My ASD Child: Remarkable Traits That Your Child on the Autism Spectrum Has That “Typical” Kids May Not Have

In the social world, there is not a huge benefit to a precise eye for detail; however, in the worlds of cataloguing, computing, engineering, linguistics, math, music, and science, such an eye for detail is crucial.

The genes for ASD Level 1 [High-Functioning Autism] include a combination of abilities that have operated throughout recent human evolution and have made remarkable contributions to human history.

Here are just a few of the “abilities” associated with ASD (i.e., a low central coherence cognitive style):

1. Visual, three-dimensional thinking – most people on the autism spectrum are very visual in their thought processes, which lends itself to countless useful and creative applications.

2. Logic over emotion – although people with ASD are very emotional at times, they spend so much time ‘computing’ in our minds that they get quite good at it, and they can be very logical in their approach to problem-solving.

3. Internal motivation – they are motivated internally, as opposed to being motivated by praise, money, bills or acceptance - which ensures a job done with conscience and with personal pride.

4. Independent, unique thinking – people on the spectrum tend to spend a lot of time alone and will likely have developed their own unique thoughts as opposed to a ‘herd’ mentality.

5. Honesty – the value of being able to say “the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes.”

6. Higher IQ – some experts say that those with ASD often have a higher than average general IQ.

7. Higher fluid intelligence – scientists have discovered that ASD kids have a higher “fluid intelligence” than neurotypical kids, which is the ability to (a) find meaning in confusion and solve new problems, and (b) draw inferences and understand the relationships of various concepts, independent of acquired knowledge.

8. Focus and diligence – the autistic person’s ability to focus on tasks for a long period of time without needing supervision or incentive.

9. Attention to detail – sometimes with painstaking perfection!

Kids on the spectrum are a varied group of people who are mostly bright, funny, articulate, caring, logical, honest, and persistent – and who just happen to think and behave a bit differently.