ASC's and ageing
Stereotypes are for lazy minds. They reduce one's ability or capacity to think, and when one uses stereotypes, people are lumped into categories or boxes, and as a result, individual differences aren't allowed for or taken into account. That said, I have noticed, from my experiences at least, that as a whole, people with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome seem to age well, and often look younger than what they are.
At Secondary School, I remember some of the girls bragging about getting served alcohol in pubs at the age of 14. Whether they were telling the truth or not I have no idea. However, I do know that if I had gone into a pub at the age of 14 and asked for a pint of beer, I would have been laughed at! I was challenged about my age by a barmaid in November 1994, three months after my 18th birthday. I had to argue very hard to convince the barmaid that I was old enough to purchase intoxicating liquor at a bar.
This wasn't an isolated incident either. In January 1993, aged 16 years and five months, I tried to get served in a pub close to my home, and I was refused. Then, in March 1994, I tried to get into a nightclub for the first ever time, and was turned away. I succeeded a month later, but I never have cared for nightclubs, and don't go to them nowadays, so I guess it was of no great loss to myself.
Theories I have for this, if true, are that perhaps Aspies and Autistic people are less likely to smoke, binge drink alcohol. As with regards for getting into illegal drugs, they are unlikely to have the social contacts in order to do so. Perhaps they age as much as NT's. Perhaps I am simply going on my own observations and experiences. Perhaps there are Aspies and Autistic people out there who do look older than their chronological age.
At Secondary School, I remember some of the girls bragging about getting served alcohol in pubs at the age of 14. Whether they were telling the truth or not I have no idea. However, I do know that if I had gone into a pub at the age of 14 and asked for a pint of beer, I would have been laughed at! I was challenged about my age by a barmaid in November 1994, three months after my 18th birthday. I had to argue very hard to convince the barmaid that I was old enough to purchase intoxicating liquor at a bar.
This wasn't an isolated incident either. In January 1993, aged 16 years and five months, I tried to get served in a pub close to my home, and I was refused. Then, in March 1994, I tried to get into a nightclub for the first ever time, and was turned away. I succeeded a month later, but I never have cared for nightclubs, and don't go to them nowadays, so I guess it was of no great loss to myself.
Theories I have for this, if true, are that perhaps Aspies and Autistic people are less likely to smoke, binge drink alcohol. As with regards for getting into illegal drugs, they are unlikely to have the social contacts in order to do so. Perhaps they age as much as NT's. Perhaps I am simply going on my own observations and experiences. Perhaps there are Aspies and Autistic people out there who do look older than their chronological age.
posted by Kaspieman at
11:11:00 pm
2 Comments:
Maybe your experiences of the 14 year old girls as skewed your perceptions. Girls do find it easier to look older than they are using make-up and they're also naturally more mature looking. Add to this that most door staff (esp back in those days) were men and men are genetically predisposed to pander to the wants of women…including the want to get into a nightclub.
As for alcohol, I'm not sure if there is evidence that states that insomniacs are more likely t become alcoholics but I know there is evidence that insomniacs are more likely to "fall off the wagon" if they are alcoholic. The point here is that insomnia is a common symptom in people with Asperger's.
I don't think that there is any relation either way TBH, and that some people look older than they are and some people look younger than they are.
Thanks for the warning about insomnia.
Makes it even more important to get a good night's sleep! And alcohol may very well disrupt the body clock, along with other effects. And there's staying up late as well.
When you made your last paragraph, I thought that many people with ASCs are more likely to follow safety warnings, like the one about the sun and skin cancer. That one is a real age maker, as are the solariums!
Also, the fingers and hands can tell you how old somebody is, as well as how hard they work. So take care of those joints. (Maybe excessive computering wears them out: try to find out if there is a correlation)!
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