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Things you are not good at?

I'm not good at doing anything creative. I can't write, I can't draw, paint... nothing. It's odd because when I was young I was very creative and engaged in a lot of imaginative play with my small group of friends. I don't know what happened. I think my medication might have something to do with it. I don't know.
 
DCA said:
Wondering how many people on the spectrum have difficulty with managing money? Is this a common thing, or is it like any other NTs in that some will be good at it or bad? I guess my question is, is there a greater incidence of poor money skills for people on the spectrum than in the general population?
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IMHO: No. But I think when an Aspie takes an interest in money management he/she will become more proficient than the most astute NT Accountant. In my case, with no Accounting or Financial Planning background I have managed to understand the arcane credit score rules used by banks to determine credit worthiness. Not only do I understand how the FICO rating is figured, I also have used that system to rate the value of intangibles such as Knowledge Capital
You cannot Google my system which I named KcV because I never published it. Guess that is another negative aspect of Asperger's; we tend to focus on our interests and ignore the income potential of our discoveries. Are there any wealthy Aspies out there?
 
ezcare said:
IMHO: No. But I think when an Aspie takes an interest in money management he/she will become more proficient than the most astute NT Accountant. In my case, with no Accounting or Financial Planning background I have managed to understand the arcane credit score rules used by banks to determine credit worthiness. Not only do I understand how the FICO rating is figured, I also have used that system to rate the value of intangibles such as Knowledge Capital
You cannot Google my system which I named KcV because I never published it. Guess that is another negative aspect of Asperger's; we tend to focus on our interests and ignore the income potential of our discoveries. Are there any wealthy Aspies out there?
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Microsoft Boss Bill Gates is allegedly an Aspie, partly hence my own staunch allegiance to the MS brand.
 
I would say that the thing I'm primarily bad at is getting motivated and doing things. If I do get motivated, I can compensate for being naturally bad at it through time and dedication, but that happens very rarely. I wasn't that good at sports but I did play one (tennis) throughout high school and eventually became one of the better players on the team. I would also say that recognizing faces is definitely not a strong suit of mine, not to the point of face blindness, but I find it nearly impossible to like recognize actors that I've seen before.

Oh yeah, and initiating contact with people and maintaining friendships, but that's just ASD :rolleyes: . Trying to get better.
 
For people languages,* learning words is easy. Learning syntax is the hard part. I am an amateur [armchair?] etymologist/onomast.

*I learn programming languages very quickly.
 
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When I was a kid it seems almost as if I was born knowing how to read, write, draw and even swim, but I didn't learn to tie my shoes until I was nine, I had trouble telling time and knowing left from right until I was 12, and I never learned how to ride a bicycle. My mother believes the reason it took so long to tie my shoes is because whenever I was shown how the person would be there in front of me tying them from their perspective and not mine, which completely confused me because I had to do everything they did backwards.
I also had a very bad time with math as soon as I started Grade 3. But that same year I practically taught myself how to sew by hand. I'm always hearing the stereotype that autistic people are experts at math and I hate it.:mad:
 
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GrownupGirl said:
When I was a kid it seems almost as if I was born knowing how to read, write, draw and even swim, but I didn't learn to tie my shoes until I was nine, I had trouble telling time and knowing left from right until I was 12, and I never learned how to ride a bicycle. My mother believes the reason it took so long to tie my shoes is because whenever I was shown how the person would be there in front of me tying them from their perspective and not mine, which completely confused me because I had to do everything they did backwards.
I also had a very bad time with math as soon as I started Grade 3. But that same year I practically taught myself how to sew by hand. I'm always hearing the stereotype that autistic people are experts at math and I hate it.:mad:
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I didn’t know what the difference in “telling” and “asking” someone meant until I was in 5th grade. I never knew how to ride a bike until I was 9 years old.

And cannot agree that every autistic person is a “genius” in math like NTs say. I’m ok at it but struggle at some concepts of it, some that I find unnecessary like the equations that have to do with letters.
 
There is one other thing I’m not good at but it’s been improving within the last few years and that’s reading comprehension.
I would have to read the article or short story more than twice over and over again to really understand what that person is actually talking about in terms of concrete information. It’s questions such as “what is the characters point of view” “how does the person feel in the middle of the story” and even “what was the message of the story” that I have trouble understanding. it’s like I have trouble deciphering those kind of parts of some stories even the descriptive questions that are more troubling at times for me.
 
I was rubbish at school sports. I especially loathed rounders - which, incidentally, I would not call the English equivalent of baseball. It isn't the equivalent of anything - it's just a stupid game with incomprehensible rules IMVHO. Seriously, as it has no professional league and isn't shown on TV (no great loss there) it doesn't really pass comparison with baseball.

The only team sport I liked was volleyball, although regrettably I didn't have as many opportunities to play it. The fact that it has no fixed positions (unlike rounders, where I was always marginalised to deep-fielder) was the main appeal.

As for individual sports, I can't bounce a tennis ball on a racket to save my life. I have never knowingly met anyone else who is that rubbish.

I used to sing in choirs at school but gave up in frustration due to my utter inability to sight-sing. My mother assured me that the ability would come in time but it never did and I felt such a fake, relying on my neighbour to get the right note. Not many people understand my point of view: most say "Oh, I'm sure you could find a choir that doesn't require you to sight-sing" and I'm sure I could, but that's not the point. My attitude towards choirs is like Groucho Marx's towards clubs: I would only want to join the kind of choir that would attempt Spem in alium, no less.
I have been told that it is possible to learn to sight-sing via the Kodaly method of music pedagogy but unfortunately I'm not in a position to splash out on music lessons right now.
 
ezcare said:
This is another one of those Aspie double edged swords. At some point you will master sarcasm and may use it to defend your dignity. Your response to put-downs will cut like a sharp surgical knife and go right for the jugular with no opening for rebuttal. Avoid this if you can! Keep in mind that your opponent may be fighting battles much worse than yours and turn your anger into compassion.
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I've learned little things like, "Oh lovely" at things that are troublesome, but that's about it. Don't know if that counts as sarcasm or something else. But I prefer to be compassionate toward people and mostly sulk if I feel like my pride is being hurt or whatnot.
 
DCA said:
Wondering how many people on the spectrum have difficulty with managing money? Is this a common thing, or is it like any other NTs in that some will be good at it or bad? I guess my question is, is there a greater incidence of poor money skills for people on the spectrum than in the general population?
Click to expand...

I've heard some Aspies have figured their way around money and saving or whatnot. Someone on these forums gave me a few tips. But I still have issues with spending. I never overspend the money I have, but I will sometimes pull from savings when I really want something, which is really bad.
 
ezcare said:
This is another one of those Aspie double edged swords. At some point you will master sarcasm and may use it to defend your dignity.
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I was once at an Aspie get-together where someone, on hearing my job title [Junior Developer in the Civil Service], asked: "Is that, like, working with computers?" I was sorely tempted to reply, "Nah, I use a typewriter and an abacus. Public sector cuts, what are they like..." but fortunately I resisted.
 
Making things up. I work with kids and by now I kind of know how kids play 'house' or 'restaurant' and I have an idea what to say, but I can't make up a story for the life of me.
 
1. Can’t remember names unless I am involved with a person in a personal way. Can remember a few names at church sporadically.
2. Forget faces out of context unless they have made an impression or I know them well.
3. Cant remember certain multiplication tables, some 9’s, 8’s,7’s. Either add combinations to remember or count domino dots in my head.
4. Can’t do math. Can learn slowly and get through remedial class, then forget. On a good day head figuring shortcuts will show up (late in life).
5. Can’t remember phone numbers.
6. Get disorented driving even places I know fairly well. Usually double back and redo right after a turn. Can’t remember if it is right or left.
7. Can’t find address again unless I’ve been there a lot.
8. Trouble following verbal instructions.
9. Interrupt people and control conversation sometimes. Don’t know when to speak. I am learning to slow down and let others direct the conversation.
10. I don’t think like a female.
11. Low energy. But second wind at 10pm.
12. Miss social cues.
13. Some days i’m sluggish and slow minded, other days sharp as a tack, usually sharp if tons of coffee.
 
Sleeping when it's hot at night, like it is in the uK at the moment (and apparently it's going to get hotter this week :( )
 
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