Defining what is AS and what isn't

longman said:

Well perhaps it is just something I've noticed that doesn't apply to anyone else. If everyone feels the same way as you, this thread will quickly become a dead end.

However I've already given an example - not being able to hear what people are saying properly when there is background. My hearing disintegrates - I cannot understand what people are saying to me, if I'm in a room where other people are talking.

I have this too.  I think this is a known problem, althought it might only be anecdotally.

This phenomenon seems to affect some people on the spectrum. It also seems to affect a lot of other people who are not AS, though particularly it seems to affect some people with dyslexia.  The impact may be the same for AS and non-AS people.

Is having this difficulty a problem in the general population unrelated to autism?

Is it something relevant to autism, but which also arises in the general population for different reasons?

Another example is the phenomenon of loss of awareness of surroundings, phasing out, blanking out, switching off - sometimes associated with sensory overload.  I get these switch-outs, and I know other people report it. I've looked into this, and I know others for the same reasons, have looked into this in case it relates to epilepsy, but it seems not to be so. It just seems to be something that affects some people on the spectrum.

Zoning out, another one that is common on the spectrum but is not officially documented as such.

But I've discussed this often with non-AS people who report having similar experiences.

Similar doesn't mean the same.  NTs daydream yes, but I think it's likely different with us, I really struggle to control zoning out when it needs to happen.

Therefore is this phasing/blanking out unrelated to autism, and something that affects lots of people AS or otherwise? Or is it something specific to autism that can occur in the general population owing to different causes? Or is it very specific to autism?

Sorry if I'm flummoxing some people, but I think this is an important question, even if I'm finding it hard to explain it convincingly.

My reason for asking is that health professionals, and other people we depend upon, seem not to take some of our symptoms/traits/concerns seriously. Is that because these are phenomena widely seen in the general population that we might be making too much of?

Are we being perceived as over-reacting to some things which we think of as autistic traits, but which aren't actually autism related, which health professionals don't take seriously because they see them as much more commonplace?

Also, are we undermining our credibility by including in our definition of autism traits things which aren't deemed that significant?

Perhaps we should create a poll with a list of traits in question.  In fact, I might do this on my blog and link to it here.  Of course, it wouldn't be very scientific, but might give us some idea.

OK cumulatively, having a lot of problems impacting together is part of autism, so we do have the argument that it is not the presence of any one issue but the collective interaction of so many that makes life difficult. I'm just trying to introduce a further qualification - are there things we shouldn't really be including in the definition of autism?

I think it's the other way round, there are things we have/suffer which should be included that aren't.

Sorry I didn't get your explanation before, now you've gone in-depth I can see more what you are asking.

longman said:

Well perhaps it is just something I've noticed that doesn't apply to anyone else. If everyone feels the same way as you, this thread will quickly become a dead end.

However I've already given an example - not being able to hear what people are saying properly when there is background. My hearing disintegrates - I cannot understand what people are saying to me, if I'm in a room where other people are talking.

I have this too.  I think this is a known problem, althought it might only be anecdotally.

This phenomenon seems to affect some people on the spectrum. It also seems to affect a lot of other people who are not AS, though particularly it seems to affect some people with dyslexia.  The impact may be the same for AS and non-AS people.

Is having this difficulty a problem in the general population unrelated to autism?

Is it something relevant to autism, but which also arises in the general population for different reasons?

Another example is the phenomenon of loss of awareness of surroundings, phasing out, blanking out, switching off - sometimes associated with sensory overload.  I get these switch-outs, and I know other people report it. I've looked into this, and I know others for the same reasons, have looked into this in case it relates to epilepsy, but it seems not to be so. It just seems to be something that affects some people on the spectrum.

Zoning out, another one that is common on the spectrum but is not officially documented as such.

But I've discussed this often with non-AS people who report having similar experiences.

Similar doesn't mean the same.  NTs daydream yes, but I think it's likely different with us, I really struggle to control zoning out when it needs to happen.

Therefore is this phasing/blanking out unrelated to autism, and something that affects lots of people AS or otherwise? Or is it something specific to autism that can occur in the general population owing to different causes? Or is it very specific to autism?

Sorry if I'm flummoxing some people, but I think this is an important question, even if I'm finding it hard to explain it convincingly.

My reason for asking is that health professionals, and other people we depend upon, seem not to take some of our symptoms/traits/concerns seriously. Is that because these are phenomena widely seen in the general population that we might be making too much of?

Are we being perceived as over-reacting to some things which we think of as autistic traits, but which aren't actually autism related, which health professionals don't take seriously because they see them as much more commonplace?

Also, are we undermining our credibility by including in our definition of autism traits things which aren't deemed that significant?

Perhaps we should create a poll with a list of traits in question.  In fact, I might do this on my blog and link to it here.  Of course, it wouldn't be very scientific, but might give us some idea.

OK cumulatively, having a lot of problems impacting together is part of autism, so we do have the argument that it is not the presence of any one issue but the collective interaction of so many that makes life difficult. I'm just trying to introduce a further qualification - are there things we shouldn't really be including in the definition of autism?

I think it's the other way round, there are things we have/suffer which should be included that aren't.

Sorry I didn't get your explanation before, now you've gone in-depth I can see more what you are asking.