I am going to answer the question above from my own personal experience. For me having Asperger Syndrome is kind of a one dimensional existence. Things are either logical or require some kind of pattern or routine otherwise what is ahead of me remains precarious. I often feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster and when anxiety becomes more severe, my need for routine becomes a necessity.
I find myself often looking for patterns in everything around me and my time also spent in wondering why the world exists as it does. Why people tend to put unnecessary pressures and stress on themselves and more importantly why people think the way they do and not always say things which they mean. I find my way of thinking is often black and white and finding gray areas is often a difficult challenge.
What I have found refreshing about being an Aspie is that often other adults on the Autism Spectrum tend to be good mind readers. It is like Aspies can relate to each other instantly and more importantly we can sense and often understand when the world around us can cause pressures, heighten anxiety and not really understand us. I have met many adults with Autism. I have found that only meeting them once or for the first time that they are like life long friends. Mostly Aspies make good friends because we have to work harder at implementing social skills and securing friendships. I often find that within the NT population that there are more gray areas with friendships. There are more hoops to pass through and often areas of confusion and uncertainty. NT's just don't seem to get us. We often speak our minds and tend to see small talk as wasted words but instead of people taking the time to listen to us, we tend to remain mostly in social isolation. As an Aspie I like my solitude. It helps me to recharge my batteries from over stimulation and sensory issues. For an NT times of silence are seen as often needing to be around people whereas being an Aspie I tend to find I need space not as a means of not liking people but more so a means of recovering my energy and replenishing my cognitive skills i.e social skills.
When I feel down or sleep deprived I feel the need to be around colours. I also find certain fabrics irritating and I find clothing which has a stiffness to it like Denim in Jeans or Wool are clothes to avoid. They seem to drive me into sensory overload which is why I cannot wear them. I also find that within social settings that I cannot understand why when people start to talk the level of music increases. This makes it harder for me to rely on my hearing skills and because my ears are super sensitive, I am driven into sensory overload very quickly. It is like the ceiling is caving in on me and I need to get out!
I find a lot of foods which are enjoyable can often irritate me later. I find I have problems with digestion at times and furthermore small tasks become larger. When anxiety takes hold I find myself unable to move. It is like I virtually freeze up. I have had anxiety attacks so bad that I have had to rely on all energy possible to escape stressful situations. Can you imagine what it is like being in a traffic jam or a lift?
Some Aspies want to jettison their Aspieness but I more so wish that society as a whole would learn to understand and accept Aspies for who we are as people. I constantly argue that the world should not be one way but to be fair Aspies should not have to become NT just to fit in. We need more understanding and acceptance of our uniqueness more so than ignorance and rejection. People can learn from us and we can learn from others. To just write us off is not the best form of action and we are human and as Dr Attwood says we don't lack empathy. We just express it in a different way than others.
Some Aspies are affected more than others and sadly this can affect their quality of life. I write a lot because I struggle with conversing. With some Aspies I can talk a lot as well as others. The greatest skill for anyone to have is to listen to another person. Everyone likes someone to listen to them. It is just the problem that most if not all of us don't have the time to listen. I am constantly trying to overcome the difficulties I have and I describe myself far from perfect. Over time I will write more about what it is like being Aspie but I hope that this post can shed some light on what it is actually like being an Aspie.
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