Query: how exactly are you when it comes to displaying or dealing with your emotions?
Something I've become increasingly aware of is that I basically wear my heart on my sleeve and find it impossible to lie about or disguise my feelings, and when I do feel something big, it tends to be VERY intense or I'm otherwise in a bit of an emotional flatline. I can tell little white lies in some situations, but am otherwise very transparent, if not in what I say, then in other things like my facial expression, body language, etc.
This has led to more than a few problems but also hasn't exactly proved to be a purely negative trait. I have had multiple people tell me that they think it makes me come across as very authentic, which honestly makes me feel a bit weird. You know, as if they're surrounded by people who are for whatever reason not being themselves. I know sometimes you can't always be 100% honest but I can't imagine just lying to everyone constantly about who you are and how you're feeling.
For unknown reasons, I have a tendency to have my neutral emotion misinterpreted as angry emotion. Perhaps neither smiling or frowning on that state has something to do with it.
That said, I tend to suppress my emotions because I am living a life where stoicism is vital. However, those bottled emotions gets disappeared like leaks that went unnoticed. It certainly helps that my unusual calm and rational mind tempers my emotion well.
Also, I always go straight to the point, which lead to awkward situations. As a coworker said, "do you need to refuse me that quick"? But for me, not refusing straight away when you intend to is rude because that would cause confusion. Oh, that response happened when I refused to eat sample biscuits from a supplier because I ate them already. In another instance, my refusal of an offer to ride me home, by my manager no less, has resulted him saying "It sounded like I'm begging you to take my help" even though I do not intend to.
edited 22nd Apr '17 7:08:56 AM by murazrai
a collection of small trees
How a new job fair is battling the stigma around autism.
Canadian news source.
It's all made worse when those employers have an incorrect or negative perception of the condition.
"I get the vibe that some of these employers might not be comfortable hiring somebody with autism," he said.
He says Gay Lea Foods will have positions available across its operation, from processing plants to its head office in Mississauga.
The company does not currently employ anyone on the autism spectrum, but Barrett says doing so could be both a smart business decision and a boon for the culture of his company.
Data entry. A job based on the "good with computers" stereotype that does not require an actual brain.
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12-year-old girl with autism gives school assembly to explain her condition.
“We noticed early on that Holly was different,” her mother, Jo, said.
She didn’t seem to interact much. She played differently than others. When she went to kindergarten, she didn’t mix with the other children.
When she was punished for misbehaving with a timeout, Holly was happy.
“She actually enjoyed” being by herself, her mother said.
Ya know, that reminds me of a long life story of an autistic man I read over a decade ago. An Australian autistic man, who told one hell of a long and interesting story. I don't want to go into it now since I'd be changing subjects too quickly, but one scene (of many) that stuck out to me was when he said that as a kid, the punishment for misbehaving boys in school was to be made to sit with the girls. When he asked if he could choose which girl he sat next to, we was never threatened by that "punishment" again.
After her speech, things "got better," she said. "I think people understood me more. They could understand that I was different.
"People treate me like I was normal."
That assembly took balls, and it paid off. Wow.
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The subtle brilliance of Sesame Street's first episode starring an autistic Muppet
Trying to force autistics to act normal has been the way things have been done since forever. It's how it's been done since I was a kid myself. It was done to me. I'm sure many of us here can relate.
But as we know, it's just acting. When another article tells of a child who would be sent to time-out as punishment only for her to end up enjoying time-out due to its peace and quiet, that says something about how people with different-working brains should be treated differently. (and no, I don't simply mean they should be punished differently; I mean more like the reason they act a certain way should be discovered and understood, and worked with if possible)
I will read more later.
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![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I can certainly relate to that.
Today, when I accidentally knocked off a tissue dispenser onto my table while taking a pen right next to it and, making a very loud noise, my coworker asked me what's wrong with me. I don't know what exactly she thinks, but apparently she thought that I was angry or something even though it was an accident. I decided to laugh a bit to diffuse the tension and tell her that it was nothing. Has anyone here has similar experience?
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Having a random accident be mistaken for you being angry? I vaguely remember something like that happening to me, but I remember no details.
I had to share this from the article as well:
There’s a subtle brilliance in how the show frames this interaction. The segment is shown through Big Bird’s perspective. He’s trying to make a new friend, but she won’t talk to him or high-five him. An overly careful show might have avoided this, but it’s crucial. The episode is aimed at neurotypical kids, and highlighting the ways they might take autistic people’s quirks as personal slights is very important. There’s no use pretending this isn’t how kids often react in this kind of situation.
Just as importantly, Big Bird is trying to be friends with Julia. He’s not angry that someone is disrespecting him; he’s sad that a potential friend doesn’t seem to like him. Even as Sesame Street is telling a story from a neurotypical point of view, the show is painting friendship with autistic kids as desirable, and modeling a response to perceived slights that doesn’t escalate into anger and ostracism.
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From this:
I'm glad that industries beyond tech are also seeking autistic talent. I read about a bank that told its investors that they plan to have 10% of their workforce be autistic within a few years. Now, you don't tell frigging shareholders that you plan to do charity work, so obviously they think this is a good thing that will help their company, and they expect shareholders to believe the same.
ULTRA candidates undergo an eight-step employment process. Recruiting happens through social media communities, blogs, and job boards for adults with ASD. Once a candidate applies, they’re asked to complete an online questionnaire, essay, set of skills tests, and, finally, a week of simulated work.
Anandan says the application process, specifically the skills tests and simulated week of work, allows ULTRA to monitor work behavior and assess attributes, such as learning agility, that are tougher to measure in a traditional face-to-face interview.
Kearon says the use of games and reviewing work that is more closely aligned with what the candidate is being hired to do is a more effective hiring process for people with autism.
Wouldn't it be more effective for hiring people, in general?! The job interview process, as is, is fucking stupid. It's about socialing your boss and bantering about how you can do the job, not actually proving you can do the job.
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I've never actually had to do a job interview. I don't know if that's always going to be the case- most government jobs, which are the most likely field I'll be in, can be applied for online
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But when I later mentioned to a friend what I saw and how it made me feel, they couldn’t relate. Even worse, they ridiculed me for it, since it wasn’t a “cool” thing for me to say. I knew I had this beautiful way of experiencing the world, but I also knew that I was a little bit alone in experiencing it that way.
I love rain. I'd read that a lot of autistics do. We have no way of knowing for sure how common this is, but I always thought the colors after rain were very pretty. It might be because we experience light/color differently, or so I've heard.
Heck, today at work I saw outside the window and saw how damn bright it was, and it actually hurt my eyes a little. It was not pretty. It was annoyingly bright.
But if we see light/color differently, than it explains why the supposedly ugly, dull, drab look of recently rained-on ground looks so pretty to many of us. We are literally not seeing the same thing.
Any of you like the look of rain also?
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(Also, I really wish this thread and the general autism thread were unified)
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Local law enforcement undergo autism training, which includes interacting with autistics.
Christian County Emergency Management paired with CC Links to host the training sessions. The Christian County Sheriff’s Office, Christian County Juvenile Office and Ozark, Highlandville, Sparta and Nixa Police Departments participated in the sessions, which were held the last week of April for Autism Awareness Month.
During the training, law enforcement officials interacted with individuals who are on the autism spectrum, giving the police officers a chance to learn more about autism. Liz Hager took this opportunity to talk to the officers about the safety of Ozark.
“I’m happy that the law enforcement is having this opportunity to learn about this population, and it’s not that I want to segregate us, but we have needs that the average person doesn’t need,” Judy Hager, Liz’s grandmother, said, watching as her granddaughter built relationships with the local law enforcement. “Our kids definitely have more needs than the average person, so with law enforcement being trained in what to do and how to do (it) and when to do (it) is very, very important.”
Linda Barger, assistant director of Christian County Emergency Management, said the training stemmed from a situation earlier this year when law enforcement stopped a man who had autism. She said while law enforcement did what they were supposed to do, officers thought the man was on drugs because they did not understand autism, and the man who was pulled over was confused by the situation.
Judy Hager said she does not think local law enforcement has a stigma toward individuals with ASD, but there is always room for education.
“They don’t really know what autism is, not having been exposed to it. (If) they don’t have a friend or family member who has autism, it makes it very difficult for them to understand, ‘Well, why is this kid bouncing off the walls? What happened? Alright, give me some backup.’ That’s not what the child or adult needs,” she said.
There were two parts of the training. The first part was the law enforcement officials and individuals with autism interacting with each other. During the second half, Cooper talked to officers about characteristics associated with ASD because being able to recognize these traits might help them handle situations involving individuals with autism. She also gave them sensory kits with items such as fidgety toys that could help calm people with ASD.
This training wasn’t just learning about autism, though. It was about the officers meeting people in the community.
“We’re going to better know these people,” Ozark Police Officer Chris Schwartz said. “If something happened down the road, it’s going to help us better respond to the situation.”
The training also provided a way for people with autism to become more comfortable around law enforcement.
“It’s valuable for officers to see the actual behaviors and characteristics, but it’s valuable to our children to get to meet the officers, see how the officers would approach and see what the officers wear, because sometimes they don’t have an inkling of what is expected of them to do or what an officer looks like, or what a badge is,” Cooper said. “So, it’s value for our children to get used to being around officers, but it’s also value for the officers to recognize the different characteristics and behaviors first-hand.”
Andrea Swope, executive director of CC Links, said she thinks this training will benefit both the police officers and community, which is another reason why Barger said she plans on doing more of these sessions in the future.
Judy Hager agreed conversations about ASD should happen in the community, which might help lead to more acceptance of people with autism.
“We are part of the community. We contribute to the community. Liz needs to feel comfortable when she goes out somewhere; I need to feel comfortable when I go out somewhere, knowing that the community is aware of autism, knowing that if she should do something, they’re not going to jump on her and start screaming and yelling at her because she did something,” she said. “If the community is aware of autism and the traits of autism — which there are many — they can be more acceptable.”
I realize I quoted most of the article, but that's because most of it is pretty relevant. I couldn't think of much not to quote.
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Professional Professionalist
To respond to the rain thing, I'm fond of it too, especially when it's raining outside when I'm in bed. The sound of rain (or even water running, if someone is showering) is total ear therapy and helps me sleep.
a collection of small trees
A play about autism uses actual autistic actors, and it portrays the condition's struggles very well. It's called Keep the Change.
Heartbreaking indeed. Autistics often come across better online than they do in person; I've seen some of it myself.
Fits in Heavy's pocket!
One of the most annoying parts of being autistic for me is the fact that I'm face-blind. If a face is really distinctive or if I've seen it many times before I can recognise it, but most of the time unless it's people I know well I tend to use height, clothing, hair colour and style, etc instead to identify people.
This...has actually gotten me mistaken for racist.
As in, I was in a group with two Japanese guys in it. Both were about the same height, wore glasses and were wearing stripy shirts. One of the guys was playing a ball game with some other people and the ball rolled to me. So I pick up the ball, hand it to who I thought had lost it and...
"No, it's his ball. It's alright. I know we're both Asian."
Leaving me to splutter "No, it's that you're both wearing stripy shirts, I didn't mean..."
Cue him side-eying me for the rest of the day. Gaaaah.
The last thing you hear before an unstoppable juggernaut bisects you with a minigun.
Professional Professionalist
That's not your fault, definitely it's theirs for misinterpreting you. Given your descriptions, they do sound very similar...
Fits in Heavy's pocket!
Thanks. I know it wasn't my fault, but it was still awkward as hell.
The last thing you hear before an unstoppable juggernaut bisects you with a minigun.
Ugh, the same thing has happened to me.
a collection of small trees
A quote that was passed on to me by my friend, who was reading it somewhere else.
"All disabilities are the same" indeed. I can totally see that. Hell, that's the mentality behind Wawa hiring an autistic man as a fucking greeter! Um, autistics are often skilled at various things, tend to have a sort of "uneven intelligence", and have difficulty with social interactions. How is being a mere greeter supposed to be appropriate? He inevitably got fired, and sued, claiming his autism symptoms (that Wawa obviously didn't know even were) were the reason they fired him. I honestly hope he wins, but I don't see it happening.
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Head Lopper
The only thing I would change if I could is my sensitivity to sound. It's a constant struggle to not be pained by what my sister insists is a normal speaking volume, to not hear the TV on the other side of the house thru two closed doors, to not panic and cry when our neighbors throw a party.
That's symptomatic, right?
Wrestler, bodybuilder. No hopes, no dreams.
Professional Professionalist
I always felt weird in this regard because everyone else is always talking about sensitivity to loud noise, but I love it. The movie theater, the arcade, pep rallies in the school gym, fireworks on New Year's, I love it all because it's just so loud! And I always have my music turned up really loud too. It's when it's at a high frequency that it bothers me....
But I do hate the sound of markers sometimes, if that's anything. I would shiver and cringe in tenth grade when the geometry teacher tried to demonstrate some concept in front of me on the other board, the hellish gray board, which was a different texture than the white board and oh so screechy. Oh, and I guess there's also the sound of styrofoam.
"Don't cry because it's over, cry because it happened."
a collection of small trees
Anyone here read about that drug, Suramin, that may treat autism in a major way?
http://www.livescience.com/59314-suramin-drug-may-treat-autism-symptoms.html
10 autistics were chosen, with 5 taking the drug and 5 taking a placebo.
Reports from the boys' parents suggested that the five boys who received suramin improved for three weeks, then gradually decreased toward their original baseline over the next three weeks, the researchers said in the study.
"We had four nonverbal children in the study," Naviaux said, adding that the two who received suramin said the first sentences of their lives about one week after the treatment. This did not happen in the two nonverbal kids given the placebo, Naviaux said.
Moreover, the boys who received suramin made more progress during their speech therapy and occupational therapy programs than the boys given the placebo, Naviaux said.
First off, holy crap. And the fact that the effects wear off after a certain amount of time also says something as well. But why does this work??
Also, I admit, I'm worried a bit. Part of autism is thinking differently, as in having more original thought patterns. Does this destroy that? Are the positive aspects of autism directly connected to the negative? Or does this merely improve sociality, ability to speak, and need to stim? Is the intelligence and creative thinking autism can cause connected to these specific symptoms?
I'd like to know more.
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Back- AAAAAAAAA
Forgive me if this turns into a small vent.
My older brother and I are both in the spectrum, but both of us are in different areas. (IE: He's been diagnosed with Autism, while I've been diagnosed with Aspergers.)
Oddly enough, I seem to understand him better, but he doesn't seem to do the same.
He's gotten into trouble a lot, but simply apologizes, only to do the same, or something equally just as shoddy.
Now, he's in trouble at both of his jobs, with the potential to be fired, and I cannot get through to him at all. He's obsessed with control, isolates himself, and gets mad whenever we try to explain why eating pizza that he makes for customers right after cooking it, or why it's bad to not finish the task you are given and lie about it to your boss's face.
It's tedious and it's frustrating and I'm just venting here due to things, apologies.
AAAAA-
a collection of small trees
Wow. He has a really hard time learning the social skills. Eating their food?!
This... sounds more like laziness than lack of social skills more than anything, to me.
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I'm afraid I don't know what to say in response to that. I'm in a dead-end situation myself. Education costs money, and so do my health issues that are not covered by insurance. And my dad had a stroke a few weeks ago, and we're going to have to help him take care of himself.
Actors with autism finally get the star treatment
, from New York Post.
“Samantha lights up every room,” says Israel, whose movie “Keep the Change” premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday. “Over the course of the production, she grew so much as an actor.”
Amateur actor Brandon Polansky, 39, plays David, the male lead — and also has autism, as do others who appear in the film.
This makes “Keep the Change” rare for two reasons: for being a non-documentary about the disorder, and for using so-called “authentic” cast members.
“Sarah challenges David to embrace his own uniqueness,” says Elisofon. “Before that, he resented being singled out as ‘different.’”
Autistics have argued that actors on the spectrum should be considered for playing characters on the spectrum. They got their wish here.
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