Aspie aspiring
New member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2013
- Messages
- 24
Hi, everyone! Adult female with Asperger’s. I question whether I can be typed at all, since my cognition is so atypical. But maybe I can? I’ve seen other people on the spectrum who think they know definitively what type they are. Anyways, I thought I'd try this method out; and to help you out a bit, here are a few, or many, things about me.
--I live in my head a lot, and I would definitely consider myself an introvert. When I was younger I would really only come out of my shell when other people approached me, and I’m still the same way. I like to sit back and observe people, because you learn lots of interesting things about them even from the mundane stuff they talk about.
--When I get talking about a subject I’m really passionate about, and I can sense the other person is interested in return, I just don’t stop. I get really, really gushy in my mannerisms. However, I come across to other people who don’t know me well as unfriendly or that I don’t like others. I can be abrupt, aloof, and I’m very selective about who I get close to. Because I'm not good at reciprocal conversation, it can take a very, very long time for people to get to know me. I think that’s a mask I use to protect myself, really. I am frequently described in contradictory ways depending on who you ask.
--I used to take a lot of things incredibly personally. I’ve since realized that people often don’t mean things to come out the way that they do, and that, when they give you constructive criticism, they’re trying to be helpful. Still, it’s a bit hard to swallow, because I value other people’s opinions too much. I have to remind myself that just because it’s someone’s subjective opinion, it’s not objective truth.
--Hyperlexic as a child and I’m still a voracious reader—I’ll read anything because I suck up information like a vacuum. However, favorite genres are fiction, psychology, and history. Not so much into science fiction and fantasy, though.
--On tests I’ve come up as a thinking type over and over; and while other people would peg me as a thinking type and I think of myself as analytical and logical, I believe I’m actually Fe>Ti. I rely a lot on other people’s opinions. I have to take time to mull things over in my own mind for a while.
--I have incredibly good powers of concentration and my tendency is to hone my skills in areas I’m passionate about. When I set my mind to do something, there’s no stopping me. Although I think I’m smart, there’s always something I don’t know, some other way I haven’t seen things.
--I think of my thinking style as being sort of like a kaleidoscope. It’s always the same patterns, the same images, but I’m always turning things over in my mind, trying to see them in a different light.
--When I was younger, I didn’t really care about how I appeared to other people. I’ve since realized that people do notice what you wear and make judgments about it and you (like it or not; that’s the sad truth), so I’ve adjusted my appearance to suit social norms. I’m pretty stereotypically feminine now, but the nerd still lurks within. And I also appear to be much younger than I actually am.
--I think a lot about love and romance and relationships, mostly because I’m never been in one. It’s not that I’m unattractive; I think I have a lot to contribute to a potential relationship with the right guy. But it’s so very difficult to find someone who understands me. I think, though, that this is true for everyone. I have crushes a lot and tend to be very, very awkward about approaching them (but isn't everyone?).
--I am a perfectionist and a bit obsessive about the things I love and am interested in. And I tend to be a bit repetitive in my journal writing, which is why I bought one of those Table Topics card games to help me out. I’m a “think inside the box†kind of person, but my thoughts are constantly bouncing around in there, bumping against the walls and each other.
--I can be a little self-absorbed, if you hadn’t already guessed that!
--I don’t like changes to plans I’ve made and when other people are involved, I’m constantly asking “what’s the plan?†Mostly because I want to know what to expect and have the least number of surprises happen. I'm a little rigid.
--Before my Asperger’s diagnosis I’ve been alternately diagnosed as being lactose intolerant, ADD, depression. While all of those are comorbid conditions of AS, they didn’t all seem right somehow, because they only addressed a small part of the whole. I’ve been on an autism forum, and one of the things that strikes me is how people talk about how they feel misunderstood, that nobody else goes through what we do. I have to argue against that, though. We experience the same exact things as non-autistics: emotions, sensory input, and so on, but we feel them to a much more intense degree (and that’s why we end up having sensory integration problems or being HSPs).
Anyways, enough of my rambling! If you want to take a stab at this, go ahead; if not, then no hard feelings!
--I live in my head a lot, and I would definitely consider myself an introvert. When I was younger I would really only come out of my shell when other people approached me, and I’m still the same way. I like to sit back and observe people, because you learn lots of interesting things about them even from the mundane stuff they talk about.
--When I get talking about a subject I’m really passionate about, and I can sense the other person is interested in return, I just don’t stop. I get really, really gushy in my mannerisms. However, I come across to other people who don’t know me well as unfriendly or that I don’t like others. I can be abrupt, aloof, and I’m very selective about who I get close to. Because I'm not good at reciprocal conversation, it can take a very, very long time for people to get to know me. I think that’s a mask I use to protect myself, really. I am frequently described in contradictory ways depending on who you ask.
--I used to take a lot of things incredibly personally. I’ve since realized that people often don’t mean things to come out the way that they do, and that, when they give you constructive criticism, they’re trying to be helpful. Still, it’s a bit hard to swallow, because I value other people’s opinions too much. I have to remind myself that just because it’s someone’s subjective opinion, it’s not objective truth.
--Hyperlexic as a child and I’m still a voracious reader—I’ll read anything because I suck up information like a vacuum. However, favorite genres are fiction, psychology, and history. Not so much into science fiction and fantasy, though.
--On tests I’ve come up as a thinking type over and over; and while other people would peg me as a thinking type and I think of myself as analytical and logical, I believe I’m actually Fe>Ti. I rely a lot on other people’s opinions. I have to take time to mull things over in my own mind for a while.
--I have incredibly good powers of concentration and my tendency is to hone my skills in areas I’m passionate about. When I set my mind to do something, there’s no stopping me. Although I think I’m smart, there’s always something I don’t know, some other way I haven’t seen things.
--I think of my thinking style as being sort of like a kaleidoscope. It’s always the same patterns, the same images, but I’m always turning things over in my mind, trying to see them in a different light.
--When I was younger, I didn’t really care about how I appeared to other people. I’ve since realized that people do notice what you wear and make judgments about it and you (like it or not; that’s the sad truth), so I’ve adjusted my appearance to suit social norms. I’m pretty stereotypically feminine now, but the nerd still lurks within. And I also appear to be much younger than I actually am.
--I think a lot about love and romance and relationships, mostly because I’m never been in one. It’s not that I’m unattractive; I think I have a lot to contribute to a potential relationship with the right guy. But it’s so very difficult to find someone who understands me. I think, though, that this is true for everyone. I have crushes a lot and tend to be very, very awkward about approaching them (but isn't everyone?).
--I am a perfectionist and a bit obsessive about the things I love and am interested in. And I tend to be a bit repetitive in my journal writing, which is why I bought one of those Table Topics card games to help me out. I’m a “think inside the box†kind of person, but my thoughts are constantly bouncing around in there, bumping against the walls and each other.
--I can be a little self-absorbed, if you hadn’t already guessed that!
--I don’t like changes to plans I’ve made and when other people are involved, I’m constantly asking “what’s the plan?†Mostly because I want to know what to expect and have the least number of surprises happen. I'm a little rigid.
--Before my Asperger’s diagnosis I’ve been alternately diagnosed as being lactose intolerant, ADD, depression. While all of those are comorbid conditions of AS, they didn’t all seem right somehow, because they only addressed a small part of the whole. I’ve been on an autism forum, and one of the things that strikes me is how people talk about how they feel misunderstood, that nobody else goes through what we do. I have to argue against that, though. We experience the same exact things as non-autistics: emotions, sensory input, and so on, but we feel them to a much more intense degree (and that’s why we end up having sensory integration problems or being HSPs).
Anyways, enough of my rambling! If you want to take a stab at this, go ahead; if not, then no hard feelings!
