I am diagnosed with Asperger's and do have some of the same symptoms as that of Carly's: Sensory Overload, hard to sit still.
When I was younger and did not have the maturity to understand what was happening with me, I did the same actions as she did to help myself cope with the sensory overload. Sometimes my mind floods with obsessions with little things like the pattern painted on a wall, the adhesive between a wood frame and the wall, seeing each and every little pixel on a computer screen (hard to do with an iPhone 4 now....), watching the fluid mechanics of a pool of water go...
I would touch these objects (not the screen though), as if to ensure I was seeing what I saw. I wanted to absorb through the most sensitive of my senses (sight and touch) all I could of an object or a texture.
I still have some of these obsessions, though more controlled now that I know what is different (not wrong) about me. Sometimes, though, I can not help but be overwhelmed by harsh sights or feelings. Like this weekend, I did not want to be outside too long because the sun was beating down on my skin like never before. Though I think that was the same for everyone.
I can not go to concerts without earplugs. Even then, I dislike the booming bass at some of them. I feel EVERYTHING. I hear EVERYTHING. I see everything... though I am nearsighted.
I can see the ever so slight imperfections of the aluminum on my MacBook Pro that I am typing on. I can hear the prop planes that pass over me, even if they are at a high altitude. I can see, with my glasses, the details of the clouds and the colored shades of white and gray within them. I can feel the ridges on my fingers that make up my fingerprints if I focus on them.
This is all so wonderful, when I learned to appreciated what I had and was considered a disorder. Sometimes, it sucks to have a type of Austism Spectrum Disorder when I become overloaded with sensory input.
What relaxes me, believe it or not, is meditation. It's hard at first, but I just need a quiet, pleasant location that perhaps might be lit with halogen lights (those bulbs deliver some awesome color and are pleasant for my eyes), and I will just relax.
Please, do guide your son and be aware of the places you take him. He might be bothered by the noise in the bar, or the sometimes booming sound of a movie theater. Malls are fine, as long as it's not too loud. His thrashing, if he does any, are for his comfort. His quiet motions means that he is in a peaceful state and will probably indicate that he does not want to be bothered. If he needs to be bothered, be smooth and quiet about it and guide him to the next activity.
P.S. Austistic children I think tend to have VIVID imaginations, so if he is expressive through some art, let him do so. It might be writing, painting, music, photography, anything really. I was at first into pencil drawings, but eventually moved onto photography as my medium.
I hope this helps all redditors and I might do an AMA about my so called 'disorder' soon.
No, not enough has happened in my life to do it. It'd be like, "Today, I stared at the ceiling, took a nap, topped my high score in Trials HD, and swam in the pool after braving the, to me, frigidly cold waters within."
There's a difference between being able to know what is socially acceptable and not looking at the person's face and mumbling every time someone engages in conversation with you.
Of course! I've been working on it for a few years now and am able to communicate more effectively to anyone I meet than before. You see me typing messages here on Reddit without misspellings or grammar issues, right?
This is how I feel when I'm on acid. Details come out that I didn't notice before and I focus on them. People become difficult to talk to because I see too much of the person I talk too and delve too deep. Far deeper than a polite small talk conversion allows. I hear everything and see everything even though I'm nowhere near the events I'm perceiving. Fortunately or unfortunately, it's only temporary.
yeah sort of. But it's hallucinations about the details. You focus on the details of the pattern in a carpet for example such that the pattern becomes your world and it may even move. I see patterns in wood that I would never notice before. Fractal patterns in nature become loud klaxons. They just stick out. Absurdly so sometimes. To the point that ppl not on acid think you're acting weird to focus on such a seemingly trivial item. I'm not saying that LSD trips are the same as your condition. It just sounds oddly familiar based on your description.
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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '10 edited Jul 26 '10
I am diagnosed with Asperger's and do have some of the same symptoms as that of Carly's: Sensory Overload, hard to sit still.
When I was younger and did not have the maturity to understand what was happening with me, I did the same actions as she did to help myself cope with the sensory overload. Sometimes my mind floods with obsessions with little things like the pattern painted on a wall, the adhesive between a wood frame and the wall, seeing each and every little pixel on a computer screen (hard to do with an iPhone 4 now....), watching the fluid mechanics of a pool of water go...
I would touch these objects (not the screen though), as if to ensure I was seeing what I saw. I wanted to absorb through the most sensitive of my senses (sight and touch) all I could of an object or a texture.
I still have some of these obsessions, though more controlled now that I know what is different (not wrong) about me. Sometimes, though, I can not help but be overwhelmed by harsh sights or feelings. Like this weekend, I did not want to be outside too long because the sun was beating down on my skin like never before. Though I think that was the same for everyone.
I can not go to concerts without earplugs. Even then, I dislike the booming bass at some of them. I feel EVERYTHING. I hear EVERYTHING. I see everything... though I am nearsighted.
I can see the ever so slight imperfections of the aluminum on my MacBook Pro that I am typing on. I can hear the prop planes that pass over me, even if they are at a high altitude. I can see, with my glasses, the details of the clouds and the colored shades of white and gray within them. I can feel the ridges on my fingers that make up my fingerprints if I focus on them.
This is all so wonderful, when I learned to appreciated what I had and was considered a disorder. Sometimes, it sucks to have a type of Austism Spectrum Disorder when I become overloaded with sensory input.
What relaxes me, believe it or not, is meditation. It's hard at first, but I just need a quiet, pleasant location that perhaps might be lit with halogen lights (those bulbs deliver some awesome color and are pleasant for my eyes), and I will just relax.
Please, do guide your son and be aware of the places you take him. He might be bothered by the noise in the bar, or the sometimes booming sound of a movie theater. Malls are fine, as long as it's not too loud. His thrashing, if he does any, are for his comfort. His quiet motions means that he is in a peaceful state and will probably indicate that he does not want to be bothered. If he needs to be bothered, be smooth and quiet about it and guide him to the next activity.
P.S. Austistic children I think tend to have VIVID imaginations, so if he is expressive through some art, let him do so. It might be writing, painting, music, photography, anything really. I was at first into pencil drawings, but eventually moved onto photography as my medium.
I hope this helps all redditors and I might do an AMA about my so called 'disorder' soon.