The Symptom Spectrum (Data Metrics)
From a clinical perspective, “symptoms” are simply data points that indicate a specific neural hardware configuration. In adults, these data points are rarely overt NPC behaviors; they are the subtle, underlying mechanics of how you process information, interact with the simulation, and regulate your nervous system.
We do not view these as “deficits” or glitches. We view them as Specialized Functions that require specific environmental parameters to operate at 100% uptime. It’s not rocket appliances.
For the autistic brain, the filter is high-fidelity. You see the flickering because your eye’s refresh rate is higher. You hear the hum of the refrigerator because your acoustic processor is more sensitive. This is a Hardware Reality, not a psychological one.
Internal Architecture: The Echo Chamber
Autistic cognition is often described as an Echo Chamber. A single piece of data—a comment, a pattern, or a sensory input—can bounce around the neural network with high intensity for hours or days.
The Components of the Chamber:
- Hyper-Systemizing: The drive to analyze, build, and master the underlying rules of a system.
- Cognitive Persistence: The inability to “let go” of a task or a data point until it has been resolved to a high degree of precision.
- Deep-Dive Interests: The tactical use of intense focus to regulate the nervous system and produce high-value output.
Regulation Protocols: The Stim Ritual
To maintain stability in a high-intensity world, the autistic brain requires physical and cognitive Reset Protocols. These are often called “stubs” or “stims.”
- Physical Stimming: Repetitive movements (rocking, flapping, pacing) that serve to discharge excess neural energy and recalibrate the vestibular system.
- Cognitive Stimming: Repeating specific words, phrases, or data points to maintain internal stability.
Leviticus’s Note: These rituals are essential technical maintenance. Suppressing them (masking) will invariably lead to a decrease in “uptime” and eventual system failure (burnout).
The High-Fidelity Horizon
When you understand your symptoms as technical functions, the “broken” narrative disappears. You are not a regular person with “problems”; you are a high-fidelity machine that has been trying to operate in a low-resolution world.
The goal is not to “remove” the symptoms. The goal is to Engineer the Environment so that these symptoms become your most powerful assets. On the horizon, you see a life that is perfectly calibrated to your specific neural architecture.
Symptom Data Audit:
- Sensory Threshold: Highly variable, often leading to acute “sensory spikes” in unoptimized environments.
- Social Lag: 0.5-1.5 second delay in intent-processing during manual social simulation.
- Executive Function Cost: High expenditure for “switching” between tasks, but extreme efficiency once “locked” into a deep-dive.