Positive Thinking!

I personally am glad that I got my Autism diagnosis. Because it explains so much about the way I am and I feel that I am finally free to be 'me'. Yes, of course Autism is a disability and we do suffer from negative symptoms. But, there are also positive sides to our Autism, if we care to look for them. 

I'm going to start. One way in which my Autism affects me positively is that it makes me rather partial to putting organisational systems in place to better manage things at home. Such as the food shopping (most current system that I am updating/slightly hyper-focused on at the moment).

So, please tell me an example of how your Autism/Aspergers affects you positively? What are you able to do that you would not be so good at if you were not Autistic? How does your Autism help you?

Parents Reply Children
  • Maybe explaining things well is a gift of Autism/Aspergers?

  • I do all that - everyone says I should be a teacher because of the way I can simplify such complex things down to NT level.  Smiley

    I think in pictures so I always carry paper to draw the things I think of to explain my thoughts to the muggles.

  • Automatic car driver here! So simple! 

    I love charts and diagrams, they can make something complex so much simpler to understand! I always used to make up flow diagrams way back when I was at uni as they simplify things so well.

    Analogies are good too. I can think of a few funny ones! 

    My bluntness frequently elicits a sharp 'pardon?' from people, but because I interpret literally, I think they have not heard me so repeat myself a little louder! Only later do I realise that they said pardon due to what I said being 'inappropriate'!

  • Oh.my.god!

    Exactly! It's like people getting hung up trying to understand the details of how a synchromesh gearbox works when their car is an automatic & all they need to know is how to put it in Drive, Reverse or Neutral!

    Also, the power to 'make complex things simple' - I struggle at work so much with why people can't see things that are blindingly obvious.

    I've a very visual thinker and will usually draw a process map or flow diagram so I can understand something - people frequently compliment me on these. I also have what I call 'analogy Tourette's' - I speak in analogies as a way to translate complex concepts into everyday examples anyone can understand, people frequently say "I wish I could put things the way you do..."

    Mind you, the razor sharpness of my analysis can also end up leaving 'blood on the floor'... and I'm always getting:

    "<sharp intake of breath>...you can't say THAT!"

    I clearly CAN - I just did... Shrug tone3

  • The rats nest of wire running everywhere reminds me of the mess that the sky man made of attaching my sky box to my TV (via the old BT box and the talktalk broadband router!) I've sorted it out now, very quickly! Don't understand what he thought he was doing?!

  • I seem to have a skill of metaphorically putting bits of systems in boxes, working out the interface and transfer function, and then forgetting what's in the box (because I don't need to know any more). Some of my colleagues seem to get bogged down in a rat's nest of wire running everywhere without being able to make sense of stuff that I can see clearly. It gets frustrating sometimes though trying to get them to tell me what *their* box does, because they can't even work out where the edges of their box lies!