>> ^njjh201:

OK as a piece of comedy this may or may not be any good (not going to watch all 12 minutes, that's for sure) ... but ... why are people on YouTube thinking this is real? Since the recording starts before the guy picks up the Skype call.
YouTube people... stupider than you think.

Well them I'm stupid too, I assumed he was using another piece of equipment to video himself, as his line of sight is looking down at the screen but the video seems to be coming from higher up. No need to watch all 12 minutes either, you can skip ahead every 30 seconds, watch 10 seconds and still witness carnage

I really need to get my arse in gear and publish my experiences with Asperger's online. So many things that NT people take for granted that us aspies need others to spell out for us, I figure the sooner I share everything I've written down over the years the sooner others might benefit from it. Ultimately though as any aspie will tell you, it's one thing to be told something - but nothing beats first-hand experience.

I found it painful to watch this video because it's familiar territory.

my non -educated professional opinion is DEFINATELY Aspie practising for an interview.

Ok, I'm ignorant. Can someone explain Asperger, clearly? Everything I've read (which is like, two things) makes it sound like it's just someone who is socially inept... Honestly, the guy in this video is like several people I've encountered in my lifetime... so, I don't get it. What differentiates someone with Asperger from someone who just sucks at talking to people and has what some consider weird hobbies/interests (like 'Bronies')?

>> ^schlub:

Ok, I'm ignorant. Can someone explain Asperger, clearly? Everything I've read (which is like, two things) makes it sound like it's just someone who is socially inept... Honestly, the guy in this video is like several people I've encountered in my lifetime... so, I don't get it. What differentiates someone with Asperger from someone who just sucks at talking to people and has what some consider weird hobbies/interests (like 'Bronies')?


I'd recommend looking up "Theory of Mind" because generally autistic people have an impaired theory of mind. A basic explanation of this is summed up by a difficulty to guage/recognise other people's emotional responses to given situations - it's very difficult to perceive what it's like for other people. This can make social interaction very awkward, since conversation is hard to follow unless there is some first-hand experience of the topic being discussed. Think of a lack of empathy except in situations where prior experience allows the autistic person to recall how it affected them. This is a very rudimentary explanation and there is much more to theory of mind and I'd definitely encourage reading a bit more about it since it affects everyone, NT and aspie alike.

There's lots more to Asperger's Syndrome than just an impaired theory of mind. The way the brain files information is another example of a significant difference. Recollection of prior events is a very different process when comparing NT people to aspies. Another difference is the way a lot of background processing of information for most people is actually foreground processing for aspies (i.e. direct awareness of the information being absorbed and how it relates to existing knowledge). An example of this could be the observation of body language - most people absorb that info subconsciously whereas an autistic person has to be trained or train themselves to be aware of the signals and then actively calculate what those signals can potentially mean about the person exhibiting the behaviour.

Hope that offers some insight, just bear in mind that there's no single diagnosis for Asperger's. It's a collection of symptoms that are considered and when enough boxes are ticked the diagnosis can be confirmed. Not all criteria are essential for the diagnosis and it's entirely possible for two aspies to have a number of different symptoms out of the overall list of criteria. That's the way of it, and justifies the use of the word "spectrum" when referring to autism in general.

Good question BTW

>> ^Reefie:

>> ^schlub:
Ok, I'm ignorant. Can someone explain Asperger, clearly? Everything I've read (which is like, two things) makes it sound like it's just someone who is socially inept... Honestly, the guy in this video is like several people I've encountered in my lifetime... so, I don't get it. What differentiates someone with Asperger from someone who just sucks at talking to people and has what some consider weird hobbies/interests (like 'Bronies')?

I'd recommend looking up "Theory of Mind" because generally autistic people have an impaired theory of mind. A basic explanation of this is summed up by a difficulty to guage/recognise other people's emotional responses to given situations - it's very difficult to perceive what it's like for other people. This can make social interaction very awkward, since conversation is hard to follow unless there is some first-hand experience of the topic being discussed. Think of a lack of empathy except in situations where prior experience allows the autistic person to recall how it affected them. This is a very rudimentary explanation and there is much more to theory of mind and I'd definitely encourage reading a bit more about it since it affects everyone, NT and aspie alike.
There's lots more to Asperger's Syndrome than just an impaired theory of mind. The way the brain files information is another example of a significant difference. Recollection of prior events is a very different process when comparing NT people to aspies. Another difference is the way a lot of background processing of information for most people is actually foreground processing for aspies (i.e. direct awareness of the information being absorbed and how it relates to existing knowledge). An example of this could be the observation of body language - most people absorb that info subconsciously whereas an autistic person has to be trained or train themselves to be aware of the signals and then actively calculate what those signals can potentially mean about the person exhibiting the behaviour.
Hope that offers some insight, just bear in mind that there's no single diagnosis for Asperger's. It's a collection of symptoms that are considered and when enough boxes are ticked the diagnosis can be confirmed. Not all criteria are essential for the diagnosis and it's entirely possible for two aspies to have a number of different symptoms out of the overall list of criteria. That's the way of it, and justifies the use of the word "spectrum" when referring to autism in general.
Good question BTW


This is fantastic, thank you!

Famous Aspergerino's include Gary Numan :

"Here in my car,
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live in cars.
Here in my car
I can only receive
I can listen to you
It keeps me stable for days in cars.

ANNNND,
Dan Aykroyd,Carl Jung, Beethoven, Michelangelo and Nikola Tesla!!


Oh, and a few folks know to frequent the sift in days past and present we must say!!