Poll: What's your autism quotient?

[Kevin_Lowe]

You can take a test at:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

16.4 is apparently "normal". 80% of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder (Aspergers etc) scored 32+.

I scored a 25, but I would have scored much higher if you'd tested me when I was, say, 16. I've gotten much more sociable in my old age.

I tried to take the test as I would have when I was a teen, and scored 35.

My sweetie scored a thumping 35 fairly.

It's probably a good thing we aren't planning to breed.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers.html

It seems we'd have a higher than usual likelihood of having a seriously autistic kid.

[jj]

?10?

Whatever.

[Martin]

42. Did the same test about a year ago - I forget what my score was that time.

[Gregory]

30, but what exactly is the point of things like this? Do you really need a web quiz to tell you whether you're anti-social or not?

[Kevin_Lowe]

Originally posted by Gregory
30, but what exactly is the point of things like this? Do you really need a web quiz to tell you whether you're anti-social or not?

I wouldn't expect a borderline autistic like yourself to pick up on the subtext. :p

Seriously though, I'm interested in how "antisocial" (not quite the word I'd pick myself) the JREF crowd is compared to the general population.

[jimlintott]

14

I'm a social chameleon and can be thrown into virtually any social situation. I'm as comfortable at a black tie dinner as I am playing with little kids. (I really prefer the little kids but not in a Michael Jackson sort of way.)

[roger]

22

[Yahweh]

Score: 22
Normal... heheehehehe I've fooled them all...

[BTox]

16 - normal - of course!

[jnelso99]

24

People suck.

[bjornart]

20

Tests suck. :D

[bug_girl]

33.
oh dear. this explains a lot.
(including my sig file)

[Rolfe]

Originally posted by jimlintott
14Moi aussi.

Rolfe.

[Beausoleil]

11, but I don't post here much ;)

[Hamish]

18. Ever so slightly not quite normal. :)

So is this so we can pick the "top ten JREFers to spend an evening in the pub with"?

[Underemployed]

17 - I'm normal! HA! In your face, freaks! I must get a printout.

[Eos of the Eons]

Agree: 21,22,46: 1 point
Disagree: 10,15,29,30,38,49: 1 point
Score: 9




Is that abnormally low?

Edited to add: Is it because I chose definitely agree on:

When I was young, I used to enjoy playing games involving pretending with other children.

and things like

It does not upset me if my daily routine is disturbed.

Autistic kids hate routine changes, and they "don't get" things like fiction and pretend.

Anyways, autism is more being unable to relate and look outside oneself. It's not that they are 'unsocial', they just lack the awareness and ability to relate to others due to whatever brain damage.

However, you can be a person that is just more introverted, and that's a good thing. Thinkers add huge value to society.

An introvert can be very social if they have confidence. Thus labelling people shy instead of wise is not the best thing. We can start looking at "shy" as a good thing, and not a reason to push a kid to be more introverted.

Yeah, I read the "highly sensitive person" by Elaine N. Aron, and it's all in the book.


Some more here



-Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
-Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
-Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
-Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
-Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
-Tantrums
-Difficulty in mixing with others
-May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
-Little or no eye contact
-Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
-Sustained odd play
-Spins objects
-Inappropriate attachments to objects
-Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
-No real fears of danger
-Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
-Uneven gross/fine motor skills
-Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf although hearing ---tests in normal range.


http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=autismcharacteristics

[Tanja]

I scored 14, and I also think I would have scored much higher some ten years ago.

I work with people, and this helped me very much in relating to them. I think I am somewhere on the mid point of the introversion/extroversion scale. However, I used to notice that I am not so good in "reading" people's nonverbal behaviour, and even understanding jokes, especially irony. Many of my friens tease me about always taking things literally, not being able to detect that they are joking. I can be described as naive I supposed.

(and being married to a Brit helps me understand irony a bit better these days...)

I made a conscious effort to try to relate to people better and I succeeded - but maybe it is just being grown up.

[El Greco]

I scored 16 while answering sincerely all questions, which shows why such tests often fail to extract the essence of a personality.

The truth is that whenever I want to, I have excellent social skills. Only that I don't want to demonstrate such skills very often :D

[TruthSeeker]

16. I AM the control group.

[shemp]

I scored a solid 39 and I'm damn proud of it!

[sorgoth]

16...strange, I'm normal (Not what most people who know me would say :p)

I must've gotten a lot of the points on the imagination and intentions parts.

[shanek]

16. But then I answered it for my son (who is autistic) and got 33.

[Luciana]

I'm in the "I would have scored higher in the past". For now, 7. :re:

[EdipisReks]

12. i like to meet new people. and take them back to my shack in the woods. and dismember them. yay.

[NightG1]

27

[QuarkChild]

Same as shemp - 39.

I would have scored much higher 10 years ago, but I've gotten better at picking up on social cues.

[Eos of the Eons]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
I'm in the "I would have scored higher in the past". For now, 7. :re:


Yay, you're the lowest, and I know you're normal :D

[shemp]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
Same as shemp - 39.

I would have scored much higher 10 years ago, but I've gotten better at picking up on social cues.

Maybe we should get together. We can ignore each other and stare at our laptops.

[shemp]

Also, my wife scored 19. I guess this explains a lot of things about us.

[Globert]

13 allways so. My whole family can get along like that, any conversation, jump right in and swim.

[wildflower1]

31.

Hmmmm.....

"Mildly antisocial woman seeks mildly antisocial man for mildly antisocial amusement..."

[DarkMagician]

30
Whew...

[Thumbo]

32.

That's normal. Everyone lower is weird.

[RPG Advocate]

41, but I've already been diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism (or Asperger's Syndrome, depending on which shrink you ask), so it's no surprise to me.

[Darat]

Score: 17

Always find these types of questions hard to answer sincerely, because so much for me depends on the circumstances. For instance there are times when I really enjoy big social occasions with a great group of friends and then other times when I really enjoy doing something on my own and would resent anyone else being with me. I can and do enjoy both types of activities equally so how am I meant to answer questions that ask me which I "prefer" as my answer is "it depends"?

[epepke]

Well, I score as 16, but you'd better not call me normal.

[Phaycops]

Wow, I scored a 9 as well. Maybe I should invite Eos and Luciana to my next party :)

[Eos of the Eons]

Originally posted by Phaycops
Wow, I scored a 9 as well. Maybe I should invite Eos and Luciana to my next party :)

:D Aw hey, everyone would make the whole bash a nice rounded out interesting event...like TAM

But, I'm so there!

[QuarkChild]

I have a friend in San Diego who emails me sometimes when I'm there on vacation and wants to get together. She lets me pick the activity (since she knows I'm hard to please.) Thus we always end up going to the UCSD science & engineering library and checking out books.

That's me at my most social.

Hey Shemp--want to go to the library?

[Zep]

A massive and impressive 29.

Seems I'm borderline autistic. Uh, yeah. And the problem with that is...?

[Suezoled]

18

[Chanileslie]

I'm so normal, it hurts. 17.

[Sindai]

22. Just antisocial enough to be mysterious. :D

I actually have a lot of social trouble; the reason I scored so low is apparently my strong creative streak...

[Luciana]

I got a meager 7, but I'm thinking here... I'm mostly a loner and a bookworm. I'm also 100% socially apt. I can concentrate in a book as if there was nothing else in the world... but not in much else. :)

[Psi Baba]

I tried the test 41 times. I noticed that I tended to answer even-numbered questions with a "slightly disagree," but when I arranged the questions by prime numbers there would be an "slightly agree" answer every third time. There seemed to 8 questions about social situations (whatever those are), 5 questions about numbers, 6 questions about talking to people, and 2 questions about children, so then I averaged the responsesforeachtypeofquestionand . . .





What?

[Lendri]

Nice one Psi Baba :p

I have degrees in Physics and Computing and earn my living as a programmer. How the hell did I score only 14?

In common with a few other people I would have scored higher in my younger years, but I was painfully shy then.

[Luke T.]

I scored a 28. I hate answering questions with a "Strongly Agree" or "Strongly Disagree," though. As the test went on, I loosened up and answered a few with "Strongly" this or that, so I'm a really lousy test taker if it doesn't involve simple math problems. I like just "Yes" or "No." True or False. So I used the "Slightly Agree" as True and "Slightly Disagree" as False. But realistically, True and False are absolutes, so I should have used "Strongly Agree" and "Strongly Disagree." I was worried that would give me a really bad score, though.

You can see why I don't trust polls. Too many people like me out there.

[Martin]

Originally posted by Luke T.
I like just "Yes" or "No." True or FalseThen you should love this test. The scoring makes no distinction between 'strongly' or 'slightly' :p

[MoeFaux]

Um...I scored a five. What does that mean?

"Agree: 4,16: 1 point
Disagree: 25,30,40: 1 point
Score: 5"

I agree with Luciana. I do well around people, but I really ,really like being alone. I hated the question, "Would you rather go to the library or go to a party". Those are both fun things to do.
This test is bull.

[Eos of the Eons]

Originally posted by Psi Baba
I tried the test 41 times. I noticed that I tended to answer even-numbered questions with a "slightly disagree," but when I arranged the questions by prime numbers there would be an "slightly agree" answer every third time. There seemed to 8 questions about social situations (whatever those are), 5 questions about numbers, 6 questions about talking to people, and 2 questions about children, so then I averaged the responsesforeachtypeofquestionand . . .





What?

:D :D :D

[BillyJoe]

Originally posted by wildflower1
31.

Hmmmm.....

"Mildly antisocial woman seeks mildly antisocial man for mildly antisocial amusement..." I'm with you. :)

BillyJoe
(31)

[Ove]

11, not bad ehhh???;)

[MRC_Hans]

8.

Help! what am I doing here? Oh, well, it's about my only compulsory action.... ;)

Hans :p

[MRC_Hans]

Btw, does somebody know: Isnt there a lot of difference between an autistic type behavior and actually being autist.

Hans

[Wudang]

28.
My brother's son is strongly aspeger's syndrome and reckons he finds it easier to talk to me than most people. I thought the test was pretty simplistic with a lot of forced dichotomies - would I rather go to the theatre or museum? Depends - the British Museum, sure! But if it's the RSC doing something like Richard III?
Oo-er, both! I'll skip lunch. The theatre is doing "Accidental death of an anarchist" - then it's pub, theatre, pub.
"Face validity" - the degree to which a test appears worthwhile up-front is an important factor in psychometric tests.
I also don't think it differentiated enough between autistic behaviour and introversion in the sense of people who have sufficient "internal resources" so they don't need external stimulus to be happy. I quite like parties depending on the people. If it's full of people who have nothing to talk about but the previous nights TV and football then I show the social skills I have gained with age, note where the exits are, take the gas mask and smoke grenade from my utility belt and .........

[Wudang]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
Btw, does somebody know: Isnt there a lot of difference between an autistic type behavior and actually being autist.

Hans

I know that a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome is more about patterns of behaviour than exact symptoms i.e. there are a range of indicative behaviours of which not all need be present. My nephew for instance has a well-developed sense of humour which is atypical of AS. Weird sense of humour but so have his dad and me.
A program on UK TV a while back discussed the "continuum" from normal male adult behaviour to full autism. Interesting in some ways but fell prey to the old "logically black is white" error - since we can't draw a clear line there can't be a real difference. for instance because we can't say exactly at what point the sun has gone down we can no longer tell the difference between night and day and have to leave the lights on all the time.

[iain]

17

I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.I am completely normal.

[apoger]

22.

Not quite extreme enough to be interesting.

[Soapy Sam]

Ha! 44

After the first 10 questions scrolled up, I lost the headings and started puting "agree"s on the right.

Honest.

I'm not autistic, I just have short term memory loss and spatial problems.

No. Really.

Why is everyone looking at me like that?

[shanek]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
Btw, does somebody know: Isnt there a lot of difference between an autistic type behavior and actually being autist.

Autism is actually a whole continuum. My autistic son does a lot of things that are considered to be things that autistic children don't do: he'll look you in the eye, spontaneously give you a hug and say he loves you, and so on.

Basically, there are a whole bunch of "autistic tendencies" that everyone has to a degree. You don't need all of them to be autistic, you just need enough of them at a severe enough level to result in a developmental delay.

Further, some kinds of autism appear to go away at puberty. Thankfully, they think my son's kind is one of these.

As for what causes all of this, nobody really knows. It seems like every time they come out with a study showing a correlation between autism and a particular vaccine, or a certain diet the pregnant mother was on, or something like that, the next year another study comes around and refutes it.

[iain]

Just finished reading "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time", told from the perspective of an autistic boy. Very good indeed - the best book I've read in a while.

[Soapy Sam]

Shanek- I think what you say applies to many of the "socio-neural" syndromes and to behaviour in general. Human behaviour is a broad continuum. How much of that variation reflects hardware variation is pretty much unknown.

[Phaycops]

I totally agree with those who complained about the test creating false dichotomies. Especially the question about going to a museum or the theater. I mean, it totally depends. I actually really hate watching movies, but really like watching plays and opera. Don't ask me why. So I had a hard time answering the question. Plus, there should have been an option for "both equally" or "no opinion" or something. Some people would rather NOT go to a museum and NOT go to the theater, but would really rather stay home and read a book or go skiing or something. Bad test. Poopy. STill, though, I like the idea of being a social butterfly. Anyone who's scored 10 or below is invited to my house for my V-Day dessert get-together! Come to Syracuse! Really, the weather is lovely! :D

[KonTiki]

23. But I didn't really need a test to tell me that I am anti-social. :p

[Eos of the Eons]

LOL Soapy Sam!


Originally posted by MRC_Hans
Btw, does somebody know: Isnt there a lot of difference between an autistic type behavior and actually being autist.

Hans


Well, I kinda tried to explain that a few posts up. Don't know how well I did though. Could explain my low score though. I kinda can pick out what could or could not be more autistic.

Try sticking to answers that indicate you handle change well and some other suggestions I made. It's true for me at least, I prefer change and my day is not in any way scheduled. I hate repetition.

It's still normal to like a routine though.

Those with higher scores aren't anti-social. Have you ever looked up the actual definition of "anti-social". My eyes popped outta my head :)

I'm quite introverted, less so than I used to be, and have learned more social skills, but I managed to score low in spite of that. I do relate to others well though.

Try re-doing the test with those factors in mind if you want to see if that makes a difference.

[wildflower1]

Took the test again. Got a 32.

You say 'antisocial' as if it were a bad thing!

[BillyJoe]

Wildflower,

Perhaps anti-social is the wrong word. It suggests you are
against being social (you and everyone else). Probably a better
word is non-social. You prefer to be on your own rather than with
other people. Or maybe you prefer (or don't mind) people being
around as long as you don't have to interact with them too much.
There are so many possibilities. You might have difficulties
interacting with people. You might just hate small talk or just
can't be bothered with it. You might be in love with yourself to
the exclusion of other people. Perhaps a bit of all of these things.

regards,
BillyJoe

[davidhorman]

30 - and I've noticed before that I can be a tiny bit autistic at times - well, more... aspergic.

It might be better if the test distinguished between "strongly" and "slightly" in the answers.

David

[RPG Advocate]

As with most other disorders, one of the major factors in a diagnosis of autism is impairment of functioning.

If you can survive in a social situation, adapt to change, and have normal sense experience and motor skills, you're probably fine. No need to let an internet quiz worry you.

I was diagnosed because of severe social deficits, obsessive behavior, and oversensitivity to sound. The obsessive behavior has actually turned out to be a positive thing in some aspects, since I can easily learn things that interest me in-depth. The killer problem that impairs my functioning as an adult is my complete inability to read social cues. Even though I'm college-educated, getting and keeping a job is difficult when I appear aloof and insensitive to others and don't know how to remedy the problem. You would think high intelligence would mitigate the effects, but it really doesn't.

What would really be great is if there were private companies out there to address the difficulties of HFA/Asperger's folks out there. At the moment, the only services out there that I know of are from our favorite nanny state. We all know how effective those are.

[aerosolben]

Autism: 14. I'm a social butterfly. :D
Well, not really, but I enjoy both my alone time and the company of others.

Since I was also a fairly high scoring Major Geek on the geek test (http://host.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35107), it is clear that my destiny is to become King of the Geeks. Bow before me.

[rachaella]

16

[Bonzo]

27

[peptoabysmal]

Twenty-nine. Yes. Twenty-nine. It's twenty-nine, yeah twenty-nine, twenty-nine. (in my best Rain Man voice).

I was disappointed there was no question like "Do you feel stupid taking internet personality tests and polls?".

[Fade]

14.

[iSani]

34. No news to me, really. I'm not sure if davidhorman's "aspergic" is a real word, but I'd definitely use it to describe myself.

[QuarkDad]

Well, I tried to be truthful as possible and scored 41... I suspect QuarkMom would be less than 10. Hmmm, just who does QuarkChild take after. Now my younger brother would probably ACE the test but my sister and other brother would have low scores. Sporadic genetics at work. QM first identified some Asperger like behavior in QC in her early teens. This was my first introduction to it. It had never occurred to me that I had part of a 'syndrome'. While I find comfort in knowing that my social ineptitude and other quirks can be catagorized and labeled, the important thing is that most of us find how to use these 'gifts' to our professional / economical / hobbiest advantage. QC has found physics, myself - programming and data analysis. I doubt any of us on this borderline feel deficient. Why would anyone need more than 3 or 4 friends anyway...

[a_unique_person]

14. I think it was too kind to me.

[BillyJoe]

Originally posted by QuarkDad
Why would anyone need more than 3 or 4 friends anyway... You have 3 or 4 friends ???

Hmmm.....I think you cheated.

BillyJoe
(31)

[QuarkDad]

Originally posted by BillyJoe
You have 3 or 4 friends ???

Hmmm.....I think you cheated.

BillyJoe
(31)

OK - so maybe I exaggerated the friend count to appear more normal.

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by QuarkDad


OK - so maybe I exaggerated the friend count to appear more normal. Technically, you said, "Why would anyone need more than 3 or 4 friends anyway," not "I myself have 3-4 friends."

I have about 2 friends, plus some acquaintances. But the two friends are very good friends, so that's really all I need or want.
Unfortunately one of them is in Africa and the other lives in San Diego, but I get to see them during holidays.

Anyway, I agree with QD that being on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum isn't necessarily an impairment, assuming one defines "functioning" sufficiently narrowly. I don't think my personality deficiencies in any way limit my ability to be a physicist.

[QuarkChild]

...although Quark family reunions are sometimes a little awkward...

[BillyJoe]

QuarkChild,

Originally posted by QuarkChild
...although Quark family reunions are sometimes a little awkward...Sad to say the only friends I have are on this forum. What a loser hey. There are six of us here and the other five are real party animals. I feel alone in a crowd. A stranger amongst my own kind.
So count yourself lucky QuarkChild.

BillyJoe.
(Sorry, there should be some smilies up there.....here are some to scatter around.... :) :D ;) )

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by BillyJoe
QuarkChild,

Sad to say the only friends I have are on this forum. Hence your impressive 2600+ post count.

[BillyJoe]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
Hence your impressive 2600+ post count. Actually it's worse than that.....about 5600+. Hal has deleted about 3000 so far. He used to be a friend also but I have now threatened him with a brambleberry bush.....this is the real reason he has left the forum.

[exarch]

21 I scored. Who'd a thought I was only slightly anti-social :D

[Wrath of the Swarm]

33.

I wish people wouldn't use the word "antisocial" when they really mean "asocial". In a formal psychological/psychiatric sense, "antisocial" is reserved for actively hostile, confrontational, and potentially dangerous behavior. We're talking full-blown sociopathy, here. It doesn't include things like not being very socially oriented.

It's the opposite problem of grouping all unusual mental attributes into "abnormal psychology", where the formal term lacks the implied negative judgment of the colloquial use. The formal term in this case is highly negative, but the colloquial is very general, neutral, and non-specific.

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by Wrath of the Swarm
33.

I wish people wouldn't use the word "antisocial" when they really mean "asocial". Irony check...
If enough people reply to this thread, we can see if the pedantic posts correlate with high scores on the quiz. :)

[QuarkDad]

I for one am a-pathetic about this "anti" vs "a" issue.

[BillyJoe]

I have been exchanging PMs with wildflowers (we both got 31) and I think we agreed on non-social instead of anti-social (but then again when I have a point of view I tend to think everyone agrees with me)

BillyJoe

[Correa Neto]

26...

So what?

[Wrath of the Swarm]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
Irony check... If enough people reply to this thread, we can see if the pedantic posts correlate with high scores on the quiz. :) Indeed. I suspect that being part of these forums is highly correlated with high score on the test, as well. Mr. Randi might score highly as well, if we could persuade him to take the test.

We're all just a bunch of loveable, highly intelligent curmudgeons.:D

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

I scored 34


How is it that I am able to cross the street on my own?

[Wrath of the Swarm]

High scores do not indicate that the testee is autistic. People diagnosed with autism, however, tend to score highly.

Which is what the introductory paragraph above the test clearly states...

[exarch]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
Irony check...Exactly, and not just irony, a twisted sense of humor too. It's a prerequisite to understand the people posting here :p

We're all borderline lunatics after all :D

[QuarkDad]

Originally posted by exarch
Exactly, and not just irony, a twisted sense of humor too. It's a prerequisite to understand the people posting here :p

We're all borderline lunatics after all :D

I just so pleased that I don't have to meet any you. Quarkchild is the exception, but in a way it's my own fault!

[BillyJoe]

Quarkdad,

QuarkChild is okay.
I once responded to her that I urinated in the shower and indicated that I enjoyed doing so especially if there was someone else in there to accidentally urinate on.
She didn't reply so I think she is okay.

BillyJoe.
(And sorry about that, QuarkChild, it was a weak moment)

[Kodiak]

I scored 17...

[exarch]

Too much information BillyJoe. Remember, I know where you live, I have airial photos. I can send the men in the white coats out to your house to pick you up if I wanted :p

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by BillyJoe
Quarkdad,

QuarkChild is okay.
I once responded to her that I urinated in the shower and indicated that I enjoyed doing so especially if there was someone else in there to accidentally urinate on.
She didn't reply so I think she is okay.

BillyJoe.
(And sorry about that, QuarkChild, it was a weak moment) Hey, I remember that. (Although I didn't remember it was you.)

I'll be sending you my therapy bill.

[BillyJoe]

exarch,

I think I am safe from you. That map carried no info about my street name let alone my house number. And about that bomb.....is it landing any time soon?


QuarkChild,

It's funny the things you remember. I mean how long ago was that? And how insignificant? (I'm assuming you're joking about the therapy :D ). I do remember your avatar which was similar to but different from the one you have now. It is possible I didn't have one then which is perhaps why you didn't remember it was me (or perhaps I am just too insignificant :( )



BillyJoe

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by BillyJoe

QuarkChild,

It's funny the things you remember. I mean how long ago was that? And how insignificant? (I'm assuming you're joking about the therapy :D ). I do remember your avatar which was similar to but different from the one you have now. It is possible I didn't have one then which is perhaps why you didn't remember it was me (or perhaps I am just too insignificant :( ) I also remember the email QD sent me after reading that thread. I think the first line was, "Stay away from him!!" (Seriously.)

[bignickel]

I got a score of 8.

I once knew someone who accused me (to other people) of having a minor case of Asperger's Syndrome.

I thought that was the goofiest thing I've ever heard. People in the know, when I mentioned the hypothesis of such a syndrome as 'minor case of Asperger's Syndrome' thought it equally goofy.

Perhaps what confused him was my tendency not to give a ***** what expression was on people's faces back in my twenties, as opposed to not noticing. If you had been around some of the people that I've hung with, you could easily see where I'm coming from.

The major problem with this test: how can it differ shyness from a 'syndrome' or 'disorder'?

[Wrath of the Swarm]

It doesn't. Not that it matters, as there are no objective criteria for "disorders" anyway.

[Soapy Sam]

Billyjoe- Anyone who gets out of the shower to pee is simply anal.
Anyone who gets out of the shower to sh*t is simply practical.
Unless he goes to the kitchen.

[QuarkDad]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
I also remember the email QD sent me after reading that thread. I think the first line was, "Stay away from him!!" (Seriously.)

(OK so I'm going to shameless puff up my posting by replying to these last few posts individually rather than combining then.)

BillyJoe - A dad is a dad is dad - even tho the activity described is 'normal' it came across as a crass attempt to start a dialog that could only result in giving you some kind of twisted pleasure. QC doesn't deserve that. That being said I hold no grudge or judgment.

[QuarkDad]

Originally posted by Wrath of the Swarm
It doesn't. Not that it matters, as there are no objective criteria for "disorders" anyway.

I fully agree on the 'no objective criteria'. but every once and awhile I am presented with behaviors of mine that are way beyond shyness. Here is an example: Five properties converge in the northwest corner of my lot. Three of us have 90 degree corners, One deep pie shaped lot has a 10 degree slice and another huge lot has the rest. The 10 degree lot shares a 1 foot section of fence with me. That end of my yard has a slope about 20 feet deep that is tiered about 12 feet high to those 2 lots. My hobby is plants and I have put many hours of work out back. Several years ago the teenaged boy propped several old and broken surfboards against that 1 foot upper tier fence section. For him it was the forgotten corner. For me, I saw them everytime I went out there for 6 months. They broke the harmony of viewing my landscaping. A time came to paint the fence and I was up there with my airless sprayer and I just maliciously painted the tops of them along with the fence. After several days I went back and pushed them down as to not see them at all. About a month later I was working out back and the father stuck his head over the fence to find out what happened. Just telling him about it brought back this intense flood of emotion on my perceived wrong. He asked why I didn't ask them to move them. It was a brick in the face. That had never even occurred to me. I am virtually incapable of starting an interaction of that sort with a stranger. It was a new situation, I had no previous experience to draw upon. We all have phobias to different degrees. mine has to do with social interactions with strangers. Am I just shy? I have no trouble with meaningless banter with clerks, waiters and the like. But time and time again I run & hide from interactions that most people don't have a second thought about. So I gave the kid some money for his beat up worthless boards and a year later I looked over the fence and they were still abandonded back there. A small price for learning another socially acceptable solution.

[QuarkChild]

Asperger's disorder is more than shyness.

I have difficulty recognizing faces. I can identify them in context (eg: woman sitting in my mother's chair -> must be my mother) but out of context it's often hopeless. One time in college someone knocked on my door. I opened the door and a blond girl was standing outside. Since I wasn't expecting anyone, I didn't know who it was. I probably tentatively guessed that it was my best friend, since I didn't know any other girls who would match her general description. But I wasn't sure! And asking was out of the question--what if it was my friend? She'd never forgive me! Fortunately, almost immediately she said, "Hi, what's up?!" and I don't have an inability to recognize voices. So then I knew for sure it was my best friend and everything was OK.

I'd known her for 16 years.

[QuarkDad]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
Asperger's disorder is more than shyness.



Also agree - closely related:

I abhor conflict, exaggeration, play acting and confrontation...

note to self, send QC a QD picture now and then.

[BillyJoe]

QuarkChild,

Originally posted by QuarkChild
I also remember the email QD sent me after reading that thread. I think the first line was, "Stay away from him!!" (Seriously.) :D

But I am thousands of miles away. How safe could you be?
Anyway, I do remember you didn't respond so you must have done what your daddy told you to do. And daddy was probably very proud of his little girl.

But I wonder what he thinks of you now. :D

regards,
BillyJoe
(In Australia "daddy" is the friendly familiar form of "father")

[Wrath of the Swarm]

QuarkPeople:

Do you have the feeling that you must emulate emotional responses that most other people have? Do you have difficulty understanding why people respond positively or negatively to certain things?

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by Wrath of the Swarm
QuarkPeople:

Do you have the feeling that you must emulate emotional responses that most other people have? Do you have difficulty understanding why people respond positively or negatively to certain things? 1.Yes. I observe the responses of other people and use them to make mental "scripts" that I can follow so that I respond the same as other people. Maybe everyone does that.
2. I don't know. Can you give an example?

Why?

[Edited for clarification]

[Wrath of the Swarm]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
1.Yes. I observe the responses of other people and use them to make mental "scripts" that I can follow so that I respond the same as other people. Maybe everyone does that. Not consciously. Most people model their emotional reactions after others', but they're not aware of the process, and they don't model the emotions themselves, just their patterns of activation.

Do you model the patterns of activation, or do you feel that you must emulate the basic emotional states as well?

2. I don't know. Can you give an example? If you're asked what a hypothetical "average" person would feel in a certain situation, you have to think about it. You don't have an intuitive certainty about how people would feel in that situation.

Frankly, I was curious as to something a friend of mine mentioned to me once, that there is a definite subset of people who don't have the same inborn drives and preferences as the general populace. Among the associated attributes he mentioned was lacking certain "innate" emotional responses and a conscious attempt to simulate them in order to fit in.

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by Wrath of the Swarm
Do you model the patterns of activation, or do you feel that you must emulate the basic emotional states as well?
Emulate the emotional states? I just fake it. I can't make myself feel what I think I ought to feel, but I can respond as if I feel that way in an attempt to fit in. For example, during high school graduation, my female acquaintances were getting all weepy and emotional. Apparently leaving one's friends is supposed to make you feel sad. I didn't really feel any emotions, sad or otherwise, but I probably tried to fake it a little. I'm not too good at faking the emotion itself but I try to say the right words so it sounds like I feel sad (or whatever.)

If you're asked what a hypothetical "average" person would feel in a certain situation, you have to think about it. You don't have an intuitive certainty about how people would feel in that situation.Well, in my real life example above, I definitely wouldn't have known how the average person feels at graduation without having observed other people's behavior. I certainly don't have an intuitive feel for that one. On the hand, there might be other examples which are easier to guess. For example, I wouldn't have to think too hard about how people are supposed to feel at funerals. Obviously they are supposed to feel sad.
Frankly, I was curious as to something a friend of mine mentioned to me once, that there is a definite subset of people who don't have the same inborn drives and preferences as the general populace. Among the associated attributes he mentioned was lacking certain "innate" emotional responses and a conscious attempt to simulate them in order to fit in. That's kind of vague. There are a whole bunch of preferences that I don't seem to share with a hypothetical average person, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe that's true for many people. I did feel as a kid that I didn't seem to like a lot of the things that the other kids liked. They liked games, parties, competition, television, movies, socializing, etc. When we'd have a film shown in class, they'd respond, "Yay, a movie!" as if it were a good thing. I'd rather have a formal lesson than be forced to watch a movie. And games are even worse. I hate the kind where people win or lose. When my dad and I play board games, usually my condition for playing is, "sure, as long as we don't keep score."

I think I have the same inborn "drives" as other people, though, if you don't count a social instinct. I try to avoid being hungry, cold, uncomfortable, etc. I thought that sort of thing was universal. (Or is that not what you meant?)

Anyway, it's probably possible to read too much into this. I don't want to fall into the trap of medical students' syndrome.

[Wrath of the Swarm]

It could be worse. You could fall into the trap of the psychiatric students' syndrome.

[Mark]

9

I don't know what that means and don't much care. I took the test because I am bored.

[QuarkDad]

Originally posted by Wrath of the Swarm
QuarkPeople:

Do you have the feeling that you must emulate emotional responses that most other people have? Do you have difficulty understanding why people respond positively or negatively to certain things?

Yes, some times & Yes

It tooks me months to comprehend the 9/11 tragedy. A close friend at work described how he couldn't sleep immediately afterwards because it was so upsetting to him. I could not understand how someone could be affected so quickly. I have no problem saying something comforting to others under those circumstances even though I haven't developed my own emotional responses yet. Does the elapsed time it takes between stimuli and response matter in terms of human emotion? There are a lot of variables here. If something happened to QuarkChild (like graduating!) I sure I would be able to have immediate feelings of joy. My point here is how close the situation is to me is a factor.

[Wudang]

Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843100983/qid=1077267893/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_2_1/026-8568993-1194813) is a good book written by an AS kid. If you're non-AS and would like to understand AS kids better this is much better than some of the feted books like "Pretending to be normal". There's a sequence where he describes an interaction with a teacher I found hilarious.

[Wudang]

Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843100983/qid=1077267893/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_2_1/026-8568993-1194813) is a good book written by an AS kid. If you're non-AS and would like to understand AS kids better this is much better than some of the feted books like "Pretending to be normal". There's a sequence where he describes an interaction with a teacher I found hilarious.

Sorry about the double post - dunno how it happened.

Wanted to add: take the stuff about glutein free diets with a pinch of salt (proverbially speaking).

[BillyJoe]

oops i must have upset the apple cart again

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by BillyJoe
oops i must have upset the apple cart again No, I haven't gotten any paternal emails on this. I just didn't reply to your post because I didn't know what to say.

(I hope I'm interpreting your metaphor correctly. Otherwise the above will make no sense.)

[QuarkDad]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
No, I haven't gotten any paternal emails on this. I just didn't reply to your post because I didn't know what to say.

I didn't get it either... probably was just some trinket in his imagination. Or a loose sprocket.

[exarch]

Originally posted by QuarkDad
It tooks me months to comprehend the 9/11 tragedy. A close friend at work described how he couldn't sleep immediately afterwards because it was so upsetting to him. I could not understand how someone could be affected so quickly. I have no problem saying something comforting to others under those circumstances even though I haven't developed my own emotional responses yet. Does the elapsed time it takes between stimuli and response matter in terms of human emotion? There are a lot of variables here. If something happened to QuarkChild (like graduating!) I sure I would be able to have immediate feelings of joy. My point here is how close the situation is to me is a factor.Being European, I can relate to the feeling of not understanding the severity and emotional impact of the 9/11 event right away. I can also relate slightly to QuarkChild's inability to feel sad when leaving school. People I've known have died, and somehow, I was one of the few not crying. I'm not sure if this was because I just didn't know them as well as everyone else, even feeling left out somehow, or perhaps because I'm just less sensitive to these things. I will feel sad when thinking about it in retrospect, and realising this person would never come back, but at the moment it didn't do anything to me. I just didn't feel it ...

I wonder if it's some kind of misguided optimism that makes me feel sad less often than most people. I'm not one of those eternally cheerful people either, and I can feel sad, but I just don't have what it takes to be dark and gloomy.

[BillyJoe]

QuarkChild,

Originally posted by QuarkChild
(I hope I'm interpreting your metaphor [oops i must have upset the apple cart again] correctly. Otherwise the above [see below] will make no sense.) You did. :)

Originally posted by QuarkChild
No, I haven't gotten any paternal emails on this. I just didn't reply to your post because I didn't know what to say. Meaning that you didn't understand my previous post?
Like your dad (see next post)?

BillyJoe

[BillyJoe]

QuarkDad,

Originally posted by QuarkDad
I didn't get it either... probably was just some trinket in his imagination. Or a loose sprocket. No smilies? :(

Well, you warned her off replying to my posts last time (which must mean that you must have misinterpreted my intent :( ) and she complied but now she is (?was) responding so I was wondering what you thought of her now.

BillyJoe

PS
I really hope the two of you are not taking me too seriously or that I have upset you.

[BillyJoe]

QuarkDad,

I just read back through the posts (I was looking for exarch's score on the test) and found this one which somehow I must have missed the first time through....

Originally posted by QuarkDad
BillyJoe - A dad is a dad is dad - even tho the activity described is 'normal' it came across as a crass attempt to start a dialog that could only result in giving you some kind of twisted pleasure. QC doesn't deserve that. That being said I hold no grudge or judgment. Okay, I understand, sorry.

But just to be clear, it was an off-hand comment which I thought would produce an off-hand comment in return. I do remember momentarily wondering at the time why it was ignored and whether I had upset her. I was going to respond further but thought it would be better to let things slide for fear of potentially making things worse it she had taken offense.

regards,
BillyJoe

[QuarkChild]

Originally posted by BillyJoe

But just to be clear, it was an off-hand comment which I thought would produce an off-hand comment in return. I was suffering from a shortage of off-hand comments at the time of that post, that's all. Maybe I should have tried harder to think of one.

I'm really bad at this social thing. Sorry.

Anyway, it didn't upset me. I'm pretty sure nothing anyone has every said to me on this forum has upset me. I'm not that easily ruffled.

[BillyJoe]

I am really glad to hear that QC.
I once unintentionally upset Gentlehorse, and that upset me more than gentlehorse, but by the end of the thread we were riding off into the sunset together. :D

BillyJoe

[neutrino_cannon]

The forum is obviously a sentient and humorous entity. Call the vbulletin support folks before they "fix" it without tis consent!

You see, I was sent to this thread because it polljacked the "who is your favorite adversary" poll.

It was more that a little amusing to see the names of forum trolls of note as gradations of autism.

The server was down when I tried the test, BTW.

[Kopji]

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.


I'm sorry I brokeded it.

[Pastor Bentonit]

Mine is 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375 10582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706 7982148086513282306647093844609550582231725359 (approximately).

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

I'm sorry I brokeded it.

I got that too. I think it's a bad sign.

One point about the test though, if you have even the faintest insight into what autism means it's very easy to tune your answers. Now, you could argue that recognising 'bad' answers is itself a sign that you are not autistic, but surely it is a sign that it's not a very good test.

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

Marked it manually.


15

Now what am I going to do with all these labelled and dated bottles of urine?

[Mojo]

Now what am I going to do with all these labelled and dated bottles of urine?Perhaps you need one of these (http://www.thewineclip.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=home).

[Jorghnassen]

I got 500: "Internal Server Error"

Am I autistic or just socially awkward?

[Dorfl]

I got 29. I dunno wh... Oh look! Mojo's post score is divisible by 2 and 37 and 37 again, wow!

[luchog]

I scored a 35. I've never been formally diagnosed with an autistic-spectrum disorder; but I know quite a number of people who are Asperger's and autistic, and I can definitely see similarities.

I don't do well in social situations, and have an extremely hard time with "small talk". Actually, I hate small talk and always have. My sense of humour has been described as "weird", "inappropriate", and other more negative adjectives.

I have been told by other people that I do fine in social situations and they can't see anything wrong; but most of them are just as weird as I am, and I've worked very hard my whole life (a stint in the Army helped a lot) to become more socially capable. I'm still very uncomfortable in many social situations, especially large groups; and can easily become overstimulated and "collapse" mentally (at which point i need to get away from the group or I can react badly).

[Soapy Sam]

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Danger. Non human organism. Do not approach.

[kalen]

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

I got the same when I hit the "Calcluate Score" button. No problem:

How to score: "Definitely agree" or "Slightly agree" responses to questions 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 33, 35, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46 score 1 point. "Definitely disagree" or "Slightly disagree" responses to questions 1, 3, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 44, 47, 48, 49, 50 score 1 point.

I got 24 + whatever bonus I got for calculating my score by hand.