Boredom and Asperger's

I think boredom is something experienced more by neurotypicals than people on the spectrum.

My reasoning? I perceive that neurotypical behaviour (people not on the spectrum in this context) thrives on reward. As I've suggested on other threads, NTs seek feedback or confirmation to boost self-assurance and provide contentment. So they spend their lives searching for such reward. They cannot watch television repeats because they are bored by the same content. They quickly exhaust the originality of computer games.

I think what happens to people on the spectrum is their need to acquire new information and do things in depth seems to provide reward.  Narrow obsessive interests and contentment with routine and regularity are addressed as defects, but do at least reduce the sense of emptiness NTs complain about. And people on the spectrum can often watch the same film or read the same book over and over again, and explore a computer game to infinity.

Also not being able to socialise effectively, not being able to make productive eye contact, having sensory problems in noisy social environments, means that people on the spectrum cannot pursue reward from social feedback.

I've seen pictures of children with autism, in institutions in the fifties and sixties, looking totally out of it on see-saws and rockers. The reason was they had nothing to occupy their minds and their quest for information. So they suffered boredom from lack of opportunity to use their minds, moreso than neurotypicals.

I did suffer intense boredom at work, because I had to do the task in front of me, and couldn't easily go off and do my own "displacement" activities.

So yes boredom applies if people on the spectrum cannot get to do their focus interests. But when engaged in those interests we don't experience boredom. 

Does that make any more sense?

I think boredom is something experienced more by neurotypicals than people on the spectrum.

My reasoning? I perceive that neurotypical behaviour (people not on the spectrum in this context) thrives on reward. As I've suggested on other threads, NTs seek feedback or confirmation to boost self-assurance and provide contentment. So they spend their lives searching for such reward. They cannot watch television repeats because they are bored by the same content. They quickly exhaust the originality of computer games.

I think what happens to people on the spectrum is their need to acquire new information and do things in depth seems to provide reward.  Narrow obsessive interests and contentment with routine and regularity are addressed as defects, but do at least reduce the sense of emptiness NTs complain about. And people on the spectrum can often watch the same film or read the same book over and over again, and explore a computer game to infinity.

Also not being able to socialise effectively, not being able to make productive eye contact, having sensory problems in noisy social environments, means that people on the spectrum cannot pursue reward from social feedback.

I've seen pictures of children with autism, in institutions in the fifties and sixties, looking totally out of it on see-saws and rockers. The reason was they had nothing to occupy their minds and their quest for information. So they suffered boredom from lack of opportunity to use their minds, moreso than neurotypicals.

I did suffer intense boredom at work, because I had to do the task in front of me, and couldn't easily go off and do my own "displacement" activities.

So yes boredom applies if people on the spectrum cannot get to do their focus interests. But when engaged in those interests we don't experience boredom. 

Does that make any more sense?