Quote:
Originally Posted by jimi...
My friend and I have the same set of "disorders", ASD and ADD. Still we're so different. We can both be fascinated by the night sky or a rainbow. We're often in awe when others just don't see it! I feel bad for them, they must feel dead.
But then there are differences. I'm an INTJ and she is an ISFJ. She KEEPS the focus on the world. I don't. She sees every animal at the side of the road when she is driving. She is aware of every sound when walking in the woods. I need to bring myself out for that. My surroundings can become just a background for my thoughts. Still we're both extremely sensitive to change in the environment. They cut down a big tree where we live and no one saw it but us! How can you see a huge tree one day and just a stump the next and think it always looked like that?
My friend has a much better idea of people. She always notice people. For me I can pass them and they are sort of just a shadow to me. She notices everything about them. She know who is who here. I didn't even notice when she cut her hair short.... whoops.
I think attention is always somewhere. It's just about where. And if you or someone else wishes it was pointed in another direction.
I could never drive a car. That would put me in the sensing mode too much and be tiresome. If I would turn inside I would stop seeing the other cars. My friend drives very well. Training and perceptiveness. Because she "shouldn't" be as good of a driver. 
Even though my friend is interested in people in a way I'm not and perceptive, she can't listen. After a while she just drifts off. I can keep attention if I listen. |
What you say about the car is interesting. I consider myself a safe driver. The only accident I've been in wasn't my fault and I've only had one ticket. But I noticed that on a boring road or in heavy traffic I wouldn't always stay alert.
My solution was that I bought a manual car. Now I need to pay attention--in heavy traffic I'll stall if I don't. On a boring road, I turn stability assists off and have fun driving. The car produces the most power at the top of its range, so I need to pay attention if I don't want to replace my engine.
I also feel like a lot of roads should have higher speed limits. I hate to say I speed, but I do drive fast and feel like I'm completely alert to whats going on. When I slow down is when I struggle to stay focused.
My parents are insisting my next car be automatic because of my physical problems, but I drive my dad's SUV when I need to haul something and I don't think I could go back, unless I physically couldn't use a clutch any more--then maybe I'd need to get a stereo I can load my music collection into as what they play on the radio around here doesn't keep my focus.
As I read what I wrote, I think I've found a very expensive method of avoiding ADHD meds. It works for me, but I should probably look into getting back on them.