dust in the air and overworked to account for the supposed fever. There are times when I wonder if I might not have a mild form of MPD.


No you don't


Does too

Shut up they'll find us

Now I'm just confused...

I wasn't even aware that autism was a fad. Who the hell runs around going "HEY GUYS! I'M AUTISTIC! I'M COOL!"

I saw it with ADD, but autism? I don't understand that...

But do you guys also have a family history of autism? Siblings with autism? The article is talking about close relatives of those with autism and I'm as close as it gets.

in regards to the OP: Who is older, your brother or you? And what is the age diffrence? If he's older or there is only a few years of diffrence then the eye contact thing could be a learned behavior, one so long embedded that it's natural for you now.
I'm older by exactly 4 years and 25 hours.

But do you guys also have a family history of autism? Not mine, but my mother seems to have some of the traits.

There could be some relatives on my dad's side that I don't know about, though...

so they can be given drugs they don't really need
Happy pills solve all.
And if your surviving why do you need to know what syndromes/problems you have?

And if your surviving why do you need to know what syndromes/problems you have?
It's not as if I plan on not having kids in the future.

It mentions the whole avoiding eye contact thing. I do know that I try to not look into peoples eyes when they are looking at me, it's just weird and I don't like it.
Ya, I'm not very good with eye contact (at least w/my family, good otherwise)

Ya, I'm not very good with eye contact (at least w/my family, good otherwise)
Really, it matters not whether the person is my mother or a stranger or a good friend. Eye contact between me and that person just won't happen if I can do something about it.

and 16 year-olds who masturbate in public.

That's not autism, that's called exhibitionism. :p

Happy pills solve all.
And if your surviving why do you need to know what syndromes/problems you have?Is survival good enough for you?

Fergi America']I've read quite a bit about Asperger's and I'm sure I'd get that diagnosis. That sample conversation IS what happens to me (and yes, that bad!)! It's like trying to deal with people with a social "fog of war" engine on. I match many other points, too.I tend to approach the casual "how's it going?" stuff like some sort of alien might. Like, "apparently when an Earthling asks you how it's going, they don't necessarily care or want to know how 'it' is going. They're just acknowledging your existence and generally expect you to do the same. A simple 'hey' or even a nod with a grunt may be all they require."

I don't think I have as much trouble with the eye thing as you, but it can be a problem. I think it's worse with people I don't know, which makes job interviews lots of fun. Usually, people will gang up on me to complain about my lack of eye-contact. This is often accompanied by accusations that don't smile enough, or generally show little emotion, or that I must be some kind of robot or alien. I find this stuff somewhat humorous even though it probably helped get me divorced. And what robot has a sense of humor?