I have been diagnosed with both ADHD and Autism...considering the differences between them, I wonder how my brain works it out...
I am
very sensitive to noises. Can't stand the phone, running water, the fridge which hums and coughs, or the angry growl of the vaccum cleaner. The way the neighbors blast music- hiphop and Latin- I'd like to throw their stereos out the window.
I am also literal to the point that I am
teased by my therapist; she'll say something that I take at face value, then burst out laughing when I take her seriously. People are always laughing at what I say
- or they get stunned and silent, or angry. Or they practically fall off their chairs. And I don't know what I said to make them react that way.
I can remember only two obsessions as a kid; One was flushing the toilet over and over, and the other was sticking things in electrical sockets. Yeah, I got shocked more than once. I didn't seem to be able to learn from it.
I did a lot of physical stuff, like rocking, headbanging
, flipping my hands, keening, chewing the corners of my mouth, and scratching myself. Kinda freaked my mother out, I think.
I had a lot of trouble speaking. I'll say I was understandable by age 8, but I didn't really bother 'til I was 10. I really didn't see the point. Small talk has been explained to me, but I still struggle to do it.
I made patterns of pennies and m&m's. There's something perfect and soothing about roundness.
Heck, I still live in a huge fantasy world.
Fortunately, my sister Bea explained things- all the why's I had. Still does, often. Alienclock is sometimes able to percieve when I'm going to say something that will get me in trouble, and pulls my coat.
I have some difficulty reading expressions- but I'm great at seeing changes in complexion due to emotion, and I'm fairly good at posture and body language. Frankly, I don't see how people understand each other. Humans can be saying one thing with their words, another thing with the tone of their voice, a third with their body posture, and a fourth with their gestures. And they may have a flush or a paleness that belies the mood they're trying to put over. I find animals much easier to comprehend. They tend to be saying one thing with their whole self. Also probably why I like smilies-
What they intend to convey is soooo obvious.
I still have no idea what this
means.
I used to bite people too...especially when they touched me. Maybe that was the autism- or maybe I was just a brat.
Has anyone else been told that they're disinhibited?