That's me, many years of psychotherapeutic failures. I'm resentful they couldn't diagnose it properly, because "I can do social stuff". I can =/= I absolutely have to. I can =/= I want to, I need to, I don't find it draining or anxiety inducing.
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Why is "high intellect" associated with Asperger's?
- Thread starter Hurting89
- Start date
My ability to focus shocks even me, never been tested for autism My stick to it ness is also a strength I knew how to fix colour issues at a number of employers. It took one manager agreeing with me stating you're the expert we are doing it your way and then instructing the paint suppliers.to follow my instructions. Then watching it work to change the industry. For those that want to look check Hunter Lab vs CIE lab in colour theory. Yes one guy can make a difference. I also have incredible confidence in my abilities. When I right I know I'm right, I do not second guess myself I leave this to others who try to second guess me all the time to their detriment. my real ability is to things so clearly. How to see through the maze and see the obvious route, Others can just not see it. so obvious to me .
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GrownupGirl
Tempermental Artist
When I was young I was told by some adults I was intelligent. I guess because I could draw and read really well? But other adults thought I was immature, selfish, lazy, ignorant, and a daydreamer. They're right about the daydreaming, how else was I able to escape the horrible anxiety just being at school gave me? That, and missing a lot of school in junior high because the anxiety made me feel sick most of the time.
I was a never a great student. When I took the quality courses, I got an A in every course, just to prove a point mark do not matter. I could not even land a quality engineers position at my own company prior to retiring. Just wanted a desk job making ink in my sixties was getting too difficult. and then they had the gall to ask me to work past retirement.
WiffingWaffles
EatingVafflie
People generalize and would rather not investigate things further.
damoisellepeachy
Music is life
Idk good question. I remember watching The Predator (2018) some weeks ago and I did not know this movie had an autistic kid and of course, the kid was portrayed as being really intelligent. So intelligent that he was able to decode the alien languages the Predators had or something like that. This was already absurd but then it took it a step further and one of the scientist characters proclaimed that autism isn’t really a spectrum but the next step in human evolution! Idk how they said it but it was something similar to that and I just thought to myself “this is such bull” and the Predator even takes the kid because the kid’s autism made him the next step in human evolution. There’s like so many things wrong with this and even weeks later I still can’t get it off my mind because of how stupid it is
The point of my long ramble there is, I guess something like this makes me feel strongly because the autism in that movie is portrayed like some sort of superpower. Like man I wish I was smart enough to decode alien languages or something but instead my mind makes me fixate on stupid things. Sorry for the long reply, this thread just made me think of this movie
The point of my long ramble there is, I guess something like this makes me feel strongly because the autism in that movie is portrayed like some sort of superpower. Like man I wish I was smart enough to decode alien languages or something but instead my mind makes me fixate on stupid things. Sorry for the long reply, this thread just made me think of this movie
I'm sorry you can't decode alien languages. I myself have been able to speak Predator fluently since I was born
Joke aside, I watched the Good Doctor TV show recently and read that some autistic people had reviewed it positively (it's about an autistic surgeon who's brilliant). The autistic character is rather cliché overall and sometimes does very stupid stuff that nobody who's been living on planet earth would do - so it is a character who's weird and doesn't understand much about life at all BUT is brilliant at surgery and also blurts out extremely wise comments here and there (the kind you sometimes see in movies, the "exceptional insight" from people who were supposed to be particularly dumb, or crazy, etc). And the people around patiently explain life to him, in the tone you'd use with a 3 year old.
So I guess the portrayal of the weirdo who is in fact a genius but as illiterate in life skills as a newborn also attracts viewers.
There are many who believe that to be true for benign autism.
https://autlanders.blogspot.com/2019/07/autism-subtypes.htmlEven Temple Grandin says that a little bit of autism is a good thing.
"Takes" how? Kills him, or keeps him like a pet...?
When I was a child I appeared to have much higher intelligence than average, but it has definitely evened out as I’ve gotten older lol.
I occasionally say smart or thought-provoking things I guess, but I would say I’m a pretty regular adult who is decently smart academically but probably below average everywhere else.
I occasionally say smart or thought-provoking things I guess, but I would say I’m a pretty regular adult who is decently smart academically but probably below average everywhere else.
I have always been amazed or shocked by the uneven cognitive abilities. I wish I had better understood this when I was younger and had tried more fields and found one I could be the "Einstein" of. As Temple Grandin successfully did. I think she did have better family support and a less dysfunctional family life than I did though. I don't know how they claim Einstein had some super high "IQ" when it is just a test that he never took. Clearly he had very uneven cognitive abilities. He would even say he was never happy with his math abilities. Understand, I am only speaking of my own cognitive abilities and comparing my experience to Aspies I have read about. I choose a career in electronics engineering and was very successful, but wish I had investigated other fields and found one I could have been great in. I know too well that even with ability in a subject, there can be many roadblocks resulting from ASD which hold us back. And again I am not speaking for all of us and understand that without a useful special ability ASD makes success in life difficult.
Trained observers can make educated guesses by looking at his theories and how he arrived at them, for instance.
This post may sound like I’m trying to be funny, but I’m genuinely wondering about this.
I do have a lot of “special abilities” and talents, but I don’t think many of them require much intellectual capacity.
My career is based around one of my special abilities and I’ve been very successful. But my special talent is dog training lol, not engineering or programming or anything medical.
I also don’t know how much actual talent is genuinely required for this career path, because dogs either have an affinity for someone, or they don’t. I’ve seen a lot of intelligent and otherwise successful people fail at being dog professionals (and simply being dog owners, for that matter!)
But I have seen dogs respond to small children better than they would to some professionals. Dogs know who they like.
I guess if constantly learning and retaining information I’ve learned is a special skill, I do have that ability.
Just curious if “special abilities” and skills are always related to intellect or if the two are not always connected.
But maybe I’m selling myself short because I’m so used to people calling me an idiot lol
I do have a lot of “special abilities” and talents, but I don’t think many of them require much intellectual capacity.
My career is based around one of my special abilities and I’ve been very successful. But my special talent is dog training lol, not engineering or programming or anything medical.
I also don’t know how much actual talent is genuinely required for this career path, because dogs either have an affinity for someone, or they don’t. I’ve seen a lot of intelligent and otherwise successful people fail at being dog professionals (and simply being dog owners, for that matter!)
But I have seen dogs respond to small children better than they would to some professionals. Dogs know who they like.
I guess if constantly learning and retaining information I’ve learned is a special skill, I do have that ability.
Just curious if “special abilities” and skills are always related to intellect or if the two are not always connected.
But maybe I’m selling myself short because I’m so used to people calling me an idiot lol
Understand that autistic characters in drama are usually given extreme, not realistic, traits. I don't like that treatment and don't know if it is really needed to make the show a success.I'm sorry you can't decode alien languages. I myself have been able to speak Predator fluently since I was born
Joke aside, I watched the Good Doctor TV show recently and read that some autistic people had reviewed it positively (it's about an autistic surgeon who's brilliant). The autistic character is rather cliché overall and sometimes does very stupid stuff that nobody who's been living on planet earth would do - so it is a character who's weird and doesn't understand much about life at all BUT is brilliant at surgery and also blurts out extremely wise comments here and there (the kind you sometimes see in movies, the "exceptional insight" from people who were supposed to be particularly dumb, or crazy, etc). And the people around patiently explain life to him, in the tone you'd use with a 3 year old.
So I guess the portrayal of the weirdo who is in fact a genius but as illiterate in life skills as a newborn also attracts viewers.
There are examples where more realistic characters are used: Atypical, Doc Martin, Please Stand By and others. Doc Martin was successful but the character is only presumed ASD. The other two were not very successful.
damoisellepeachy
Music is life
Okay, in context of the movie by “takes”, the Predator basically takes away the kid and puts him on their spaceship because the Predators were looking for a human that was advanced in evolution and again, the autism made him seem evolutionary. Yeah… you can look into the movie if you want
Thanks, but I avoid most R-rated movies unless they are cleaned up for OTA TV.
Ella Spell
Well-Known Member
So, as usual, they forgot to mention moderate-functioning.
Back in the days of DSM-4, the last group included those who were moderate functioning.
DSM-5 does not factor in IQ, just one's level of needed support.
Ella Spell
Well-Known Member
Yes I know that about DSM5 and IQ, but I didn't know about DSM4.
Thanks for clarifying.
I don't know what I'd be on 4, then.
My diagnostician said I wouldn't be Aspergers even on the old system.
I'm semi-verbal but not low intelligence.
I would have been a quandary.
I guess I would have been Low?
Thanks for clarifying.
I don't know what I'd be on 4, then.
My diagnostician said I wouldn't be Aspergers even on the old system.
I'm semi-verbal but not low intelligence.
I would have been a quandary.
I guess I would have been Low?
I don't know. It would probably depend on how you could communicate otherwise.
Mutism is a different co-morbid than infantilism.
I think it's common for highly-intelligent (not solely as an IQ measure, but maybe a dash of that plus a high level of self-awareness and emotional intelligence) to consistently rate themselves below average, and for a lot of people with deficits in all three categories to do the exact opposite. I think the main reason is that people who are challenged in these areas don't have as many 'known unknowns" (not being remotely aware of the knowledge gaps and even biases they hold), and people with a higher capacity for learning can often pinpoint all of the things they actually don't know in great detail, and feel very small in comparison.
It's not an absolute science, but whenever someone says, "I'm very smart!" I usually assume it's coming from a point of view of extreme stupidity or possibly even some form of narcissism, because while we may have some great areas of expertise on an individual level (and I'd argue that this is an extremely strong trait to have!), something is inevitably going to slip through the cracks, and thus people who are aware of this are always going to feel a little bit dumber by nature.
