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Ever met someone with Aspergers?

135

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 295 ✭✭fattymuatty


    hgfj wrote: »
    "Has employment ever proved problematical for people here? such as constantly getting fired, unable to get work, can't settle in one job for too long etc?"


    I don't know how true it is but I remember reading somewhere that people with aspergers often find it hard enough to get through an initial job interview in the first place.

    My husband has Aspergers and finds getting through interviews difficult and has no idea where he has gone wrong, he always feels that interviews go well. He finds it very difficult to read people so just doesn't pick up on things. He also becomes extremely formal when he is uncomfortable so can come across as being not very personable.

    He has never been fired though. Once he is employed he is a model employee, he has never told anyone that he has aspergers and for the most part manages fine, he does sometimes have problems understanding office politics and navigating office small talk. He often comes to me with those type of problems and I try and guide him through as best as I can.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,893 ✭✭✭Cheerful Spring


    I have a mild form of Asperger's. We definitely are awkward when we meet different people for the first time. Stupid conversation turns me off. If we interested in something we do an extensive amount of study about it. We sometimes like to be alone we like our own company. Just some of the personality traits I have noticed about myself. I think I am intelligent.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,997 ✭✭✭The Crazy Cat Lady


    have it myself, and have met others with it :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,543 ✭✭✭Dante7


    The problem with Aspies staying in a job is not really due to them not being able to hold down a job. It's more to do with them walking out because they can't tolerate what they perceive as illogical nonsense. It has been said that if it wasn't for Aspies, we'd all still be living in trees.

    The social aspect is well described and deserved. I've worked in high level IT for a long time, and the best techies have all been Aspie males but have been totally incapable of having a normal conversation with a girl.

    I'm probably milder on the spectrum and was always the one who got pushed into the boardroom to explain things as I was better at it. Private school and targetted education helped with the socialising.

    But, to be honest, I still think that we are right and that the rest you are mad.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 38,880 ✭✭✭✭PTH2009


    My own story

    I would be on the spectrum borderline Asperger's who didn't find out till I was 23 years old. I'd suffer with poor social skills, like a routine, have a low speaking voice, find it a bit hard too spark a conversation and would get irritated by a load of things like people forgetting names, controversy, loud sudden noises like sneezing, coughing, bangs etc and I'd take disappointment pretty hard (bad date/failed interview etc).

    I would be a loner but I do feel confident of going out alone for a few drinks, go too a concert/show/match alone etc and don't see a point of waiting to be invited too things and end up locked in my room. I'd love a weekly routine of going for a few drinks with a group of friends but its doesn't happen often

    I work part time in retail and I like the job, you can understand it's a hard job for not just someone in my mental state but in any mental state. I love live music and sport and would often travel too gigs alone with some even abroad and I've been too Glasgow and London alone in the past and enjoyed it

    My future??? I'd love a full time job with something that doesn't pay much but would be practical ie Factory/supermarket job. A job on a phone would not be for me. I have had a previous relationship and dates which sadly didn't go in the right direction and killed my confidence. In my head the general conception with someone in my case is I will never find someone and destined too life alone and not have any kids etc but I believe with help and research it can be possible if I can find the right person. I always wonder is there couples out there who both suffer from Aspergers or another mental disorder who have families/live good lives etc

    Feel free too send me a PM if you need too ask or find out anything


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,807 ✭✭✭take everything


    There's actually a theory that people with Aspergers are MORE empathetic, to the fact it becomes overwhelming. I would certainly identify with that. I would go to the end of the earth for people I care about and have a very hard time dealing with the fact that most people don't care about me as much as I care about them. I was worrying all day when one friend had knee surgery, mentioned it to my family, was checking my phone for news. I was in hospital a couple of weeks ago and he never even bothered to ask how I was. I also feel great pain when I see horrible things happen to other people on the news or on TV. So I don't buy this 'Aspies are self centred and have no empathy' thing at all.

    Yeah a lot of bull**** about empathy. I think it's probably the case Aspies have less cognitive than emotional empathy (basically the opposite to psychopaths).
    In the sense they miss cues but if told what's wrong, will definitely care (often even more than neurotypical people). Like a verbally processed route to empathy.

    I sometimes think I might have aspects of Asperger's.
    Never had friends my whole life. No problem talking to anyone really. Just people constantly not living up to whatever ridiculous standard I have for myself.

    Intelligent but I definitely process and learn differently.
    Introverted but happily so and preferring introverted people. Very suspect of Facebook/social media etc

    I sometimes wonder how much of a social construct component Asperger's has. Of course there's a strong genetic component but i feel there's a fair bit of mis/over diagnosis going on. Especially in this Facebook/social age. Where any eccentricity causes people to worry they're not normal.

    And as someone else said, many great polymaths of yesteryear were almost certainly on the spectrum.


  • Registered Users Posts: 157 ✭✭Randle P. McMurphy


    Some painful memories dragged up by this thread. At least the kids today can be diagnosed and get some help. I spent a lifetime not knowing why I was different. I knew I was more intelligent than most, never failed an exam or test. I was always ambitious and wanted to get on in life, but drifted from job to job. I either walked out or had a breakdown from the stress of trying to appear 'normal'. At work functions I would smile and laugh as if I was having a good time, but was screaming inside. When I was in my 20's I bought a book called 'how to make small talk.' Just so I could join the inane conversations they seemed to enjoy and came naturally to them. When all the time I just wanted to sit in a corner and read a book. I had learned from experience in previous jobs that if I didn't appear to be 'normal' some of them would target me. I never understood what office politics was even, and why people would tell blatant lies about me.

    My most painful memory is when I had to come home early from a work trip abroad, because I had broke down under the strain of having to socialise. I sent a telegram to my father to tell him i was coming home and why. I needed some comfort and a safe place to recover. When I got home he was asleep on the sofa. When he woke up and saw me he looked at me with disgust and shame in his eyes, then turned his back on me and went back to sleep.

    Every time I failed it threw me in to a deep depression. I would spend whole nights awake trying to figure out what went wrong and why I was different. I would read books on psychology and self help books trying to figure it out. I could never find an adequate answer.

    It wasn't till I was in my late forties that I heard of something called aspergers. A young relative was diagnosed with it. His mother sat me down and told me all the symptoms. I found it interesting but wondered why she was telling me all this. Then she totally surprised me by saying I had this condition too. I've always had a lot of pride and would never admit to anyone I had a problem. I got angry and told her there was nothing wrong with me and she was mad. Then she patiently explained more of the symptoms and behaviours. She pointed out how I had reacted to certain events in my life and how I was living my life now. I thought back to all the problems I had down the years and how my life turned out. Then it suddenly dawned on me she was right. All I could do was sit there with tears rolling down my face. After all these years I knew now what the problem was.

    I'm retired now and can live my life the way I want to. I don't have to pretend anymore or put on a show. I understand now why my life went down the path it did. I understand now why some people reacted to me the way they did. I understand now that a lot of people are just ignorant and selfish cnuts. I used to be bitter about how i was treated in certain situations in the past. I don't care anymore. It is what it is. People are what they are. I'm true to myself now and anyone who doesn't like it can go fck themselves.


  • Registered Users Posts: 85 ✭✭Realtai


    I have a strong suspicion that I have Aspergers and I am thinking of going to a professional sometime, to find out if I have it. I was very badly ostracized and bullied when I was in school, and even now I have always felt that I was an "outsider" who never fitted in.

    When I was a kid, I was obsessive about certain subjects and would take people very seriously if they are joking. In other words, I didn't get that they were joking. So it was really easy to wind me up, when I was a kid and in my early teens. However, these days I am able to partake in banter from experience and learning from others' behaviours. I have a weird sense of humour, that sometimes people don't get.

    I am also very much a loner, and feel that I am destined to be alone for most of my life, but I am OK with that. Most of the time, I just feel disconnected from others. I hate small talk and the mundane chats that work or college peers would have around the table during lunch breaks. Back then, I hated having to sit at the table at college, pretending to smile and be interested, while most of the time the conversation went over my head and inside I would be anxious and wanting to get away so badly.

    I can't stand crowds, and I have been diagnosed with Agoraphobia. I have anxiety and suffer with depression on top of that. The anxiety mostly stems from having to deal with others. I think I have some sensory issues on top of that (I hate bright lights) and I seem to have a phobia of cigarette ash-which is kinda weird, I know. I also love researching about things that I am interested in, and I do enjoy my own company.

    I only started thinking of the possibility that I may have Aspergers since 2015 or so. I am sure that I have some of the traits but, I would assume that I am high functioning. I have been depressed for a long long time, and if I do have Aspergers well, maybe that is the reason why I am depressed and anxious?


  • Registered Users Posts: 85 ✭✭Realtai


    By the way, if anyone wants to send me a PM to chat..feel free to do so.

    Also, If anyone could recommend a professional in Dublin or South East that specialises in diagnosing Aspergers, please send me a PM as well. Thanks! :-)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,740 ✭✭✭Foweva Awone


    Yes. This is very common with Aspergers. It's mainly related to the social difficulties and demands of most jobs. I once worked in a stockbroking firm and it was like being on another planet. The two facedness, backstabbing, talking in riddles...I know neurotypical people would find it annoying but I simply couldn't deal with it at all.

    I can relate! I worked in a Big 4 accountancy firm in the audit department. I loved the work, couldn't deal with the office politics etc.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,809 ✭✭✭Hector Savage


    It's a massive massive spectrum, I know at least two and one of them is one of the nicest guys you could meet, genuinely decent decent guy and a genius at networking and operating systems.

    If you met him for the 1st time you may think he is rude but it's nothing personal, you get used to it.

    The other guy I knew was an American I worked with and he also worked in IT and was extremely talented, but was INCREDIBLY annoying.
    Could not tell when people were uncomfortable so would just talk and talk and talk, he was a "problem" for some women in the office but because he was so good at what he did, nothing ever happened, there was lots of damage control around him.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,016 ✭✭✭✭EmmetSpiceland


    Hang on, are we allowed call them “Aspies”?

    “It is not blood that makes you Irish but a willingness to be part of the Irish nation” - Thomas Davis



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,894 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    Hang on, are we allowed call them “Aspies”?




    Ass burgers


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,899 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    Hang on, are we allowed call them “Aspies�


    You can call us what you want, as long as it's respectful, I'm comfortable with the term aspie, but I'd imagine some aren't


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,110 ✭✭✭✭cnocbui


    Hang on, are we allowed call them “Aspies”?

    It's a lot shorter than 'a person who has Aspergers', so yes, I think it's perfectly acceptable.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 346 ✭✭now online


    Interesting thread,

    I suspect I may have aspergers but do manage well in my day to day life.
    My son has it also, he's highly intelligent warm, loving and has a unique dry sense of humour.
    The one thing I found great is identifying what he struggles with . I.e social skills, sensory issues and a few other things. I see it as an advantage to know how his brain works and to know how he'll be in a given situation.
    You can learn coping skills, you can learn social skills and sometimes it's ok to think I can't be bothered dealing with this crap! Knowing to think as opposed to saying is also a learned skill!
    How many nt people know how they'd react in a given situation?


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    now online wrote: »
    How many nt people know how they'd react in a given situation?
    How long is a piece of string?

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 346 ✭✭now online


    Wibbs wrote: »
    How long is a piece of string?

    Put it another way so...
    Would a NT person know how they would react if they felt lights were too bright smells too strong a piece of clothing not right or a sudden loud noise. These are some of the struggles my son faces but knowing that has helped him cope


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,899 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    id highly recommend the work of clinical psychologist tony attwood, if people want to further their knowledge on this topic.

    a great youtube channel on the subject matter

    https://www.youtube.com/user/autismhangout/videos


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  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,001 ✭✭✭The Enbalmer


    I know (not personally) one bloke who claims to have asberger's and he's a convicted peadophile who tries to bring his illness up as a defense whenever he's in court.


    Absolutely loathesome individual.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,314 ✭✭✭✭Grayson


    now online wrote: »
    Put it another way so...
    Would a NT person know how they would react if they felt lights were too bright smells too strong a piece of clothing not right or a sudden loud noise. These are some of the struggles my son faces but knowing that has helped him cope

    I had them remove the fluorescent lighting from over my desk. It drove me nuts. I managed a day with it there. Next day I wore a baseball cap and sunglasses at my desk (Yep, I looked like a sex offender). On day 3 I had them removed.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,259 ✭✭✭donkeykong5


    I know (not personally) one bloke who claims to have asberger's and he's a convicted peadophile who tries to bring his illness up as a defense whenever he's in court.


    Absolutely loathesome individual.
    Despicable scum


  • Registered Users Posts: 85 ✭✭Realtai


    No offence but some of you 'aspies' sound like an absolute nightmare to be around.

    Why should we tolerate your bizarre behaviour?


    Noone is forcing you to be around us. Most of us are introverts anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,731 ✭✭✭jam_mac_jam


    No offence but some of you 'aspies' sound like an absolute nightmare to be around.

    Why should we tolerate your bizarre behaviour?

    A well named poster anyway.

    Why should anyone tolerate your bizarre question?


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,731 ✭✭✭jam_mac_jam


    And let's face it, aspie is just a convient excuse for socially incompetent people.

    That's it. Good man. Its all made up.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 10,633 ✭✭✭✭Widdershins


    Yes, a good few people I know have asd. It's not called Aspergers anymore . They can be a bit blunt but it's unintentional as social skills are often difficult for them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,016 ✭✭✭✭EmmetSpiceland


    No offence but some of you 'aspies' sound like an absolute nightmare to be around.

    Why should we tolerate your bizarre behaviour?

    It’s quite common in modern society for the many to bend to the needs of the few. I’m not sure office life has quite gotten there as yet but you do see programmes for people with special needs to enter the work place.

    “It is not blood that makes you Irish but a willingness to be part of the Irish nation” - Thomas Davis



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,314 ✭✭✭✭Grayson


    No offence but some of you 'aspies' sound like an absolute nightmare to be around.

    Why should we tolerate your bizarre behaviour?

    To be fair you sound like an asshole. Why should I tolerate you?

    How about basic human niceness?

    I'm probably one of the least difficult people to work with. There's a few other people here with ASD and they're some of the nicest people you could meet.

    ASD doesn't affect what type of person you are. Really it just gives you a few quirks. And I'd prefer to work with someone who's ASD any day rather than work with someone who's just plain inconsiderate or nasty.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,899 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    And let's face it, aspie is just a convient excuse for socially incompetent people.


    Your knowledge is inspiring, please continue


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,134 ✭✭✭Lux23


    Your Face wrote: »
    Sounds like an excuse for unacceptable behaviour but what do I know, I don't even have a Twitter account.

    What's your excuse?


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  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Grayson wrote: »
    I had them remove the fluorescent lighting from over my desk. It drove me nuts. I managed a day with it there. Next day I wore a baseball cap and sunglasses at my desk (Yep, I looked like a sex offender). On day 3 I had them removed.
    The light, loud noises and smells thing is interesting. I'd strongly suspect that if you grabbed a tribal type from the depths of New Guinea and dropped him into a modern office he'd flip out from the stimulus too and a crowded street would have him really reeling. Modern life is extremely "loud" across the senses.

    I wonder if that aspect anyway might be a holdover from earlier times, where most have adapted down the millennia, but some haven't? Years ago I knew a woman who was equally wired up by bright lights(especially fluorescent, with their attendant buzzing) and loud noises and didn't like certain textures, but in every other way she wasn't near the spectrum; extrovert, sought out social interactions, spontaneous to a near fault and so on(extremely coordinated with it).

    Has anyone done research on such tribal types and their incidence of autism, particularly at the Asperger end of it? I have read of studies into other mental and developmental condition rates among such groups(EG levels of schizophrenia are the same, depression and anxiety are much lower). It would be particularly interesting for me to look at the social cues/awkwardness aspect as their lives are lived intimately and extrovertedly with each other and I wonder would that environment have an affect at the rates of that in adults?

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Posts: 21,679 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Something which I wonder about is whether or not early developmental trauma is being diagnosed as aspergers or indeed if there is conflation of relational issues and mental illness with aspergers.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,434 ✭✭✭✭AndrewJRenko


    hgfj wrote: »
    "Has employment ever proved problematical for people here? such as constantly getting fired, unable to get work, can't settle in one job for too long etc?"


    I don't know how true it is but I remember reading somewhere that people with aspergers often find it hard enough to get through an initial job interview in the first place.

    My husband has Aspergers and finds getting through interviews difficult and has no idea where he has gone wrong, he always feels that interviews go well. He finds it very difficult to read people
    That's why Microsoft have set up a recruitment stream without interviews for people with autism

    https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/why-microsoft-hiring-autistic-talent-drive-creativity/1458408


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,434 ✭✭✭✭AndrewJRenko


    No offence but some of you 'aspies' sound like an absolute nightmare to be around.

    Why should we tolerate your bizarre behaviour?

    A well named poster anyway.

    Why should anyone tolerate your bizarre question?
    Perhaps Rudolf doesn't have the smarts to work out that, in the ICT sector, people with autism can be brilliant coders and testers.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,893 ✭✭✭Cheerful Spring


    Dr. Louise Gallagher who has conducted genetic research in autism at Trinity College Dublin.

    autism is very commonly associated with low functioning and Learning Disability. This is a false conception of the condition. High Functioning Autism or Asperger’s syndrome can occur in persons with very high I.Q.

    http://professormichaelfitzgerald.eu/persons-of-genius-with-high-functioning-autism-or-aspergers-syndrome/

    Myself above normal or normal IQ I say, just know a bit more about certain subjects than other people.. High IQ no wish I had.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 711 ✭✭✭Three More Big Sleeps


    This is way off topic, but this thread is like finding a diamond in the rough*/**.

    * The "Have you ever noticed that some things are like other things?" adolescent nonsensical dirge that AH has become.

    ** I acknowledge that the "I'm so edgy" asshole brigade have arrived on thread. Depressingly predictable.

    Lainey, Jam et. al., thank you for your honesty. I'm a robust, nearly fifty year old man, but I'm not ashamed to admit that there were tears this end. Anything that evokes a (positive) emotional response is okay in my book. Carry on.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,691 ✭✭✭Lia_lia


    I’ve a first cousin with Asperger’s. She’s in her late teens/early 20’s now. I babysat her the odd time when I was younger. Always had some sort of obsession with something. Was usually animal related like birds, dinosaurs etc.. She’s very intelligent. Haven’t seen her in a few years but her social skills aren’t great so she usually avoids family gatherings. Saying that I don’t blame her, our family are a bit of a pain in the arse.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 775 ✭✭✭Musefan


    Something which I wonder about is whether or not early developmental trauma is being diagnosed as aspergers or indeed if there is conflation of relational issues and mental illness with aspergers.

    I work in the area of diagnosing asd. This is probably one of the most important things we have to consider during assessments! Attachment difficulties and ASD often look very similar. Check out the Coventry Grid.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 382 ✭✭Giveaway


    noted a lot of the posts concerning office politics and workplace relationships etc. I am NT(i think) and much prefer work to be just about work, so i suppose somewhat paradoxically i get on better with people with more aspie tendencies
    Workplaces i wish were less social places. #Family and friends outside of work are enough for me


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,698 ✭✭✭Feisar


    My bro has it, he's a smart funker but hates answering the phone.

    I think I've a few traits myself.

    First they came for the socialists...



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  • Posts: 21,679 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Musefan wrote: »
    I work in the area of diagnosing asd. This is probably one of the most important things we have to consider during assessments! Attachment difficulties and ASD often look very similar. Check out the Coventry Grid.

    Thank you very much for that. I love finding out about new insights and research regarding the mind :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,385 ✭✭✭lainey_d_123


    Grayson wrote: »
    I had them remove the fluorescent lighting from over my desk. It drove me nuts. I managed a day with it there. Next day I wore a baseball cap and sunglasses at my desk (Yep, I looked like a sex offender). On day 3 I had them removed.

    I never put the pieces together, even though I've had a lifelong aversion to bright lights, especially fluorescent ones, certain noises, things like cigarette smoke. People just thought I was intolerant and prissy, but it's textbook Aspergers. Things other people would barely even notice drive me insane.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,385 ✭✭✭lainey_d_123


    It’s quite common in modern society for the many to bend to the needs of the few. I’m not sure office life has quite gotten there as yet but you do see programmes for people with special needs to enter the work place.

    There's a word for your attitude. Ableism.

    It's truly incredible how many people seem to consider those with disabilities barely human and undeserving of things the vast majority of people totally take for granted. And strangely enough, the same people who would resent something with Aspergers getting accommodations in a job would be the first to complain when those people claimed benefits.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 775 ✭✭✭Musefan


    Thank you very much for that. I love finding out about new insights and research regarding the mind :)

    No problem! Other important differentials are: Speech and Language Delay vs ASD, ADHD vs ASD, certain genetic/mitochondrial disorders vs ASD, Intellectual Disability vs ASD, Dyspraxia vs ASD, OCD/Anxiety Disorder vs ASD, Tic Disorders vs ASD and then the possibility that all of the above could be co-occurring with ASD!! Good assessments take a long time, skill and a team approach.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Dr. Louise Gallagher who has conducted genetic research in autism at Trinity College Dublin.

    autism is very commonly associated with low functioning and Learning Disability. This is a false conception of the condition. High Functioning Autism or Asperger’s syndrome can occur in persons with very high I.Q.

    http://professormichaelfitzgerald.eu/persons-of-genius-with-high-functioning-autism-or-aspergers-syndrome/

    Myself above normal or normal IQ I say, just know a bit more about certain subjects than other people.. High IQ no wish I had.
    Interesting link CS. Though the bit at the end inferring "diagnosis" of well known figures of the past as having the condition is all too common with many conditions and "non typical" orientations. Leonardo DaVinci is often a catchall for this reverse diagnosis of all sorts of things, being on the spectrum one of them. Being Gay? Extremely likely, though he himself describes the sexual act of any sort extremely icky and a big nope from him, only he says it in backwards Latin :D. Antisocial? Anything but. He was an extremely gregarious man and described as very socially aware, liked and loved by many, men and women, even those he owed money and art and other stuff to(which was a long list). Obsessive? Yes, kinda, but in many different directions and often just went off on frivolous tangents. Eccentric? Yes, but he was well aware of it and often revelled in it. EG he was known for wearing what were seen as "young men's fashion" into middle age and beyond, but well knew what he was doing. Mostly and as usual a feck off to "polite society" and the same society liked him for it.

    I'm decidedly dubious of such claims TBH. It would be handy if the author got Charles Lindbergh's name right for a start(that's the pedant in me :D). Of Archimedes we know little more than feck all, so that's a dead loss. Usually the perception of being a "loner" and "focussed" is held up as diagnostic. Never mind they missed out a few who in my humble would be far more likely. Isaac Newton seems a really good match for Aspergers. Tesla another chap. Alan Turing another.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Thank you very much for that. I love finding out about new insights and research regarding the mind :)
    Meet your twin P. :D

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,016 ✭✭✭✭EmmetSpiceland


    There's a word for your attitude. Ableism.

    It's truly incredible how many people seem to consider those with disabilities barely human and undeserving of things the vast majority of people totally take for granted. And strangely enough, the same people who would resent something with Aspergers getting accommodations in a job would be the first to complain when those people claimed benefits.

    Enough of the labels, please. I do not consider myself an ableist and I certainly won’t be referring to myself as “NT”.

    I don’t see what’s wrong with pointing out that in an evolved society people are looked after? Is that not what’s happening in the modern workplace?

    I’ve never resented anyone with any special needs having a full time job. I’m not sure if there are any in my current workplace but there are a couple of guys who are very into computer games and don’t talk about much else, they don’t seem capable of maintaining eye contact. I would have in my younger days working in a supermarket and never had any issue with that.

    “It is not blood that makes you Irish but a willingness to be part of the Irish nation” - Thomas Davis



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,407 ✭✭✭✭Sardonicat


    Musefan, I have Dyspraxia. I don't think I'm NT. Would I be correct in thinking there are some overlaps with ASD/Aspies and Dyspraxia? I'm just wondering if it's worth shelling out for a diagnosis just to be sure if it's Dyspraxia or Aspies or both.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,543 ✭✭✭Dante7


    Wibbs wrote: »
    Meet your twin P. :D

    Wibbs, do you think you may be somewhere on the spectrum?


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  • Posts: 21,679 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    How have I not heard of Professor Michael Fitzgerald *scratches head* and I read he is married to Frances. God knows why I find that interesting.


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