Accepting my limitations.

One of the advantages of knowing I have Aspergers syndrome is that it has allowed me to accept my limitations. I used to get very frustrated that I was not sociable enough, or not able to learn the same way others do, or was easily distracted or absorbed by things. These days I worry less about this because I know there is very little ability for me to change these things.

I used to feel that I should have made more of myself in my career or in my musical activities, but now I realise I have done very well at these things and realistically could not have gone any further with them.

I have a very happy life and am very content.

Poor muscle tone with Aspergers Syndrome

An interesting article on what "poor muscle tone" means by Gavin Bollard:

"Low muscle tone refers mainly to the distribution of muscles on the body, their initial state, speed and stamina. The affected muscles can be "trained" but that training won't come from sport or from and normal gym/weight training. It comes from some very specialized training - and it won't be 100% effective. In young children, the problems of low muscle tone will reduce in severity as they get older - up to about the age of 10, though aspies will likely continue to adjust and compensate for the rest of their lives."

Read the full article here:

http://life-with-aspergers.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/what-does-low-muscle-tone-hyptonia-mean.html

How this affects me:

I have always had very flexible finger, toe and ankle joints. I also have quite poor fine motor skills and the combination of the two means that I have posture, grip and occasional injury issues. Its not the end of the world, but it is definitely a feature of my Aspergers.

Autism and evolution

There is some talk in the Aspergers community that Aspergers syndrome could be an indication of a next stage of evolution leading to a more advanced human. I disagree. I I think there are a number of features of autism which point to earlier forms of the human brain rather than future ones.

Temperature control problems – possibly related to the adaptations that took place during evolution from cold blooded to warm blooded. I am writing this with one painfully cold hand and one hot hand!

Identifying food by simple known flavours – possibly related to having to identify safe foods.

“Self obsession” – Its not selfishness but linked to survival, putting personal needs first.

Difficulties with tight or itchy clothing

Sensitivity to being touched – detection of close threat through hairs.

Sensitivity to sharp sounds – ditto.

This list could be expanded.

In fact I see a lot of similarity between my autistic traits and those of some animals. Its as if my brain is slightly wired up like those of my distant ancestors.

However, I can see some of these traits having an evolutionary advantage. For example, in a world where people are becoming more individualised and friendship is being redefined around social media and  people don't  interacting socially with each other as much as they used to,  an autistic person is likely to be able to survive better as they do not miss that social interaction. Also, dating is easier for autistic people nowadays because of online dating. There is therefore a greater chance of us marrying, having children and passing on our genes.

What do you think?