But what really blew me away was the section on differentiating AS from HFA - I am now left with no doubt whatsoever that I am HFA, not AS. The most interesting bit was the idea that Aspies take in only one thing at a time, i.e. they are able to focus really well but find it hard to see the big picture. Whereas with HFA you are more bombarded with "everything" at once ("gestalt processing"), and eventual focus on a part is more a reaction to this bombardment of the senses than stable, intense observation or attention.
It seems the bold print is "more like" how things happen with me, but perhaps not to the agree to which it occurs in actual HFA. Because I also get the "focusing on one small part", but in general all of this seems very inconsistent.
I wonder if I'm leaning toward that because I have comorbid ADD, and this "bombardment" is more like a "distraction" sort of...?
the difference between aspergers and kanners autism is not that broad, its simple;
kanners (classic autism) have more extreme verbal difficulties. central auditory processing disorder, is most common, but could be others.
"bombardment" is not "distraction"
when you notice eveyrthing around you, its called being hyperaware, this means you takein so much information at once that you have trouble focusing on just one thing.
autistics with this are often wrongly diagnosed as ADD/ADHD.
its similar to but kind of teh oposite of hyperfocus, which is when you focus so intently on one thing that you 'cant be bothered' with antyhing else.
generally, autistics of all kinds can be both hyperaware and hyperfocus, depending on the activity, environment, and mood.
nice