Working at your own pace
The AS person often exerts a certain pressure during an exchange or discussion. “Keep to your own pace.” Do not let yourself be unsettled! Sometimes, achieving results requires more time. “AS time” can seem slow and put you under pressure because the answer does not come immediately. Be patient: once the foundations have been established, management and transformation can speed up considerably. That is why we speak of AS time!
Idiosyncrasy
Idiosyncrasy (meaning a distinctive temperament) is one of the markers of AS. The way of speaking, thinking and expressing oneself is unique and out of the ordinary.
Inner narration
Much research shows that inner speech (sometimes called “private speech” or “secret inner speech”) is essential for performing complex cognitive tasks such as thinking, planning, remembering and problem-solving, both in developing children and in adults. Preschool children are often observed (and heard) talking aloud to themselves, especially when they face a difficult task or try to solve a problem. This narration makes it easier to perform the task or solve the problem. It is thought that this “overt private speech” is gradually internalised and turns into inner speech around the age of 7
Source: Williams, Happé and Jarrold, 2008.
Sometimes, when older children face a particularly complex problem-solving task, they may whisper, stick out their tongues or move their lips as if they were speaking. This behaviour largely disappears with age, although some studies indicate that overt private speech persists in certain adults, particularly during difficult activities. Often, they do not even realise they are doing it.
Source: Duncan and Cheyne, 2002.
I have never found longitudinal evidence showing precisely how and when inner speech develops in AS children. Yet it is clear that these children—and, by extension, AS adults—do not use inner speech to perform cognitive tasks as easily as their allistic peers. Various studies have also confirmed this finding for me (Whitehouse, Maybery & Durkin, 2006; Wallace et al., 2012; Williams, Bowler & Jarrold, 2012), and I have observed that their performance on these tasks suffers as a result. Moreover, those whose verbal and communication skills are less developed seem to be at an even greater disadvantage than those with a better command of these abilities.
Schizophrenia has things in common with AS.
Throughout my experiences, I have found that patients with schizophrenia share, in many respects, surprising similarities with those with AS. In particular, I have observed that both profiles encounter difficulties in social cognition, which influences how they interact. Furthermore, their idiosyncratic use of language reflects a temperament that is both distinctive and unique. Finally, their beliefs and ways of thinking stand out through an originality all their own.
The tendency to compare behaviours associated with bipolar disorders or schizophrenia
There is often a tendency to compare behaviours associated with bipolar disorders or schizophrenia with the disorders observed in AS people. It should be clarified that bipolar disorder is characterised by long cycles lasting two to three months, during which the person goes through either a euphoric phase or a depressive phase. Schizophrenia, for its part, becomes permanently established in the individual. AS, however, can lead to periods of emotional oscillation due to an imbalance in the distribution of neurotransmitters and hormones, but these fluctuations are always short-lived.
Information on bipolarity and its cycles: Dr Alok Kanojia, American psychiatrist and addiction specialist (Healthy Gamer).
I want to make clear that the genetic AS spectrum is not an illness one contracts; we are AS because it is a genetically defined condition. Gene expression gives the AS person a difference from the allistic norm, with a very broad spectrum of variations.
An encounter with an AS person may be brief.
Indeed, the duration of an exchange, the amount of information shared and the energy invested are limited, which explains why these encounters are often short-lived and makes it difficult to establish lasting friendships. Shared activities can therefore end rather abruptly.
I remember my son's bicycle outings with friends suddenly coming to an end: he would say “I'm going home”, before slipping away without explanation. This is something you have to get used to: there is no particular reason, and friendships do not always grow stronger. As the saying goes: “If you care about this person, you have to persevere; it is not deliberate and it is nothing personal.”