INSIDE PERSPECTIVES of AS & Neurodiversity

 

 

 

TICS

 

 

·  Vocal and/or motor tics seem to often co-occur with ASD, ADHD and OCD, either within the same individual and/or within the same family, so there seems to be a strong genetic component to one’s susceptibility to developing tics.

 

   “I have tics, I see it as a reaction to a feeling in the body. I need to restore the balance. My tics appear so quickly that if someone wants me to suppress them they have to be quick as lightning. But I usually feel when they are about to occur and can at best stop them for a while or redirect the energy into something else.

 

   “I can also get ‘stuck’ in something, e.g. tapping a pen on my desk, repeat a series of figures over and over etc. I see that more as a compulsion because I can stop if asked, even if it doesn’t feel good to do so.”

 

- Paula, adult with TS/ADHD from Sweden

 

 

·  Besides being a side-effect of some medication, some say that tics can be induced by environmental triggers and diet.

 

   “Many individuals have found that proper evaluation and treatment of underlying allergic disease, along with dietary and environmental controls (lifestyle changes) gave significant and sometimes profound relief of TS symptoms.”

- From Tourette Syndrome - The Allergy/Environmental Connection

 

   “Many parents report that the Feingold diet consistently improves or controls Tourette Syndrome. We are still waiting for the research to show WHY this happens.”

- From Diet & Movement Disorders, Tics, Tourette Syndrome

 

·  Some only have tics under stress.

 

   “I get tics in my jaw when I am stressed. They are a nervous reaction. A tic is an involuntary response, like a heartbeat.  On the rare occasions when mine appears (times of extreme stress), there is very little I can do to control it except to try and calm down.”

 

- Tom, adult Aspie from USA

 

·  People with tics or Tourette Syndrome are often gifted, bright, fun and original. If you enjoy stimulating company, a person with tics and/or ADHD might be the perfect companion. 

 

   I really don’t see why many have such problem with people who have tics. I don’t have any myself but when I see someone with tics I think, ‘Oh, cool! This is probably a really interesting person!’

- Inger, site-author

 

 

ECHOPHILIA

 

 

   Echopraxia & echolalia (repetition of other people’s movements or words) is considered related to tics and seems to be fairly common in the Autistic/Neurodiversity Spectrum, especially towards the ‘lower-functioning’ end. Possible reasons:

 

·  Hyper-receptive nervous system on which external stimuli make such a strong impression that they come out through one’s mouth or body more or less automatically (like a groovy drum rhythm can make your body move on its own accord, but more subtle) and not having the insight, ability or will to control them.

 

·  Amusement. Conscious imitation may be due to focusing mainly on the form side of things rather than on content; e.g. that one likes the sound or rhythm of words or the feel of a movement and taking pleasure in copying them, rather than in using them for communication.

 

   “I’m 36 and still like to imitate accents. I can do Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eddy Murphy, Worf (the Klingon in Star Trek TNG), the convenience store clerk in the Simpsons, Hank Hill from King of the Hill, the Emperor in Return of the Jedi, among others. I like accents because it allows me to play with sounds and my vocal chords. It’s like creative composition, except it isn't music.”

- Tom, adult Aspie from USA

 

·  Learning. Mimicry is a how both humans and animals learn, but this behaviour seems to only be socially acceptable for very small children. For those who learn slower than others, it makes sense to retain this behaviour longer than their peers.

 

·  Coping mechanism.

 

   “I have TS, but I copy other people. That is how I make myself ’normal’ and stop ticing for example. This is how I managed not to tic at the neurologist’s despite being really stressed and nervous. I simply ’acted’ him and he was as relaxed as can be. It is like when people stutter, if they change their voice or sing the don’t stutter... weird huh? :-) A survival strategy I call it.”

- Paula, adult with ADHD/TS from Sweden.

 

  What can be confusing to an Aspie is that communication experts often recommend copying the movements, expression and body position of the person you are talking with to facilitate rapport and trust - which to my mind is manipulation to do with someone you don’t know; this copying is something which often occurs naturally and unconsciously between friends when there already is a rapport! But obviously there is some fine line where the copying becomes not flattering but rather offensive instead. Such fine lines usually escape the socially clueless Aspie and non-Aspies probably can’t explain it either - they just know instinctively what’s appropriate and not.

 

   In ASD, there seem to be two extreme ends when it comes to imitating ability:

 

·  A. On the one hand, we are supposed to lack ‘mirror neurons’ which are said to help one imitate other’s facial expressions and thereby experience the same feelings they do. (My guess is that this lack may be partly due to not being overly interested in social interaction with the majority of people.)

 

·  B. On the other hand, many on the spectrum are self-taught experts at imitation, though mainly just for the fun of the thing rather than to figure out how others may be feeling. Being great at imitations can sometimes make you a highly successful entertainer. I suspect quite a few comedians have AS, TS, or ADHD traits (Peter Sellers and Rowan Atkinson springs to mind).

 

·  A. Some Aspies may grow up in different parts of the country but never pick up local accents, customs or mannerisms if they don’t find them pleasing or logical. (Such ‘cultural independence’ can be a good trait to have, e.g. to resist peer pressure to develop a bad habit, but can also preclude smooth interaction with others.)

 

   “I have never copied any dialects even though I lived in different parts of Sweden during my childhood..”
- ’Missbutterfly’, adult Aspie from Sweden

 

·  B. Others unconsciously and automatically adapt to new accents, ways of being in a matter of hours or days - which too may be seen as rather odd.

 

   I learned English through communicating with my American cousins when I was a child, so the English I think and talk in still has an American accent. But when talking with an Englishman, the difference in accent makes such a strong auditory impression on me that I soon find myself speaking with a British accent. And when I was in Ireland for a few weeks it didn’t take more than a couple of days before I started slipping into an Irish accent and using typical Irish expressions – much to the amusement of the locals!

- Inger, site-author

 

 

‘ZELIG CHAMELEON’