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Aspie and ASD

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Tales of Asperger's and neurodiversity in the workplace. From guest contributor Tim Goldstein, a neurodiversity advocate who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at age 54.

Tales of Asperger's and neurodiversity in the workplace

For someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), I’m fairly high-functioning. Executive Function. Executive function (EF) is a broad term that refers to the cognitive processes that help us regulate, control and manage our thoughts and actions.

Executive Function

It includes planning, working memory, attention, problem solving, verbal reasoning, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, initiation of actions and monitoring of actions. Most people on the autism spectrum have some degree of impaired executive function. Because executive function is such a complex concept, it can be hard to understand how it impacts our lives in practical ways. The slideshow below is a very brief introduction to the components of executive function and how impairment in each area might look in a person’s day-to-day life.

If you’d like to learn about executive function in more detail, there are links to an in-depth four part series below the slide show. To learn more about executive function and how it relates to autism, check out this in-depth series of posts: The Adult Repetitive Behaviour <br>Questionnaire-2. On Pinterest. Century-old drug reverses signs of autism in mice. A single dose of a century-old drug has eliminated autism symptoms in adult mice with an experimental form of the disorder.

Century-old drug reverses signs of autism in mice

Originally developed to treat African sleeping sickness, the compound, called suramin, quells a heightened stress response in neurons that researchers believe may underlie some traits of autism. Straight talk about Asperger syndrome. © 2006-2012 Paul Cooijmans Introduction Asperger syndrome, officially called Asperger's disorder in the diagnostic manual, has become a more or less popular diagnosis in the late twentieth century.

Straight talk about Asperger syndrome

Www.med.upenn.edu/pan/documents/Aspergerjobs.pdf. Gifted adults. Talent in autism: hyper-systemizing, hyper-attention to detail and sensory hypersensitivity. Abstract We argue that hyper-systemizing predisposes individuals to show talent, and review evidence that hyper-systemizing is part of the cognitive style of people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC).

Talent in autism: hyper-systemizing, hyper-attention to detail and sensory hypersensitivity

We then clarify the hyper-systemizing theory, contrasting it to the weak central coherence (WCC) and executive dysfunction (ED) theories. The ED theory has difficulty explaining the existence of talent in ASC. While both hyper-systemizing and WCC theories postulate excellent attention to detail, by itself excellent attention to detail will not produce talent. By contrast, the hyper-systemizing theory argues that the excellent attention to detail is directed towards detecting ‘if p, then q’ rules (or [input–operation–output] reasoning). The Emotionally Sensitive Person.

The cost of judging is quite high, particularly for emotionally sensitive people.

The Emotionally Sensitive Person

Think how you would live your life if you weren’t afraid of being judged, either by yourself of others? Judging and fear of being judged often keeps people in a trap – an emotional jail. Instead of living your life the way you would love to, you live safely, doing what is acceptable, so you aren’t labelled as crazy, stupid, worthless, a failure, lazy or some other hateful word. You may try to fit into molds that aren’t right for you or that aren’t even possible for human beings. Humans simply aren’t perfect.

Judgments are often based on “rules” that don’t really make sense. People are constantly judging in terms of good and bad, forgetting that what they are really describing are the consequences of actions and events, not the person. When you call someone “stupid,” you avoid feeling sad, yet sadness is what you are likely to be feeling. Judgments can result from the avoidance of feeling. Life through the eyes of a female with Aspergers. Day 81: 20 Things Not to Say to a Person with Aspergers. Image found at takealeftatthemoon.blogspot.com This is tailored to adults who have Aspergers and recently were diagnosed, but the list can apply to many ages and many conditions other than Aspergers Syndrome.

Day 81: 20 Things Not to Say to a Person with Aspergers

Day 62: Females with Asperger’s Syndrome (Non-Official) Checklist. Executive Function Disorder and the Senegal Parrot. I just thought I’d add some links I found useful with what I have been researching.

Executive Function Disorder and the Senegal Parrot

I am looking into how EFD has affected my social skills, also how I can help myself with this now I know I am on the spectrum. I spent about 3 hours yesterday collecting and ploughing through information. I tend to always be studying a few things at a time as I am also dyslexic. I broke up the heavy study with images and posts about the Senegal Parrot. Links… Life on the Spectrum. One of the first ways an undiagnosed aspie might try to determine his or her likeliness of having Asperger’s syndrome, is by taking one of the online tests.

Life on the Spectrum

Some of these are better than others, and caution should be taken when considering the results – particularly if you find yourself worrying that your results don’t match with those of other aspies. Many of these tests are based on research that might not be that well grounded in science. Broadly speaking, they probably do give a good idea of whether or not to pursue an assessment, but don’t let them become a source of anxiety either way. Asperger’s Quotient Test The simplest online test, and the one many people will find first, is the fifty-question Asperger’s Quotient (AQ) test, based on Simon Baron-Cohen’s contentious the Extreme Male Brain theory.

You can also get the AQ test as an iPhone app, and have loads of fun testing other people. Is Overactive Empathy Ruining Your Life? As a very empathic person (a VEP ), I have spent a lot of energy over the last few years learning how to manage my empathy and establishing better energetic boundaries with those around me.

Is Overactive Empathy Ruining Your Life?

I have noticed that many other people, especially clairsentient, sensitive, intuitive and lightworker types often have similar problems with their empathy and energetic boundaries.