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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/7/2010 5:53:47 PM

lusciouslips19

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Its funny, he astounds people with his mental abilities but I still have to tell him to take his coat off when we go places.

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/7/2010 6:23:09 PM

Aneirin

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That's odd, I used to get told that as well, even by my ex in my mid thirties.

The mundanes of life are of little interest, they do not matter, when there is more interest to be had with other things where the mind is concerned. Some ASD people crave attention and when they are the centre of attention, they thrive.

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/7/2010 7:31:48 PM

AlexandraLynch

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I have ADD (no H) with obsessional features and not quite enough autism symptoms to get an Aspberger's diagnosis. I married a man with ADHD, and we have three children who have my ADD, autism, and his ADHD, respectively.

Music helps me sequence my brain. I respond very profoundly to it. One trick I used to help me move through my homework sequentially was to have a piece of classical music that I "hotkeyed" through repetition to doing math homework and balancing the checkbook. It also helped come test time because I could sing in my head the first few opening measures, and there was the material and the mindset, as if it were a key.

I did a lot of working right up to my limits and staying just far enough back I could think about it. It also helped to get into a situation where I could say, "I don't wear shirts with writing on them, they don't work for me" and other such clothing parameters that I had discovered, and have that respected, and not have someone try to argue it rationally with me. I've also learned that certain enviromental stimuli are meltdown triggering, and if I can't avoid it, I can try to mitigate the other issues (be well rested, have eaten so I don't have low blood sugars, have an "escape plan" available, etc.) so that I can perhaps have a personally noticeable but not societally noticeable meltdown.

I did a lot of "fake it til you make it" socially, copying people who didn't need to think about how to do social interaction, and then running that in my mind until I had it memorized, then using it for predictable social situations. I don't need it so much any more as I have taught myself how to do a lot of it automatically, but I learned how to do it from drama class, where we studied how to use body language to convey things on stage.

I rely on habit a LOT. Habit gets me out of bed, teeth brushed, deodorant on, clothes on, braces on, morning meds taken and computer turned on before I really engage my brain. And up on my desk top is a "post-it note" in a jarring color that I will look at, and then be able to read "Brush out your hair and put it up. What is for lunch?" and I can start using the list to guide me through what needs to happen.

I wish you all the best with helping your son, and I am sure he is glad he has such a caring and devoted mother.

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/7/2010 8:04:37 PM

LafayetteLady

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quote:

ORIGINAL: lusciouslips19

Its funny, he astounds people with his mental abilities but I still have to tell him to take his coat off when we go places.

Yes, it can be funny, but think of all the really great minds in history? Remember how they are almost always described as "eccentric?"

As Aneirin says, something like taking off a coat just doesn't seem to have any level of importance, although I would imagine if he got warm enough, the thought might cross his mind. Sometimes when you think about it though, and depending of course on the coat (remembering you are in Chicago, right?), is taking off his coat important in the scheme of things? I know you were just giving an example, but sometimes as "proper" adults, we will put more importance on those mundane little things that really might not matter.

Having said that, it makes me wonder if perhaps letting go of some of those more mundane things like taking off his coat might be beneficial. I'm just thinking how all of those little things might add up to being a bit overwhelming and as they aren't really life altering, it would give your son less to try to think about and more time to let all the really great stuff trapped in his head out. Just a thought.

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/8/2010 3:03:09 AM

Aneirin

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I don't know if it helps any, but some other things I have found seem to be fairly common within ASD,these include;

lack of awareness of sensation which includes anything from ticklishness to apparently ignoring bodily signals to suggest one has had an injury in that in my case I don't see blood, I don't think injury, when I cut myself often I have to follow the stickiness to find the source more so as an interest than anything else, besides I don't like stickiness, anything sticky annoys me and shop applied sticky price labels drives me nuts, it is the first thing I remove when I get possession of something and I make sure that hated object is safely in the bin out of my sight. Get one on my shoe, aaarrrgh.

Another one is lack of care about food and sleep, it seems I can go ages without either and when I have a project in my mind and I go at it, it is likened to obsession, mundanes such as food and sleep fall by the wayside until burnout occurs.

I suspect the lack of sensation might have something to do with it, but temperature regulation falls into the category of mundane, me, I can wear a coat in the summer, overdress, as I feel I need to be warm but I cannot handle cold, cold makes me sort of shut down and those sneaky draughts of cool air on a hot day irritate me, I would rather be basking than seeking the cool, but say on holiday, I cannot just lie on the beach, I have to explore the area.

Oh yes, sex, that is ,I believe in with the social interaction bit, in my youth I neither desired, nor needed when those around me, my peers seemed like a dog on heat with their sniffing around after the opposite sex, I preferred friends and when I had a friend, I was completely trustworthy in that, as friends was not a disguise for anything else. When at a late age I finally lost my virginity more as a matter of age related pressure rather than need, I found sexual intercourse to be overrated, it did not do a great deal for me, so to function in a relationship I treated sex as experimentation, try what is in the mind and the interest was the results, I managed for a few years with an unkinky woman treating sex as if each time it was going to be the best experience for her, I could control my mind in that by thinking of things that interest me, strangely russian tractors to hold back, which was always a problem when I got to thinking about the mud chains on the wheels which lead onto the kinky things I like but when the mental stimulation was gone, I lost interest, which is not conducive to an ideal marriage, she needed sex, to me it was a mundane, even a chore to be avoided if it could be.

Oh, I am also a collector of things, something which used to drive the ex nuts, but I liked my collections of things of no interest to any other, and of those collections, the objects, I knew so much about them, anything technical I found out and retained the information.

I now sub for another, but again it is more about stimulation for the mind, such a relationship contains a lot of trust and interests can be explored with limits, it works for me, not so much in sensation, but what goes on in my head and for the other, submissive power in giving another the best that I can give, it is such a delight to hear the response.

I am 42 now, it is only last year I had the dx, but before that, I just thought I was an oddball and my differences in comparison to the observed behaviour of my peers I could not fathom, so I fell into depression, believing I should be whatever, but was not. Now well, I don't know if the depression has gone, as I was so used to it, but I am now understanding my ways and where necessary, can correct some of the mundanes, once they are recognised and I feel it necessary for the sake of social interaction, but the best of it, now, I am just happy to be me, I am what I am, take it or leave it.

Well, I hope I have related some of what I know, but do not worry, anyone who has an Aspie, they will do fine,as life is about exploration and experimentation, if they know about their foibles, they can cope and will do well. But, it is not for anyone else to tell, or put differences on them, they know and will find out their differences over time, and with understanding and support they will get on just fine.

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/8/2010 11:00:37 AM

Lockit

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I want to thank everyone that has explained what they have gone through and what it is like to have Asperger's. It is helping me sort things out for my son. Although he doesn't have Asperger's, he is very alike in many ways. We haven't been able to find information out there as there is little info to be found and it is simply guess work at this point.

His brain works in amazing ways at times and yet, not at other times and it is very difficult to figure out! Then there is the sensation lacking that confuses us. So your sharing is opening up new ways of looking at things for me and maybe some clue as to how to proceed or what to try for him! There is damage all over his brain and we simply don't understand. The signals are working, just not in a way that makes sense to us.

Thank you!

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/8/2010 1:26:20 PM

pyroaquatic

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Another plagued by inappropriate summer attire. Yeah, sweaters in the summer still astound people ("You must be boiling!")

I force myself to eat most of the time too. "Oh, there was the seventh beep-time for breakfast"

The best way I can explain the condition is that all of the senses have been cross-wired (but still functional-and in some instances painfully hyperfunctional).

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"No...."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"Yes...?"

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It is also fun to hear "Stop being such a smart ass!" (I am able to use sarcasm. To understand it when applied to me.... ehhhh)

I do not say anything when I know I could be wrong but I am the first to pipe up when I know I am right. If that is the parameters of smart assedness then I am guilty.

Remember: Every case is unique. What may work for others does not work for some. Observation is key.

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/8/2010 3:29:45 PM

Aneirin

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It is lack of energy that forces me to think of food, usually with the realisation, oh shit, when was the last time I ate, what, two days ago, better eat something. Yep, I can go days without food, but lately, only one night without sleep, which is good, but my sleeping patterns are severely screwed up, need melatonin to correct it.

Incidently, there are studies to suggest those with who have autistic spectrum disorders, may have lower levels of naturally produced melatonin. A 2008 study found that unaffected parents of individuals with ASD, also have lower melatonin levels and that the deficits were associated with the low activity of the ASMT gene, which encodes the last enzyme of melatonin synthesis ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2199264/?tool=pmcentrez ).

Prior to all this, the dx, my father used to say my late nights and screwed up sleeping patterns I had got from he, yes, maybe I had, but it had a reason, not so much copied by observation, but it was in the genes.

Melatonin works, I have used it before, but it is not available over the counter in this country, it was banned from sale, but I know where to get it; online.

But, regards the eating issue, I still do not eat properly, living alone has a lot to do with it, but when I do eat, I find I am better with a largely vegetarian diet.

A useful resource for information on Aspergers ;

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/aspergerssyndrome.html

< Message edited by Aneirin -- 3/8/2010 3:47:19 PM >

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/8/2010 6:49:27 PM

DesFIP

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My nephew is high functioning Autism spectrum, not quite fitting the Asperger's diagnosis and severely ADHD.

Basically keep doing what you're doing but expect it to take longer. The watch idea didn't work, he would take it off so as not to harm it during recess and lose it.

My daughter, ADHD and bipolar loves dry erase boards. Three or four tasks written down in her handwriting and hung on her door. She swears by the cell phone alarm, it must go off a dozen times a day. She uses it to remember to eat, take meds, get to class etc.

They are both now in very high end universities so there is hope. Although she's home for spring break and said the reason she was up all night the first night was that the meds didn't kick in. I looked at her and said she never unpacked them and didn't take them.

Progress not perfection.

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/10/2010 7:50:11 AM

ShellyD

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quote:

ORIGINAL: plushiecat

Hello Folks! I'm just adding my $0.02. When I first saw this book title, I laughed, lots. Then I read it, and it made sense, and dropped the $15 on it immediately. It's "All Cats Have Asperger's Syndrome". It's a good read, and I can't fault the subject matter, both illustration-wise and other. :) I'm honestly not sure if I have it. I don't think so, though I know I display many of the characteristics. But, it's a good book, and can give (especially, I think) a youngster a 'you aren't alone' feeling.

I paid $39 for this book, but I bought it for my grandchildren, 5&6 years old, both formally diagnosed with Aspergers....in some ways it is very sad and I feel for them and some future struggles, on the other hand both have extremely high IQ's and have been computer literate for years already so there is hope for their future. Having two in the family as well as their father is a lot of hard work for my daughter, I am very involved as well. I agree, it is a fabulous book and there are now books and dvd's for family members to help them understand, my parents became very enightened, as they could not understand the behaviours and ways to interact with them.

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RE: Another Asperger Syndrome Thread - 3/10/2010 8:41:23 AM

Aneirin

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I found mine in a charity book shop when looking for a good book on cats, even though I didn't have a cat at the time, I just wanted to look at kitties.

The messsage on page 61 is the best though.

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