# Cubing for the Autistic



## WickedMartyb (Apr 23, 2014)

Hi Guys, my name is Martyn.
A little about myself, I am 22 years old, I live in Telford UK, I have only recently come out of being homeless, during which I either lost or sold most of my twisty puzzle collection, including a full set of Vcubes, a shengshou collection from 4x4 through 9x9, many 3x3 speedcubes, and also cuboids and shape shifters. They where too bulky to carry and the money they offered was invaluable, I left myself with only 2 3x3s and a 4x4.

During my time homeless, it was brought to my attention that I have a form of Autism called Aspergers Syndrome, as with all Autism it massively affects my quality of life (for want of a better phrase) and I found that solving the cubes I had left, not only helped keep my mind occupied, but helped massively in keeping feelings of sadness and anger in check, these feelings when not addressed can be a huge problem with people suffering Aspergers as the condition results in confusion over feelings and extreme difficulty in processing them. In short, cubing helped me through. 

I am now renting my own flat again, and I feel that the 'salvation' I found in cubing should be shared with people similar to me, so I am organising a weekly group to teach and explain the various cubes to people suffering Autism and mainly Aspergers, this group will be a free to join and free to take part. 

Therein lies my problem, Having only 3 cubes and a very low income, it is impossible for me to effectively teach a group, and progress onto more difficult puzzles such as higher order, cuboid and shape shifters. So with that I ask for any charitable donation of cubes to my group, cubes you may never use anymore or anything else. In return I will teach the cubes to a group and also encourage them to join the forum to share their experiences. 

Any donation big or small will be greatly appreciated.


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## WickedMartyb (Apr 23, 2014)

To the moderators, I apologise if this is in the wrong category, I was unsure where to post it. If it is kindly move this topic to it's correct category and accept my apologies.


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## pipkiksass (Apr 24, 2014)

Hi Martyn.

Firstly, congrats for getting your life back on track.

Secondly, I have massive respect for what you're doing. If you can provide a little detail about the group then I'd be happy to send a few cubes I've been struggling to sell for the last few months, including a SS 4x4 and a couple of good 3x3s.

A friend's son has Asperger's, and I've been considering giving him one of my old cubes for a while. Unfortunately I don't have the free time to teach him, which only adds to the admiration I have for what you're doing! 

Anyway, great to hear your story and I hope all goes well with the group. I'd love to hear a bit more - feel free to PM me.


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## DeeDubb (Apr 24, 2014)

Good luck to you. My youngest brother has Aspergers. If you share a little more information about yourself, the outline of your plan (where you plan to meet), how you intend to find people for your group (or how you've already found people), anything else you'd like us to know etc, I think people (such as myself) may be more willing to assist you in your endeavor.


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## WickedMartyb (Apr 24, 2014)

Thank you both for your kind words, it's been a struggle but it is on the right track now.

A little about my plan, in the town I live in (Telford) they operate an Autism support group, where all varying degrees of Autistic can attend twice a week, for physical skills and help advice and support. I proposed my idea to the organisers of the group and received very positive feedback, my groups members will be mainly from this group I speak of. The organisers of the support centre told me if I get myself set up with equipment, I can then go on to promote it within the centre and use one of the function rooms in the building to carry out my ideas. This will initially be once a week, with possibility of a second session per week if I have an overflow of members or a significant interest from current members. 

I certainly feel my group will be successful, as by far and large people suffering Autism and Aspergers are left to fend for themselves, as there is no medical cure. Although my group sessions won't cure the condition, for me at least it has made it significantly more manageable.

As stated you both know people with Aspergers, I would advise cubing, even if you don't have the time to teach them, all it needs is for you to sit through one solve with then and then forward them onto any solution guide you used and you will captivate them, that worked for me, within 2 months I was a sub 30 average, and now (2 years on) I am a 17 second average, full PLL and 2 look OLL.

Any further information you would like I will be happy to share.

Once again many thanks for your kind words.


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## antoineccantin (Apr 24, 2014)

Sounds like a great idea! My older brother has Aspergers (he's the one who taught me how to cube) and cubing helped him, so I'm sure it will be an awesome project.


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## GamerEliza (Apr 24, 2014)

This is awesome what you are doing. I actually have AS myself, I was diagnosed 2 years ago when i was 16. I don't really have anything to contribute since my own cubing funding is tight. However i recommend starting an indiegogo campaign, if you have never heard of it, just google it. The best of luck to you


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## Hypocrism (Apr 24, 2014)

Hm. Having studied autism for a year I am wary that you should take care not to treat this as a substitute for proper medical support, which can be hugely beneficial for diagnosed cases of autism. Withdrawing further from social contact is unlikely to be a positive thing and I can easily see that happening when people with autism are exposed to cubing. Used in the right way however I think this could certainly be a good idea.


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## cowabunga (Apr 24, 2014)

Hypocrism said:


> Hm. Having studied autism for a year I am wary that you should take care not to treat this as a substitute for proper medical support, which can be hugely beneficial for diagnosed cases of autism. Withdrawing further from social contact is unlikely to be a positive thing and I can easily see that happening when people with autism are exposed to cubing. Used in the right way however I think this could certainly be a good idea.



There is no medical treatment for aspergers. What do you mean by proper medical support???


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## Hypocrism (Apr 24, 2014)

cowabunga said:


> There is no medical treatment for aspergers. What do you mean by proper medical support???



Actually, there are plenty of treatments for autism spectrum disorders. We can now make a very large functional difference in the lives of people with autism with proper psychiatric diagnosis and counselling, to the extent that some might not meet diagnostic criteria any longer in adulthood. That's why I just wanted to emphasise that this idea, while it's great, shouldn't be an alternative to proper medical support, but supplementary.


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## Deleted member 19792 (Apr 24, 2014)

I'll admit, I have Asperger's. It really hurt me in seventh grade, since I did not cube at all during that year, and it took me a while to find something to obsess over. (Magic + Cards) Then that got boring. When I picked up the cube again I could not put it down... So Cubing has helped me quite a bit down the road.


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## Shah (Apr 25, 2014)

I too have Asperger's. Had I enough money/cubes, I would have helped you.


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## cowabunga (Apr 25, 2014)

I want to help one asperger to another 
I have:
7 3x3
2 4x4
1 5x5
and 1 skewb that I am willing to send to you.
PM where you want it sent to.


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## IRNjuggle28 (Apr 26, 2014)

Wow, this many autistic cubers? 

I have a question for all of you. If you could choose to not be autistic, would you? It's a question that I've found interesting. I think I would choose to stay the way I am now, but I know perfectly well that if I wasn't autistic, I wouldn't want to become that way, so this is really just the human fear of change and nothing to do with whether or not I want this or not. Thinking about it with anything approaching objectivity isn't something I am capable of.


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## Shah (Apr 26, 2014)

IRNjuggle28 said:


> I have a question for all of you. If you could choose to not be autistic, would you?



Simply, No.


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## NZCuber (Apr 26, 2014)

Hi everyone my name is Christian and I am also a cuber with Aspergers syndrome. 

At the age of 10 my parents got a professional to watch over me to see why I was struggling in different areas. Later on that year my parents told me I had aspergers. I am now 17 and a few weeks a go I decided to do a bit more research into it so I could understand it more. After doing research I then showed some of my friends some of the characteristics of aspergers and asked if I matched some of the characteristics. All of the people I asked said I had many of the characteristics and one of my closest friends read the entire article and said 'yes this is you'.
Now at the age of 17 I don't struggle as much as I did. In school I am exceeding in different areas but still struggling in a few. I am lucky that I go to a smaller school so that I can get more time with my teachers. 
In cubing I believe I am doing alright. I am on good track a achieving all of my goals but money has been a problem. I can't seem to get part time work and my parents use the money on more important things e.g school, sport. Its doesn't matter at the moment though because I have all the speed cubes I need at this point of time.
It is great to know that I am not the only autistic speedcuber in this forum.


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## DeeDubb (Apr 26, 2014)

Wow, with so many Autistic cubers, I wonder if you guys could form some kind of support group? I know my brother has a much easier time communicating online than in person, and I'm guessing it's the same for a lot of you, so maybe a virtual place to discuss struggles not just with cubing, but general things might be a good idea.


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## NZCuber (Apr 26, 2014)

DeeDubb said:


> Wow, with so many Autistic cubers, I wonder if you guys could form some kind of support group? I know my brother has a much easier time communicating online than in person, and I'm guessing it's the same for a lot of you, so maybe a virtual place to discuss struggles not just with cubing, but general things might be a good idea.



That, I believe is a great idea.


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## DuffyEdge (Apr 26, 2014)

There should be a poll. Autistic or not...
I'd be interested to see the ratio on here


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## IRNjuggle28 (Apr 26, 2014)

DeeDubb said:


> Wow, with so many Autistic cubers, I wonder if you guys could form some kind of support group? I know my brother has a much easier time communicating online than in person, and I'm guessing it's the same for a lot of you, so maybe a virtual place to discuss struggles not just with cubing, but general things might be a good idea.



That is a wonderful idea. Anyone up for a Facebook group? That would be pretty easy to do. 

Should the group include other mental illnesses as well? My vote would be yes, but if I'm going to try to set up a Facebook group, I'd like to hear what everyone else here wants as well. If someone else knows Facebook better than me, or thinks the group should be somewhere besides Facebook, feel free to offer to set it up, but *please don't do it without getting approval from the others here.* If we do decide to do this, it should be something that we're all on board with.

BTW, you're completely spot on with being better at communicating in writing than in person. That's definitely true of me, and lots of other autistic peeps.


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## DeeDubb (Apr 26, 2014)

IRNjuggle28 said:


> Should the group include other mental illnesses as well?



Sure, I think so. I think it could include anyone, as long as they are supportive. I would love to be part of the group so I can understand everyone's experiences better.



IRNjuggle28 said:


> My vote would be yes, but if I'm going to try to set up a Facebook group, I'd like to hear what everyone else here wants as well. If someone else knows Facebook better than me, or thinks the group should be somewhere besides Facebook, feel free to offer to set it up, but *please don't do it without getting approval from the others here.* If we do decide to do this, it should be something that we're all on board with.
> 
> BTW, you're completely spot on with being better at communicating in writing than in person. That's definitely true of me, and lots of other autistic peeps.



I think the internet is definitely a blessing for many introverted people as well as people on the autistic spectrum. It can be a bit of a crutch though to avoid RL, but I also think some people improve their in-person communication capabilities by using the internet for "practice."


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## IRNjuggle28 (Apr 26, 2014)

DeeDubb said:


> Sure, I think so. I think it could include anyone, as long as they are supportive. I would love to be part of the group so I can understand everyone's experiences better.



Since it was your idea, of course you should be in it.  You definitely seem supportive, also. But I am a bit uncomfortable with people who aren't disabled being in it. We are grateful for people who are healthy yet want to help us anyway, and I really hope I'm not about to act ungrateful, but the point of a group like this wouldn't really just be getting kind words. What people like us really need is to talk to those who are like us. It helps us understand our strenghts, our weaknesses, our thinking style, how we'll be perceived by others, and tons of other stuff. We'll have a group of people who can understand each other based on firsthand experience. Having people there for us who are not disabled is wonderful, but having a group specifically created to support socially impaired people is something completely different, and the effect of a group full of people who we won't have to struggle to understand will be diluted a ton by having a bunch of people who aren't autistic. Sometimes we just need to be around a bunch of people who suck just as much as ourselves at being normal.


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## DeeDubb (Apr 26, 2014)

IRNjuggle28 said:


> Since it was your idea, of course you should be in it.  You definitely seem supportive, also. But I am a bit uncomfortable with people who aren't disabled being in it. We are grateful for people who are healthy yet want to help us anyway, and I really hope I'm not about to act ungrateful, but the point of a group like this wouldn't really just be getting kind words. What people like us really need is to talk to those who are like us. It helps us understand our strenghts, our weaknesses, our thinking style, how we'll be perceived by others, and tons of other stuff. We'll have a group of people who can understand each other based on firsthand experience. Having people there for us who are not disabled is wonderful, but having a group specifically created to support socially impaired people is something completely different, and the effect of a group full of people who we won't have to struggle to understand will be diluted a ton by having a bunch of people who aren't autistic. Sometimes we just need to be around a bunch of people who suck just as much as ourselves at being normal.



Actually, I totally understand that, and even though it was my idea, I think you're right. It should be about you guys. Not me.  I'll opt out of it. Just let me know privately if there's anything I can do to help.


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## IRNjuggle28 (Apr 26, 2014)

DeeDubb said:


> Actually, I totally understand that, and even though it was my idea, I think you're right. It should be about you guys. Not me.  I'll opt out of it. Just let me know privately if there's anything I can do to help.


I'm not afraid of a few people who aren't disabled being in there. But I know from experience that if the number of healthy people comes even close to the number of disabled people, the healthy people will unintentionally and unconsciously take their rightful places above us in the social hierarchy, and when that happens, we'll be afraid to post in our own group. In a lot of cases, it doesn't matter whether people are trying to help us or not. It's still intimidating being around people who are less awkward than us. One of the loneliest feelings I've felt (and I feel it often) is being surrounded by healthy people who care about me, and like me, but still being completely unable to connect to them. When people who are not socially impaired act the way they normally do, it's impenetrable to us much of the time. And when they talk to us with the knowledge that we're disabled, they're often incredibly condescending by accident. They're every bit as clueless about communicating with us as we are about communicating with them, and I don't blame them for that. But it's still a problem. And either one of those things is what I would be afraid of causing by having a large number of people who don't have social issues in the group. That's all. You alone will not cause problems with the power balance of the group. The only thing that could do that is having enough healthy people to make acting normal, instead of acting slightly awkward, the thing that sticks out. 

(to others reading this, yes, I'm aware that there's more to people's personas than simply "awkward" or "not awkward," and that there are varying levels of social impairment. I just didn't want to make this even more long winded than it already is by getting into that, haha.)

What I was getting to is that I would like you to be in the group. Because it was your idea, because you are supportive, and because of your brother.

For everyone else, I guess it's just up to you to decide if you think this group is going to be right for you. We are not going to ban you from the group because you seem normal. Lol. This is definitely not meant to be some sort of exclusive club. The things that seem like they would fit the best in this group are social anxiety disorder and autism. 

I haven't heard from too many people on whether or not they'd be interested, but unless someone has another idea for the group and speaks up pretty soon, I'll get started on it!

EDIT: reading my post back, I probably don't seem disabled at all. Lol. I'm so much better at writing than I am at talking, it's not even funny. In writing, I can overthink stuff and rewrite it over and over until it makes sense without creating an awkward 30 second pause in the conversation while I contemplate whether my wording is going to make me sound like an idiot or not. XD ahaaaa


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## DeeDubb (Apr 26, 2014)

IRNjuggle28 said:


> EDIT: reading my post back, I probably don't seem disabled at all. Lol. I'm so much better at writing than I am at talking, it's not even funny. In writing, I can overthink stuff and rewrite it over and over until it makes sense without creating an awkward 30 second pause in the conversation while I contemplate whether my wording is going to make me sound like an idiot or not. XD ahaaaa



The truth is, I think almost everyone is this way. There's differing degrees of social ability, but I definitely feel more comfortable when I have a chance to proofread what I'm thinking and go over it several times to make sure that I don't mess up. Some of us are just better at faking in public than others.

Honestly, I don't know if it's comforting or not to hear this, but in my experience, everyone feels awkward in public. It's just we get used to faking it. When you develop a close relationship with people, you see how they act in public is just a fake persona they put up so the world can't see their vulnerability. Everyone is vulnerable.

That being said, people with mental disabilities or people with extremely introverted personalities have a lot more of a struggle for sure. I just want you to know that everyone is feeling some level of what you feel in public. I'm very social, and my job forces me to speak publicly every day (I'm a teacher). I've gotten comfortable, but I realize the guy talking in front of those kids and socializing with my coworkers isn't really "me." It's the "me" that I want the world to see. The day I realized that pretty much everyone else is doing the same thing, and we are all just trying to appear "normal", it made me a lot less nervous and insecure about myself.

Also, thanks for your welcome to the group. I'll wait and see how other people feel about it and think a bit more.


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## WickedMartyb (Apr 26, 2014)

Wow it's nice to find others like myself, sorry for the lack of response, been very busy. Also a big thank you to Cowabunga for the open offer, PM sent. I too think a poll and an FB group would be a good idea,

In response to previous comments, I do not seem this to take place over proper therapy, I only aim to introduce it in the same level it helps me, dealing with day to day, minute to minute difficulties between therapy sessions. 

Also there may be massive steps medically to help the autistic, but as of yet there is no pill or medication to cure or relieve the problems. 

Also in answer to another question, no I wouldn't change and choose not to have autism, as even though it frustrates me a lot of the time, it's how I am, and I am comfortable with it.


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## Hypocrism (May 22, 2014)

I thought I'd let everyone from the UK know that there's an event in Cambridge on June 18th. Autism and talent: the Rubik's Cube. Erno Rubik will be there and the cubing community has been encouraged to attend!


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## LucidCuber (May 22, 2014)

Hypocrism said:


> I thought I'd let everyone from the UK know that there's an event in Cambridge on June 18th. Autism and talent: the Rubik's Cube. Erno Rubik will be there and the cubing community has been encouraged to attend!



Is there a website about it?


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## TheOneOnTheLeft (May 22, 2014)

https://www.cus.org/termcard?date=2014-06

I don't know if there's anything available that's more in-depth.


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## Hypocrism (May 22, 2014)

LucidCuber said:


> Is there a website about it?



http://www.autismresearchtrust.org/organise_getinvolved

I've been told there are publicities, but it's a union event, they aren't generally massively publicised outside the Cambridge bubble. I wouldn't have heard about it myself if friends who are members hadn't shown me the term card.


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## JediJupiter (May 23, 2014)

I'm interested. How are you imagining it happening? Like a forum, or irc, or mostly private messaging...?


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