Conformism and high functioning autism

From very early on, I have always been fascinated with people's behaviours. I have never studied psychology nor can I consider myself an expert, but my job and my life experiences have given me unique opportunities in life to encounter an extremely wide variety of situations.

As a musician, sometimes I found myself in mansions interacting with high profile investors, bankers, diplomats, and the like. Other times, I am in ghettos sharing a meal with people on welfare. I have also had interactions with renowned alleged "gangsters". It's been quite an interesting life so far. All this to say, that I've been exposed to a wide range of personalities and points of views from different parts of the world and cultures.

It wasn't until recent years that I started to make sense of a lot of behaviours that I previously had difficulty understanding, and I realize that many people may be on the same boat.

This article is dedicated to what is known as being on the autism spectrum, and more specifically, what experts call high functioning autism. Once again, I remind you that I'm talking about my personal experiences; while I have done some form of research, I am not a qualified expert.

A colleague of mine once made a joke: "you kinda have to be on the spectrum if you're going to be a  musician". Of course, not all musicians are on the spectrum but I've always wondered about the psychological profile of many musicians I have interacted with. Many of the extremely talented musicians that I've encountered have been "different". I fully recognize that I, myself, am different. Am I on the spectrum? I really don't know as I've never been to a specialist. I think it is highly likely that I have some form of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Being OCD allowed me to practice 6-10 hours a day at some point of my life. It also allows me to work long hours without much mental difficulty either. It's also why many of my articles tend to be long and extremely detailed. Actually, I fully recognize that when I was younger, I was much more neurotic than I am now; I made certain efforts to integrate better into various societies.

One of the most important things about understanding autism is that it is a wide spectrum, and this article is  specifically about high functioning autism, which is still a wide spectrum. In other words, for people who fit this profile, it is not always obvious. Basically, one person may exhibit one set of symptoms, and another person may exhibit another set.

Actually, in my life, while I strongly suspect that I have encountered many people on the spectrum,  very few have actually directly told me that they were on it. In one case, I was rather surprised but it did explain certain things. This person's symptoms were, in my opinion, so minimal that it didn't (or barely) interfere with their day to day life nor did they affect their professional and personal relationships with me. I would have described this person as only having a slight tendency towards being neurotic but it was extremely subtle. This person, is of course, highly intelligent and quite successful at what they do. Greta Thunberg is on the spectrum. Whether you like her ideas or not, she is definitely a highly influential figure.

I don't like to use the word "disabled" or "disease" to describe autism for this reason, especially for those in the high functioning spectrum. In some cases, being on the spectrum played a huge role in their success and/or skills.

There are others, however, whose symptoms cause tremendous frustrations to those they interact with. When people unfamiliar with high functioning autism don't understand this psychological profile, it can be an even more frustrating experience.

I have had to work on projects with such people. Even when I understand these profiles, being forced to collaborate on projects can be devastatingly mentally painful. Without wanting to stigmatize such people, if you have to regularly interact with such people, there are, nonetheless, certain strategies that help.

I want to repeat again that it is a spectrum. On the "better" end of the spectrum, there is absolutely no problem interacting with such people. In fact, one of the people I work with regularly is like this, and I would have absolutely no problem spending long hours with them on a regular basis. Their symptoms are so minimal and don't interfere with any of our interactions.

On the other end, there are some people who cause us nothing but frustration, and then you find everything in between. Keep in mind, that people with high functioning autism are usually extremely intelligent and probably have a lot of impressive achievements on their resume.

There are different signs that people are on the spectrum. This is selectively copied from the following article  which talks about children, but it applies to adults as well:

-Inappropriate or minimal social interactions

-Conversations that almost resolve around themselves or certain topic, rather than others.

-Not understanding emotions well.

-An intense obsession with narrow subjects.

-Not understanding other people's feelings or perspectives.

As the article states, there is no "cure", but there are ways to cope. Some who are aware and seek treatment can also improve their situation. In fact, those who have admitted to me that they were on the spectrum were often easier to deal with, in my experience. They fully recognize the way they are and do make a certain effort to make it easier for others.

My blog is supposed to be about living in Taiwan, so why talk about this? Well, if you are on the spectrum, maybe Taiwan and many conformist cultures might not be for you at all. A lot of east Asian countries tend to be very conformist which does not necessarily make it incompatible with being on the spectrum, but in these societies, if the wrong boxes are ticked, then the incompatibility would be far stronger. One musician friend on the spectrum for instance loved China and absolutely hated Japan. 

China was very "open". Wait what? Open in the sense that they could easily manifest their symptoms and the people went along with it (at least that's what my friend claimed). One of their major symptoms is that they liked to interact with random strangers. In China, people were apparently very receptive to this. In Japan, he received an extremely cold treatment.

Like I said, people have different symptoms, and if the wrong boxes are ticked, then indeed, it can be frustrating. Even in conformist societies, I have met local people on the spectrum whose symptoms were incompatible with the society's norms. They would rant endlessly about what they hated about their own culture.

In previous articles, I have already written about certain aspects of Taiwanese society, and how things currently are. I will write more articles about this, and if you are on the spectrum, you have to reflect hard on whether the correct boxes are ticked. Again, just because it is a highly conformist society does not make it automatically incompatible, I gave the example of my friend touring China and Japan.

For those who are not on the spectrum and know very little about it, there are some coping strategies to use when dealing with certain symptoms. One thing is not to engage in passionate discussions especially, if you disagree with their point of view. If you agree with their point of view, they'll go on and on about their view. If you disagree, you are not likely to convince them, and they will go on and on. 

The best is to either ignore (as long as they're not asking for a response) or, if need be, directly and politely let them know that you do not wish to have this conversation. I know that it can be very easy to get emotional and lash out against such people but it will have practically no effect. Some have concluded that certain people on the spectrum are unable to feel empathy, but it's more that such things are extremely difficult for them, and they are just wired a different way. If they say something that deeply offends you, don't engage, just ignore or directly but politely shut down the conversation.

Social media has given everyone an equal voice and equal opportunities to engage in conversation. I have seen discussions degenerate because of such situations. People on the spectrum may generate tremendous controversy that drives many away, and people who are not aware of these symptoms will try to argue back. This drives more people away. 

Hopefully this article could be of use to some of you out there, and give you a better understanding of these interesting psychological profiles. 

If you have to work with people on the spectrum that exhibit symptoms that make it difficult to work together, I don't have any strategies for you because I am still trying to figure that one out! On a number of occasions, I have been in this situation. I just had to be as calm as possible and endure things until the projects ended. I certainly could not endure long-term projects, and would have to quit. That is obviously a possibility, and you have to see for yourself how much you can tolerate before you accept certain projects.

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