Trump's Not a Narcissist: Why I Believe The Donald is Autistic

Has anyone considered that Donald Trump may have Asperger's Syndrome on the Autism Spectrum? I've seen Narcissism brought up several times, but that's one of the classic misdiagnoses for AS. Here's a list of symptoms from http://www.brainbalancecenters.com/blog/2012/02/signs-and-symptoms-of-asperger-syndrome/

Note that not all symptoms are equally present in AS individuals, and personalities, interests, and quirks can vary widely. The list below is designed for children, as we're still studying how individuals adapt as they grow. I've stuck with the personality traits below and left the physical quirks off as those are often grown out of. I am not a psychological professional, merely a person with Asperger's Syndrome, and I cannot legally make a diagnosis.

difficulty making friends of the same age, children with AS may feel more comfortable with adults or much younger children

engages in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is still listening or trying to change the subject

displays unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures

does not empathize with or seems insensitive to others’ feelings and has a hard time “reading” other people or may have difficulty understanding humor

doesn’t understand the give-and-take of conversation or engage in “small talk”

seems egocentric or self-absorbed

may speak in a voice that is monotone, rigid, jerky or unusually fast

may be extremely literal or have difficulty understanding the nuances of language, despite having a good vocabulary

may memorize information and facts easily, especially information related to a topic of interest

may engage in violent outbursts, self-injurious behaviors, tantrums or meltdowns

Taking these one by one, the first trait is difficulty with friendships. Trump has said himself that he has no friends, though it's hard to know if that was a true statement.

One-sided conversations are Trump's specialty, from speeches to monologues to soliloquy. He's convinced he has all the answers, so what else could anyone else possibly have to say? Trump didn't even listen to the other speakers at the RNC.

His gestures and posture are certainly not like those of other cismales, what with the perky-butt pose and the dainty hand modeling and the duck lips.... (I don't know anything about hashtags, but #donaldducklips should be a thing if it's not already.)

Doesn't empathize with others. Here's one of the articles describing Trump's narcissism. Lack of empathy is covered here. 

Difficulty with humor- sarcasm is a particular problem with Aspies. We understand it in theory, but conveying or recognizing it classically doesn't work so well. Here are times Trump claims his sarcasm was misunderstood.

Doesn't understand the give-and-take of conversation or engage in "small talk": this is harder for me to determine because he works in entertainment and these skills can be learned. He does, however, demonstrate a lack of appreciation for diplomacy. Something else I understand from my intimacy with the Spectrum is, when a person habitually dominates conversations, they rarely hear any criticism or disagreement until a situation comes to a head. I think he truly has been surprised by the backlash he has received from the public because no one would dare say such things in his presence. Until now, he has never been on the receiving end of the conversation, the only conversation he ever has: the Trump talk. This is why he feels that the media treats him unfairly. 

Seems egocentric or self-absorbed: again, see one of the many discussing whether or not Trump is a narcissist.

May speak in a voice that is monotone, rigid, jerky, or unusually fast: Scientific American published an analysis of Donald Trump's "idiosyncratic" speech. He uses a notoriously small vocabulary, possibly fitting the description of "rigid, but it also may refer to assigning limited definitions to words. "Rigid" is also used to describe autism spectrum people's tendency to follow the set of rules that makes sense to them, or an adherence to routines. "Pedantic" and "pressured" are other descriptions frequently applied to the speech of spectrum individuals.


May be extremely literal or have difficulty understanding the nuances of language, despite having a good vocabulary: Trump regularly complains that the media misconstrued what he says, but I suspect he honestly doesn't comprehend how his statements are interpreted by others. Here's a discussion on the meaning of his "Second Amendment" comment, and you can also refer back to the "sarcasm" link for more.

May memorize information and facts easily, especially information related to a topic of interest: this may be the truth behind Trump's brag about having a "very good" brain and also the reason he spouts so much bullshit. Remember, Trump doesn't read much so he's probably repeating things he's heard without verifying any of it.

May engage in violent outbursts, self-injurious behaviors, tantrums, or meltdowns: see Trump's Twitter feed.

So there's definitely grounds for speculation here. I haven't seen the autism spectrum considered before, but it shouldn't surprise me. Our culture has a long way to go in recognizing the autism around us. 

Don't let the label fool you

Dear Neurotypical People

Dear Neurotypical People,

 We need you to understand.

In ever 100 random people, approximately 95 are like you- neurotypical. Sure, some are smarter or more talented than others, or might have mental illnesses, but for the most part, your brains have a similar functionality.

Of the other five people, one or two might be severely affected, but mostly the others will come across as a little odd. Eccentric, if they're particularly bright, or maybe just "out there." We're neurodivergent. Many of us are on the Autism Spectrum.

Our struggles may not be obvious to you, and we may spend great amounts of energy to compensate, making them more invisible but still distressing. We were born with brains that work a little differently, and no amount of medication will make us act normal.

 What will help us most is if people like you educate yourselves. If you meet someone with a disorder you've never heard of or don't know much about, don't make assumptions and look it up. It will save a lot of heartache and misunderstandings. Asperger's Syndrome is far more common than people realize, and a huge portion of affected adults are undiagnosed. Your coworker may not just be rude after all, and they may need your understanding.


 Thank you for taking the time to read this.


Raven Wildchild

Finding Our Place in the World

First Lady Michelle Obama released a rap video encouraging young people to go to college, and I have to say it's much better than one would expect from the wife of a President. The message hits a sore spot for me, though, because college was such a difficult time for me that I wasn't able to finish.

It's common for autism spectrum individuals to have difficulty transitioning to independent life, with or without the stresses of school on top of it, and a good portion of us don't have a clear path forward. Then there's the fact that college is designed to best serve the average to above-average neurotypical student, not tailored to the peculiar needs of the exceptional.

Elon Musk deplored the "slow download speed" of standardized schooling, a complaint I shared as a student, and Mark Zuckerberg has recently listed developing personalized education as one of his goals. Every student would benefit from a system that focuses on advancing their talents and interests while slowing the pace for challenges. In a system like that, even Special Education kids can achieve surprising results.

The Internet is the most likely platform to support such a system; online classes have been available for years and are becoming more accessible, and technology is improving at unprecedented rates. Easy access to quality education online is already having a worldwide impact, but we could take it so much further.

I had a college reading level by fourth grade, when the rest of my classmates were just getting into chapter books. This was hardly a secret from my teachers, but I had to sit through the same slow paced literature lessons as the rest and wasn't given any kind of ability-appropriate assignments. The Extended Studies program was better than nothing and got me a head start in math, but still failed to help me reach my full potential.

 I know someone else on the spectrum who had similar experiences. He was a self-taught artist and decided to take a drawing class in his teens. The first day of class, the students were instructed to draw the person sitting across from them so the instructor could gauge their levels of skill. She had barely finished giving instructions when my friend stood up to turn in his drawing. One look at it and the teacher told him, "I have nothing to teach you."

 In addition to trouble finding educational systems that fit our needs, the talents of spectrum individuals are often unusual and our interests obscure. Finding the right career can be daunting or impossible. Vincent Van Gogh is an excellent example- today, people look at his work and think that he obviously found his niche in painting. But even for world class talent that the public remembers for generations, art is not considered a "valid" career, and he was known to forgo food to buy paint.

 Like Van Gogh, spectrum people tend to have obsessions they desperately desire to pursue, but society tells us we must be useful and make money, and that our goals may not be good enough. People frequently suggest that we keep our interests as a hobby, but if Van Gogh had taken a job waiting tables, it would have eaten into the time it took to paint the several thousand canvases he completed in his lifetime, and masterpieces like "Starry Night" would likely never have come to be. To paraphrase the magician Jeff McBride, it takes making a lot of bad art to produce something really good.

Inside that person flipping burgers at McDonald's may be the potential to create world class poetry, but if there's no visible path to recognition and financial gain, their family may see their efforts to be a futile waste of time. I feel Called to be a Wiccan Priestess; I have spent well over 20,000 hours on study and practice, with little to show for it. But it brings me satisfaction I can't express, like nothing else ever has. My mother asks how I expect to make money in this endeavor, and I have no answer for her. Perhaps, as she is a Christian, the answer lies in the question "What would Jesus do?" Today is Christmas, after all...

5 Myths About Brilliant and Talented People

Brilliant people can't possibly be Autistic.

Autism is not an intellectual disability, and contains the whole Bell Curve in its spectrum. In fact, the more we study autism, the more we understand its role in the most brilliant minds in history. Recent studies have shown a genetic link between child prodigies and autism, as well. See Reference here.

 The real kicker is, autism itself may be the very source of a person's unusual talents. According to Temple Grandin's book Different, Not Less, neurotypical people have a type of brain cell called a mirror neuron, which processes information about human behavior by mimicking the same neural  processes as if the observers were engaged in the activity themselves. This lends intuition and social context to neurotypical interactions, and adds the depth of body language, facial expressions, and intonation to communication. People on the Autism Spectrum generally lack these mirror neurons, and therefore cannot process that social information except through logic. If you are neurotypical, you probably spent a lot of energy trying to fit in or find your place in high school society. For a person on the spectrum (often referred to as a geek or nerd in such societies), that energy must be directed elsewhere; the mental energy cannot go to brain cells one lacks, so it is redistributed to memory, creativity, analysis. Autistic individuals tend to like repetition, as well, which may manifest in rehearsing a musical instrument or obsessive pursuit in an area of interest, or simply reading for days on end.

 Brilliant people don't make mistakes.

On the contrary, we seem to make more dramatic ones.

Brilliant people use big words to make average people feel stupid. 

People on the autism spectrum are usually unaware of how other people perceive them, and in my case, I don't recognize  that my vocabulary is unusual until someone points it out. It's the only way I know how to speak. I personally feel that the Asperger's tendency to use formal speech is an unconscious compensation for our lack of nonverbal communication skills; the subtle variations between synonyms fill the void  of nuance otherwise found in inflection or body language.

 Talented people are just naturally good at what they do.

Everyone has a natural affinity for something, be it math or animals or drawing. And most people suffer frustration when they see another person mastering a skill in record time, assuming they themselves don't have "what it takes" to do as well. Extreme talent often shows up in individuals on the Spectrum, but it's not necessarily out of having some special spark that others don't. Even piano prodigies don't play Chopin flawlessly the first time they sit at the keys. It takes time and effort to master a skill- 10,000 hours is the arbitrary rule- but spectrum individuals tend to obsess. If a person spends an hour a day rehearsing an instrument, they can expect mastery in about  28 years. Four hours rehearsal would take 7 years to attain the same proficiency. And a person who is so obsessed they're losing sleep over their music may only take a year or two to wow the world.




Elon Musk is a superhero.

 OK, that one just might be true.

When labels determine how people are treated...

I've been working with mostly the same crew for over two years. As would happen with anyone, there are some people I get along with better than others. One lady who has been there a long time is frequently annoyed by me though she puts on a false face of friendliness, and I try my best to be cordial and not get in her way, but the tension is always hanging in the air. I haven't hidden the fact that I'm on the Spectrum from my coworkers, but I don't bring it up all the time or anything. I assumed it had gotten around. Yesterday I discovered it hadn't.

I was discussing the news with another coworker in the break area where several people were congregated, and Russia's president was mentioned. "They think Putin's on the Autism Spectrum like me!" I blurted out, "He has Asperger's Syndrome too!" The moment the first statement came out of my mouth, the annoyed lady whipped around, and I could see the dawn of understanding on her face, and that old tension I always feel dissipated from the air. Later, I held the door for her when she had a big load, and she called me "Honey" when she thanked me. The way she regards me totally changed.

Why does the label matter? I wasn't diagnosed until I was 27, and the only things I had to go on were the labels "weird" and "too smart." Those don't get you any sympathy, but I still had all the same challenges I had to face. Most Aspies aren't diagnosed at all. Does the world think we're weird on purpose, if we don't have a diagnosis? My fiancée always jokes that when he was young, Asperger's was called "Shut the fuck up, geek." Why is it socially acceptable to gang up on people who are highly intelligent? Every group of Neurotypicals  I encounter tends to ostracize or bully me, and I wonder why, if they can tell I'm different enough to exclude, they don't realize that I'm behaving the only was I know how and just give me the benefit of the doubt and treat me nice. Or is it that the Autism label carries a stigma to be pitied? I don't want pity. I'm the same person I was before I was slapped with the Asperger's diagnosis, and the overcompensation I sometimes encounter can be... demeaning.

 The American culture seems obsessed with labels lately- black or white, gay or straight, etc. But the world contains a million shades of grey and it leaves people trying to hold on to the most socially acceptable label available, even if it's not quite the right one, because there is no doubt that people will treat you differently based on it.

That Awkward Moment People Realize You're Autistic, or "I Like Turtles!"

A couple years ago a video known as "I Like Turtles" went viral, depicting a reporter asking a boy at a fair how he likes his zombie face paint, and his irrelevant reply sends the reporter marching swiftly away. It's an awkward moment, defined by the fact that she expected the boy to be Neurotypical, and was surprised by his classically Autistic behavior. Most people can identify with the reporter's embarrassment; there's no defined social response to discovering an individual is on a very different wavelength than oneself, but typically one doesn't stick around. The reporter from the video changes her entire demeanor when she realizes the boy isn't NT, turning away to quickly ignore the boy, almost with an air of revulsion. Her reaction is not unexpected, especially when considering she had a very brief live report to deliver and no time to take tangents. But life on the receiving end of such treatment isn't pleasant. Autistic spectrum people by definition don't pick up the subtle social cues or subliminal messages that NTs take for granted, but we're not completely oblivious to everything, and some of us are rather brilliant. All of us have our "I like turtles" moments, though, and other behaviors that elicit such reactions, so you'd be hard pressed to find many Spectrum individuals who like who they are. Rates of depression and suicide are many times higher among Autistic people than the general population.

 Our culture is not helping, and I don't just mean that we lack positive pop culture role models. In recent years, the majority of the public conversation around Autism related to vaccine paranoia. Although the studies connecting the two were manipulated and the whole theory since debunked, millions of parents made it very clear that they preferred to risk deathly illness than have a small chance their kid would be like me.

My Asperger's Syndrome is not as pronounced as many on the spectrum, and I'm lucky enough to have received a number of gifts in tandem with my AS: a near genius IQ, ambidexterity, and a 3-day attention span, to name a few. Yet my value to society is hinged on how well I blend in with the Neurotypicals, and I struggle every day to be ordinary because no one cares how many lines of verse you can memorize or instruments you can play if you can't follow the basic unwritten "rules" of society NTs take for granted. (As those unwritten rules vary from culture to culture, perhaps the flaw is in those rules rather than the people who can't follow them...) No matter their IQ, people on the spectrum have difficulty with employment, and while that's changing some, opportunities specifically for Autistic people are currently limited to a few tech companies.

So the subliminal message of American Society is that people on the Spectrum are undesirable as children, of little value as adults, and to be avoided at all times. We are completely marginalized from birth and offered no respite or path to success, all from a culture that claims we are all created equal. About 1% of our population is on the Spectrum, but we seem invisible, shunted to the side, our talents ignored. Forget that Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton and every other genius in history were probably on the Spectrum, and the fact our minds work differently that we are capable of such innovation. Society wants us to fit in or hide away. What else are we supposed to do?