Do "autistic traits" in otherwise normal people exist?

AnaphylacticShock said:
I always thought model trains were just a boomer thing. My dad and a lot of older men are into them.
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The model train hobby wasn't exactly the indicator that the guy had high functioning autism, but I just thought it was funny and relevant.

IIRC, the spergy traits the guy possessed were that he had difficulty speaking unless he was discussing his hyperfixation, in which case he could drone on about it without end, and despite being retired yet having an opportunity to work again to a lesser capacity in some field that was related to his previous career, he adamantly declined doing so solely because "it just wouldn't be the same without the same people he worked with previously there" and he didn't want to have to get accustomed to brand new faces. Bit of a recluse as well according to his wife.
 
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Definitely. Most people have told a joke that didn't click with others or got a bit over-excited talking about dumb shit. At work I listen to people talk shit all night and people that seem normal 90% of the time sometimes come out with some seriously autistic shit now and again.
 
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Gravemind said:
The model train hobby wasn't exactly the indicator that the guy had high functioning autism, but I just thought it was funny and relevant.

IIRC, the spergy traits the guy possessed were that he had difficulty speaking unless he was discussing his hyperfixation, in which case he could drone on about it without end, and despite being retired yet having an opportunity to work again to a lesser capacity in some field that was related to his previous career, he adamantly declined doing so solely because "it just wouldn't be the same without the same people he worked with previously there" and he didn't want to have to get accustomed to brand new faces. Bit of a recluse as well according to his wife.
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if he was retired why would he want to work again. the coworker thing could just be an excuse. although if he was good buddies with his co-workers I could see it being a factor
 
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awoo said:
if he was retired why would he want to work again. the coworker thing could just be an excuse. although if he was good buddies with his co-workers I could see it being a factor
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Some folks can't stand coasting off retirement benefits with nothing to do and tend to find second, or even third jobs. Some people even need that extra income if just so they can continue affording their insurance and living at a comfortable financial class status. Guy has a wife, kids, and his own home, so it's not that surprising.

I just remember that his wife described him as getting deeply depressed over the fact that he wouldn't be able to see his old coworkers anymore, which factored into his unwillingness to find a new job and meet new faces. I'd say that factors a little bit into that social limitation that comes with high functioning autism, which, according to the guy's wife (who happens to be a therapist specializing in autism disorders), is what the field is starting to classify Asperger's as and they're trying to move away from actually calling it "Asperger syndrome".
 
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I personally don't think so. I think that most eccentricities/disorders are a result of the kind of environment you had when you grew up, and autism is for the most part inborn, so as such you can't really lump every weirdo into the autism category.
 
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I guess what I was trying to say was... I might have a touch of the 'tism (is that from CWC or was it an existing phrase)
 
I'd say fucking yes.
For example: my mom and her obsession with New Age artists such as Kitaro and Yanni. And once she tried to fight me over chicken tenders from Chick-Fil-A,
 
Miel67 said:
I'd say fucking yes.
For example: my mom and her obsession with New Age artists such as Kitaro and Yanni. And once she tried to fight me over chicken tenders from Chick-Fil-A,
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I love chikfila tho
 
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awoo said:
I love chikfila tho
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I forgot the end of the story: She didn't know that they upgraded and only had the tenders spicy.

And thanks to her studying to become a professional dentist back then, she even suspected her own fiancé to have a touch of the 'tism.
 
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The fact that it's a spectrum means that even normal people can exhibit mild traits sometimes. You said something about "showing autistic traits while not being autistic," and something to note is that a lot of people with ADD/ADHD and OCD can show a lot of traits of autism without necessarily being considered autistic. Things like hyperfocus, special interests, and sensory issues specifically.
Since I'm not a doctor, I do wonder where the line is drawn (like how many traits can you show before you are labeled autistic by a doctor? How much percent autistic do you have to be to get the diagnosis)?
 
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One aspect I forgot to mention is an aversion to change. I can read social cues pretty well, but I have a pretty extreme aversion to change. I had been back and forth between college and home for the holidays many times, but each time made me anxious and gave me a strange feeling of impending doom and somehow a remarkable sadness in changing environments.

Also the sensory thing. IDK if this counts: when I'm doing something I don't enjoy, I will pick up and be distracted by every little sound, including people moving around in other rooms and quiet talk. And then I will always get distracted every few minutes by many other thoughts that are almost intrusive in their distractiveness. When I do my work, which requires a fair bit of thinking, I find I do the best in absolute silence, so maybe I should use a pair of earplugs.

I won't say too much about the special interests, but I have certain "autistic" hobbies I spend every day on, and this is not the only forum I have over 1000 posts on :/

I should also mention "Asperger personality type" mentioned in this lecture which is pretty entertaining
 
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I have a friend that jujitsu who really likes Sonic the hedgehog and retro games granted he’s married and has a full-time job
 
Vatred said:
The fact that it's a spectrum means that even normal people can exhibit mild traits sometimes. You said something about "showing autistic traits while not being autistic," and something to note is that a lot of people with ADD/ADHD and OCD can show a lot of traits of autism without necessarily being considered autistic. Things like hyperfocus, special interests, and sensory issues specifically.
Since I'm not a doctor, I do wonder where the line is drawn (like how many traits can you show before you are labeled autistic by a doctor? How much percent autistic do you have to be to get the diagnosis)?
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That is because ASD and ADHD are in the same category, they are both Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

There is research showing that you can't have one without the other, or to put it the way they do, it's rare to have one without the other.
The studies have been done from both sides, ASD looking at ADHD, and ADHD looking at ASD.

There is further research being done at present that is looking at ADHD as a possible contender to be incorporated into ASD, in the same way that Aspergers was.

THAT is how closely related they think the two are.

THAT is why so many of us have ASD traits, that so many people refuse to consider as more than just traits, they are essentially who we are!


To answer the question. The answer is NO, NO, and NO.

A disorder becomes a disorder when the symptoms of the disorder, affect the day to day lives of the individual. That doesn't mean they aren't ASD/ADHD to start off with, they just may be lucky enough to not have the impacts of those symptoms, YET.

As people age, pressure grows, they need to fit more into a day, they need to handle more things going on at once. That is why over the past 10 years more adults have been diagnosed.

NO 'adult ADHD' doesn't exist, it's just a term to that splits the diagnostic criteria, that allows for access to medications. Anyone diagnosed can get meds, it's just how much they cost, as to where you lie on the 'when were you diagnosed' line.

It is also why more children are being diagnosed, because as I said there is much more pressure on them than ever before. It is also because the psych arseholes got their heads out of their male arses, and decided that yes females can have ADHD/ASD, that 'hyperactive' isn't just an external physical trait, that it is, in fact, a fundamental part of what being ADHD is, and how the ADHD brain works.

There is a lot to be said for the way life used to be, when ASD/ADHD people could get away with not being diagnosed, and not be affected by those symptoms to the point of not functioning within society. They could tailor their lives to incorporate the symptoms, in such a way, that no one would ever know that they are ASD/ADHD.

These days, with so much pressure on book learning, at such a young age, and with ASD/ADHD having a 4 year brain developmental delay, kids have no hope in 'getting away' with just being different. They are not allowed to be different.

Guess who embrace the tranny coercion more often than 'neurotypical' people??? Lets be different just like everyone else, is the motto of today's youth.

There are plenty of times when neurotypical people can display ASD/ADHD traits, that doesn't mean 'everyone is a little ASD/ADHD'. That is just complete bullshit. What is does mean though, is that there are environmental factors that are causing those behaviours.

A good example is the current, short attention span behaviour that majority of our populations display. They don't move from one thing to the other due to their brain functions, they move from one thing to the other because that is the way technology has been designed, taking into account things like human memory and the very short period of time (something like 500ms, and then 30secs to move it from pay attention to short term memory, and then ...can't remember, to then join that up with long term memory and either encorporate it/store it or lose it) that the brain has to pay attention to and 'take in' the stimuli that is put in front of them.

The less time people have to make decisions, the more impulsive they behave, and the quicker they are to jump and buy what is put in front of them, or FOMO sets in.

None of those behaviours make a person 'a little bit' anything!!!



Oh also hyperfocus and hyperfixation are different things, and often get mixed up, it's important to learn the differences, and how they apply to Neurodevelopmental disorders.
 
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I tend to 'tard rage if a simple task requires more effort than I'm willing to put in. Like, I couldnt get through the tape in the dogs chewy box so instead of getting a knife or scissors I ripped it apart. Maybe I have a touch of the tism
 
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