Sidewinder040

Karajan's Beethoven... Nice. A favorite of mine is the 6th conducted by Herbert Von Karajan. Erik Satie - Gymnopédies, 1. Lent et douloureux - very relaxing

http://www.aspievillage.org.uk/index.php is quite good. They have meet ups in the London area (I haven't been to one yet). I heard about this site in a book I bought off Amazon about Aspergers.

Hi Darkshine, I agree with A-S Warior, you have come a long way since I last visited this forum. What you have to remember is that on this forum you don't have to be apologetic for being 'you'. Although we all have varying 'differences', the people on this forum also have a lot in common. I am pleased you are coming to terms with your diagnosis and I suppose that like a lot people who have been diagnosed, you are looking back over you life and it is beginning to make sense of all the past difficulties. For me personally, a lot of the strangeness in me is a consequence of the ways of coping I have learnt in order to get by day to day in my interactions with other people. I need a lot of alone time away from the world where i can live in an asperger-friendly way, following interests and time in reflective thinking. Try not to get frustrated - when dealing with other Neurotypicals, older aspies [hope this term doesn't offend] use their intellect (or concious mind maybe rather than instinct) and past experience to know how to react. If you're calm you are more capable of knowing how to 'do the right thing' - it is thought the concious mind can only cope with 7 ±2 things at a time, so it is all too easy to get overloaded and go into a melt-down or get withdrawn [in my case]. I am 47 by the way, married with teen-aged children, but haven't any friends as I don't have time or energy for them. I know I should make more effort but... I need to summon up enough courage to see my GP about getting a diagnosis. My workmates are used to me and know my 'funny' ways, but other people are aways giving me strange looks or side-ways glances when I don't know what i have done wrong or what they expect from me. Some books on Aspergers and body language might be beneficial to you. Sidewinder.

Sofa.

Bee

That's being prepared! Although I write left handed, I wear my watch on my left wrist. It's useful when doing DIY to have a good amount of abidexterity.

Thank-you RainbowsButterflies This is a good place to hang out, with some very pleasant people.

Hi Darkshine, Thanks for the greeting. I think youre right, we have both taken part in another thread. I had a look at your profile - Amiga 500, I have one in my attic - cool

Passion

Thanks for your relies. It seems to me that it is all pretty random. Sidewinder.

Suze/Trekster, Thanks for your replies. It is a relief to know that my contrariness is down to my mental wiring, and not just plain weirdness . I also have a certain amount of ambidexterity, ie. knife and fork in correct hand, can paint and use tools with either hand, my writing though, is very very laborious and erratic, all my school reports said that i work so slowly. It is very embarrassing at work when i have to write greeting cards out, even writing slowly and carefully i have the writing of an older child. It doesn't have any style to it, it is just functional. Thank heavens we have computers with which i can use to touch-type proficiently. If i was asked to fill out an job application form while the interviewer looked on, it wouldn't have inspired them with confidence in me. Also i didn't like throwing things in sport, using my left-hand, i used to be accused of 'throwing like a girl' Is the writing problem common with ASD and/or left-handedness? I wonder what the statistics are for the percentages of ASD people among the left-handed population and vice-versa. Sidewinder

I don't know if this has been covered before, but... I have heard that a lot of left-handed people are neurologically wired differently and that they tend to predominantly use the opposite hemisphere of their brains to neurotypical people. I wondered how many Aspies were left-handed??

The people who have assessed you, don't you think they would have seen through your 'act' if you were exaggerating your symptoms? Although i havn't officially had a diagnosis, i can speak ok to a handful of people, but i ignore other people i am unsure about. I am careful with money and weigh up my motives for buying things. Do i want or do i need the thing i am thinking of buying. I look up on Amazon reviews of the thing i want and compare. Don't you think that maybe these are Asperger traits, the having to over-think things through, to assess ones motives? Also I am very conscious about my appearance and hygiene, I would feel ashamed of myself and 'out of control' if my level of personal hygiene slipped. Also when you said you had an argument with someone when you couldn't find something, I always have a place for everything, even if it isn't tidily stored away, i like to know where all my belongings are, i hate to have to waste time looking around for things. I feel guilt when i feel like i am just humouring people when they try to talk to me and i feel guilty that i can't show my emotions. I know that is a 'man-thing', but i seem confused about the emotion i feel and don't know how to interpret them, i have to logically work out what i am feeling and why. I would say to you that you have had your diagnosis, but that you are in denial. If you didn't have good reason to get a diagnosis in the first place, why are you doubting those reasons now?? I don't want to be labelled or stereo-typed, but i think that when you know your problems or short-comings, then you can move on from that point with a better knowledge in how to either over-come your problems or find ways around them. I have spend a long time trying to act 'normal' and telling myself that when i think that i feel different from other people it is just me being silly. You are an individual and you have a right to be yourself, as the song says 'Life is not worth a damn until you can say i am what i am'. For me learning about Aspergers has been a revelation to me, it has shown me why i have my funny ways and it has made me more determined that armed with the knowledge of my problems, i will learn to be the best that i can be. I will not wallow in self-pity or think any less of myself that i know i have AS. I am wired neurologically differently and it makes me interpret thinks differently and sometimes i can inspire people to think of problems in a more logical way, that maybe they wouldn't have otherwise done, because i helped them think from a different angle. Keep an open mind, Sidewinder. y y

Aeolienne listen to this, anyone who loves music has got to love this... Absolutely sublime.

Ryuichi Sakamoto- 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence'