Top 10 Terrific Traits of Autistic People

[JadenMystic]

I do not recall the original author to this Top 10 list, but as a mother of 2 children on the Autism Spectrum, I do see a lot of this in my son and daughter.



If you're sick of hearing about all the "deficits" challenging people on the autism spectrum, join the club. But for every down side to autism, there seems to be a positive -- an unusual trait that rarely appears among the "typical" community, but shines out among autistic folk. These plusses are well worth celebrating.

1. Autistic People Rarely Lie
We all claim to value the truth, but almost all of us tell little white lies. All, that is, except people on the autism spectrum. To them, truth is truth -- and a good word from a person on the spectrum is the real deal.

2. People on the Autism Spectrum Live in the Moment
How often do typical people fail to notice what's in front of their eyes because they're distracted by social cues or random chitchat? People on the autism spectrum truely attend to the sensory input that surrounds them. Many have achieved the ideal of mindfulness.

3. People with Autism Rarely Judge Others
Who's fatter? Richer? Smarter? For people on the autism spectrum, these distinctions hold much less importance than for typical folks. In fact, people on the spectrum often see through such surface appearances to discover the real person.

4. Autistic People are Passionate
Of course, not all autistic people are alike. But many are truly passionate about the things, ideas and people in their lives. How many "typical" people can say the same?

5. People with Autism Are Not Tied to Social Expectations
If you've ever bought a car, played a game or joined a club to fit in, you know how hard it is to be true to yourself. But for people with autism, social expectations can be honestly irrelevant. What matters is true liking, interest and passion -- not keeping up with the Joneses.

6. People with Autism Have Terrific Memories
How often do typical people forget directions, or fail to take note of colors, names, and other details? People on the autism spectrum are often much more tuned in to details. They may have a much better memory than their typical peers for all kind of critical details.

7. Autistic People Are Less Materialistic
Of course, this is not universally true -- but in general, people with autism are far less concerned with outward appearance than their typical peers. As a result, they worry less about brand names, hairstyles and other expensive but unimportant externals than most people do.

8. Autistic People Play Fewer Head Games
Who was that woman, and why were you looking at her? I know I TOLD you I didn't mind if you went out, but why did you believe me? Most autistic people don't play games like these -- and they assume that you won't either. It's a refreshing and wonderful change from the Peyton Place emotional roller coaster that mars too many typical relationships!

9. Autistic People Have Fewer Hidden Agendas
Most of the time, if a person on the autism spectrum tells you what he wants -- he is telling you what he wants. No need to beat around the bush, second guess, and hope you're reading between the lines!

10. People with Autism Open New Doors for Neurotypicals
For some of us neurotypicals, having an autistic person in our lives has had a profound positive impact on our perceptions, beliefs and expectations. For me, at least, being the mom of a son and daughter on the autism spectrum has released me from a lifetime of "should" -- and offered me a new world of "is."

[JadenMystic]

I'm a mother of two children on the Autism Spectrum. They make things interesting to say the least. My two are 11 and 8. the younger is female. The statistics say that more boys have autism than girls. I would consider myself special then because I have one of each on the spectrum. I'm one that believes it does run in families. I have two on the spectrum, and they have a cousin on their father's side that is also on the spectrum.

[elmo77]

I could not agree more. I have two brothers with autism and a nephew and they have changed the way I view the world. They don't think anything is impossible and it is very inspiring.

[JadenMystic]

Have you ever thought at times you may have traits of it to? Just by watching the way they behave or don't behave with others? I've noticed there are times I seem to have some of the traits they look for when they're diagnosing Autism in young kids. I'm just too stubborn to go actually get it looked at to see if I'm also on the Spectrum.

When they diagnosed my son, they ran the Fragile X text to see if I was the carrier of the Autism, but they couldn't say he had the Autism because of me. I remember feeling almost insulted when the military wanted to run that test on me to check my son for the Autism. (My ex-husband was in the military) I remember being confused about hte blood test and even more confued with the results. All I understood was that the test didn't show a connection thru the Fragile X test that they can only run on males on the spectrum.

[Oniya]

I took an online Asperger's test once, and I think I scored moderately on it.  That could just be because I'm an antisocial introvert with a mind for trivia.  ;)

[JadenMystic]

lol If you ever find that link again, Oniya, I'd love for you to post it on here. I think I would quite enjoy taking it to see where I'd fall on it. :-)

[Oniya]

I wasn't sure it would still be there (it was on the Wired website a few years back), but I went to look and here it is.

[JadenMystic]

Thanks for the link, Oniya. When I took it I scored a 31/50. I'm kinda on the borderline of it I guess you could say. lol. Makes things interesting...A friend of mine on Facebook when they were diagnosing her son with Autism, her husband was diagnosed with Autism around the same time. He noticed that he had a lot of the same characteristics as the son that was being diagnosed.

[Chelemar]

I scored a 32.  Which doesn't surprise me.  My nephew has Asperger's Syndrome, and I find quite a few similarities between us.  However his is much more extreme.
He's a great boy and one joy I have in my life is being able to make him laugh and giggle.  Something he rarely does.

His concern for everyone and constant worry about others and the state of the world break my heart.

Hugs you all,

~Chele

[yaracyrrah]

Borrowed and shared :-).

(I have Asperger's.)

[JadenMystic]

:-) If you don't mind me asking, when did you find out you had Asperger's? A friend of mine on Facebook when she was working on diagnosing her son with Autism, also had to deal with her husband self diagnosing himself with Autism because of a lot of the questions you go thru in the evaluation process.

[yaracyrrah]

I wasn't diagnosed until I was 23 (I'm 31 now).  I definitely wish I had been diagnosed as a child--it would really have helped to have had a map, even a rough map, rather than having had to hack through the jungle on my own.  But I've benefited from the diagnosis as an adult as well.  Sometimes a label is nothing more than a clue-hammer to force people to pay attention to things they ought to be paying attention to anyway (e.g. the individualities of the people around them)... but sometimes one needs such a clue-hammer, and a(n increasingly) commonly-understood formal diagnosis is a really good clue-hammer.

For what it's worth, my father would probably have rated an Asperger's diagnosis as a child as well.  For fans of the assortative mating theory, my mother also has some spectrum traits. Then again, my brother... doesn't.  But on the gripping hand, that's only one of the many ways my brother doesn't resemble anyone else in our family.

[JadenMystic]

I see myself and my little sister having traits of Autism. I don't see it in my parents or my brother tho, but do see some ADHD in both my nieces and my younger child.