A fable is told about an eagle who thought he was a chicken. When the eagle was very small, he fell from the safety of his nest.  A chicken farmer found the eagle, brought him to the farm, and raised him in a chicken coop among his many chickens. The eagle grew up doing what chickens do, living like a chicken, and believing he was a chicken.

A naturalist came to the chicken farm to see if what he had heard about an eagle acting like a chicken was really true.  He knew that an eagle is king of the sky.  He was surprised to see the eagle strutting around the chicken coop, pecking at the ground, and acting very much like a chicken.  The farmer explained to the naturalist that this bird was no longer an eagle.  He was now a chicken because he had been trained to be a chicken and he believed that he was a chicken.

The naturalist knew there was more to this great bird than his actions showed as he “pretended” to be a chicken.  He was born an eagle and had the heart of an eagle, and nothing could change that.  The man lifted the eagle onto the fence surrounding the chicken coop and said,  “Eagle, thou art an eagle.  Stretch forth thy wings and fly.”  The eagle moved slightly, only to look at the man; then he glanced down at his home among the chickens in the chicken coop where he was comfortable.  He jumped off the fence and continued doing what chickens do.  The farmer was satisfied. “I told you it was a chicken,” he said.

The naturalist returned the next day and tried again to convince the farmer and the eagle that the eagle was born for something greater.  He took the eagle to the top of the farmhouse and spoke to him: “Eagle, thou art an eagle.  Thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth.  Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” The large bird looked at the man, then again down into the chicken coop.  He jumped from the man’s arm onto the roof of the farmhouse.

Knowing what eagles are really about, the naturalist asked the farmer to let him try one more time.  He would return the next day and prove that this bird was an eagle.  The farmer, convinced otherwise, said, “It is a chicken.”

The naturalist returned the next morning to the chicken farm and took the eagle and the farmer some distance away to the foot of a high mountain.  They could not see the farm nor the chicken coop from this new setting.  The man held the eagle on his arm and pointed high into the sky where the bright sun was beckoning above.  He spoke: “Eagle, thou art an eagle!  Thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth.  Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” This time the eagle stared skyward into the bright sun, straightened his large body, and stretched his massive wings.  His wings moved, slowly at first, then surely and powerfully.  With the mighty screech of an eagle, he flew.

(In Walk Tall, You’re A Daughter Of God, by Jamie Glenn
[Deseret Book Company: Jamie Glenn, 1994], pp. 22-4.)

Emotional world on the spectrum!

When emotions hit.

Sensory defensiveness

Autism discussion page (Downloads)

Fragile World on the Spectrum (Document)

Comfort zone profile (Document)

Image from Google

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I first became interested in the life and poetry of William Cowper in 2004. When I first read the words to

“Walking with God”

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I don’t understand why but his life I find interesting and I see some similarities in his poetry to how I process. I decided to put this information and a few links here with the rest of the stuff I collect.

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“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.

He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.”

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Cowper’s name will always be associated with that of John Newton, his friend and pastor. Together they wrote many hymns familiar to us today.

Cowper suffered from bouts of acute depression. Newton saved him from suicide several times. In fact, because his nervous system was so delicate, he was unable to hold a job. Therefore he spent his time in literary pursuits, including writing poetry.

His poetry was quite influential. Many people who scorned evangelicals as “Methodists” would read Cowper’s poems. He addressed many social issues, such as African slavery, as well as spreading the Gospel.

One of Cowper’s critics says that Newton was a bad influence, causing him to “indulge and inflame his sensibility in the dark ecstasies of Calvinism, while at the same time affronting all that was reasonable and humane in his nature.”

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The first child of Reverend John Cowper and Ann Donne Cowper, William Cowper was born on November 15, 1731, in Berkhampsted, Herefordshire, England. The poet’s mother died when he was six and Cowper was sent to Dr. Pittman’s boarding school, where he was routinely bullied. In 1748, he enrolled in the Middle Temple in order to pursue a law degree.

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In 1773, Cowper became engaged to Mary Unwin, but he suffered another attack of madness. He had terrible nightmares, believing that God has rejected him. Cowper would never again enter a church or say a prayer. When he recovered his health, he kept busy by gardening, carpentry, and keeping animals. In spite of periods of acute depression, Cowper’s twenty-six years in Olney and later at Weston Underwood were marked by great achievement as poet, hymn-writer, and letter-writer. His first volume of poetry, Poems by William Cowper, of the Inner Temple was published in 1782 to wide acclaim. His work was compared to late Neo-Classical writers like Samuel Johnson as well as to poets such as Thomas Gray.

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Light Shining Out of Darkness

God moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,

And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Judge not the LORD by feeble sense,

But trust him for his grace;

Behind a frowning providence,

He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding ev’ry hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan his work in vain;

GOD is his own interpreter,

And he will make it plain.

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LINKS

More poems by William Cowper

About William Cowper

About John Newton (Author of Amazing Grace)

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Audio I found (I am dyslexic so this was helpful)

Insanity and Spiritual Songs in the Soul of a Saint

The following are comment I left in a discussion at Autism Discussion Page.

As an Aspie I have many trigger words that can make me feel negative about myself. I wrote a post on my Alienhippy blog about this.

Here at Missing Jigsaws & Excess Lego I like to stick to facts and insights, collections and inspirations. I thought I’d share my comments as I found the discussion very helpful in jogging my memory.

Here is the discussion, followed by my comments.

Difference between “fixations” and “compulsions”

We often through the two terms around, meaning the same thing. However, in professional language, at least from my experience, fixations are very strong, hyper-focused interests or attractions, for which the child derives pleasure from. Compulsive behaviour, on the other hand, is usually driven by anxiety, and excessive worry. Compulsive behaviour is usually “not fun”, but driven to “escape” anxiety. Often “compulsive” behaviour is a direct response to an “obsessive” thought or worry. Usually when you interrupt, or block, a compulsive behaviour you will get immediate increase in anxiety. So, “fixations” are usually motivated because it provides something good for the person, and “compulsions” are usually motivated to escape or avoid anxiety.

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I wrote a post about this on my blog yesterday. I understand now the difference between the two. I like to see it more as passion and obsession though. It helps me understand better. When I’m feeding my need to learn or to be creative I am very passionate about my interest. But my obsessions are always out of insecurity and fears, usually based around a fear of rejection.

I find that listening to music and being creative helps to stop me obsessing. Also I see this with both of my children. Using our special interests and puzzle solving minds helps to not obsess. The problem I find though is I lose track of time and then feel confused. Setting alarms and writing journals helps with this.

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I grew up not knowing I had Aspergers or that I was dyslexic. I am still learning coping strategies and how best to understand human behaviour as an adult. Social isolation was what I chose for quite a few years. My special interests, my passions became gardening and animals. However this didn’t solve my problems and only made me fear people more. Using our special interests, our passions as learning tools is what I have done with my children. My son is now 18 and no one would know he is Aspie. Numbers and POKEMON were his passions, so I used them in everything. I adapted his homework and made everything interesting with them until he found another passion. He is studying advanced maths and business studies and will go to university in September.

I didn’t learn to read until I was 26 because the school I went to forbid me to even speak of my special interest and the books they gave me to read I had no interest in. It was impossible for me to concentrate in a classroom with so many other things going on.

There is a big difference between passions and obsession, we can use the excitement of a special interest to overcome a fear. The obsessions with me lead to complete shutdowns, meltdowns and not feeling that I function well at all. I know now to make myself focus on a passion, when I feel I am starting to obsess. As a child I didn’t understand this and the obsessions would take over.

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Abstract

It is impossible to observe a social interaction, or a social impairment, in a person who is alone. Regardless, the phrase social impairment in autism is frequently used to refer to the social challenges associated with disorders identified by Leo Kanner (1943) and Hans Asperger (1944). The words in autism in this case may leave a misleading impression that the social impairment lies solely within the individual with autism. This is inconsistent with the definition of the word social, which requires the involvement of more than one person. Firsthand accounts by people with autism (e.g., Cesaroni & Garber, 1991; Grandin & Scariano, 1986; Volkmar & Cohen, 1985; Williams, 1992), and families of individuals with autism (Hart, 1989; McDonnell, 1993; Moreno, 1992) raise awareness of the frustrations experienced by all parties as they work to understand, communicate, and interact successfully with one another. Confusion and feelings of being overwhelmed and misunderstood are experienced not only by people with high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome (HFA/AS), but also by parents, professionals, and friends.

Asperger Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism? by Carol A. Gray

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I also found the following presentation very helpful.

Social Cognition: Cognitive processes behind social competency

Much of the social struggles that people on the spectrum experience are related to the differences in the way they process information. This presentation explores the different cognitive processes that are important in relating with others, explains why is it so difficult for them to socially fit in, and provides some strategies for helping them learn to navigate our social world.

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These images spoke very loudly to me as an Adult Aspie.

Also as a Mom with ASD children.

And a daughter to an Autistic Dad.

And on a Google search.

First three images collected from Autism Discussion Page

I collected these three because I connect strongly with them, to view the rest of the presentation click on this link… Fragile World #2: Areas of Challenges

Click on image to see larger.

Click on images to see larger.

Autism Discussion Page was developed by Bill Nason, MS, LLP to discuss tools that help children on the spectrum feel safe, accepted and competent.

For a look at the discussion on this topic follow this LINK

I find this fb page so very helpful.

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Intellectual vs. Emotional Processing:

Explaining the social cognition differences between our two worlds!

In the message to follow, I describe how we (NT vs. ASD) relate on different planes. These different levels (intellectual vs. emotional) are based on different styles of processing, which make it difficult for us to relate on common ground. When we can acknowledge and respect the difference in processing, we can bridge the two worlds to better relating.

Most people on the spectrum are intellectual thinkers; processing things analytically based on facts and details. Most of us, especially women, are emotional thinkers; processing information emotionally (seeking the emotional meaning of the information). We look for the overall emotional meaning that the information has for us. The emotional context is the glue that gives information meaning to many NT people. This helps add meaning to the central coherence (overall meaning). NT people do not naturally perceive facts as detail, devoid of emotional meaning. They naturally look for the overall emotional meaning to interpret the facts. This is why we often do not see the facts/details, very well. They are filtered by or emotional interpretation.

People on the spectrum have stronger associative and procedural memory (factual memories) then NT people. They are very good at remembering factual detail, because it is how they process information. Now, that doesn’t mean they don’t remember strong emotions that are associated with an event, just not the emotional “meaning” the event has on them. For example, if an event had strong feelings attached to it (like pain) they may remember the strong feelings that were associated with the information (associative memory). However they would be weaker at remembering the emotional meaning (since they don’t tend to process information that way.).

Now, given that, NT people tend not to focus on concrete detailed facts about an event. We tend to remember the “episodic memories” of the event. Episodic memories are the emotional meaning that the event has for them. Whereas we tend to process information emotionally, rather than intellectually (factually), we tend to remember the emotional meaning (episodic memory) of the event. We tend to easily forget the factual details of the event, but hold onto the overall emotional meaning the event had for us. Without the emotional meaning, the event has little importance to us. For example, if you and I were to have gone to an amusement park many years ago, I would probably have forgotten most of the details of the event. However I would keenly remember the emotional meaning the event had for me. I would have only vague memory of the sequential details of what we did, but I would remember that we had a lot of fun doing it together. I would remember the fond memories of having lots of fun “experiencing” the event together. I would hold onto the emotional meaning of the event and forget most of the factual details. Most likely a person on the spectrum would hold onto many of the factual memories while the emotional, experiential memories might be weaker.

This differences in “emotional” verses “factual-intellectual” processing explains much of the differences in social relating. NT people tend to interact “emotionally” with one another, while most people on the spectrum tend to interact “intellectually.” Again, the differences in how we process information tends to pattern how we interact. When relating with others, NT people emotionally filter most of what is being said; reading between the lines looking for the emotional meaning. We immediately interpret what is said by how we read the person’s thoughts, feelings, perspectives and intentions. The “sharing of experiences” with others holds strong emotional meaning for us. The emotional meaning provides the backdrop for interpreting the facts.

This has strong impact around what motivates us to relate with one another. Most of us tend to relate with others because of the need for emotionally connecting with others. People on the spectrum tend to relate more around an intellectual interest. They enjoy relating with others when the interaction is centred around a common interest that they can intellectually relate around. They can get very excited to relate when it is around an intellectual endeavour that interests them. However, the conversation is usually very “facts” related. Now, with NT people you can see some of these differences between men and women. Women tend to be more relate for emotional reasons, whereas mean tend to relate around a common interest. Women can go out for dinner and spend hour simply “relating”, talking about whatever. Men, on the other hand, have to have and activity (golf, football, etc.) or intellectual topic (e.g. politics) to talk about. We feel uneasy with simply chatting (sharing) with no specific topic to centre us. This difference is what causes conflict between men and women! They often complain how us men do not (emotionally) read them right. They expect men to read between the line and get what is emotionally important for them. We often “don’t get it!”

Emotional reasoning also has it down falls. It tends to make NT people less reliable when remembering facts of an event. We tend to see what we want to see, and/or cloud the facts with what we “expect” to see. Factual memory is a much stronger asset for people on the spectrum. They are much more reliable in remembering the facts. There are pros and cons to both types of informational processing. Emotional processing, as much as it gives strong meaning for NT people, can also cloud our thinking. We often misjudge the actual facts because we tend to “read too much” into it. We immediately start interpreting our experiences in terms of our past “episodic/emotional memories” to give meaning to the experience. In doing so, we often misjudge the true intent of others, or the meaning behind what is truly happening. We often read intent into what people say or do that may not really be there, and we tend to look for underlying messages that are often not intended.

This explains why many NT people misjudge the actions of people on the spectrum. We tend to emotionally read “intent” behind their actions that are not really there. This causes NT people to get upset at some of comments and action of people on the spectrum, when there is actually no intent to “hurt their feelings” or effect them in any way. So, this results in two primary problems: (1) people on the spectrum cannot read the emotional meaning behind the intent of we say, and (2) we attach emotional meaning to what they say, when it is not really there (they mean literally what they are saying. As people on the spectrum say, if NT people would “say what they mean, and mean what they say” we would get along just fine!

These differences in “emotional reasoning” and “intellectual reasoning” provide two unique styles of processing. It is too bad that people cannot be strong at both of them. However, these two different modes of processing explain why we experience the world much more differently then each other. To help bridge our two “cultures” together, both parties need to get a better understanding how each other processes information, so we can better understand how we experience the world around us.

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