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Norman Siebrasse's avatar

Re gaining greater insight by learning something that doesn't come naturally to you, I recall reading an interview with an elite swimmer, who at the time was considered to have the best butterfly stroke in the world. She said she could never coach anyone, because it came so naturally to her she had no idea what she was doing that others weren't. Conversely, my impression is that good football coaches are more likely to have been mediocre players than great ones. (Though that could be just because there are more mediocre players.)

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Heather Oleson's avatar

I had a similar experience growing up. I never fit in. Social skills and relatability were just mystifying to me, and I had absolutely no interest in the typical "teenage girl" pursuits, much preferring to ride my horse or play with Legos. As a pre-teen I was obsessed with dinosaurs and would constantly correct my teachers on their pronunciation of dinosaur names or whatever. I was one of those annoying straight A students that never had to work very hard to learn anything and outperformed virtually everyone on any metric. Unlike the male Aspies however I was very athletic and excelled in sports as well as academics. I had very few friends and was bullied quite a bit.

Fortunately or unfortunately for me I've always been horse-obsessed, and that has driven much of my life, first as a professional rider with success in competitions on a national level, then as a trainer and teacher. Teaching forced me to improve my social skills, and in true Aspie fashion I've spent a ton of time researching different teaching methods and watching elite coaches give lessons, in addition to studying the sports psychology, behavioral theory, among other relevant topics.

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