Is There Anybody Else Here With Aspberger's Syndrome?

[Widget]

I am a member of Mensa so I know firsthand that being smart doesn't always help. Many people I meet think that because my IQ is at genius level then there should be no reason why I can't be normal. A big problem is trying to figure out how much information people want when they ask for information and what level I need to use to explain it to them. Or in other words how much do I need to dumb it down without offending anyone.

 

[justbugged]

I can understand where that could be a real pain in the tush. I must say that I hate dumbing things down for people. I have been ridiculed for having a large vocabulary. I am fairly sure that they are the ones with the problem and it's not me. I am also sure that's what gets me in trouble at times. I think that we have lost so much language in the past 50 years or so. I can remember when the questions on the game show Jeopardy were really hard. Now the questions are so much simpler.

 

[annaraven]

I've been accused of being a snob or trying to show off because I have a good vocabulary.


In other news... My son just got suspended from school today - partly because I don't think he realized the pragmatics of what he was saying. Ugh. Not fun.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

I was just mentioning to my mom the other day that I thought Bones seemed like an Aspie. She said she was annoying, so maybe she was, lol. To me it seems that the higher the intelligence level, the more they seem like they have Aspie traits.

I've been talking more with my older DD, and she has come to grips with Asperger's, and is now starting to recognize certain things she does as symptoms, and she is relieved to know why she is doing what she is doing. Her spirits have really come up. I got her to go to the church Halloween party. I couldn't go, I can't walk the distance from my house to the church, but I sent the girls, and my older DD did stand back and avoid socializing too much (basically she answered questions if people approached her, but she didn't approach people, which is typical of her), but she was very pleased when they held a contest to guess how many candy corns were in this jar, and she was prodded to make a guess, and she literally guessed within 2 pieces of the candy! Needless to say, she won the jar of candy. She came home and proudly showed me her jar. Funny thing is, she doesn't care for candy corn, lol. So her grandma ended up eating all of it. The whole ordeal leading up to the party though had the makings of a nightmare, but thankfully didn't escalate to that. She was excited at first, but as the day approached, she began to get anxious. She began trying to find excuses not to go, and was close to having a melt down the night of the party. She claimed her costume was uncomfortable, she was sure the other kids wouldn't like her costume, etc. But I told her that she had to take her sister, that her sister couldn't be expected to walk down there alone. So she reluctantly went. I was proud of her and glad that she had a good time. But social situations like that really stress her out. They stress me out too. I'm excited that I'm set to graduate with my Assoc. degree in February, but in and around March will be the physical graduation, and THAT makes me very anxious. I want to do it, but the idea of getting up in front of all those people, I don't relish the thought. I know I'll be glad I did it afterward, but first I need to do it so that I can reach that point.

I have to start making a conscious effort to stop picking. I have my ring finger on my right hand so raw that I almost can't bend the top joint. But I can't seem to stop. Doesn't help that I've had so much on my mind lately either. Anyone have tips on how to stop? I don't always handle stress the best way that I could.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

"Sinipso Croft: Home to 2 Pyrs, a Collie, a Norwegian Elkhound, a Potcake, 5 cats, 2 Icelandics, a Mustang, an African grey (and friends), plus the chickens and ducks!!!!"

I'm sorry, but I have to ask; Widget, what is a Potcake?

 

[Widget]

This is Sarah my Bahamian Potcake

From www.potcake.org

"Potcake" is the Bahamian term for the thick, leftover food that remains in the bottom of a pot of peas 'n rice after several reheatings. Traditionally, Bahamians fed potcake to the outdoor, indigenous dogs that freely populated the Bahamas. Hence the dogs have come to be known as Potcakes.

Although officially considered mixed breed dogs, the Royal Bahamian Potcake is now a recognized breed in The Bahamas. They have distinct characteristics of size and temperament. This is because, until very recently, all island dogs shared the same isolated gene pool. This makes the Potcake an extremely unique species of canine.

Depending on what genes are available on any Bahamian island, Potcakes strongly resemble each other. Some islands’ Potcakes look more like the typical "pariah dog" found in locales such as India and North Africa. Elsewhere, their lines hint at hound, mastiff, spaniel, terrier or retriever ancestors.

Some believe the original Potcakes came to the Bahamas with the Arawak Indians from Central or South America. If so, Potcakes are as close to nature's perfect genotype dog as possible. More recently, in the days of Tall Ships, The Bahamas played a major role in maritime commerce. Early terrier breeds, carried aboard ship to keep provisions safe from rats and mice, probably ended up as shore dogs in places such as Eleuthera, New Providence and Abaco. Add to this genetic soup the distinctive (and still existent) Carolina dog, who came -- primarily to Abaco -- with Loyalist Tories who settled during the Revolutionary War, and you have the basic ingredients of a modern-day Potcake.

As a general rule of thumb, Potcakes have smooth, short fur with little or no undercoat, cocked ears, a hound-like rib cage and long terrier-shaped faces. More rare are shaggy or rough coat Potcakes but they do occur naturally. While the "typical" Potcake is brown, colors range from parti to black, white, cream, yellow and red. Adults stand about 24 inches high at the shoulder. Normal adult weight in the bush is about 35 pounds. Healthy, homed Potcakes can weigh anywhere from 45-55 pounds, depending on bone structure.

Potcakes are very smart and best suited to people who not only understand but also conscientiously practice positive reinforcement training techniques. House training can begin as young as 8 weeks old; paper training and the desire not to soil their nest seems almost instinctual in Potcakes. Caloric intake should be monitored; not only is obesity generally considered unhealthy, it also places undue strain on a Potcake's natural skeletal structure. Socialization – with other companion animals as well as a wide variety of people and situations – should be initiated immediately and continued at least until the dog has reached maturity at about 10 to 12 months.

Potcakes are an excellent choice for someone who wants to share their life with an extremely intelligent, quick witted and bonded companion. They are beautifully graceful runners, intuitively empathetic, and the right match for someone desiring a long-term, interactive relationship with another intelligent species.

Are they perfect dogs? No. Are they for everyone? No, again. They expect you to show leadership qualities and are unhappy and confused by people who presume a puppy will raise itself. Potcakes, ultimately, will always agree with someone they love and trust. But the smartest ones insist on knowing "why" first.

 

[justbugged]

Potcakes sound like great dogs. I must say that i prefer long hair on a dog. I also am top dog at house. I also seem to be the rooster.

I learned to be top dog right after Puppy came to live with us. He still will talk back at me. That makes me cranky. What is really bad is when I lose the conversation with him.

I do have a question how did you get the potcake into the USA?

 

[Widget]

There is a Potcake underground railroad that is able to rescue dogs from the islands. But mine came from a local shelter back in 2002. There was a relatively local group who went down to the Bahamas (Abaco Island to be exact) and did a bunch of spay and neuters to help with the dog population. Sarah was one of the pups that they captured, brought back and put up for adoption. I normally like big dogs but Potcakes are really an interesting 'breed'. I would love to have another someday.

 

[justbugged]

I took the smaller test again today, and tested at 37.

 

[booker81]

High Five! Same number that I got!

LOL!

I think my entire department I work in now is all Aspies. I love it. Totally a perfect environment for an Aspie - very little social "normal", a lot of extremely smart people, and the type of fun they have isn't "socially" right, but it's a LOT of fun I think, the kind of wicked humor that I find easy to understand because there isn't any hidden meaning in it that I don't get. Take Friday - things had slowed down, no system or server problems, so the programmers started a game of "Try to hit the head of any person who stands up" with a nerf ball or stress ball (soft). We have cubicles, it's one giant cube farm, and then there are giant pillars along the sides. This wasn't just low level people - the VP of the Department was trying to nail any person who walked by his office door. The manager of IT systems was running from pillar to pillar, and trying to hit the head programmer, as he was trying to hit him and also not get hit by the VP. I guess they also play football occasionally, but in their own special way, with their own rules. I now know why every desk - including mine - has soft stress balls on them...for war!!

I like it there because if you get your work done and have down time, no one cares what you do. Organize your email, clean your desk, play nerf war. There is no micromanaging. However, when there is work to do, every single person in that department is giving 150% effort. There is no slacking when it's time to work. Most people don't take breaks or leave for lunch (it's salary there), but just prefer to work work work. It's too hard to stop in the middle of something and try to restart - may as well just do it and get it done.

I just can't get over how awesome it is to work there, such a fantastic environment. Very pro-free thinking, very open to thinking outside the box. They have a few normal people to help out with social niceness - my team leader provides coaching and is happy to assist with writing emails or calls to the more "normal" departments so feelings don't get hurt. She's a normal person, but she's a fantastic help for folks like me who aren't that great with social skills - very patient and helpful. She delegates workflow and those of us on our team then are free to choose which project we want to work on, as long as they are complete on the requested date. It's nice that way - you can spend a few hours on one, then switch, or just spend all day on one and finish it up.

It's so awesome. I love it. I finally feel comfortable. I still worry that someone will come to me and say "You've been doing it all wrong!", but so far, nothing but good words. Not like when I was in processing, and was pulled aside and told I was not getting a raise because I was arrogant and acted smarter than everyone - and then as a "cushion", complimented on my knowledge of the systems and helping everyone with them. That's the type of backhanded stuff I don't understand (I did end up getting the raise two weeks later, after I just shut my mouth and just let people use my brain, I quit trying to talk to them).

Ramble ramble ramble.