I've found a good podcast. podcasts.apple.com/.../id1548001224 ..I think it's relevant for men and women but is from the female perspective. The episodes are relatively short and there are a many topics.
I've found a good podcast. podcasts.apple.com/.../id1548001224 ..I think it's relevant for men and women but is from the female perspective. The episodes are relatively short and there are a many topics.
Yes our thought processing is very different to non autistic people. The rate at which we process information and the amount that we take in is one of the reasons we reach over whelm quicker than non autistic people.
However, this thought processing style also means we are knowledge hoovers like you said earlier!
If that is true then no wonder we get as tired as we do. Actually I read somewhere this week, something to do with different thought processes in autistic people, even at resting rate.
Generally speaking my head is very ‘noisy’ too. Obviously we can’t compare our internal thought processing with other neurotypes. However, I have read that we autistic people process 42% more information than autistic people even at resting rate. This would explain the ‘noisy’ head.
Yes its been noted by others of my use of language. I come across quite well spoken despite my "common" accent. I often tend to need to choose the correct vocabulary in order to convey and communicate correctly in the way i want people to understand. As for grammar, this can be "incorrect" due to local dialect as I don't speak the queen's (king's? ) English. The only "snobbery" i have is when people say they were "sat on the sofa" when really it is "sitting" !!! But language evolves and this misuse is very common. I think communication is more important than accuracy. There's no right or wrong way. I think it's more about a desire to be understood.
I think it is common for many autistics too have a constant internal monologue. I didn’t realise this was an autistic thing either until I started connecting with other autistics
I always had the impression I had a really "noisy" head in comparison to other people but obviously I can't prove this and many people from all walks of life have their own "internal problems". I do have the internal monologue thing but I don't know how this is different to other people's experiences, but I just feel it is.
I think this is because we are detail orientated.
Yes we are detail orientated. I notice things other people don’t such as somebody I am not even related has had their haircut or changes in food packaging. Details are so important and clarifying! Sometimes non autistic people think I am being pedantic because I need all the details. For example, in the way that I focus on the grammar of sentence because otherwise it doesn’t make sense, but other people just skip past that and intuitively know what is meant.
‘When I submitted notes for my diagnostic assessment it went into about 15 pages and even then it was heavily edited’
How to show you are autistic without explicitly stating that you are autistic!
‘For example a neurotypical person would probably not read up on these unless they suspected themselves to be autistic or were involved in some sort of research.’
Yes definitely, the amount of research we undertake about being autistic shows that we are autistic, even before we are formally identified. The subject would not attract us so much if we were not actually part of this community.
‘I also am an ardent observer in social situations. A constant analysis conscious and semi subconscious. This is something I didn't realise until I discovered autism but at the same time thought everyone did so.’
Yes I am an observer too. It’s much more natural for me to gain as much information as possible by watching so that I can almost predict everything and then engage. Neurotypical social situations feel safer for me that way. I analyse everything too, I think it is common for many autistics too have a constant internal monologue. I didn’t realise this was an autistic thing either until I started connecting with other autistics.
we notice we perceive the world differently to the majority, we want and need to understand the reason for everything.
Definitely. I think this is because we are detail orientated. So gather all the evidence first then build a picture. I think this can be applied to many aspects of autism such as how we approach conversation and social interactions, how we approach a task or process our own thoughts and feelings. I seem to think neurotypical people start with a vague overall view then fill in the missing bits
I'm sure 40 pages could be filled very easily. When I submitted notes for my diagnostic assessment it went into about 15 pages and even then it was heavily edited. Yes I enjoyed Milton's contributions too.
We definitely are observers. I noticed on a trip out the other day, it is a constant stream of analysis of what I can see and hear etc. I wonder if we have a stronger sense of novelty because of how we process the senses and preceive the world. I was often going "wow! Look at that!" but my partner was less enthusiastic. I think it's because there's less sense of novelty for some. I also am an ardent observer in social situations. A constant analysis conscious and semi subconscious. This is something I didn't realise until I discovered autism but at the same time thought everyone did so. Also an observer of my own thoughts and thought processes but I think that's more down to trying to work myself out. God is it any wonder we get so tired.
I think we need to get across many different experiences and perspectives but I think this is often closed within autistic circles. For example a neurotypical person would probably not read up on these unless they suspected themselves to be autistic or were involved in some sort of research.
I have looked at the Embrace Autism website before, I quite like it too.
‘It is natural to want to understand our place but I do feel a lot of people are not interested in the intracacies of life...perception, difference, evolution etc. This is why I like being autistic, I think we often can think in far greater depth and on many tangents. ‘
Yea I agree. This is one of the reasons why I love being autistic because we are very deep thinkers due to our monotropic brains. I suppose we also more likely to think in depth because we may be observers (I certainly am) and because we notice we perceive the world differently to the majority, we want and need to understand the reason for everything.
‘I'll check out Brazzo. What sort of writing do you do? Is it a blog? Have you done the Futurelearn course on autism?’
I hope you enjoy Brazzo’s poetry. I am currently working on my 40 page autistic experience report, I have been trying to complete it for a few years. I keep adding new stuff and going on tangents like you say.
I also like to write poetry about being autistic. I have completed the Future Learn course, I enjoyed Damian Milton’s contribution.
Kieran Rose website is also brilliant for autistic led training and Ausome training is great too. It’s good to see so many different perspectives, we are the experts on our own autistic experience!
I'll check aucademy out again. I felt last time when I watched something on there, I couldn't relate to it much. But we all have such different experiences I think this is to be expected. I like listening to melanie sykes' experience and also because she's northern like me. I like embrace-autism.com/.../ it's a bit in-your-face which I like.
It is natural to want to understand our place but I do feel a lot of people are not interested in the intracacies of life...perception, difference, evolution etc. This is why I like being autistic, I think we often can think in far greater depth and on many tangents. This doesn't help when you are anxious or have a problem but when it's about things you are interested in, it can enrich your life so much. I would love to start an online group (or in person) where we discuss and debate different topics about the big stuff!
I'll check out Brazzo. What sort of writing do you do? Is it a blog? Have you done the Futurelearn course on autism? That was really good because it was really interactive with chance to discuss autism with both autistic and non autistic people. It was great to see many different viewpoints.
I am glad you found the link useful.
I agree I like visual representations too, sometimes information is easier to process this way.
I alternate between interests in psychology, psychedelics, mental health, universe the meaning of life etc! They're all interlinked as far as I'm concerned. I think I've always wanted to understand my or the human place in the world. I think I'm a great existential thinker but have no one who is intetested in this enough to discuss these matters with.
Your interests sound really cool, they all intersect too. There is so much more we can learn about the human psyche including our neurodivergent minds! Have you read Oliver Sacks books, they cover many of these topics? Also you may be interested in Aucademy- an autistic led education platform. Aucademy covers many topics including mental health and addiction in relation to our autistic community.
https://youtube.com/channel/UCLsMY1ZY9-8IReQfGX-CvBQ
The above link is for the YouTube channel, but you may be more interested in these videos specifically:
https://youtu.be/-upZnaNSIBM
https://youtu.be/dzS6RhP16a0
Also you might be interested in this blog:
https://emergentdivergence.com/
It’s very interesting.
I think it’s natural for humans want to understand our place in the world in order to find purpose, maybe more so for us autistics because we are a minority group.
I am a deep thinker too, maybe you can discuss these matters with other autistic people on this forum.
In terms of my interests I love watching Aucademy videos! If you have not already noticed my main dedicated interest is autistic experience, I love reading, writing, learning about our autistic community (including connecting with autistic people on this forum). I also love llistening to autistic podcasts as mentioned earlier. I also like listening to autistic spoken word poet Callum Brazzo, his poems are brilliant.
I liked the art of autism link...I like visual representations. I found a lot of resources talk about this theory and that theory but offer little practical help for dealing with inertia. I had read a research paper which I posted on another thread which was interesting with some pointers. But when you need external motivation and don't have it, this can be hard.
I alternate between interests in psychology, psychedelics, mental health, universe the meaning of life etc! They're all interlinked as far as I'm concerned. I think I've always wanted to understand my or the human place in the world. I think I'm a great existential thinker but have no one who is intetested in this enough to discuss these matters with.
What about yourself?
You are very welcome.
I'm like a knowledge of autism hoover
Ditto, I love reading everything I can about our autistic experiences! This also includes listening to other autistic podcasts such as Especially Interesting. In this podcast, autistic people info dump about their dedicated interests.
The Drug Science podcast sounds interesting. Are your interests based on neurology/psychology then?
Under your hobbies on your profile I see you have just written ‘learning about stuff.’ This is really cool!
Thanks I'll have a read. I've seen the monotropism one before I think. I'm like a knowledge of autism hoover.
I like Uncanny on bbc sounds and some joe rogan but I just listen to people or topics I'm interested in on that one. I also like drug science with David nutt. i used to like adam buxton podcast too. What about you?
searching for info about inertia. It's useful to get different perspectives and lived experience
Yes definitely, our community is so diverse.
Meet my Brain definitely sounds more in depth. What other podcasts do you like to listen to?
If you want more information about inertia these links might be useful:
https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/me-and-monotropism-unified-theory-autism
https://the-art-of-autism.com/tag/tendril-theory/
I think I have heard this one but couldn't relate much to it. I dip in and out of podcasts usually on topics related to my interests, not so much autism. But I found meet my brain when searching for info about inertia. It's useful to get different perspectives and lived experience
Thanks for the podcast recommendation, sounds really interesting.
In terms of other autistic podcasts have you heard of 1800 Seconds on Autism? It’s quite funny, informal and interesting.
https://open.spotify.com/show/6eVzbOReuraojesXQDTMb8?si=Swsm-ZjATEq-icoVjvnOfA
