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Autism and MBTI

headlessredhead

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Dec 18, 2014
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In a recent conversation with my grandmother she told me that psychologists wanted to diagnose me with aspergers syndrome, but nothing was ever done about it. I'm pretty sure this was due to the stigma that surrounds ASD, especially sinc since my family wasn't exactly educated about it. I think that if I would have been aware and educated about this though, things could have been a little bit better, just because I would have understood. I feel the same way about the mbti, I feel better because I understand.
Either way, I'm slowly learning more about autism and I wanted to know where it stood with the mbti. Does it affect types? Is it more common in specific types? Does autism affect types or does your type affect autism? I know there's a lot of variables.
Are any of you autistic or have aspergers (is that even a valid term anymore?) Or have any good resources to learn more? Thank you!!
 

á´…eparted

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I have aspergers. I've learned how to manage it really well. People generally don't see it in me until they've been around me a lot.

I've seen talk before of people saying apergers/autism have to be some sort of IxTx type. Well, I certainly break that.
 

headlessredhead

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Honestly I think a lot of studies about aspergers have always been central to how it's been more common in boys than it is girls (biologically speaking anyways) and so a, lot of the symptoms are based off of how most boys externalize they're aspergers. So most of the traits commonly known are kind of biased in a way where not everyone deals with it in that way.
I think that's something that had to do with my family rejecting it so quickly. I internalized my issues and learned how to cope with my issues in a way that masked them. However I don't see how they didn't pick up on my IMMENSE obsessions with fictional worlds...
Doctors are 'failing to spot Asperger's in girls' | Society | The Guardian
This is the article that got me really questioning why nobody believes me when I talk about it. That and I'm not good at arguments....
In it they say that for every one girl diagnosed, theres 16 boys, when they speculate the number should be around 2.5 boys for every 1 girl.
Autism and aspergers is a stigmatized thing in our society, not many people do or even want to understand. Granted people are better, but look at the anti-vaxxers! So terrified of autism they'd rather kill their kids!
 

EJCC

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I don't think that this is type-related -- especially since the preconceived notions that make people think "all autistic people are Thinkers because they don't empathize or feel anything" have been disproven time and time again:

https://seventhvoice.wordpress.com/...-in-fact-if-anything-they-empathize-too-much/

Honestly I think a lot of studies about aspergers have always been central to how it's been more common in boys than it is girls (biologically speaking anyways) and so a, lot of the symptoms are based off of how most boys externalize they're aspergers. So most of the traits commonly known are kind of biased in a way where not everyone deals with it in that way.
I think that's something that had to do with my family rejecting it so quickly. I internalized my issues and learned how to cope with my issues in a way that masked them. However I don't see how they didn't pick up on my IMMENSE obsessions with fictional worlds...
Doctors are 'failing to spot Asperger's in girls' | Society | The Guardian
This is the article that got me really questioning why nobody believes me when I talk about it. That and I'm not good at arguments....
In it they say that for every one girl diagnosed, theres 16 boys, when they speculate the number should be around 2.5 boys for every 1 girl.
This is interesting. Didn't realize it was such an issue, but it makes perfect sense.

Autism and aspergers is a stigmatized thing in our society, not many people do or even want to understand. Granted people are better, but look at the anti-vaxxers! So terrified of autism they'd rather kill their kids!
That trend/tendency makes me so angry and upset that I have to actively avoid thinking about too much. That, and how the media justifies it when parents murder their disabled children.


Two unrelated points:

1) Welcome to the forum!
2) Night Vale is AMAZING.
 

headlessredhead

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I don't think that this is type-related -- especially since the preconceived notions that make people think "all autistic people are Thinkers because they don't empathize or feel anything" have been disproven time and time again:

https://seventhvoice.wordpress.com/...-in-fact-if-anything-they-empathize-too-much/

I actually was thinking about this, because I have a huge amount of empathy. There are times when I do/say things that have an affect that I don't understand (like when i'm accidentally rude or offensive and someone has to call me out) but I have a lot of empathy. To the point where it can make me very wary about people. If they're upset, or seemingly upset, and I can't figure it out, I get extremely stressed out. I try to figure it out but it always comes out in very blunt questions, and I never really feel like i'm helping even when they say I am.

I just started looking into ASD but from the stuff I've read it's like a spectrum. One person is never really like the second. Everyone has different perspectives and where some people may lack empathy, others may have it in abundance. I think that most people assume a black and white idea and can't really understand a broader range of autism. So I guess I kind of answered my own question. It's just interesting to think of types with autism and how they function differently than neurotypical people.

Honestly there's a huge lack of education about this and many other mental health issues. A lot of our information comes from what we've heard others say and what we've seen on TV. Almost always autistic people are portrayed as incapable because it's never really autistic people talking about the subject.
If you wanna know what I mean go check out #ActuallyAutistic because a lot of people are raising good points.
 

Harizu

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Does autism affect types or does your type affect autism?
I think the latter is more likely.
Not all autistics are the same; this is because their personalities are different.
Not all autistics are introverts- that's just a stereotype. Extroverted autistics exist, there are many, because autism is lack of social skills, not introversion. And lack of social skills =/= introversion. People confusing them, that's another story.
I am diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, but I'll tell you, I don't think I have the full-blown syndrome. I certainly have some traits, but I think that it's more likely that I just have ADD (it's very similar to asperger's in many ways).
Anyway, I am an ExTP type. My father definitely has full-blown Asperger's and is an ENTP. My older brother has LFA and he definitely either an ESTP or an ESFP. Even my grandmother (my father's mother) had many AS traits and was wither an ESTP or an ENTP.
As you can see, we are all extroverts.
Not to mention my literature teacher, she very probably has AS as well (she also has a son diagnosed with it) and she either is an ENTP or an ENTJ (can't really tell, she seems either one of the two depending on the situation).

Of course the stereotypical autistic is an IxTx, but that's what it is, just a stereotype.
Also, there are various degrees of severity in autism.
 

Jet Stream

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The majority of autistics are ISFJ, INTJ, INFP, and INTP.
 

Kullervo

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I probably have a mild form of Aspergers, OP. My psychologist thinks I am borderline for a clinical diagnosis - I just don't meet any of the more physical/physiological requirements for autism, like poor coordination and repetitive movements/thoughts. Asperger syndrome is - to put it bluntly - autism without mental retardation.

I have always struggled to learn social skills, and I'm not naturally empathetic. I even struggle to show empathy towards intimates. A lot of my loner tendencies have also grown from a disinterest in wider social contact, as I can be very happy when I'm in a sexual/romantic relationship. What the rest of the world thinks about me really doesn't matter. The problem is that as I have trouble understanding somebody else's feelings I can often drive girls away, and my fears of abandonment just exacerbate things.

Re MBTI: I associate Aspergers with IxxP types. I am a little tired right now, but may explain why later if I am pushed.
 

Crabs

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my bf has aspergers. i don't think it's type-related. i've met some who are very outgoing and some who are reclusive, some who are meticulous organizers and others who are messy and severely lacking in executive functioning.

I probably have a mild form of Aspergers, OP. My psychologist thinks I am borderline for a clinical diagnosis - I just don't meet any of the more physical/physiological requirements for autism, like poor coordination and repetitive movements/thoughts. Asperger syndrome is - to put it bluntly - autism without mental retardation.

i've always found that stereotype a bit perplexing. i used to work with a guy who was further on the spectrum than asperger's. he had severe communication difficulties, but was highly coordinated and organized and was more productive than most of the other employees. i think some people, especially women, go undiagnosed because of these overly rigid descriptions.

I have always struggled to learn social skills, and I'm not naturally empathetic. I even struggle to show empathy towards intimates. A lot of my loner tendencies have also grown from a disinterest in wider social contact, as I can be very happy when I'm in a sexual/romantic relationship. What the rest of the world thinks about me really doesn't matter. The problem is that as I have trouble understanding somebody else's feelings I can often drive girls away, and my fears of abandonment just exacerbate things.

this is another common misconception. many aspies are highly empathic, particularly towards animals; but some may struggle with cognitive empathy rather than affective empathy.

“Empathy has two distinct components: cognitive and affective. Cognitive empathy is the ability to imagine someone else’s thoughts and feelings . . . Affective empathy is the drive to respond with an appropriate emotion to what someone is thinking or feeling. . . Low affective empathy is a necessary factor to explain human cruelty. . . [P]eople with autism and psychopaths are mirror opposites. The psychopath has good cognitive empathy, that’s how they can deceive, but they have reduced affective empathy. People with autism have intact affective empathy but struggle with cognitive empathy for neurological reasons.”

—Simon Baron Cohen, TED Talk

autists & psychopaths-cognitive-affective-empathy/
 

Cygnus

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Feb 10, 2014
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The way I see it, the basis for autism is an inability to automatically replicate some types of information in one's environment on an instinctive level. Isn't autism linked to reduced cerebellum strength? Doesn't "autism" quite literally mean "aloneness?"

I always thought it was a fallacy to link autism to introversion because it causes an undesired separation from people in one's environment, not simple indifference or preference for aloneness due to temperament; and neither to thinking because autistic people don't really behave logically -- in fact, they're often more emotionally vulnerable.
I'd link it to weak Se, if anything.



All the psychs used to report I likely had it.
 

SiameseKitty

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I'm also on the spectrum (the high-functioning end) and I've typed as ENFP, ENFJ, or even ESFJ. I'm an artist all out, and love people, though they may hurt sometimes. As a result of sh-t that happened to me or that I've witnessed happening to others growing up, I've become quite scared of hurting someone without meaning to. Or, even worse being accused of something. Not to mention wary of causing discord with even the smallest of things. My self-esteem has taken many hits. There's more, but that's a tale for another time.
 
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