Just curious if this is aspie thinking or not?

[Suzanne]

Scene: hubby was telling me that he never respected his father as a child. So, I asked in what way? He related that as a child, he would sneak into his father's bedroom and steal money. I said: what did you spend it on? How would I know! I only remember negative things. I then said: ah, so you must have spent the money on positive things then? He looked at me as though I was crazy and said that his brain cannot take what I just said.

So confusing in the neurotypical world.

 

[Raggamuffin]

I'm more confused by "I only remember negative things". I don't think it odd that you pondered what he spent the money on, or if it was something positive.

Ed

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Not likely. One of the possible curses of being aspie for some is an eidetic memory.

 

[SpiltPaint]

Hard to have an opinion knowing so little, not sure he really answered the question either? Stealing money may be a result of 'not having respect' for him rather than the reasoning behind it?

 

[Judge]

Not likely. One of the possible curses of being aspie for some is an eidetic memory.

Good point. Reminds me of the expression on my relatives' faces when I ask them if they recalled something that occurred like sixty-years ago.

Though it's just another thing that allows me perspective of how a majority of minds think as opposed to my own. My bad.

 

[Forest Cat]

Good point. Reminds me of the expression on my relatives' faces when I ask them if they recalled something that occurred like sixty-years ago.

I mentioned something to my mother a while ago, a detail from a vacation we were on at a caravan park on the west coast, something I saw. She was so surprised I mentioned it because it happened in 1984. Been a while.

 

[Judge]

I mentioned something to my mother a while ago, a detail from a vacation we were on at a caravan park on the west coast, something I saw. She was so surprised I mentioned it because it happened in 1984. Been a while.

Yeah. Though at times it still leaves me feeling like I'm some kind of freak. I hate that.

I just have such a vivid recollection of life at around the age of six...with relative memories to the age of four. Just don't ask me what I had for lunch or dinner.

 

[Magna]

Scene: hubby was telling me that he never respected his father as a child. So, I asked in what way? He related that as a child, he would sneak into his father's bedroom and steal money. I said: what did you spend it on? How would I know! I only remember negative things. I then said: ah, so you must have spent the money on positive things then? He looked at me as though I was crazy and said that his brain cannot take what I just said.

So confusing in the neurotypical world.

I think your questions were legitimate. I used to do the same as your husband when I was a child and I recall full well that I spent the money on candy or video games at the video arcade. In my mind it wasn't outright stealing because sometimes I would ask him if I could get some change from his change dish and every time I asked he'd say yes. So I just assumed when he wasn't around that I could go in there and help myself on occasion.

I had no problem understanding your logic that he must have spent the money on positive things.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

My spouse accuses me of remembering every meal I ate. But this helps with flavors and I can usually identify the combinations of spices with a taste. From my cooking lessons in Thailand I have an expanded repertoire of flavors.

 

[Fino]

I immediately came to the same conclusion that you did before I read that you did. But I can't say if it's aspie thinking or not.

 

[Homulilly]

How would I know! I only remember negative things. I then said: ah, so you must have spent the money on positive things then?

As NT, I would say your reply does sound odd. I can understand your logic there, but the reply is unexpected. Unexpected as in, I would’ve never thought of that (although it kind of makes sense). It’s like you are taking a completely different approach on things. So to answer your question directly, yes I think it is aspie thinking.

Taken out of context, this could be a line in a comedy. It’s like half pointing out the-obvious-that-is-overlooked and half “I did not see that coming.”

Back to what your husband were trying to say. To me, it sounds like you were perceiving what he said with a sharp divide between the positive and negative, so when he said he couldn’t remember, you immediately thought: he can’t remember negative things—did not remember what he spent the money on—that must be positive. But he could be there thinking, there are so many reasons for not remembering something. In short, what he remembered was because it was negative, what he didn’t remember—who knows why he didn’t remember.

This is how I’m interpreting what he said. First off, when he said he only remembers the negative, it’s an exaggeration. No one can only remember the positive or the negative. But it’s possible that the statement is true when it only pertains to the incident of stealing money. Two, when he said he didn’t know because he only remembered the bad things, he might’ve meant that the whole situation with his father was bad, instead of just the stealing incident alone. Or, the whole incident of stealing was negative (actions, emotions, repercussions, etc.), so whatever was positive did not pertain to actual things (like buying items with the money). It’s also possible that he thought everything involved with having the money and spending it was positive, instead of just the action of buying items or the items themselves.