Any writers with Autism or Aspbergers?

I have autism and would love to meet other writers/authors that have it too.

 

Hello! yep!
How do you feel it affects your writing?
Personally when I'm reading I hate lengthy descriptions and internal monologues and too many feelings. I like action. So that's what I tend to write too. Even though I've written a 90,000 word novel which I think is fairly fleshed out, I've realised I've never even described what one character looks like. Because I don't picture characters' faces when I read, and I can't picture my own characters' faces. I'm not sure if I need to rethink that and come up with something.

 

I don't know how it affects my writing. I think you should add descriptions!

 

*raises hand*

Aspbergers, here. Supposedly a "mild" case, and I apparently lucked out in the sense that I don't have much of the social disabilities. Like, I can understand social cues and stuff well enough, I have a sense of humor and understand sarcasm and all that. Still, I do sometimes feel like I'm surrounded by aliens whose values don't make any damn sense to me. Seriously, normal people are weird.

 

I have DiGeorge syndrome, and I think at one point I was diagnosed (never confirmed) with minor Aspbergers.
I feel like both of them impair my ability to 'process' things, I can multi task and interperate information just fine.
But everyone else is running on 5G fiber optics while I'm still running on dial up connection. Maybe an exaggeration but it feels that way sometimes especially when I (try to) play fighting games. It gets especially bad when I have to quickly process multiple kinds of information. (hence sucking ass at fighting games)

In terms of writing I think it hinders my ability to connect point a to point B, I sometimes struggle to name characters, and I do a lot of 'telling' when it feels like I'm showing.

 

My son has aspbergers and MS, he loves to write stories but he does not want to share any and they are usually based upon other stories he has read. Which takes us to reading, he reads all the time any level just about any story.

 

I'm waiting for assessment of both ADHD (that you might also call variable attention) and autism. I also can't see my character's faces very well when I imagine them and I imagine them in places around me rather than in a world far far away. As a child I used to love reading but as an adult I find the sex and violence in most fiction like books, telly dramas etc just too upsetting. I have found a list of autistic writers on the Good Reads website; I'm going to try to have a nosey at a couple of them and see what their "unique selling point" is; maybe they will write about something other than sex and violence.

 

I might be on the spectrum, but I don't think it's anything that keeps me from appearing "normal". Whatever that may be.
Though a compulsion crops up in some situations, which I usually manage to suppress, but I have to say something now: It's Asperger's. Without the B. With it, it veers a little close to Cartman.

I kinda have that. Except for one character, but I based her appearance on a girl I know and find extraordinarily beautiful. Still, didn't give much of a description of her in the story. What I think is beautiful might be hideous to someone else. Let the reader make their own picture, you know? I just put in some things that people must know, like the MC's leather jacket.

I'm not saying it's not because of DiGeorge's, because I'm not the least bit qualified to say anything about it, but I've been gaming since Sega Megadrive and I still can't get fighting games to click for me. I've never gotten a combo score above mediocre. That shit need a different kind of wiring altogether.

 

Eh I have nerve issues too (The actual nerve endings, not being nervous lol) so I have a notably lower ceiling for fine motor skills. Which we both know fighting games require a different level to perform well. You also need to process and react quickly enough to you know DO something about it. By the time I'm thinking 'I know I need to do x' I'm already eating another combo, even in smash haha.
Oddly I seem to have a somewhat decent amount of fun with Rhythm games. Maybe the type of processing they require is different? It also really helps my enjoyment if I like the music. (probably why I can't get into Guitar Hero but I love Project Diva games to death hah)
Granted I still don't dare to try hard mode (god forbid expert) of any game since I feel like that stuff is saved for masochists.
I think the difference between a Rhythm game and a fighting game might be how you approach them mentally.

 

Never played Project Diva, but Guitar Hero, yeah. Because that what I was going to be before settling on Bestselling Author, an actual guitar hero. Turns out talent is a key part of becoming one though, so I abandoned that ship.
Anyway, rhythm games. Those are easier to handle because they're dependable. Precisely because of rhythm. I can guarantee you that Acid Jazz Hero is gonna be a much more difficult game.

I play most things on standard setting and more recently I've found myself dropping down to easy on occasion. I suppose it says something about us. Personally, I play for fun. If I wanna work, I'll go do my job... Which I've also found an easy mode for, but that's beside the point, and I hope my boss doesn't frequent these forums.

 

I've always pronounced it like uh-SPERG-ers, which sounds so much more elegant than assburgers. I always cringe when people say it that way.

 

I don't know if he is still active but there is a member by the name of Alan Aspee.....

(Apologies I can't remember how to spell his name!)

Going by memory he started a topic thread called, "don't weaponize my Autism!" I remember reading some of it but there were some heated arguments on going on and I didn't keep up with it.

Maybe search for it...?

 

It was Aspie. Now unfortunately banned (last time I checked anyway).

 

Found this, no idea how because I was not looking for it.

Maybe it helps?

https://www.writingforums.org/articles/writing-neurotypical-characters-a-guide-for-people-with-autism-and-asperger-syndrome/page-2

 

I'm autistic. I wasn't diagnosed until my 20s. Up till then my 'quirks' and panic attacks were put down to shyness, and then later on: depression. It was such a relief when a Dr finally took me seriously and looked into autism.
Writing has become my creative outlet that stops my brain from going nuts. I don't know if I'm actually any good (which as an obsessive perfectionist, kinda kills me.) But I'm enjoying it anyway.

 

(waves)

I was diagnosed around 1990, which in hindsight was just when mainstream awareness of autism was increasing, so I was quite lucky in that I always knew what was going on with me, even if understanding it is an ongoing process that's still unfolding. I was originally diagnosed with Aspergers, though now that's been folded into "autistic spectrum", and I generally prefer that.

I think for me, reading and writing have served several functions. Reading has been a way of understanding other people and situations in a safe way )(without the confusing dynamics of face to face interaction), while writing has always been a way for me to communicate, to show others what's going on in my mind.

I think you could probably see influences in my writing. I often have protagonists who are highly individualistic and distinct--but often not of their own choice, and looking for some sort of greater community or meaning. And I keep coming back to the imperfections of verbal communication or characters being thrust into incomprehensible situations.

 

Hi, I'm a young woman believed to being on the Autism Spectrum Disorders, but seem to be more likely ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) I've come here to gain feedback, criticism on my work, I love to write anything. I am also already a published author on Amazon, I've written a children's book called the Knowledge Crystals, and I have designed the cover.

 

Both of my children do and I am 99% sure I am also... "self identifying" is the best description I guess.

 

I have Autism/Asperger's. I was diagnosed fairly late because it was still a newly discovered thing at the time. By then I had for years been labelled by different schools either as a very naughty and badly behaved child. Or someone to be given Ritalin and counselling.

I think is has both positive and negative effects on my writing.
On the positive side, I believe it makes me more imaginative, creative and able to think outside the box.
On the negative, due to my black and white thinking, I am a harsh self-critic as I think my work is either good or bad. Also because of this and my tendency to take things literally, when studying writing techniques and guidelines, to me they all sound like strict rules that must never be broken. It also means I have trouble interpreting hidden meanings, poetry is incomprehensible to me.
I also have some dysgraphia which means I have difficulty writing by hand and I can't type very well.

Come to think of it, I suppose being autistic makes me both a great and terrible candidate writing.

 

Actually, the way you expressed yourself is quite clear. Writing isn't an easy craft to master, in fact it can be quite difficult for some people. The trick is to overcome your challenges is to be persistent and never give up. Work hard at it. That's what I did, and also I knew I didn't need to prove anything to anyone.

 

Ashley, I'm sorry if this seems like "mansplaining", but I'm curious because you seem to link Autism and Asperger's together, whereas they are two different (though related) things. Autism is a wide spectrum, and Asperger's syndrome lies on the high-achieving side of it.

Think of Autism this way: it's not one-size-fits-all. It's not a monolith in the sky. It's more like clothes: just as you can have clothes in any size, from XXS to XXL, so Autism is characterised by a range of linked conditions. (It's no surprise that the full name of Autism is Autism Spectrum Disorder - the keyword being "Spectrum").

Both Autism and Asperger's are simply a neurological condition, in which a person's brain is wired differently to the "norm" (whatever the "norm" might be). It can manifest itself in sensitivity to light or loud noises, or an adherence to (or dislike of) rules, or an obsessive interest in various school subjects (like mathematics, etc.) coupled with a disinterest in others. Some autistic people are nonverbal, while others express themselves proficiently, and so on.

Again, I'm not trying "mansplain" here! *blush* I'm simply curious what you mean.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome a few years after finishing university, at a time when I didn't really understand what it all meant. School and university life were tortuous to me, because I knew I was "different" but had no idea why. Autism meant nothing to me except Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man. I learned much better since then.

Your symptoms sound familiar to me:

- On the plus side, my Asperger's means that I'm excellent with both the written language and mathematics. This meant that I gravitated naturally to jobs in programming and accounting, since my Asperger's allowed me to think quickly and find solutions that may not occur to non-Asperger's people. (Writing was also, naturally, attractive to me).

- On the minus side, like you, I criticise my own writing more harshly than others would. (This isn't because I think in binary terms of black/white or good/bad, but simply because -- with experience, and other people's help -- I realised that some parts of my writing were simply not that good. I'll admit it: I can research a subject like a person possessed, and I can write dialogue naturally, and especially enjoy wordplay and humour. But I'm not good at writing fight scenes, or describing subtle facial cues, simply because my Asperger's limits my ability to do this in real life). Having said that, I recognised those shortcomings ages ago and studied how to overcome them.

To sum up: I'm tired of being told that my Asperger's isn't "normal". Being "normal" is exhausting. Come join us Aspies! We have cake.

 

You don't need to "mansplain" to me what Asperger's is. But it's not called that any more. It's benn officially folded into autism. And I was told this by a specialist in the field.

 

*looks it up* Oh, my! I'm so sorry, I had no idea. I was diagnosed at least a decade before Asperger's Syndrome was folded into Autism, and never heard of this new development. Please accept my apologies.

*reads about why the name of the condition was changed...* Oh, gods.

What is the condition formerly known as Asperger's called now? I'm so sorry, I was simply more familiar with it being called Asperger's. *blush*