General AS survey for a research project. Help?

[Erminetheawkward]

Hi everyone! I'm sure there's a similar thread to this, but it didn't have all the information I was looking for. I'm doing a research project (eventually will be an infographic mini-exhibit) on AS/HFA and wanted to gather information straight from the source. In some ways I find this more authentic than the articles I can find on the subject. It's really cool because I'm an Aspie and I get to include my personal experience in the research. Please encourage people to respond, since I need a large sample size (at least 200 replies) for this survey to be legitimate. The answers don't have to be long or detailed. Thanks a bunch! Here are the questions (my answers in bold):

Gender: female

Age: 23

Special interest(s): art and music

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? 20

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? for now, it's a blessing.

Do you have family members on the spectrum? Yes, my sister and cousin.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no) Yes

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they? Not too much. But noisy crowds can give me a headache. I'm hypersensitive to high pitch, buzzing or rattling sounds. Foreground and background noise tend to blend together for me. I keep finding myself having to remove shirt tags.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand?
I wish they could understand that while we are different and come off as independent, we still want the same things that they want, and we feel just as much as anyone else. We all want to be loved, understood and valued. If more people recognized this, I think people on the spectrum would be treated better and it would be easier to adapt.

 

[Etzelaire]

Gender: male

Age:20

Special interest(s):
Languages, gifted in this area.

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out?
19

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse?
Curse due to ignorance of third parties.

Do you have family members on the spectrum?
Little brother who is not yet aware of it.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no)
Yes (absolutely).

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they?
Don't have sensory issues but I don't like people making me waste my time talking about irrelevant stuff.

://last question:

I would appreciate their giving me the opportunity to help them improve in a few things I know I can be of service, and we as a community with a good back up could help a lot to this disaster of system.

 

[Cali Cat]

Gender: female

Age: 52

Special interest(s): cats and music

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? self-diagnosed at 50

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? If I have to choose one or the other, I'd say "curse."

Do you have family members on the spectrum? Yes, my father, and maybe my mother.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no) No.

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they? I'm emotionally hypersensitive to loud noises. Dim lighting makes me tired. Florescent lighting gives me a headache. Some foul odors make me choke. Foreground and background noise tend to blend together. Rough clothing textures irritate my skin.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand?
That underneath our often times "weird" demeanor, we are typically very intelligent and highly focused individuals that have many good qualities to offer to friends, loved ones and employers.

 

[ExplosiveTMT]

Gender: Male
Age: 18
Special interests: video games, cars, action and superhero films and wrestling
Age I was diagnosed: 3
Family member/s on the spectrum: A great-aunt had it, and a second cousin of mine was recently diagnosed.
Do I view ASD as a blessing or a curse? Personally, I don't see it as either a blessing or a curse, just something I live with.
Sensory issues: Mine are touch-related. I hate when electronic's cords, such as the ones on headphones, when they rub against my skin. That can drive me mad. Also I hate it when most people touch me without my permission.
Do I think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? I don't think I would need to go forward with explaining asperger's to them. I just would like to come up with a way to let people I meet know that I am not trying to be rude in my interactions with them.
If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would I want them to understand?
That each person on the spectrum is totally different from each other.

 

[AsheSkyler]

I'm not sure we have 200 active members here. Perhaps you could also put this on Survey Monkey and pass it around there too?

Gender: Female

Age: 24

Special interest(s): Art (primarily pencil fine art drawings), crocheting, web design/development

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? Self-diagnosed about two months ago.

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? It's a thing. Some good, some bad, but mostly just another thing.

Do you have family members on the spectrum? Eh, two suspected autistc, one distant cousin suspected schizoid, and one heavily suspected ADD.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no) No. It shouldn't matter if I'm autistic or not, people should have enough common decency not to be rude. If I don't want to dress revealingly or can't do something, don't try to make me change. I know my limits, they don't.

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they? YES. Worst being smell or cold. Cleaning chemicals and vinegar make me sick. If I'm too cold, too fast in the mornings, I get sick. And I hate women's clothing, it's too tight, too thin, and all around impractical and uncomfortable. Loud, especially chaotic, noise gives me a busting headache. And I can't drive at night because I am badly blinded by headlights.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand? We're not weak, crippled, diseased, useless, or helpless. We're still people. Respect that I understand my limits, and I'll respect your limits like how you cannot get to work until fifteen minutes after your shift starts.

 

[ZackSkylar101]

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Special interest(s): Currently anatomy. Brains. Fiction with heroes in it.

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? I have been self-diagnosed for around a year and a half. I am awaiting a formal diagnosis.

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? I'm with some of the other people on this. It isn't either. It's a part of me. There are some bad parts but also some really good parts.

Do you have family members on the spectrum? A nephew and an uncle with a formal diagnosis, however my mother and my brothers are but are self-diagnosed.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no) Potentially, but not necessarily. If people understood more about me then it may make my life easier, but just because they know doesn't mean that anything would change, and it doesn't mean that anything should change in some situations (ex. people should still have loud music at parties if that is what they want, regardless of myself. I am just one person in that situation. However if someone does know then you can change how the situation works so I can be more comfortable.) But if someone knew all about this part of me then they know a lot about me and the relationship becomes a bit one sided, so I would like it if I knew about them and could make life easier for them as all people have stuff that they struggle with.

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they? Yes. I am hypersensitive to light (I wear green tinted glasses to lower the light levels if it is getting too much), sound (loud noises all around me make it so I'm not able to hear what anyone is saying and loud music with lots of bass is not good) and touch (I feel really uncomfortable when anyone is touching me and I don't like particular textures like skin). My sense of taste is a bit oversensitive (I don't like fizzy drinks and some tastes. I don't add sauces to my food). My sense of smell seems to be slightly hyposensitive, or at least has a different modality to it (I smell things that other people smell and say they are ok while other people find them repulsive to smell). I have some degree of issues with my vestibular and proprioceptive senses (I use a weighted blanket. Occasionally I suddenly feel dizzy when I process the area incorrectly), but that links in with the other parts a bit. So basically, yeah XD Lots of things are happening a lot and things go wavy XD I could talk about this for a long time.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand? That even if it doesn't appear it through conventional ways, that people can be kind and considerate underneath all of the layers of awkwardness and misunderstandings. That just because people need their mechanisms to get through it that it doesn't mean that they are bad people.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

Age: 24

Special interest(s): Fantasy/sci-fi fiction and ecology

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? Self diagnosed earlier this year, currently part way through formal diagnosis.

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? Hmm... I don't think it's either, just a fundamental part of my personality, with good and bad parts.

Do you have family members on the spectrum? Possibly my dad.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no) Possibly... it might help people understand me better, but on the other hand it would probably just end up with misunderstandings from people who don't understand AS. I don't know.

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they? I'm very sensitive to loud noises and can't separate distant and near sound, often background chatter is louder than the person sitting next to me. I'm sensitive to bright light, always wear sunglasses even when it's cloudy, driving at night is a nightmare! My sense of smell is.. odd, I don't mind smells others find unpleasant, but smells others like (such as perfume) make me feel sick.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand?
That we are all just as different as NT people.

 

[Harrison]

Gender: Male

Age: 60

Special interest(s): Chinese Five Element systems, psychology, sci-fi/fantasy

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? 50

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? Neither, it is just they way I am

Do you have family members on the spectrum? Yes. My mother, siblings, children and grandson

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no) I don't hide it, so everyone knows if they need too.

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they? Loud noises and bright light

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand? That aspies are the superior species, and that we will take over the world once we figure out social interactions so we can have sex and breed like NTs.

Only kidding

It would be that aspies can have a long and productive life in the world of NTs, as is borne out by aspies who were not diagnosed until later in life.

 

[SameStars]

Gender: Female.

Age: 21.

Special interest(s): Literature, musicals, biology and history (which is to say, I jump between interests in these categories).

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? I was formally diagnosed at 16.

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? A mix of both.

Do you have family members on the spectrum? No-one I'm aware of.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no) In some situations I've already experienced this to be true, but those were family members or long-time friends of my parents (which were told by my parents, not by me). It helped a bit in college, when one teacher was notified and I got some extra support. But I don't want to broadcast it further, I don't really want it to influence anything.

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they? Sensitive to sound, I mostly pick out background noise when I should be concentrating on the conversation I'm having. The combination of noise, bright lights and chaos of people walking around, so I don't care much for shopping.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand? That it's a spectrum, and we're all individuals.

 

[Spiller]

Gender: Male

Age: 47

Special interest(s)
Boats, SciFi, ASD/psychology

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out?
46 (self diagnosed).

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse?
Till now, a bane!

Do you have family members on the spectrum?
Sister, possibly my son.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no)
Yes

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they?
Loud noise, bright/flashing lights, crowds, fore/background noise blending together, itchy clothing labels.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand?
Everyone should watch Star Trek! Then they'd realise that, regardless of appearance, manner and dodgy costumes, we're all human underneath.

• "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  .. Maybe I watch too much Star Trek..

 

[clg114]

Gender: Male
Age: 68
Special interests: Machines of all kinds

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? : Found out at 60, diagnosed at 62

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? : Now, a blessing. When I was young, not so much.

Do you have any family members on the spectrum? : Yes, my youngest son, 32 yr. old

Do you think that life would be easier if people knew you had ASD and actually understood what that means? ( yes/no) : No

Do you have sensory issues? If so what are they?: Bright, overhead artificial light, loud,chaotic noise and itchy clothing.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want the to understand? : We are all different, Aspies and NT's.

 

[Red Star]

Gender: female

Age: 46

Special interest(s): art science reading

How old were you when you were diagnosed/found out? 45

Do you view ASD as a blessing or a curse? It has both benefitted me in things I can do but also held me back in what others think I can do

Do you have family members on the spectrum? Yes, brother, possibly one or two nephews and most likely my father.

Do you think life would be easier if people knew you had an ASD and actually understood what that means? (yes/no) Yes

Do you have sensory issues? If so, what are they? Misophonia (I hate peoples eating noise). Also sensitive to high pitch, buzzing sounds- I have a thyroid issue (also linked vaguely to ASD and 'learning difficulties) that is apparently the cause of tinnitus - my mums singing drives me crazy because of her pitch, as an example. I love sunshine but I'm a little light sensitive. I'm fairly good at identifying smells - memory isn't so good so I can spend a while trying to remember why I know it or where a smell is from.

If people could understand one thing about autism better, what would you want them to understand?
I agree with your statement - "I wish they could understand that while we are different and come off as independent, we still want the same things that they want, and we feel just as much as anyone else. We all want to be loved, understood and valued. If more people recognized this, I think people on the spectrum would be treated better and it would be easier to adapt." I want also for people to understand when I ask for something like 'quiet' that I've already tolerated enough and have HAD to ask because of the end of my tolerance nearing- my traits mean I will suffer a great deal for a great length of time, in silence because I don't want to be 'on show' but sometimes I'm done. In a few less words, I'd like people to be a little more 'mindful' of each other.