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@mbilokonsky
Created May 28, 2019 01:41
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work in progress - inventory of neurodivergent traits
[
{
"name": "sound",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I have a stim that involves really loud sound, be that music or machinery or something else.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"A sound needs to be very loud for me to even notice it.",
"I sometimes need to turn the volume up to hear something that others seem to hear just fine",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I sometimes need to turn the volume down because having loud sounds around me is distracting and upsetting.",
"Loud noises send me into fight-or-flight mode, with adrenaline racing - or they just hurt."
],
"processing_values": [
"I cannot parse spoken speech in real-time, I need to see things written down to understand them.",
"I can keep up with effort, but I do find myself asking others to repeat themselves. I benefit from subtitles when watching TV.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I generally understand what someone is saying, even in a loud crowded room and even if I can't fully hear it.",
"I am often able to extract meaning from spoken language or sounds that others seem to find meaningless."
]
}, {
"name": "vision",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I have a stim that involves looking at specific shapes, colors or lights.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I need what seems to be an excessive amount of light in order to see clearly.",
"I can generally see just fine and don't mind bright light - but I do seem to require more light than others do to see and be happy.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I get annoyed by certain kinds of lightbulbs, or I get irrationally upset when an oncoming driver neglects to turn off their brights at night.",
"Bright light is painful, and I need to either keep lights off or wear sunglasses to be comfortable."
],
"processing_values": [
"I get heavily overwhelmed in visually noisy situations - crowds are a nightmare, and Where's Waldo always felt like a masochistic exercise.",
"I can generally handle complex visuals, but I find that I can only pay attention to a small area at once.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"It feels easier for me to filter out the irrelevant details and focus on what I care about than it does for other people.",
"I have never understood why anyone struggled to find Waldo, he's just right there in each scene."
]
}, {
"name": "taste",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I have a stim that involves extreme flavors - ghost peppers or esoteric fermented ethnic cuisines.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"Everything kind of tastes the same to me - the flavor of the food I eat has never really mattered very much to me.",
"I may or may not be a picky eater but taste has very little to do with it - it's really more about texture for me, taste is a secondary concern.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I really enjoy complex flavors - I can taste every spice individually, and have a good sense of how they combine to form distinct flavor profiles",
"I am a super-taster for whom every version of vanilla ice cream tastes radically distinct."
],
"processing_values": [
"Complex flavors are overwhelming to me. I don't like food that uses a lot of spice, or food where each bite has a different flavor profile",
"I guess I prefer simpler ingredients but in general it's not a problem for me. Other people love stuff that I find confusing, though.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I can easily tell when a milk is about to go bad, or if the restaurant didn't use fresh ingredients.",
"I can tell you exactly which spices were used to create a specific profile, and in what amount."
]
}, {
"name": "smell",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I stim by smelling something that I particularly enjoy.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I basically can't smell anything",
"I need to get my nose over something and inhale strongly if I want to really know what something smells like",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I am sensitive to nuances that other people don't notice, or I can smell things from farther away.",
"I can't not smell everything around me all the time and it's actually really a lot."
],
"processing_values": [
"Most smell is just noise to me. I can't map a smell to the thing that produces that smell very accurately.",
"I can generally identify smells in isolation, but too many at once and forget it.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I can generally identify everything I'm smelling, and can distinguish between multiple smells at once.",
"I am a bloodhound. I can smell emotions. I can you tell what you did last night from a whiff of your jacket."
]
}, {
"name": "texture",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I stim by touching material with a favorite type of texture.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I don't really notice texture beyond 'rough' or 'smooth'.",
"I notice textures but I don't understand why anyone would have strong preferences about any of them.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I can't wear certain synthetic fabrics, or I have to remove the tags from my clothes. Texture matters more than flavor in determining food preferences.",
"I am highly sensitive to textural differences and find certain textures either extremely comforting or extremely upsetting in a way I can't explain."
],
"processing_values": [
"Certain textural sensations are completely overwhelming and I cannot process them, I seek only to avoid them.",
"I'm mostly fine but there are scenarios I prefer to avoid because I don't like e.g. the fuzz on peaches, or the feeling of sweat on my body.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"Certain textures convey information to my mind that others seem to lack. I assign meaning to the way things feel to the touch.",
"I can tell a lot about a thing by touching it - I recognize micro-variations in textures others perceive as uniform."
]
}, {
"name": "pressure",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I have a stim that involves pressing something against my body in some way because the pressure feels good.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I barely feel light touches. When getting a massage I have never once asked for less pressure, only more. I don't notice people touching me.",
"I shrug off physical impacts that others find painful.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I'm very attuned to subtle variations in pressure, and seem to have a low threshold for how much pressure I can handle",
"The slightest touch can be painful to me - I'm highly sensitive to feeling pressure on my body, and avoid it at all costs."
],
"processing_values": [
"I can't generally tell where on my body I am experiencing pressure, or how strong it is. I only have a broad sense of this.",
"I can't always distinguish between a pleasant pressure and a painful pressure.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I'm able to read a lot of meaning in the way a partner touches me; I'm often aware of small variations in pressure on my body.",
"When something touches my body I generally know exactly what it is and where it touched me."
]
}, {
"name": "temperature",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I have a stim that involves heat or ice, or really enjoy the way it feels to experience certain temperatures.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"Hot, cold, whatever - I am comfortable across a wide range of temperatures.",
"People are often confused at what I'm wearing given the temperature, e.g. no jacket in winter, or long sleeves in summer.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I'm sensitive to temperature changes and actively seek to stay within my comfort zone, which feels a little narrow than most peoples'.",
"I require a constant X degree temperature around me or else I feel too hot or too cold to a distressing degree."
],
"processing_values": [
"I am like the frog in a slowly boiling pot - even if I'm sensitive to temperature, I don't always notice that it's what is causing me distress.",
"I am sometimes surprised to find myself too hot or too cold, as if I'm just not paying attention.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I always make sure I have some ability to influence the air conditioner settings or thermostat, because it seems to matter more to me than to others.",
"I understand exactly how variations in temperature will impact my mood, my body's ability to perform specific tasks and my energy levels."
]
}, {
"name": "proprioception",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I have a stim that involves stretching out, dancing around or otherwise manipulating my arms and legs in interesting ways",
"sensitivity_values": [
"If I close my eyes I can't tell you what my body is doing in more than very general terms.",
"If I remember to pay attention I can probably tell you more or less what my body is doing.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I'm aware of my body's position and have preferences about my posture that others may find a little odd.",
"I am deeply aware, perhaps to a distressing degree, of the exact shape that my body is taking up in the universe at every moment."
],
"processing_values": [
"I often find myself uncomfortable or in pain, only to realize that I'd been sitting or laying in a way that was causing my body discomfort for a while.",
"Unless I'm paying a lot of attention I can be kind of clumsy. I don't like interacting with delicate arrangements, like dominos or wine glasses.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I'm better-than-average at activities that require a strong awareness of what my body is doing - dance, martial arts, minutely detailed art.",
"I am preoccupied with the way my body is positioned, and go to great lengths to make sure that I'm able to sit/stand/lay how I want."
]
}, {
"name": "balance",
"category": "sensory",
"sense_seeking_question": "I have stims that involve making myself dizzy, or otherwise enjoy the sensation of being off-balance.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I don't understand what people mean when they say they're 'sea-sick'. Whirling amusement park rides don't bother me.",
"I'm clumsy and don't always notice when I'm off-balance, forcing me to catch myself or fall more often than others seem to.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I don't just notice when I'm off-balance, I notice when I subconsciously adjust my posture to compensate for a change in balance.",
"I get sea-sick in a strong breeze. Finding myself off-balance can be panic-inducing and overwhelming."
],
"processing_values": [
"I don't always notice that I'm off-balance until I've already started to fall over.",
"It's not really an issue, but I feel anxiety when e.g. walking through a cluttered room or with a small dog underfoot.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I can maintain my balance in a turbulent environment where others are falling over.",
"I am deeply in-tune with my sense of balance, and find it relatively easy to walk on a tight-rope or do complex dance moves that make others fall."
]
}, {
"name": "anger",
"category": "emotion",
"sense_seeking_question": "I find myself actively seeking reasons to feel anger.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I don't really get mad - times when others expect me to be angry I am sometimes sad or afraid, or sometimes have no strong emotions.",
"I get angry sometimes, but only when someone has really pushed me. I primarily see anger as a tool.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I am nervous about anger, because I've had experiences where it dictated my behavior in ways that I would never have otherwise chosen.",
"When I get angry it is all-consuming and I have extreme difficulty regaining my equilibrium."
],
"processing_values": [
"When I feel anger I just see red. I rage, scream, yell and generally behave like a monster until it drains itself out.",
"Anger is a particularly disregulating emotion for me that requires a lot of conscious effort to control.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I generally know why I'm angry, but I'm not always able to figure out in the moment whether my anger is appropriate to what triggered it.",
"When I feel anger I can always tell (1) why I feel it and (2) whether or not it's an appropriate response."
]
}, {
"name": "joy",
"category": "emotion",
"sense_seeking_question": "I find myself actively seeking experiences that will cause me to feel joy.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"Conceptually I understand joy, but I don't generally experience what others seem to be referring to by that term.",
"I experience joy, but in a way that seems muted compared to what others seem to be experiencing given similar triggers.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I'm deeply attuned to feelings of joy, and I feel joy more strongly than others seem to given similar triggers.",
"When I feel joy nothing else in my life matters. It is overwhelming and while it feels pleasant in the moment it leads to destructive manic behavior."
],
"processing_values": [
"I don't often realize it when I feel joy.",
"It often takes me a while to understand that I'm experiencing joy, and/or why.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I generally understand which things make me feel joy, and am able to structure my life to maximize this feeling.",
"I am uncomfortably aware of my own sense of joy, perhaps to the point that when I feel it I immediately start focusing on maintaining it."
]
}, {
"name": "sadness",
"category": "emotion",
"sense_seeking_question": "I really enjoy feeling sad, on some level, and actively seek out experiences that will trigger sadness in me.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I don't get sad. When I experience a loss it generally feels like nothing, or like anger - sadness isn't a state that I really experience.",
"I experience sadness, but in a way that's more muted than what others seem to feel given similar triggers. It's just not a big deal to me.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I seem to experience sadness more strongly than other people do, given the same triggers.",
"When I experience sadness it is all-consuming and debilitating. I cannot think about anything other than the sadness and whatever triggered it."
],
"processing_values": [
"I often don't realize that I'm sad.",
"I have delayed reactions to things that trigger sadness - people may think I don't feel it, but it's just that I'm not aware of it right away.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I'm always aware of being triggered into sadness, and I'm generally able to process it in a healthy way.",
"I have thirty words for sadness depending on the exact nuance I'm feeling at a given moment, and can use this to guide my reactions consciously."
]
}, {
"name": "fear",
"category": "emotion",
"sense_seeking_question": "I am a thrill-seeker - I love scary movies, or sky-diving. Maybe I use craigslist as a dating site.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I don't generally feel fear.",
"I experience fear in a muted way - it's my body sending me information about something, no big deal.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"Managing fear is an important aspect of my life, and when I feel it I have to be extra conscious about how I respond.",
"When I feel fear it is completely overwhelming and prevents me from thinking about or doing anything else."
],
"processing_values": [
"I don't always notice my own fear",
"When afraid I behave reactively - whatever my lizard brain thinks will remove the threat is what I do.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"As long as I remember to use my head I can generally experience fear without letting it control my behaviors.",
"When I'm scared I'm able to identify the threat and process the appropriateness of the fear response. Only then do I act."
]
}, {
"name": "Concentration",
"category": "attention",
"sense_seeking_question": "I really enjoy losing myself in contemplation of some specific thing, and do so as a hobby.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"I cannot concentrate on anything to save my life - I am forever distracted by the slightest thing.",
"I can concentrate with great effort, or by preparing my environment to remove specific things I know distract me.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"There are things I don't let myself concentrate on because they consume all of my attention if I do.",
"Once I start focusing on anything the world could end around me and I wouldn't notice until I came out of it."
],
"processing_values": [
"I am prone to obsession and rumination. There are topics on which I cannot stop focusing.",
"I can sometimes control what I'm concentrating on, but it's difficult.",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"I'm more or less able to concentrate or not at will, though I get stuck or distracted sometimes.",
"Concentration is a powerful tool that I am able to apply masterfully to the problems in my life. I am in control of my concentration."
]
}, {
"name": "Relating concepts",
"category": "attention",
"sense_seeking_question": "I find it satisfying to think about the ways two seemingly unrelated things could be related.",
"sensitivity_values": [
"TODO this is where I stopped",
"",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"",
""
],
"processing_values": [
"",
"",
"I've always felt pretty normal here - my experience seems to be in keeping with that of most people around me.",
"",
""
]
}]
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