Is trog ok?

[wlangfor@uoguelph.ca]

I have no idea, but I wonder if some conditions are related to the dream creation software kicking in and bypassing the waking software

That's pretty astute, I think. Long before my autism was diagnosed, I always used to explain it to myself as me having a brain where parts of it went to sleep independently of the rest - and so, in turn, I blamed it entirely on the sleep-deprivation caused by insomnia (that may even be a component of it - insomnia is so common for autistic people that it's hard to tell). Whenever I told this theory to anyone else, they usually just poo-pood it, so I learned to keep it to myself (as with many other weird or embarrassing things that I've since learned are autism-related).

In the case of your dreams, I would guess that it's really not so different to my experience. Your language circuits happen to be turned off for their nightly "servicing" at the moment of having that dream, so the dream isn't able to include any linguistic content - the reading/writing program of the "holodeck" is disabled, so to speak.The only difference is that my language circuits (or whatever it happens to be) are shutting down while I'm otherwise awake. Even that isn't unique to neurological conditions, though - most people will understand the experience of being completely "lost for words" following an extreme shock - it's just that in some conditions, the amount of sensory or emotional input required for the brain to go into "energy saving mode" is different. Even the common experience of struggling to find a word that's "on the tip of your tongue" is a very minor version of the same thing, I expect.

I start to think that I’ve had some sort of stroke or dementia, and it’s horrible.

I've read some interesting stuff about the intersection between autism and dementia. For quite a while, there have been anecdotal reports that autistic people seem to be protected against dementia (particularly Alzheimer's). There's no obvious organic pathology which would explain this, nor any genetic commonality that's known. The most obvious explanation is that autistic people are already accustomed to many of the effects of Alzheimers - i.e. the cognitive deficits are not as horrifying if they've been familiar since infancy, and we've already had a lifetime of devising and using coping strategies for them. It's been mooted that autistic people might even have a useful contribution to make towards counselling and support for folks with Alzheimer's and other kinds of dementia.

Chest beating.

[k brown]

[trogluddite]

Chest beating.

I wouldn't dare beat my chest - it's very puny and might cave in! Just a mild case of verbal dairrhea, that's all!

[pshannon]

Trog, thanks for sharing your story and tonight I have laughed so hard that I almost fell out my chair with some of this "chest beating" moments between you and k.oz. I don't know you personally, but I assume you could be a riot to hang out with. I have some experiences with handling Autism, my 8 year Daughter has a mild case. She has some really cool talents and loves STEM. Is this considered chest beating? haha

[trogluddite]

I assume you could be a riot to hang out with

That's the great thing about the internet - no-one can tell that you're posting from the uncanny valley!

Seriously though, STEM and the internet are huge boon for a lot of autistic people I speak to - they can be great "levellers" between people who's abilities differ for whatever reason, whether by minimising the impact of deficits or by providing an outlet for the positive traits. I was reading a history of autism not so long ago (Neurotribes by Steve Silberman, which I heartily recommend, though have a hanky at the ready!) - it was notable how often STEM in one form or another came up as being the catalyst for self-advocacy, parental support groups, etc.

[adamszabo]

Again, its great to have you back Trog, thank you for the insightful posts about yourself! Hoping I will get a reply to my email I sent ages ago when you are feeling better

[tulamide]

Chest beating.

I wouldn't dare beat my chest - it's very puny and might cave in! Just a mild case of verbal dairrhea, that's all!

You have opened up so much on autism - and when you even took the time to write posts during your "verbal diarrhea", my thoughts were immediately protective. "Oh no, this is the open internet, you're making yourself vulnerable to toxic people". But seeing how you react gives me more confidence. You will stand your ground and can't be hurt in the long term by it!

[trogluddite]

@adamszabo
Thanks Adam. Yes, I'll take a look at your e-mail again as soon as I'm back up to speed - I'm pretty sure everything was there that's needed to draft a few plans.

@tulamide
Thanks, that's a really nice sentiment. When I was diagnosed, I did worry a lot at first about who I should or shouldn't disclose it to. In the end, I figured that I've had trouble with bullying and social-phobia all my life because of my autistic traits. Previously, I couldn't even defend myself by saying what made me that way; so I don't think I'm any worse off than before by being open, especially now I'm middle-aged (and my traits aren't even super-obvious looking from across the room - many autistic people have traits which attract far much more unwanted attention, and they deserve my solidarity).

Like any minority group, our position is better when we have good friends among the majority. "Toxic" people are always the most noisy, but I have truly found that the majority of people are supportive and interested in mutual understanding, which benefits us all, autistic or not. I also try to remind myself that most "toxic" people are cowards who have no friends - it's their loss, not mine, if they make me walk away. Certainly, I have always felt comfortable being open with the people here on the FS forums - our misunderstandings and arguments are very rare and minor compared to much else of the internet that I see (even the autism community forums are more "wild-west" and have more "chest-beating" than here!)

[RJHollins]

@adamszabo
Thanks Adam. Yes, I'll take a look at your e-mail again as soon as I'm back up to speed - I'm pretty sure everything was there that's needed to draft a few plans.

@tulamide
Thanks, that's a really nice sentiment. When I was diagnosed, I did worry a lot at first about who I should or shouldn't disclose it to. In the end, I figured that I've had trouble with bullying and social-phobia all my life because of my autistic traits. Previously, I couldn't even defend myself by saying what made me that way; so I don't think I'm any worse off than before by being open, especially now I'm middle-aged (and my traits aren't even super-obvious looking from across the room - many autistic people have traits which attract far much more unwanted attention, and they deserve my solidarity).

Like any minority group, our position is better when we have good friends among the majority. "Toxic" people are always the most noisy, but I have truly found that the majority of people are supportive and interested in mutual understanding, which benefits us all, autistic or not. I also try to remind myself that most "toxic" people are cowards who have no friends - it's their loss, not mine, if they make me walk away. Certainly, I have always felt comfortable being open with the people here on the FS forums - our misunderstandings and arguments are very rare and minor compared to much else of the internet that I see (even the autism community forums are more "wild-west" and have more "chest-beating" than here!)

Trog ... your sense of humor, alone, makes you a welcomed Friend.

Not to even mention your educational contributions to individuals and Community as a whole.

Add to that, your keen ability to explain/teach the Concepts presented.

Sincerely .... Thank-you My Friend.

[martinvicanek]

+1