I've only recently joined this forum and noticed the part on Asperger's.I could not answer on thread for 'talking to one's self',so have started another one.It was to say that my 18year old son who has Asperger's has always talked to himself and is part of his condition.Other people may find it odd but for myself and his dad and the rest of his close family it is just part of who he is.I do worry though when he is outside and other people may think he is strange, but i can't hold him back or he would never be able to get on with life the best way he can.
I do the same thing and always have.. I don't really do it when others are around though.. so you can say I adapt. I was said to have symptoms of Apserger's. I'm 28 now.
My son has aspergers syndrome. He talks to himself often. He also repeats much of what he says to others, under his breath to himself multiple times, after he's already said it. It is a normal symptom of Aspergers and certainly doesn't make him crazy. My son understands his illness and will explain it to anybody who misunderstands his behavior. He is 8-years old. Talk to your boy about it! He'll be okay.
beanbrain 1976,
I have always talked to my son about his asperger's and how the condition affects him.We are very open with him,which has helped him a lot.He is very repetitive also asking the same questions over and over,but once again its part of the condition.He is doing as well as he can and enjoys going to college.
The Following User Says Thank You to 48di For This Useful Post: gelt (03-04-2012)
There is a big difference to thinking out loud and talking to oneself. The only problems are when you answer yourself. Especially if you are arguing with yourself out loud in different voices. Then the men in white coats come to take you away.
I sometimes have to think out loud because there are too many distractions that I can't concentrate on thinking or reading out loud when there are too many auditory distractions aka noise. Some people have conversations with voices in their head. If they see it as being external (like God or aliens) that's usually seen as schizophrenia; if they see it as being internal (a part of himself, then it may be dissociative identity disorder or something similar). I think most people's inner voices are connected to the superego, which is basically the conscience, which is instilled by authority figures usually. When people violate the rules of their conscience, they can create a disparity between who they really are and how they think they are or should be. When there is a significant difference between the two this can cause a psychotic break. This is a fairly westernized view.
Anyway, before jumping to any drastic conclusions I would listen to your children's utterances to see if you can determine the difference. In a young child this type of behavior is considered normal "invisible friends," etc.
I've been in mixed group therapy with plenty of schizophrenics and studied psychology through my senior year at university but dropped out because the unrealistic stress on doing original research at the baccalaureate level and having to take courses from a pothead professor who was never lucid at school.
Anyway, at least some of with Asperger's Syndrome react more strongly to certain stimuli and what can be irritating to an NT person can be overwhelming to us. I imagine some of it may do with primary senses and learning eg whether we're primarily visual, auditory or kinaesthetic or a blend. Thinking out loud helps focus in the face of the sensory irritant better than just thinking or reading silently.
It seems my previous post is off point as no one was expressing concern over why their aspie or add kids were talking to themselves but how it would be perceived by others. That's an issue that many face when they have something different about them that is not necessarily readily identifiable as to what it is. Does one self disclose when you meet someone or only after they witness one of your symptoms that is out of the ordinary?
I think Asperger's is not really stigmatized that much but there are ignorant people that ridicule or bully those that are different. Also its tiring to have to educate others especially when social interactions are not as easy.
thats where they got the idea that aspies were schizophrenic because of the talking to themselves thing, the schizophrenic thing was discounted wen asperger was discovered. my daughter does it always has. as a kid i heard her having a great conversation /joke with someone. as an adult she still does it. i realise it may be a release for her and simplytry to get her not to do it in the company of others eg walkin through supermarkets etc. explaining that " i know why youdo it n its ok but not everyone else is like us and they wouldnt understand, being the way they are they will make fun of things they dont understand.
My now 18yo daughter talks to herself and the tv all the time, since I could remember. She's so highly intelligent and you can't tell she has Asperger with the untrained eye. She's right now waiting to go into the Air Force. She amazes them because she scored so high on all of their exams and will be going in as a linguist in about 4ish months.
I'm super scared only because I know the Air Force is the best place for her. The only thing that would give her away is her talking out loud to herself of the tv. I have been trying to tell her that most people don't think this is "normal" and will get her into trouble. Its hard for her to understand even at 18. I've never thought of it a problem before now, because if anyone asked I was able to tell them that "ah she just does that" and they normally don't ask anything more. She talks VERY loudly too.
I don't fear her not doing well in the Air Force, we've always been military and traveled all the time. Her adjustment takes about 2 years but then she's fine. She's sorta used to it, and as long as she quickly find friends she will be fine. When she scored astronomically on her AF and Linguist exams, and shes now taking another exam just because... the AF jumped all over her to get her in. I think Aspergers is a disqualifier, I'm not sure but I also didn't care to ask. She was diagnosed at 5 but was later told by an untrained teacher that she didn't have it. I've let my daughter believe this because I don't want her to feel different or labeled.
I will keep a close eye on her even after she leaves home. Being former military myself, I believe and hope I understand the lifestyle enough to help her get through it.
I'm 53 with AS, and do the same thing when alone or at home (50 years of learning!). If others ask, I humorously tell them it's the only way I can have an intelligent conversation. LOL!
Oh, my wife does it, too! I personally think she's a closet asper, but she doesn't believe in "syndromes."
Hi I also have a 21 year old son who doe the same but only in the privacy of his own room. I will hear him especially when on video games. He gets very wrapped up in them and I believe it to be a coping mechanism. He use to pace more and become agitated while playing, another stim. As he has gotten older it has become less noticeable.
My son is 19 and paces a lot in his bedroom also and like your son will talk to himself while playing his xbox games and also just in general in his room on his own.Myself and my husband have always been as open as possible with our son about coming to us and discussing anything at all he wants to or if he's worried about anything and our relationship is very good with him.
I do the same thing too, though only when I'm alone, and I try not to talk too
loudly as too disturb my neighbors. I also keep my radio on a lot which helps filter
out my voice a little bit. For me, particularly if I've had a bad day or some other
problem, it's a great stress reducer, although I try very hard to not talk to myself in
public, and only do it when I'm very angry about something, which fortunately isn't
very often.
flickfire...My son tends not to talk to himself as much outside but does move his mouth a lot as if he is,which i know other people probably find strange,but its just the way he is and really cannot help it.You do well trying to control it yourself.The outside world for asperger's is a difficult place but my son copes as best he can,but home is his safe haven!take care.
Hi my 15 year old talk’s to himself constantly he also acts out in front of the mirror, he says he is acting out the characters in his book (that he has been talking about writing for over a year)
I also think it is from a certain Xbox game he plays.
My question is should I tell him to stop talking to himself?
I fear it could or is continuing at school, where he is accepted and seems to be well liked, but as any parent I do not want his behavior to cause him grief as it only takes one ignorant comment to affect him.
Is me telling him to stop or asking him who is he talking to going to negatively affect him
Hi Brightonuk,
Martin Short said he used to act out scenes constantly when alone in his room. I bet a lot of famous actors and writers also did that in their youth. I wouldn't ask him to stop. Maybe encourage him to act out the characters with others and maybe get involved in organized theater or something like that. I would also encourage getting started on writing that book. I would also stress the value of using one's imagination without verbalizing everything. Imagination actually works better without talking - it's a richer and deeper experience when you can just be quiet and let your imagination sweep you away to another world. I hope this helps.
I've been doing that all my life (almost 50 years) and am still doing it today. When I was at college I lived in a dormitory and I used to talk loudly to myself or my imaginary friends. I later learned that people were commenting on my way of talking to my friends and thought it weird when they found out there was never anyone visiting my room, really.
I try not to do it in public but mostly fail. I don't do it when walking with somebody. A fellow-student once said "you think with your talking tools". I found Dr. Tony Attwood using just this figure of speech in one of his books about Asperger's :-).BTW - I loved what TinyTim says earlier. My husband doesn't "believe" in syndromes, either.
Asperger's and talking to yourself 
Re: Asperger's and talking to yourself 
