Bronies and Autism

[Ragland Tiger 3,301]

Please. Yes I have an ASD, but that has little or nothing to do with why I watch the show.  Also, I'm old enough to not care weather anyone approves of it or not.  I am not - and have never been - the sum total of a pathology. Only privileged neurotypical types believe that I am.

 

Edited February 19, 2016 by Ragland Tiger

[Rainbow Diamonds 282]

Can I ask how your autism affects you? I have higher functioning autism but it still is hard to function in society, daily tasks, sensory overload, communication issues, etc.  But when I'm in my comfort zone people can't tell. My husband didn't believe me when he first met me (I was playing a video game with a well known friend) and I told him. Then we started dating and he had no doubt after that.

 

I like the show because there are all kinds of personalities and even if they tease or misunderstand each other, no one seems to look down on anyone else or try to change them. I think that would appeal to a lot of autistic people.

I'm selective mute, I have above average intelligence but far bellow average emotional intelligence. I can't function in society because comprehending what people say is difficult, certain frequencies drive me crazy, I'm destructive. I will flap my arms, jump up and down, or cover my ears like a stereotypical autistic person. I get meltdowns easily, and those melt downs involve physical violence. (It's usually to myself.) Making eye contact with someone I don't know is hard, and I still hate eye contact. I always have to be holding something else. I get obsessed with things to the point where I could talk about them endlessly. It's hard for me to learn when I'm not interested which makes school hard. I can learn, but on my own time. You could be praising me, but if I perceive your tone as sarcasm (which I mistakenly do a lot) I would think you're being sarcastic. I see the world in black and white. Either you love me or you hate me. I'm smart or I'm stupid. I'm good or I'm evil. You're nice or you're a bully. etc. I don't understand social cues and would have to be told that what I'm doing is wrong. The fact that I can't handle criticism makes that hard. 

[Aurora Storm 83]

I'm selective mute, I have above average intelligence but far bellow average emotional intelligence. I can't function in society because comprehending what people say is difficult, certain frequencies drive me crazy, I'm destructive. I will flap my arms, jump up and down, or cover my ears like a stereotypical autistic person. I get meltdowns easily, and those melt downs involve physical violence. (It's usually to myself.) Making eye contact with someone I don't know is hard, and I still hate eye contact. I always have to be holding something else. I get obsessed with things to the point where I could talk about them endlessly. It's hard for me to learn when I'm not interested which makes school hard. I can learn, but on my own time. You could be praising me, but if I perceive your tone as sarcasm (which I mistakenly do a lot) I would think you're being sarcastic. I see the world in black and white. Either you love me or you hate me. I'm smart or I'm stupid. I'm good or I'm evil. You're nice or you're a bully. etc. I don't understand social cues and would have to be told that what I'm doing is wrong. The fact that I can't handle criticism makes that hard. 

Interesting. I tend to assume everything is sarcasm too. I'm told most autistic people take everything at face value. I've got the obsession and focusing issues too. Does the show help calm you? I find that when I'm over stimulated it helps me relax. I watched a whole season in a day because I was too agitated to do anything else.

[Rainbow Diamonds 282]

Interesting. I tend to assume everything is sarcasm too. I'm told most autistic people take everything at face value. I've got the obsession and focusing issues too. Does the show help calm you? I find that when I'm over stimulated it helps me relax. I watched a whole season in a day because I was too agitated to do anything else.

It doesn't calm me, but I enjoy it, especially the music. For some reason, I'm fine with Pinkie Pie. The main way it helps is by drowning out a lot of the sounds going on. Though listening to music in general has that effect. Another reason I like it is for the same reason a lot of people hate Rarity Investigates. I prefer predictability. 

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,128]

I have mild autism myself. And I'm proud to be a brony! MLP pride, baby!  /)

If I wasn't introduced to MLP in high school, 5 years ago, I wouldn't be where I am now.

I know it may sound cliché, but I have made more friends than I did during my 17 years as a non-brony, and I made some good friends, I might add. I also gained more social skills by watching the show. I've matured more socially because of MLP, but I still have more social maturing to do, yes, but you can see the difference if you compared the "now" me to the non-brony me.

[Jonny Music 3,314]

19 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

I have mild autism myself. And I'm proud to be a brony! MLP pride, baby!  /)

If I wasn't introduced to MLP in high school, 5 years ago, I wouldn't be where I am now.

I know it may sound cliché, but I have made more friends than I did during my 17 years as a non-brony, and I made some good friends, I might add. I also gained more social skills by watching the show. I've matured more socially because of MLP, but I still have more social maturing to do, yes, but you can see the difference if you compared the "now" me to the non-brony me.

Good to know I'm not the only High-functioning autistic (or mild autistic) Brony who agrees and has gone through similar things in life.

I even made an article of how much the show changed my life for the better:

http://raisetheflagforautism.com/asd-and-me/

[Will Guide 21,331]

On 2/1/2016 at 1:25 PM, Photon Jet said:

I couldn't agree better myself. I'm also an autistic brony and I find nothing bad about it at all. True it makes me and others wired differently and sometimes do not understand some subjects we learn in educational facilities like school and university but that's what makes us special. We can even think and believe things others cannot. I'm not bragging like Rainbow Dash or anything but think of it as a hidden power.

 

My theory suggests that anyone who says autism is a bad thing currently doesn't know what it really is. I think there are also those who are scared by it because they can't understand the concept of it.

 

On 2/1/2016 at 1:34 PM, Johnny1226 said:

I have asperger syndrome it might make me a bit more interested in the show than normal but that's about it ,it's no different than all the other things I have become obsessed in like warhammer 40k, or creating an empire

 

On 2/1/2016 at 4:05 PM, Rawzy said:

Well aspergus actually makes it harder for you to socialize and can sometimes make you feel quite lonely :/ Trust me I know, I have been diagnosed with aspergus.

 

I think by watching the show, and because most of the ponies in the show are quite friendly and positive, it makes you feel like they are your friends. So for people with aspergus, this will make them feel much better about themselves, etc. This is all off personal experience btw.

 

Personally I like the feeling of not being the same as the majority of people, I'm not sure if that is related to aspergus though, so I guess that is another reason why I watch the show... 

 

On 2/6/2016 at 11:10 AM, Randimaxis said:

I have Asperger's; so what?

 

On 2/17/2016 at 3:10 PM, ----- said:

I have asperger's as well and recently asked myself why I like the show, except of the fact that it is entertaining.

I myself have Asperger's like most of the people I quoted above. 

It's true that I'm not very social offline and I even have a hard time opening up to my family about my inner thoughts, due to my Asperger's. Despite that, I love the show for its humor, colorful characters and their personalities, and life lessons, where most applied not only to Children, but to Adults as well. Whether social or not, young or old, male or female, white or black, straight or gay, we all deserve to spend time with these characters and what they learn about friendship and life!

[Nerdy Luigi 2,064]

I would post in this thread about myself, but the problem would be that I don't know if I have Asperger's or not, though I strongly believe that I do (being that I fit almost perfectly into that mold). SOOO, I'll just talk about it then.

I actually originally watched the show because it was something I wanted to see before I committed suicide (yes, I was VERY much suicidal at the time, and I still occasionally have suicidal thoughts and also do suicidal things today). I was so impressed, and it gave me a new lease on life with it's positive and friendly charm. Though now for me it's mainly about the fact I think it's one of the best cartoons ever, I love the characters, the lessons, the humor... I love it all. I enjoy watching the show.

I would be crying right now if I were more capable of it.

[Techno Universal 2,575]

For me I'm autistic but I've learned how to do something that I believe nobody else is capable of and that's being able to get on top of my own system mentally. I view myself as an advanced file system network and this makes it a lot simpler to explain workings and principals of the mental system as I'm able to use computer terms. This has also allowed me to independently lean about human behaviour off my own behaviour and I can edit anything in my behaviour and personality at will if I'm motivated to like if I make a mistake. Also how autistic people can be destructive during panic attacks is something that's in me to except there's a switch between it so I can easily refrain from doing any sort of destructive things and the switch has become  better at preventing this during attacks as I've gotten older. Like I would smash things when I was a 10 year old during panic attacks but that's something I have control of now because of the switch. But I can still flick the switch at will and turn from a highly controlled and passive person to an unstoppable killer of destruction. I can use the switch in emergency situations like if somebody attempts to attack me out in the streets. So if I get into a situation like this the switch might actually save me from being killed by a sick and unstable person out in the streets. Now the main reason I enjoy MLP is because it's me in every way like my personality is a combination of the main 6 and equestria feels like a world that I engineered and created. I've now got plans to create a perfect human society with introducing the ponies from MLP to live with us and show the way forward. The technology behind it is something I call universal energy aand it's known as magic in equestria plus universal energy enabled the creation of computers that were only the size of a modern day CPU that where powerful enough to run several simulated universes within them. It's an exciting and beautiful future ahead of us because of my existence.  

[Stardust Balance 7,716]

3 minutes ago, Techno Universal said:

For me I'm autistic but I've learned how to do something that I believe nobody else is capable of and that's being able to get on top of my own system mentally.

"Nobody else is capable of?" Kid, I learnt this trick ages ago. I've learnt how to suppress the more random sides to my condition and develop a sense of civil maturity. I'm certain other autistic people have this "ability" too. 

[Jonny Music 3,314]

13 minutes ago, Stardust Balance said:

"Nobody else is capable of?" Kid, I learnt this trick ages ago. I've learnt how to suppress the more random sides to my condition and develop a sense of civil maturity. I'm certain other autistic people have this "ability" too. 

That is true. Everyone struggles with themselves and not just them vs the world.

Some of us here have already figured out what purpose we have in our lives while others have not and/or are still learning more about themselves to figure out their life purpose.

Heck, even self-discipline is part of that. I believe what Techno was referring to was self-discipline. 

Edited July 2, 2017 by Jonny Music
Added some more sentences.

[Techno Universal 2,575]

5 hours ago, Stardust Balance said:

"Nobody else is capable of?" Kid, I learnt this trick ages ago. I've learnt how to suppress the more random sides to my condition and develop a sense of civil maturity. I'm certain other autistic people have this "ability" too. 

Probably because of how I'm in the layout of a computer file network mentally it seems like the ability is a lot more advanced and powerful than everyone else. Plus through this ability I've been able to bypass most of the speach and behaviour control issues but it's not 100% perfect just yet but it would probably get to that stage eventually in a year or two from now.

 

4 hours ago, Jonny Music said:

That is true. Everyone struggles with themselves and not just them vs the world.

Some of us here have already figured out what purpose we have in our lives while others have not and/or are still learning more about themselves to figure out their life purpose.

Heck, even self-discipline is part of that. I believe what Techno was referring to was self-discipline. 

It actually makes sense that it might be self discipline but in my prospective it looks like I'm changing something in a complex file network. Like I even get the deep feeling that I'm adding or changing something in the network when I'm doing something in there. Plus even though I've found my purpose I'm still learning about myself and how big and complex I am mentally. Like at this point it seems it's another infinite universe that's inside my head thats's running everything so it seems like I'm literally almost infinite inside my system mentally. Fun fact my real life name is John so I'm guessing it's the same as you Johnny and me and my dad are really into music and DJing too! 

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Well, I'm just your friendly neighbourhood moderator for the MLP forums...and I also coincidentally happen to be on the autism spectrum.  The whole Brony phenomenon in general is fascinating, and is probably part of why I have chosen to be a part of it, but I couldn't tell you what the connection might be between Bronydom and AS.  I mean, I have a BA of Sociology and I am currently a Behaviour Interventionist who works with kids on the spectrum, and I still can't provide much in the way of helpful insight on the matter, though that just makes the whole phenomenon that much more fascinating.

Oh, and I don't know why there seems to be a trend of linking the fandom with autism and making jokes about it.  I don't get why that's supposed to be funny, and I don't particularly care for it.  

[Guest]

I think it doesn't really matter too much. Just a coincidence.

[Deleted3133333 3,560]

So, I too, have Asperger Syndrome, which seems to be a recurring theme on this topic. So I won't go into that. Instead, I've got a message to anyone who calls this fandom autistic.

 

I have but three points to make. The first: stop calling the fandom autistic. Autism is an actual medical condition, and you can't just go throwing stuff like that around. That would be like if I decided to randomly called people OCD and laughed about it. It's rude, and it's just plain stupid, honestly. You can't just label a huge group of people with a disease. It's like those people that decide all of Africa must have HIV/AIDS. It's not true (and obviously so), it's rude, and it's dumb. There's no point in doing it. Even if there was a 99% majority, it's still wrong to label the entire group. And there's definitely not a majority anywhere near that high.

The second: stop using autism as an insult. There's honestly nothing wrong with having autism. It just means your brain works a little differently than other people. And, FYI, everyone's brain works a little differently. There's no such thing as a perfect brain any more than there is such a thing as a perfect human. Some of the smartest people I know have autism, and I'll bet you anything you want that part of their success was due to that autism. Having your brain wired a little differently isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yeah, my autism and my social anxiety makes talking to people about important stuff pretty dang hard. But without my autism, I wouldn't be anywhere near as focused on my studies, and I would have no big plans for the future. Autism may be detrimental in some facets, but it can help other places. Everyone has a weak spot. So stop targeting ours.

And third, even if the fandom was entirely autistic, and there was something wrong with autism, it's still hurtful to all the people who are actively trying to fight the effects, like @Techno Universal I personally have taken to viewing human society in the form of a wolf pack to try and understand all of the complex social hierarchies. When we are actively trying to improve, it's definitely wrong to shoot us down over something we can't control. When you couldn't ride a bike, and you were still trying to learn how, did you parents scream at you because you failed? No. Because that's not a rational thing to do. Pointing out someone's faults that they are trying to improve is entirely pointless.

Edited July 2, 2017 by ShadowDash13
Spelling, and such things

[Techno Universal 2,575]

17 minutes ago, ShadowDash13 said:

So, I too, have Asperger Syndrome, which seems to be a recurring theme on this topic. So I won't go into that. Instead, I've got a message to anyone who calls this fandom autistic.

 

I have but three points to make. The first: stop calling the fandom autistic. Autism is an actual medical condition, and you can't just go throwing stuff like that around. That would be like if I decided to randomly called people OCD and laughed about it. It's rude, and it's just plain stupid, honestly. You can't just label a huge group of people with a disease. It's like those people that decide all of Africa must have HIV/AIDS. It's not true (and obviously so), it's rude, and it's dumb. There's no point in doing it. Even if there was a 99% majority, it's still wrong to label the entire group. And there's definitely not a majority anywhere near that high.

The second: stop using autism as an insult. There's honestly nothing wrong with having autism. It just means your brain works a little differently than other people. And, FYI, everyone's brain works a little differently. There's no such thing as a perfect brain any more than there is such a thing as a perfect human. Some of the smartest people I know have autism, and I'll bet you anything you want that part of their success was due to that autism. Having your brain wired a little differently isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yeah, my autism and my social anxiety makes talking to people about important stuff pretty dang hard. But without my autism, I wouldn't be anywhere near as focused on my studies, and I would have no big plans for the future. Autism may be detrimental in some facets, but it can help other places. Everyone has a weak spot. So stop targeting ours.

And third, even if the fandom was entirely autistic, and there was something wrong with autism, it's still hurtful to all the people who are actively trying to fight the effects, like @Techno Universal I personally have taken to viewing human society in the form of a wolf pack to try and understand all of the complex social hierarchies. When we are actively trying to improve, it's definitely wrong to shoot us down over something we can't control. When you couldn't ride a bike, and you were still trying to learn how, did you parents scream at you because you failed? No. Because that's not a rational thing to do. Pointing out someone's faults that they are trying to improve is entirely pointless.

The thing with me is that I've developed a system in my head that's exploited the positive things about my autism to the physical limit. It started when I become a brony in mid 2014 and from then is when I started to really excel and thrive mentally. I can even now see myself internally and make changes when I need to plus I've learned a lot to do with human behaviour and workings through it and it's even allowed me to outsmart myself in a way and see exactly what other people are going to react to things. Even I lean extremely fast because of it and I believe that my brain has become wired in a way where I can change myself at will and it might even be some sort of genetic mutation that's the beginning of a new evolution in humans.

[Stardust Balance 7,716]

24 minutes ago, Techno Universal said:

The thing with me is that I've developed a system in my head that's exploited the positive things about my autism to the physical limit. It started when I become a brony in mid 2014 and from then is when I started to really excel and thrive mentally. I can even now see myself internally and make changes when I need to plus I've learned a lot to do with human behaviour and workings through it and it's even allowed me to outsmart myself in a way and see exactly what other people are going to react to things. Even I lean extremely fast because of it and I believe that my brain has become wired in a way where I can change myself at will and it might even be some sort of genetic mutation that's the beginning of a new evolution in humans.

...I'm sensing a vibe of smugness from you. Don't let your "unique" abilities try to get the better of you mate. As I previously said, you're not the only rare apple on the tree.

[Techno Universal 2,575]

8 minutes ago, Stardust Balance said:

...I'm sensing a vibe of smugness from you. Don't let your "unique" abilities try to get the better of you mate. As I previously said, you're not the only rare apple on the tree.

But still even though it may seem I know everything about my workings it's still nothing compared to how big I truly am mentally. Because my mental system is constantly expanding I can't keep up with it so in the end I know very little about myself because I'm much bigger than anyone can imagine. It's just I haven't explored out that far inside my system yet and it's probably the same for everyone. Everyone is a lot bigger inside than what they can even imagine but maybe one day somebody will manage to fully explore themselves.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Techno Universal

[Tiny Hoofs 200]

I have autism! Well, specifically Asperger's. It's kind of a blessing and a curse in a lot of ways. On one hoof I find it very hard to be social and I'm very socially awkward, and on the other hoof I perform very well academically and can quickly learn a lot about any subject that interests me. I'm not sure if I would want to be "cured" or whatever. But help with my social issues is always appreciated.

It's not surprising that this show has a lot of autistic fans. It is basically a show which teaches prosocial morals which are easy to understand. The fact that the characters are animals, they're very expressive and their interests are well-defined also probably explains the hype.

I don't really care if people want to call bronies autistic. I try not to let it bother me. It's pretty mean to use ableist insults, and those people probably aren't worth my time. With any luck, calling things you don't like autistic will go out of style just like calling everything "gay" or "retarded" past the 2000s.

[Techno Universal 2,575]

1 minute ago, Tiny Hoofs said:

I have autism! Well, specifically Asperger's. It's kind of a blessing and a curse in a lot of ways. On one hoof I find it very hard to be social and I'm very socially awkward, and on the other hoof I perform very well academically and can quickly learn a lot about any subject that interests me. I'm not sure if I would want to be "cured" or whatever. But help with my social issues is always appreciated.

It's not surprising that this show has a lot of autistic fans. It is basically a show which teaches prosocial morals which are easy to understand. The fact that the characters are animals, they're very expressive and their interests are well-defined also probably explains the hype.

I don't really care if people want to call bronies autistic. I try not to let it bother me. It's pretty mean to use ableist insults, and those people probably aren't worth my time. With any luck, calling things you don't like autistic will go out of style just like calling everything "gay" or "retarded" past the 2000s.

Well to be honest it is possible to exploit your autism to the point where you've worked around the bad things of it but you've taken advantage of the positives. I've managed to exploit myself like this and I'm now extremely intelligent and I can even learn off my own natural behaviour now from it too!

[Deleted3133333 3,560]

This trend is starting to intrigue me... it's not just autism that a lot of us share. It's specifically Asperger's, and it's not just here. I'm on other forums, and this trend seems to persist there as well...

It does make sense we would be drawn to the show. In essence, it's teaching us about the very thing we lack, social skills, while doing so in an entertaining medium. And, as you said, the animals are a plus. It kinda gives another perspective to view the world from when considering social interaction with others, in the same way my wolf obsession does. I really want to see a study, specifically a non-biased study, done on this. Personality tests, definitely including the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, full psychological examinations, the works. Tracking down exactly what makes a brony a brony, and if Asperger's can contribute to that cause, or possibly is part of the cause... With enough research, we might possibly be able to predict exactly who has the potential to become a brony if they watch the show, while also having a scientific explanation to refute any haters of the fandom.

I'm rambling so bad right now... any full scale study like this would take years, and the fandom could change dramatically by then. Mark this one down under infeasible.

[Techno Universal 2,575]

1 minute ago, ShadowDash13 said:

This trend is starting to intrigue me... it's not just autism that a lot of us share. It's specifically Asperger's, and it's not just here. I'm on other forums, and this trend seems to persist there as well...

It does make sense we would be drawn to the show. In essence, it's teaching us about the very thing we lack, social skills, while doing so in an entertaining medium. And, as you said, the animals are a plus. It kinda gives another perspective to view the world from when considering social interaction with others, in the same way my wolf obsession does. I really want to see a study, specifically a non-biased study, done on this. Personality tests, definitely including the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, full psychological examinations, the works. Tracking down exactly what makes a brony a brony, and if Asperger's can contribute to that cause, or possibly is part of the cause... With enough research, we might possibly be able to predict exactly who has the potential to become a brony if they watch the show, while also having a scientific explanation to refute any haters of the fandom.

I'm rambling so bad right now... any full scale study like this would take years, and the fandom could change dramatically by then. Mark this one down under infeasible.

Probably one of the main reasons people like the show is that the ponies would make society on earth perfect if they lived along with us. That's why I'm a brony and I've already got plans to actually create the ponies from MLP in the future!

[Jonny Music 3,314]

4 hours ago, Tiny Hoofs said:

I have autism! Well, specifically Asperger's. It's kind of a blessing and a curse in a lot of ways. On one hoof I find it very hard to be social and I'm very socially awkward, and on the other hoof I perform very well academically and can quickly learn a lot about any subject that interests me. I'm not sure if I would want to be "cured" or whatever. But help with my social issues is always appreciated.

It's not surprising that this show has a lot of autistic fans. It is basically a show which teaches prosocial morals which are easy to understand. The fact that the characters are animals, they're very expressive and their interests are well-defined also probably explains the hype.

I don't really care if people want to call bronies autistic. I try not to let it bother me. It's pretty mean to use ableist insults, and those people probably aren't worth my time. With any luck, calling things you don't like autistic will go out of style just like calling everything "gay" or "retarded" past the 2000s.

 

4 hours ago, ShadowDash13 said:

This trend is starting to intrigue me... it's not just autism that a lot of us share. It's specifically Asperger's, and it's not just here. I'm on other forums, and this trend seems to persist there as well...

It does make sense we would be drawn to the show. In essence, it's teaching us about the very thing we lack, social skills, while doing so in an entertaining medium. And, as you said, the animals are a plus. It kinda gives another perspective to view the world from when considering social interaction with others, in the same way my wolf obsession does. I really want to see a study, specifically a non-biased study, done on this. Personality tests, definitely including the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, full psychological examinations, the works. Tracking down exactly what makes a brony a brony, and if Asperger's can contribute to that cause, or possibly is part of the cause... With enough research, we might possibly be able to predict exactly who has the potential to become a brony if they watch the show, while also having a scientific explanation to refute any haters of the fandom.

I'm rambling so bad right now... any full scale study like this would take years, and the fandom could change dramatically by then. Mark this one down under infeasible.

Not sure if I have already posted this earlier in the thread, but I did happen to make an article two years ago for a local autism organization about how the show has helped me exponentially to improve my social skills. I'm very happy and grateful to be introduced to the show and I do not know where I would be without knowing about how good the show actually is.

http://raisetheflagforautism.com/asd-and-me/

Edited July 4, 2017 by Jonny Music
Word swap from the double "where".

[Will Guide 21,331]

@ShadowDash13

You have Asperger's like me, too? I thought I felt a connection with you when we met!

@Tiny Hoofs

Nice to meet another with Asperger's

[Techno Universal 2,575]

6 hours ago, Jonny Music said:

 

Not sure if I have already posted this earlier in the thread, but I did happen to make an article two years ago for a local autism organization about how the show has helped me exponentially to improve my social skills. I'm very happy and grateful to be introduced to the show and I do not know where I would be without knowing about how good the show actually is.

http://raisetheflagforautism.com/asd-and-me/

The show has changed me a lot to! It's not only set my life goal of creating the ponies but it's changed my mindset into a powerful computer like file network. I can now control and edit things my own personality at will now and that's exactly what I do if I make a mistake at something. I know I've become a being of great potential now and it's about time somebody like me came into existence to save the world!