Thoughtsplat! #1 - The Friendship Algorithm

Todays Thoughsplat! involves these guys :D

So, today is the wonderful and clearly super awesome release of my new series of posts called Thoughtsplat! (The exclamation mark doesn't end the sentence, it's part of the name. Just saying. This full stop after the brackets will end the sentence. Look, this one. No, that one, right there --->). I've explained a little about it before in my last post, but I think I better explain it more here.

Thoughtsplat! is a series in which I show you the kind of thought processes that go on in my head, by taking a single thought, either a random thought passing through my mind, or a specific topic, and follow that thread through until I decide to stop, at which point you'll see just how crazy and off topic I can get. Having said that, when I have a lot of time it can be great for intellectualising and thinking through of problems! Some solutions just sort of fly out of nowhere! But mostly it's just fun. Anyway, let us begin!

Back To College! Let's Get Organised!

First off, sorry guys! And welcome to any new readers! It's been so long since my last post, but I've been so busy doing this, that and the other, and getting ready to go back to college. That's the non compulsory sixth form style post high school education for age 16+ in the UK, not university, for you Americans out there. That comes next year ;)

So, hopefully I'll be posting more regularly now that I have a timetable to work with, so I can structure my days and not just decide 'nah, another day' all the time. Routine's a big thing with Asperger's! I'll try to stick to a similar posting schedule to the one I was using, posting every day or two at around 7pm GMT, give or take a couple of hours. Now, it might not work at all, and there's a chance that I'll just give up, or be too stressed too work, or any number of things. But I hope that the thought of helping you all out, and having a place to just drop my thoughts, will be enough to keep me coming back.

I think I'll be starting a 'Thoughtsplat' series of articles too, where I start with a single thought and follow it through, taking the thought wherever it goes. It's a good way of showing how my mind works (and how easily distracted I am!) I might come up with other series' too, when I think of them. But, until then, bye guys!

See you again soon,

Chris

Elementary My Dear Watson - Intellectualising

Image courtesy of the BBC

Before I start, no, this isn't going to be an article about whether Sherlock Holmes would have AS or not. There are plenty of articles all over the place about this already. Still, it might be interesting to tackle this another time. No, this post is about the other bit of the title, intellectualising, and what it entails.

Having A Break :D

The Colosseum

So, I've mentioned before that one of the best ways of escaping stress for me is to sink into a fantasy. Well, even better than that is going on holiday somewhere where I can be doing activities with friends and not have to care about things like college and social stress and other things like that. And that's exactly what I got in July, when I went to Rome on a cultural trip with a group from college, including some of my best friends. It was one of the best experiences I've had in a long time, and if I could go again tomorrow I would.

Okay, I admit this blog post is basically an excuse to post some amazing pictures that I took in Rome, because I love photography. It's become one of my hobbies recently, and it's a pretty good stress relief by itself. Again, seems pretty common among autists. Anyway, click read more for a few pictures!

Look At Me When I'm Talking! - Eye Contact

Image © Taylorinchains.deviantart.com

Quite a frequent 'problem' with autists this one. Not looking at people's eyes when they're talking. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I think the most important one for me is just how awkward it feels when I look at a stranger's eyes. I don't really look 'into' their eyes, since I don't seem to see anything there.

FIRST ON GOOGLE :D

We did it guys! When typing in the name of my blog on google, I'm now the top result! I didn't think I'd make it this far in less than a month...

Here's to many more awesome viewers and followers, and a lot more posts to come :D

See you guys soon,
Chris

Beautiful Detail - Noticing Life's Little Things

I often think that ASDs are portrayed in such a negative light. Everyone, including a lot of charities, seems to focus on the bad. The communication difficulties, the hypersensitivity, the effect on families (I had to link Autism Speaks somewhere, they spend far too much time showing autism as a totally negative 'disease'). But there are positives too. This article lists a lot of the advantages of Asperger's Syndrome. Today I'd like to focus on one part; the attention to detail.

We're What? A What? - Extremely Offensive Article

So, today I was going to post an article about the beauty of noticing all the little details in life. And then I came across this. I just can't write about anything else until I've mentioned it. This is an article linking autistic males with an increased chance of being pedophiles. It, without any evidence, claims autistic adults are stuck with a prepubescent sexuality which leads them to seek out child pornography online. I'm sorry, but what? Would you like to be any more offensive? But there's more.

Higher Ranking :D

I'm even higher on Google now! Look at me, Mr Popular, I'm second already! Hopefully all the people reading this take something away, and learn more about ASDs, and understand a little more than they did.

See you guys soon!

Chris

The Happy Place - Stress Relief Fantasy

Well, having typed out the title of this post, I have to admit, it does look a bit like I'm about to mention drugs... Trust me, I'm not! No drugs for me, my brain is messed up enough as it is. I'm not one for drugs at all, whether legal or illegal. That includes mood altering ones like Ritalin. I think I'd rather deal with my problems myself, rather than having them dumbed by drugs. But anyway, that's beside the point. This post is about one of the best coping strategies I've found for dealing with stress of everyday life. Hiding in fantasies!

Visible On Google!

If you type in the name of the blog on Google now, I'm the fifth result! I just had to share this :D

Thanks for all the views so far guy, keep it up!

Chris

The Long And Short Of It - Memory

People are always telling me how good my memory is. To an extent they're right. I point out things that happened years ago, and everyone struggles to remember what I'm going on about. I remember conversations word for word, and massive strings of information, as long as I'm interested. But it's a bit of a double edged sword.

New Page Up!

I've finally got round to creating the What Are ASDs? page! It has a lot of information that you guys should hopefully find useful in understanding what Autism Spectrum Disorders are and how they affect people. It's got a couple of links on it too. I highly recommend the one near the bottom that links to Tony Attwood's advantages of having Asperger's.

That page has taken me a pretty long time to write, so I hope you guys like it!

I'll be back with another post soon,

Chris

Thinkety Think Think

I have a problem. At least, at the moment it's a problem. Tomorrow it could be just what I need. Or it could be a crisis, or just a bit meh. But right now, it's a problem.

I don't stop thinking. It's a common trait in Asperger's and autism, to get lost in a fantasy world of thoughts. But it gets a little out of hand sometimes, especially when combined with an obsession. It never really gets mentioned, because of course it's silent, and to be completely honest a lot of autistics, myself included, think it's normal, because of course we don't know any different. We've lived our entire lives with our perceptions and thoughts, we honestly have no idea neurotypicals don't spend all their time thinking. (Neurotypical is a term used to describe people with 'normal' brain function. I use it because to call it normal implies there is only one correct mental state, the 'normal' one, and I don't think that's right)

So Much To Say, So Much To Do!

I was trying to get to sleep last night, and all I could think of was how much I have to say on this blog!

There's explaining all the symptoms, social interactions, difficulties, how they affect me, how they apply to other people, how other people view autism, the list goes on and on. And then there's all the things I actually have to do this summer, keeping up with the step up work for college, trying to find voluntary work, and a part time job. It's just so hard to keep it all organised, and even to think straight in my own head. So then I thought, why not make that the focus of this post.

A Proper Welcome

Hello again!

Okay, I missed my target of getting this post up yesterday, but I did manage to post the About Me page, which is sort of a similar thing to this post. What can I say, I was busy. I went to the Wetlands Centre with my Dad, took some photos, had a barbecue with friends, transferred some music... I should stop now, this isn't a diary.

So what is it? Other than just a blog? Well, it's (mostly) a blog about my thoughts on and experiences of living with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism (according to the DSM-V Diagnostic Manual, it's no longer a separate disorder, but more on that another time). I was diagnosed around ten years ago, and for a lot of that time I had a psychologist. Though, as I was so young at the time, around 7 when diagnosed, I didn't really understand what was happening, or why I was different.

Welcome! Sort of.

Welcome, ye denizens of the internet!
The first blog will be a short one, as it's currently stupid o'clock in the morning here, and I don't have too much to say. In fact, I'm not even going to talk about myself until the first full blog post when I explain the purpose of this blog, and all that jazz. I'll be doing all that tomorrow (today? It's after midnight...), and then we'll be rolling!
In the meantime, I have Twitter if you're interested (not that anyone will actually see this blog yet). My handle is @raz0rscythe

I shall be seeing you all soon!*
Chris

*that is a blatant lie, I can't see through my screen. But still.