Introduction
Hi and welcome to Inside Perspectives.
This site is an attempt to analyse and give some inside perspectives on some of the most common differences, difficulties, reactions, talents and idiosyncrasies in “Aspies” (people with Asperger Syndrome), autism spectrum and related Neurodiversity differences and conditions such as ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Scotopic Sensitivity, Synesthesia, OCD, Tourette, SPD, and HSP.
Summary
I consider most Autism Spectrum differences to be natural neurological or personality type variations, explainable by any combination of the following:
- Personality type and neurological structure geared towards specialisation or creativity rather than towards generalisation and socialising.
- Quicker-than-average intellectual or creative development, sometimes in combination with slower-than-average social/emotional development.
- Atypical learning style or brain hemisphere dominance.
- Tendency to trance or space out.
- Androgyny or different brain gender than body gender.
- Differences in energy level.
- Food intolerances, allergies, or other hypersensitvities.
- In some cases neurological impairments or brain differences.
Credits
Thanks to all the wonderful people – too many to list – who have contributed with quotes, inspiration and information.
Disclaimer
This is not a blog even though a blog host was used to create it, it’s a website with fixed pages. And I now rarely have time to answer questions or update links, sorry about that.
The information here is based on a combination of personal experience and accounts from hundreds of neurodiversity people whom I’ve gotten to know over the Internet and/or in real life. However, they are still generalisations or unique experiences and may not be applicable to everyone with a similar diagnosis.
Also note that I am not a medical professional and that the views presented here are just my own personal opinions. Always consult your primary health care professional and use your own discrimination before following any suggested advice.
Inside Perspectives 
AntoniusBlock said,
08 November 2010 at 22:32
Hello,
many thanks for your webpage, it is the best resource i found on the whole web for it. It helped me alot to understand myself.
Thanks!
Isil Hwen said,
12 June 2018 at 20:32
I’m a little freaked and relieved. I never thought about autism as related to me in any way. I am older, >60. I have had a full life. All of my life I have “danced as fast as I can” to be normal. I never teased out what normal meant. I have three college/university degrees. I always felt better at work or school because I knew what to do. I worked and went to school full time for 8 years. My eventual specialty was in mental health. My co-workers asked me on multiple occasions if I thought I was hypomanic and why I walked around smiling (for no apparent reason). In general I avoid social situations like the plague. If I don’t recognize a phone number I don’t answer. The most disturbing thing for me recently is social media. If I can’t see a person I don’t know what to say, which apparently is all the wrong things. I guess I say too much or it is concerning to people. I either get no response or a concerned face emoji.
About six months ago I was drinking a few beers with my wife. I have no friends. I will have been married to Kate for 40 years in October. First she said I think you are a genius. I figured she drank too much beer. A little later she said, I think you’re autistic. Then I knew she was drinking too much. I couldn’t get this out of my head though. I am extremely introspective. When I am stuck on an idea it will not subside in intensity until I reach some resolution I am satisfied with. Kate was a masters prepared special education teacher. She frequently worked with autistic children. I had to give some credence to her opinion
I am not sure how much research I have read at this point or how many “quizzes” I have taken. The quizzes always come out in the autism spectrum or the old aspergers range, well with in the range. I do not know what benefit a professional diagnoses would do for me at this point. I so see a professional for treatment of ADHD. Adderal has helped me to feel much more comfortable, as if I have a center to my life.
I suppose I have said too much again. I don’t like to come across wierd or creepy. I’m really not. I won’t read it over 15 times, because I want to send this, and I will instead delete it. I’m not sure what to do. I’m not upset, just surprised with this whole idea. It explains a great deal Perhaps it is a little sad in some way and perhaps not. Thank you
Ing said,
11 November 2010 at 1:16
Glad to be of service! 🙂
Kay said,
02 February 2011 at 18:33
Great webpage. One of the best resources!
Thanks for sharing!
lin said,
10 May 2011 at 19:58
This is a wonderful website and resource for me. I finally understand myself!! thank you so much for the work involved in this site. it has helped me with so many of my relationships. and i refer other people to it, to learn about Aspies and other neurodiversities!
Ing said,
11 May 2011 at 8:02
Thanks for the feedback!
Keith Benfell said,
05 January 2012 at 3:07
This website is da best !!!! Thanks for so much hard work 🙂
Ing said,
20 January 2012 at 10:19
And thank you for letting me know it’s appreciated.
Sheva said,
06 January 2012 at 6:57
Greetings:
Thanks for your very informative site.
I just read your list of traits and other items.
Gee, isn’t this how everyone is?
Doesn’t it bother the heck out of everyone if there’s a lot of chaos and people running and pushing and grabbing and making it impossible to have a little secure space?!
And why don’t they also notice the obvious and incredibly irritating inconsistencies in things? Don’t you just have to write to that author and let them know about spelling or grammar errors in their article?
And why is it so hard for folks to spend 10 hours straight working on a project, eat, and stay up all night to do more?
And this is not normal behavior?
Perhaps I have self diagnosed.
What do I do with this?
Sheva
Ing said,
20 January 2012 at 10:18
Hi Sheva, sorry for the late reply (been busy hyperfocusing on another special interest).
I totally agree that this is normal behavior. (For some of us anyway.)
And yes, of course I am helpful enough to contact sites about their spelling and grammar. 😉
What to do about it? Just enjoy, I guess. If those traits are not a problem for you, there should be no need to get an official dx.
Sheva said,
20 January 2012 at 17:08
Over-focusing- ADD or ASP?
Can anyone shed light on making a determination about if over-focusing is ADD or ASP? Thanks
Ing said,
20 January 2012 at 17:19
Probably not, they sort of intertwine.
It can also vary between individuals and situations. For some it may just be natural to hyperfocus, for others it’s a strategy to keep one’s mind from losing attention.
I find that in myself it comes naturally if I’m working on something that I really want to do, and more of a strategy to not get distracted if it’s something that I’m not interested in doing at that time, or if I’m trying to focus in an overstimulating environment.
In he latter case it requires a lot more energy to sustain attention.
Henry said,
13 April 2012 at 1:13
Hello,
I’m wondering if you know of any genetic/hereditary Asperger connection in families. If a parent has Aspergers, is it more common for a child to have Aspergers or Autism as well?
Thank you,
Henry
Ing said,
14 April 2012 at 0:31
Yes, autistic traits often seem to run in families. Whether that makes it genetic or not I don’t think anyone knows. To my knowledge, there is no ‘autistic gene’ identified, just a propensity for sociability & empathy or lack thereof which may put one at risk for autism, according to the researchers. But the research is still in its infancy and much is still speculation. It’s probably a lot more complex than that.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-kindness-strangers-linked-genetic-variation.html
Christian Gehman said,
25 July 2012 at 23:24
Hey, thanks very much!
Christian Gehman said,
25 July 2012 at 23:41
Overall, isn’t autism/aspberger’s a gray-scale disorder with many variations possible?
Ing said,
05 February 2013 at 9:28
Yes, that is correct.
(Sorry for this very late reply, I seem to have missed many comments due to losing the mail address connected to this site when I switched broadband company.)
Holin said,
31 August 2012 at 21:30
I have to thank you so much for creating and maintaining this website. I’m a 54-year-old woman in the U.S. who has always felt inexplicably “out of step” with almost everyone around me. After years of confusion, frustration, anxiety, and difficulty with relationships, I now know why. What a relief! I no longer have to feel “bad” or “wrong” for being who I am, and, even better, I can understand why most of the people in my life (who are NTs) don’t understand me and I can give them a break. It doesn’t mean I have to change, but I can be more forgiving of myself and others when things seem to go pear-shaped for no apparent reason. I feel like the door to understanding myself has finally been opened. Thank you again for your work!
Ing said,
05 February 2013 at 9:28
Glad to be of help!
(And sorry for the late reply.)
Kate said,
07 September 2012 at 21:32
Hi,
As the mom of an Aspergers son (we think) who had a miserable, miserable adolescence, and still in the throes of it,. i was quite taken by the comments about androgyny and Aspergers. My son has always been more boy than girl, but never classically boy, rather the little professor and intellectual sort, gentle and soft. He thinks all of a sudden that he might be trans — and wants to become a girl. I embrace this, if it is true, but I worry that it is more a reaction to hating his male body now, and wishing to stay androgynous. any help, does anyone have experience?
Holin said,
10 September 2012 at 17:14
Young people commonly experiment and question their sexuality, and my own experience is that people I know personally who might be Aspie question everything, including this aspect of their lives – a lot. Depending on where you live, your son might feel that the just doesn’t fit into the gender role that is expected of him and can’t see any other examples of how to be a man. I might suggest that you reaffirm that you love your son just as he is and you support his choices but that gender reassignment is a very permanent change which will require him to undergo a long process of psychological testing, living as a woman before surgery for a certain period of time, surgeries, and hormone support therapy for the rest of his life (he probably knows all of this already, but telling him that you know it, too, may be helpful). In addition, the surgery and drug therapy can be extremely expensive, and I’ve been told by a few transgender women that there are still only a few doctors (in the U.S.) who have real expertise in this area – many more are merely quacks who do a botched job – so he’s probably going to pay a lot of money if he decides to go forward with the process if he’s in the U.S. Many young people who do not meet the standard/stereotypical portrayals of their gender think that this means that they must be “other” (the other gender). This is not true – gentle, non-aggressive men should be valued as should strong, independent-minded women, and in many social circles, they are. Gender traits fall on a continuum, and a “soft” man is still as much a man as a “warrior,” though a high school student might not believe that. Thankfully, most of us realize that there is life after high school, and we begin to see that the roles that were defined for us during that time were restrictive and unrealistic, and we move on. I would encourage your son to explore this issue as much as he feels is necessary but to wait to make a final decision for a good while, perhaps several years. He should seek the advice of a therapist who is familiar with transgender issues and who can help him sort through his feelings. Transgender surgery may feel like a quick fix out of his problems, but he will still be the same person post-surgery as he was pre-surgery. I would also encourage him to speak with M to F transgender women and men to find out more about their experiences. He should speak with people who are both happy and unhappy that they went through gender re-assignment (he may have to look a bit to find the latter). Does he understand that women in modern society are still subject to discrimination and violence (mostly at the hands of men, often sexual)? Does he really want to accept this fact as part of his life, because it will be a reality for him if he undergoes the process. Does he understand that he is likely to be paid less just because he is a woman and that he may find himself targeted by religious bigots? This is no established “place” for transgender people in modern society at this point, and people have lost their jobs and their children, among other things, when they have decided to undergo gender reassignment. It’s a hard road. I have met M to F transgender women who probably shouldn’t have undergone surgery and eventually settle in a kind of limbo, but I have also met M to F transgender women who are as feminine as I am (I was born and still am female) and are much more comfortable with themselves and less depressed after reassignment. This is a new area of medicine and law, and it can be confusing for family members as well as for the individual who exploring their sexuality and gender. I commend you for reaching out to get information rather than condemning your son. Aspies tend to jump into things they are interested in with everything they have. It doesn’t mean that this is where they will land. Being a girl is not a bad thing. Being genuinely unhappy, on the other hand, is rotten.
one who knows said,
25 November 2012 at 4:35
It’s possible he’s reacting negatively to the gender role stereotype that society is forcing on him as he grows older. I once thought I was trans, as a teen, but grew out of it when I realised that all I wanted was to dress in the clothing traditionally assigned to the other sex, and to be mentally androgynous. Reassure him that he is free to express his gender any way he pleases and society should not be allowed to bully him into permanently changing/damaging his body in order to fit its idea of gender expression. Also reassure him that not being macho is perfectly acceptable and respectable, and guide him towards male role models who are not silly, overtly-masculine caricatures. Many male artists, writers, and scientists are thoughtful, quiet, and gentlemanly, rather than brash, loud, and rude/dominating.
Heather said,
03 December 2012 at 0:56
Thank you so much for this site! I was put in therapy in first grade and started treatment for bipolar disorder when I was in 8th grade (I was NOS, it never felt like the right diagnosis and nothing explained the rest of my symptoms.) I am near tears reading the information here. 40 years of struggling and failing to be “normal”. I am not nuts, stupid or intentionally pig headed, and I’m not alone. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Ing said,
05 February 2013 at 9:29
Wonderful! Glad to hear it was helpful!
brian said,
16 December 2012 at 18:18
I just took the aspie test and the result was too many inconsistent control questions answered????????????????
Ing said,
05 February 2013 at 9:45
I am not responsible for the aspie quiz so if you have any questions about it, please contact the aspie quiz maker.
(If it’s that long test you’re referring to, that person is a bit of a nut though, to be frank. I helped design the first version of that quiz but then he took over the whole thing, added some really strange questions, and uses it to try and prove is Hn theory, which I do not believe in.)
If you want to know if you have AS, you need to do a proper professional evaluation. Online tests can at best only give a general hint, and at worst lead you to believe you have a condition you or personality type that you don’t.
There is a huge overlap between ASD, ADHD and being a Highly Sensitive Person or having an unusual temperament type, learning style etc.
If these, often natural, variations require a medical diagnosis depends on whether they are an more of an asset or a handicap in your life. (For some of us, they’re both.)
Ing said,
05 September 2016 at 5:48
I’m not responsible for any tests so please contact that site admin.
alanadyson said,
06 January 2013 at 16:29
I just recently found out at age 30, that i’m am aspie. In trying to educate my parents about this, i fell out with my father (with whom I have always been very close). He completely missed the point of all the information i gave him, telling me, finally, to quit inconveniencing everyone around me with my sensitivities, once and for all…I want to ball this blog up in my fist and jam the whole thing right down his ignorant gob. Thank you Ing, and all contributors (especially all the amazing and brave female aspies from Sweden (maybe i should move there)), for putting this invaluable resource together. I wish this was mandatory reading for the entire human race! Thanks for helping me continue to learn about my neurologically unusual self and for giving me a website to send people with questions to. Excellent work!!!!!
Holin said,
07 January 2013 at 18:24
Hang in there, Alan. I figured it out just a few months ago at age 54. The initial shock was huge, but I have a very supportive partner who understood immediately. The best thing about finally figuring it out was that I realized that not being like everybody else was ok and that I didn’t have to make excuses or feel bad for my “sensitivities” any more. On the other hand, I’m not going to tell most people about it, either, particularly in light of the two recent shootings in the U.S. (the Batman theater shooting and the school shooting in Connecticut), both of which were committed by people who were presumed to have Asperger’s. If you can, try to be easy with yourself and others, and allow yourself to be “quirky” (as my friends call me) with humour and acceptance for yourself and the rest of the world. We have the advantage of being able to think outside the box all the time, which can be a great thing, even though it is sometimes a burden as well. You’re not alone.
alanadyson said,
07 January 2013 at 19:54
thanks for the words of encouragement, i really needed to hear that today.
Ing said,
05 February 2013 at 9:49
Thanks Alan! Glad this information was of help! 🙂
Good luck in trying to educate those around you. Be prepared that it may take time…
I found it most important to understand myself first and foremost. My family needed a few years to get their heads around it but now they accept it.
laughatmypain said,
07 March 2013 at 19:19
Nice site. I recently at 30 found out I have Aspergers. I just “followed” your site, feel free to check mine out! http://laughatmypain.wordpress.com/
Holin said,
08 March 2013 at 17:03
As I said in a previous post, I didn’t find out I was Aspie until I was 54 (last year). I read your blog, and I am sorry that you feel such pain, but in your writing I also see a great deal of self-awareness. Being Aspie is part of who you are, like having brown eyes or being tall or whatever. After the initial shock, I felt so very relieved. I don’t have to wonder why I don’t quite fit in anymore, and I can actually enjoy what my “normal” friends call my “quirkiness.” When I find other people like me – smart but “odd” – I can enjoy their company and relax. Perhaps it might help you to seek out others in your area who are more like you – Mensa, science fiction fans, computer geeks, and like-minded folks seem to have an abundance of Aspie traits, even if they are not Aspie themselves. They seem more willing to embrace divergent thinking and behavior.
As a Zen master once said, “You are you.” How could you be anything else? There’s no one else to be and nowhere else to go.
Give yourself time to accept and understand who you are, and then make the most of it. Allow yourself to think outside the box you’ve been trying so hard to fit into – that’s how change happens – and we Aspies seem to think outside the box all the time. (Box? What box? Is there a box somewhere?) Fit in where you can, but don’t feel like you have to be somebody different than who you are – that is where the pain comes in, trying to be like everybody else. I find that the effort is too much for me, so I’m making choices that allow me to be who I am and make a living, too. I believe that it is possible to be yourself and be functional, at least most of the time.
Be kind to yourself. Take small steps. Walk a different road.
Holin
Claudia said,
21 March 2013 at 17:46
Well, I confirmed once again that I’m an Aspie. I’m the kind who read encyclopedias as a kid for fun, found it difficult socializing with the other kids and teachers were surprised that I used such complex vocabulary at my age. I also hated physical/visual contact (even with my family), and became really upset when my routine was disturbed. About odd interests, my mother said that when I was a baby I had an obsession with wheels. I could spend hours staring at them and when I grew up I was obsessed with science (biology, astronomy). Also, I have a really odd sense of humor, and people always remind me to speak more softly or slowly. Finally, I’m really clumsy. To make things worse, I’m a former lefty so I’m the kind who trips on her own feet or drops things
A few years ago, I got into a big depression. No matter what I did, I kept failing on my thesis. I was about to get expelled from university. To make things worse, I had a bad fight with a close friend (well, ex-friend) because he told me he was tired of dealing with me and my mood swings (he’s was a douche!). I got into Cognitive behavioral therapy and I took Fluoxetine and Sertraline for at least a year.
Today, things are better. I managed to have my little group of friends from the university and now I’ve even socialized with people who share my same hobbies (figure collecting, and a band that is not well known here). At work, I can act almost normally, meaning I can follow a conversation at lunch and participate on it (something that was pretty hard a few years ago). Still, my visual contact is poor, but at least, I can look in the eye at people for a bit longer. I’m known as being a bit eccentric and to be awfully clumsy but I don’t give it much though. Therapy has helped me a lot, so if somebody is reading this, I advice to go to the psychologist, doctors can help you a lot.
Rick Nickles said,
05 April 2013 at 11:23
What good does it do to come up with another label to label someone with? Once they attach a label to you then they use that label to reject you or abuse you – I know someone who has an autistic daughter – I asked her when her daughter was going to quit being her autistic daughter and just be her daughter. Why give people more tabels to abuse people with? most of the people who have all these labels are the way they are because of all the abuse they’ve suffered – why abuse them more? Why give people another piece of ammunition to abuse them with? How many labels do you need to describe a person?
Ing said,
05 September 2016 at 6:01
If labels are helpful or detrimental depends entirely on how you use them, how you view the person with the label and how they view themselves.
Often people who have found themselves not quite fitting in are very happy to get a name for their particular difference, whether it’s being HSP, ASD, Introvert, OCD or something else, and feel empowered by it. Whereas getting a label as a child may be more stigmatising, especially if it’s a label that indicates there is something “wrong” with you.
The whole point of creating this website was to empower and explain, and show that many “odd” behaviours may just be natural variations, and that difficulties in one area may be compensated by super powers in another area.
Craig said,
07 April 2013 at 2:58
Interesting. My calculated score was “You have answered inconsistently on too many control-questions”. I was trying to answer as best as I could as often my answer didn’t quite fit one of the selections. I tended to think more about my answer in the first part of the test and went more on first impression towards the latter. Now I’m wondering if I can take it again without trying to second guess the question or myself.
Craig said,
07 April 2013 at 3:08
I just read an earlier comment where the person received the same “score” as me. I’ll assume my replys will be the same as his. Thanks
Ing said,
05 September 2016 at 6:16
The online Aspie tests are NOT part of this website. Any questions about it, please address the test/quiz admin.
What Should I Do said,
19 July 2013 at 23:56
Thanks for the info!
But now I’m sitting here self-diagnosing myself… Thinking im positively an aspie… I do wish there was a surefire way for me to know. It would explain SO much.
Ing said,
05 September 2016 at 6:13
Sorry for the very late reply (as I’ve explained, I do not have the time to maintain this site as I have moved on to other projects).
If you recognise traits described here you may be Aspie, and/or Introvert, Intuitive, Gifted, a Highly Sensitive Person, or just generally odd. Best way to find out is to get a proper evaluation with a psychologist specialising in these things.
Joseph said,
06 September 2013 at 2:19
I was born with ACC (without my Corpus Callosum,) have ASD, ADHD, ACC is so rare that we haven’t yet gotten the attention that ASD has gotten, that is changing. I have some rather interesting ideas about neurodiversity myself.
Gaz said,
17 January 2014 at 5:09
I spent three obsessive days online, searching for this resource (I reset my device and lost the link). So glad to have found it again, one of the most comprehensive guides to ASDs online. Great work!!
Berthajane Vandegrift said,
25 September 2014 at 0:14
Autism is said to have increased dramatically in recent years. Some people speculate that autism is an aspect of evolution, a response to our change in lifestyle. We used to call inheritance of acquired characteristics Lamarckism. We now call it epigenetics and acknowledge that lifestyle can influence biology over multiple generations. Some species may have achieved stasis and stopped evolving, but humans appear to be in the process of dynamic change. The way children spend their childhoods has changed profoundly. What could be a more dramatic change than children spending hours a day looking at symbols on paper and transcribing them into abstract thoughts? Maybe our persistent emphasis upon reading and learning is eroding some of our intuitive abilities, and we are all becoming less conforming. Some autistic children have savant abilities, and appear overwhelmed by super-sensitivities, such as sight or hearing. Like all creative processes, Nature’s ability to devise adaptive change is tentative and imperfect – sometimes producing partial results. Not all of Nature’s innovations are successful; just some of them. Are we labeling Natures incomplete adaptations mental illness?
Berthajane Vandegrift
A few autistic questions about Freud Marx an Darwin
http://30145.myauthorsite.com/
Victor said,
24 May 2016 at 4:53
HOW are the following required answers relevant to the Aspie Quiz?
Year of birth *
Month of birth *
Sex *
Country *
Recent, main, ancestry *
Victor said,
24 May 2016 at 4:54
I declined to take your quiz due to the intrusive, irrelevant, required queries.
Ing said,
05 September 2016 at 6:07
It’s not my quiz. I was involved with the first versions of it (which required no registration) but have no control whatsoever over it now. The person who hijacked it is a racist narcissist who uses the collected data to prove his absurd neanderthal theory. I’m sorry I ever trusted him.
Julie said,
26 June 2018 at 0:49
Do you have a Facebook page?
Ing said,
04 August 2018 at 0:47
Sorry, I do not. I have moved on to other projects and have no time to update this site.
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