Early autism "tests" If done today might point out a few things
Quirks and stunned mullets' (Australian saying)
Undiagnosed Autism was just ''screaming'' at the time of our youth and no one knew what it was about.
In First grade I had a few firsts. One was a hearing test, Everyone was sent to the Sick room and the county health nurse was there and she was giving everyone hearing tests. I grew up in a rural 'backwards place' if you will. When I did my test the look on the nurses face was stunning and priceless. I set opposite her and was wearing hearing head phones connected to her machine. She started out with low tones and with a hand signal you told her you had heard a particular tone. Then she would do another and so on. Finally she was at the highest setting of her machine and I was still telling her to keep on going! She had me turn around so I could not see her and we did it again and she was stunned! I don't know if she ever mentioned that to anyone but she marked my card passed. I wondered for years after that WHY I passed that hearing test and could not hear? Of course the hindsight answer is Autism hearing and thoughts turned off my hearing during complicated fast paced times. I was deaf and blind in gym class as I discovered (7th grade, due to overload) Several years later I was expected to mow the lawn and had lots more factors running a lawn mower, I found ways around them.
Another Big Clue was the first stormy day in 1967 as I set in my First Grade class room. It was neatly dark outside and pouring rain and this was firstime I was ever working under fluorescent lights (new for the era) and old UNPHASED lights of this era actually turned off and on with the cycle change. Traditional people never noticed it but Aspies did. Just like in a Funhouse at the fair the room got brighter and darker in a consistent fashion. I even asked Mrs. Nutter (my teacher) why the room was getting brighter and barker and I think she thought I was talking of the Lightening bolts. Most times enough natural light filtered in the class room that this was not obvious. This would make a good test for autism today. Even as late as 1995 in an interior hallway At the Nosinger Center on OSU campus I still experienced old unphased lighting. Modern fluorescent lights are wired differently and the cycle changes are no longer obvious to anyone viewing them. Perhaps if a modern aspie were to view an old light system It might make for a visual test for autism.
My First Autism mechanical repairs were filled with a few firsts as well, I BROKE nearly every bolt I touched. I now know my Autistic Pain tolerance has a role in this as I could NOT feel when bolts were tight. Eventually I started using a torque wrench and learned, to feel what 20 ft LB (n/m) felt like. When I checked previous work that didn't break it was consistently overtorqued. This to would make a good test for autism. It would identify the pain tolerance. when I was writing my book and older lady told me of her flat tire experience on a 1950 something Chevrolet (she was Aspie) In those day there was no Auto Clubs or Cell phones and Ladies did change their tires if they had to. It seems she broke the first lug nut she tried to undo not realizing it was left had threads (spins opposite). She got back home and told her husband (she was Lesbian, but married for 'show,' typical of the era) and he was STUNNED how could she break a lug nut. She joked when he took it to the garage to be repaired he told them he broke it as he just could not explain his wife doing it. She never even felt the strain or screamed in Pain. We had met online sharing our stories of Pain tolerance and the odd medicine that promotes. Her doctors were shocked of all the lumps and tumors she had removed associated with female trouble and she never felt any of those things! Many of us in our anthropology today also have Pain tolerance stories of injuries we typically walk away from.
This too could be a test for Autism as we could have the aspie tighten a series of bolts until they are tight and I suspect the Aspie would break the bolts and not even strain doing it. Agood grade of bolt that wouldnot break could be included in the test to see just how far off we might be. Again I was typically off 20 Ft Lbs on small things and I was over 40-50 Lbs on bigger bolts.
Undiagnosed Autism was just ''screaming'' at the time of our youth and no one knew what it was about.
In First grade I had a few firsts. One was a hearing test, Everyone was sent to the Sick room and the county health nurse was there and she was giving everyone hearing tests. I grew up in a rural 'backwards place' if you will. When I did my test the look on the nurses face was stunning and priceless. I set opposite her and was wearing hearing head phones connected to her machine. She started out with low tones and with a hand signal you told her you had heard a particular tone. Then she would do another and so on. Finally she was at the highest setting of her machine and I was still telling her to keep on going! She had me turn around so I could not see her and we did it again and she was stunned! I don't know if she ever mentioned that to anyone but she marked my card passed. I wondered for years after that WHY I passed that hearing test and could not hear? Of course the hindsight answer is Autism hearing and thoughts turned off my hearing during complicated fast paced times. I was deaf and blind in gym class as I discovered (7th grade, due to overload) Several years later I was expected to mow the lawn and had lots more factors running a lawn mower, I found ways around them.
Another Big Clue was the first stormy day in 1967 as I set in my First Grade class room. It was neatly dark outside and pouring rain and this was firstime I was ever working under fluorescent lights (new for the era) and old UNPHASED lights of this era actually turned off and on with the cycle change. Traditional people never noticed it but Aspies did. Just like in a Funhouse at the fair the room got brighter and darker in a consistent fashion. I even asked Mrs. Nutter (my teacher) why the room was getting brighter and barker and I think she thought I was talking of the Lightening bolts. Most times enough natural light filtered in the class room that this was not obvious. This would make a good test for autism today. Even as late as 1995 in an interior hallway At the Nosinger Center on OSU campus I still experienced old unphased lighting. Modern fluorescent lights are wired differently and the cycle changes are no longer obvious to anyone viewing them. Perhaps if a modern aspie were to view an old light system It might make for a visual test for autism.
My First Autism mechanical repairs were filled with a few firsts as well, I BROKE nearly every bolt I touched. I now know my Autistic Pain tolerance has a role in this as I could NOT feel when bolts were tight. Eventually I started using a torque wrench and learned, to feel what 20 ft LB (n/m) felt like. When I checked previous work that didn't break it was consistently overtorqued. This to would make a good test for autism. It would identify the pain tolerance. when I was writing my book and older lady told me of her flat tire experience on a 1950 something Chevrolet (she was Aspie) In those day there was no Auto Clubs or Cell phones and Ladies did change their tires if they had to. It seems she broke the first lug nut she tried to undo not realizing it was left had threads (spins opposite). She got back home and told her husband (she was Lesbian, but married for 'show,' typical of the era) and he was STUNNED how could she break a lug nut. She joked when he took it to the garage to be repaired he told them he broke it as he just could not explain his wife doing it. She never even felt the strain or screamed in Pain. We had met online sharing our stories of Pain tolerance and the odd medicine that promotes. Her doctors were shocked of all the lumps and tumors she had removed associated with female trouble and she never felt any of those things! Many of us in our anthropology today also have Pain tolerance stories of injuries we typically walk away from.
This too could be a test for Autism as we could have the aspie tighten a series of bolts until they are tight and I suspect the Aspie would break the bolts and not even strain doing it. Agood grade of bolt that wouldnot break could be included in the test to see just how far off we might be. Again I was typically off 20 Ft Lbs on small things and I was over 40-50 Lbs on bigger bolts.
posted by Pre Rain Man Autism | 11:55 AM
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