Tania A. Marshall, M.Sc., Clinical Psychotherapist and Trainer/Presenter

I am AspienGIRL©: Female Asperger Syndrome and Superpowers

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I am AspienGIRL©: Female Asperger Syndrome and Superpowers

AsperPower:  \as-per-pow-er \ ;

  1. a unique characteristic, trait or gift or combination thereof.
  2. a superpower(s) possessed by someone with Asperger Syndrome
  3. a supersonic sense, power or ability
  4. of or relating to the original work of Hans Asperger

AspienGirl© : \as-pee-en-ger-l\ ; Aspienwoman :\as-pee-en-wo-man\

  1. a young female from Planet Aspien; an adult female from Planet Aspien
  2. a female with Asperger Syndrome; possessing a different profile than a male with Asperger Syndrome
  3. a female with a differently wired brain

Planet Aspien©: \pla-nət\ : \as-pee-en\

1. A Planet where Aspiens originate

2. A platform that supports, advocates and is focused on the unique strengths, abilities and gifts of girls and women with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism

3. A place where females can feel empowered, supported and understood.

 

Over many years of working with females of all ages with Autism or Asperger Syndrome, I have found these special individuals to possess a unique combination of abilities, characteristics and traits. A large part of my work involves advocating, educating and promoting a strengths-based descriptive model for Individuals with Autism. The language and the words we use have power. In my work, I use a model that focuses on assessing and describing people based on their strengths, skills, abilities, gifts and/or talents. That is not to say that we don’t address or work on challenges, but that is another article. This is an article that encourages people to learn about the positives, how females with aspergers have contributed and contribute to the world though the use of their unique Asperpowers. In my clinical work, I have met people of all ages with Autism who have a stunning array of diverse abilities, talents and gifts.

The following briefly describes my Top 10 commonly seen strengths, gifts, qualities or asperpowers of girls and women with Asperger Syndrome and/or High Functioning Autism, unique, in combination, to Aspiengirl or Aspienwomen. I refer to these qualities as Superpowers, or Asperpowers because time and time again I have seen these very qualities when utilized or harnessed, lead to a successful life, and/or career.

Let’s now celebrate/learn more about the unique superpowers that girls and women with Asperger Syndrome possess.

1. Asperpower Intelligence: The ability to have an intelligence quotient rangling from from high average to genius levels, as compared to their peers. Aspiengirls/women posess intellectual capabilities that give them a distinct advantage in terms of learning, obtaining and education and many degrees, including PhD-level qualifications. Many Aspiens are life-long learners.

2. Asperpower Teacher/Self-Taught:  The innate ability to teach one-self a task, skill, or course rather than learn it from or in a standard formal setting. For example, teaching oneself how to dance and then later becoming a dance instructor or teaching oneself computer programs and later teaching them to children.

3. Asperpower Introspection and Curiosity: The ability to be a deep reflective and introspective thinker with an intense craving for knowledge, needing to know the answers to an endless array of questions and a focus on her “inner world”. This need to understand how things work, the answers to questions and philosophizing can tend to be intense. Combined with Asperpower Hyperfocus, this introspective curiosity often leads one into becoming an expert in their chosen field of interest. Aspiengirls are often knows as “people who are in their heads too much”, the thinkers, or the “little philosopher”, enjoying her own rich and complex inner life.

4. Asperpower Hyperfocus/Obsession: The ability to spend long periods of time involved in their special interest, at times to the extremes of not eating, taking a break, focusing for hours, and if left to her own devices—for days. For example, an author is writing a book, an artist completing a painting or a web designer creating a website in a few days, taking very few breaks, but completing a major project, from start to finish.

5. Asperpower Solitude:  Often described as “being in her own world”, the ability to be alone, work, read or other task for extended periods of time, without the desire or need to socialize. The powers of introversion over socializing enables Aspiens to devote more time to their special interest(s). Many an Aspien spends long periods of time writing, reading, programming, creating, painting or drawing, with only their pets as company. Aspiergirls tend to prefer one-on-one interaction compared to groups activities, are often better able to express themselves through writing, art, singing or other means, enjoy periods of solitude, enjoy work that allows them  to “dive in” with as few interruptions as possible.

6. Asperpower Creativity: Used in combination with other Asperpowers, Aspiengirls are highly creative, imaginative, or creatively attuned. They have the ability to tie together things that they see into complex and original concepts. This makes them visionaries who create original, unique works of art, spaces, object, or writing.

For those with artistic inclinations, along with their “sensing abilities” and attention to detail, can be successful creators. This superpower closely ties in with the superpower introspection in that the imagination and a deep fascination with the inner world can lead to careers as best-selling authors, writers, painters, and artists.

7. Asperpower Intuition, Emotional Empathy and Ecological Empathy: Many females are highly sensitive, empathizing with others, often experiencing other people’s emotions as if they were our own, a term I refer to as “referred emotion”, the tuning into other people’s energy and emotional states. Referred emotion makes it easy for Aspiens to surmise what others need and want and can make their relationships deeply authentic and caring. This superpower gift gives Aspiens the ability to be of service to others, leading to the strong ability to connect with sources of information and obtain answers or solutions beyond what is explicable through analysis, reasoning, logic or intelligence. Often, they “just know”, although they may not be able to tell you how they know what they know. Ecological Empathy is the ability to sense the well-being and conditions of one’s environment and natural setting, animals and/or nature. This ability can enable them to communicate with animals, of all kinds, and get them to perform tasks on command. The tendency to be more aware and to experience stronger inner emotional states, can make for richer and more profound creative work as writers, musicians, actors or other artists. High sensitivity to other people’s emotions, animals or nature can be a powerful asset for teachers, managers, therapists, advocates, animal rights and human rights activists.

 8. Asperpower talents and gifts: The ability to possess innate natural strengths and abilities which may include one or more of the following, which often can be observed from early on in life: languages, music, art, acting, writing, helping others, working with animals or nature, editing, entrepreneurship, health professionals, teachers and special educators, technology, science, lifelong learning, an expert in one of more subjects or areas.

9. Asperpower Independence, Strong Will and Sheer Determination: The desire to do things for herself, an Aspien seldom takes “no” for an answer and tends to be resistant to allowing others to do things for her or ask for help, even if she needs it. while it may take her longer to achieve than her peers, When an Aspien is determined and has her mind set on a particular goal, she has an almost 100% chance of achieving it.

10.  Asperpower Perfection: Born perfectionists, Aspiens are conscientious, hard workers, who strive for perfection. They try hard to avoid making mistakes or forgetting things, tending to perform best when strangers are not present.

 

 

Be Your Own Superhero Image

For more information or to follow AspienGIRL©: BE Your Own Superhero, please go to:
WWW: http://www.aspiengirl.com.au
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aspiengirl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AspienGIRL

Tania Marshall©. 2013. All rights reserved. Duplication in whole or part is explicitly forbidden. Thank you.

 

Posted in Uncategorized28 Comments

28 thoughts on “I am AspienGIRL©: Female Asperger Syndrome and Superpowers”

  1. Love, love, love this. I will be showing this to my Aspie daughter. Thanks so much for posting!

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  4. Excellent and inspiring post! Focusing on our strengths, regardless of diagnosis, is a powerful and life altering way to see and be in this incredible life. Thank you!

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  5. What a fantastic piece for our girls to read. Thank you so much for the positive slant.

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  6. Thank you. So many times we only see the problems Asperger’s face. It is so nice to see our positive traits put into print. Maybe if we can promote the positives instead of the problems we won’t be as impacted when the ‘real world’ problems are staring us in the face. We do have special talents–we need to concentrate and promote those to the world. Asperger’s should be a title of esteem. WE ARE SPECIAL IN A GOOD WAY. Do not pity us, pity those who do not understand us.

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  7. I am also an AspienGirl. One plus of being an actor with aspergers is it is easy for me to learn the script (super power #4). As an ensemble character in Legally Blonde, I could recite the leads. This is not limited to shows I was in — I had CATS memorized before I even signed up to do it, and knowing all the music and the dance style helped me to get a really good role at my first year in the theater company. I could also recite Starship verbatim; I know more about the Harry Potter world than most people in America; and I can quote Mean Girls after seeing it twice.

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  8. Emma, thank-you for your message. I know quite a few actors/actresses on the Soectrum. In fact, it is these superpowers, as you said, that give Aspiens an edge in certain careers, in particular Acting. Emma, could I contact you to discuss about an upcoming project of mine?

    Reply

  9. I have all of these qualities, but not OCD enough to get the diagnosis. Drives me nuts! Everything I read about Aspie girls sounds just like me!

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    1. Hi Laura, thanks for your message. You do not need to have all these characteristics to have a diagnosis. Most if not all Aspiens have anxiety, but not all have OCD. Keep searching until you find what makes sense to you:-)

      Reply

  12. Love this! It’s so true. I’m a writer, and my latest novel, ROGUE, is based on my own experiences growing up on the spectrum. My main character sees herself in the X-Men character Rogue, and she wants most of all to find a friend and her own special power.

    Reply

  13. Reblogged this on sonnolenta… and commented:
    This is a great post about positive female Aspergers/High Functioning Autism traits. I don’t think I would be who I am today if I wasn’t on the autism spectrum. For as much as my neurological situation has made my life difficult and stressful, it has also made my life fascinating, incredible and worth living to it’s fullest.

    Not a day goes by that I don’t feel blessed to be able to see things in my own unique way. I will be writing more about these “gifts” in the future, because I think it’s important to recognize the many positive attributes of the autistic mind. I don’t want it to seem like I am dwelling on the negative, but to be honest, the following statement is true: “When you are a high functioning autistic, others fail to see your disability. When you are a low functioning autistic, others fail to see you ability.”

    You see, it’s a Catch-22. And, labels stink, despite the fact that they are everywhere. While I am a high functioning autistic, what this means is that people often fail to grasp the depth of how my neurology has impacted my life. They don’t see my disability, and they certainly don’t feel it the way that I have. On the flip side of that coin, take someone with classic or non-verbal autism. They are seen as “low functioning” by neurotypical standards. Organizations like Autism Speaks see disability instead of ability. I see a mind full of amazing possibility.

    I will be writing more about all of this in the future. I recently ordered Tania’s book and I am excited for it’s release! Thank you Tania, for your incredible insight into the world of the female autism spectrum.

    Reply

  14. What a magnificent, uplifting and inspiring list. I can’t wait to read more from you. Thank you, Charla.

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  15. Thank you so much for sharing this information. Your books, website, etc. will help a lot of girls and women understand themselves better. Knowledge is power.

    In 2013, my then 15 yr. old son was diagnosed with Asperger’s. In 2014, I realized that my other son, then 19 yrs. old, also had Asperger’s. In 2015, I began thinking that maybe my then 21 yr. old daughter might be an AspienGirl. I found your website and I realized that I’m an AspienWoman.

    My children went to a private church school and I learned Latin and Greek to became a teacher at their school to help with the cost of their tuition. I have a BS degree in Human Development. I have no background in languages. Asperpower-Self taught/Teacher.

    Now I’m working from home as an author while I’m helping my youngest, now 18 yrs. old achieve his dreams of becoming a music producer. I’ve published the first book in my 8 book Christian fiction series and the second book will be out this year. Asperpower – Creativity.

    I have all of the Asperpowers you’ve listed. It’s wonderfully empowering/encouraging to see that I’m not weird. You’ve helped raise my self-esteem up a few notches. Thank you, again. Your work is not in vain.

    Reply

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