From my own personal experience with this "illness" and from what I know from my knowledge, I feel that the "autism spectrum" is something that has greater variety than many realize. I myself have been long suspected of being "on the spectrum". However, there are many things about me which truly do not seem "autistic". I have the solid ability to converse and relate to others. To many, they would think "not autism" because I have not been impaired in interpersonal relations. However, although I have some ability to function in the world, I suffer from extremely poor executive functioning (the one trait which has been of serious detriment to me). Also, I have a lot of bizarre fixations and fantasies such as aliens, having strange powers, being an alien, being able to transcend to higher realities, a strong interest in out of body experience, etc., all things that would suggest schizoid thinking/mental illness. Also, I have a tendency to fixate/perseverate in general which suggests autism only I somehow avoid my "fixations" around other people. Additionally, as a kid I frequently made a lot of "off the wall" remarks and despite all of this, most people don't see anything wrong with me when meeting me and I rarely get odd looks or attitudes.

Now to throw everyone for a loop here, much of this has not been of detriment to me in my life. I am currently attending college and am doing reasonably well (although I have had a few difficulties recently) and function quite well socially. My strange ideas have kept me from really seriously feeling negatively about myself and my issues (as I convinced myself I had special powers or was some type of greater than human being). My fixations have served me well as whenever I "perseverate" on a specific thing, I tend to do very well with it, far beyond my peers. My executive functioning issues only kick in when I am doing something I don't really care about so it serves to keep me from getting into ritualized jobs. Maybe despite all of this, I'm not mentally ill, but merely very mentally different (with a surprisingly normal outward appearance). Maybe many of us here are really in the same boat on this

[Travelinglady]

I suspect you're right, Steve223.

[artyaspie]

Its a wide ocean alright, also had a lot of thinking that might have been thought 'delusional' if I had ever told anyone, but I was too smart for that Prefer to think of it as wildly imaginative, being an artist makes that easy! I was generally thought of as quirky rather than odd, and being at art collage was the best because everyone there was odd, including the tutors, so I hardly stuck out at all.

[JoyDivision7680]

True that. I suspect every introverted and weird person is somewhat autistic, to a lesser degree though. How many of you read Stephen King's Shining? There's a scene in which a doctor tells Danny [one of the main characters of the book and possibly an Aspie] that there's a degree of autism in every kid, though I can't remember how did their discussion get to this subject.

[Lemongrab]

My brother and I both have Asperger's but we are vastly different people. I would say I am far more proficient socially than he is. I still "slip up" socially at times, but I was lucky to have a friend who "taught" me throughout my childhood how to act appropriately.
We have our different obsessions, stims and little OCD things that we do to keep ourselves calm and tranquil. We both suffer from anxiety and depressive disorders. One autistic person will not be remotely the same as another. I've met a few other Aspies and we have all been vastly different, however where we find something in common is our unique fixations and habits.

[rosska]

As the saying goes, "If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism".

Originally Posted by Steve223

From my own personal experience with this "illness" and from what I know from my knowledge, I feel that the "autism spectrum" is something that has greater variety than many realize. I myself have been long suspected of being "on the spectrum". However, there are many things about me which truly do not seem "autistic". I have the solid ability to converse and relate to others. To many, they would think "not autism" because I have not been impaired in interpersonal relations. However, although I have some ability to function in the world, I suffer from extremely poor executive functioning (the one trait which has been of serious detriment to me). Also, I have a lot of bizarre fixations and fantasies such as aliens, having strange powers, being an alien, being able to transcend to higher realities, a strong interest in out of body experience, etc., all things that would suggest schizoid thinking/mental illness. Also, I have a tendency to fixate/perseverate in general which suggests autism only I somehow avoid my "fixations" around other people. Additionally, as a kid I frequently made a lot of "off the wall" remarks and despite all of this, most people don't see anything wrong with me when meeting me and I rarely get odd looks or attitudes.

Now to throw everyone for a loop here, much of this has not been of detriment to me in my life. I am currently attending college and am doing reasonably well (although I have had a few difficulties recently) and function quite well socially. My strange ideas have kept me from really seriously feeling negatively about myself and my issues (as I convinced myself I had special powers or was some type of greater than human being). My fixations have served me well as whenever I "perseverate" on a specific thing, I tend to do very well with it, far beyond my peers. My executive functioning issues only kick in when I am doing something I don't really care about so it serves to keep me from getting into ritualized jobs. Maybe despite all of this, I'm not mentally ill, but merely very mentally different (with a surprisingly normal outward appearance). Maybe many of us here are really in the same boat on this

Hi Steve, I really admire your idea that you feel you are a different type of human being maybe or someone with special powers. I'm glad it makes you positive. I can relate to that, but I wish I could see it your way. I too feel I'm different to everyone else but in a negative way. I feel that I am not as much human as someone else, I am less of a human. I feel again that I lack all the things that makes others normal. But, at the same time I do have special gifts that allow me to see stuff nobody else does, so that does bring a inner smile to me sometimes. But, sadly, that's probably the only part about myself that I like.

But, I can definitely relate to what you're saying. It takes a big effort for me to do things I don't want to do, but funnily enough when I do them, I do them better than most others would have, at least that's what people say to me . They are always telling me that my work is brilliant and different/refreshing or even creative. I never know how to react to these compliments. I just smile shyly maybe or shrug my shoulders, and at that point others probably think I'm an idiot. The same thing happened when I would help one of my classmates, or even several at the same time (almost taking on the role of a teacher myself) and solve many of their problems in an assignment. I would get flooded with comments like "You're a genius!" "How the hell did you think of that?" "That's brilliant!" and I would never know how to react. I receive a lot of positive reinforcement from so many people/colleagues but sadly it does not help. I have major depressive disorder. While people admire my "genius" side, they don't want me as a friend or girls don't want me as a boyfriend. I am socially excluded, very lonely and very depressed. So, it's very hard for me to see the positives that I might have.