I never thought of it as bad...just the opposite! I was always fascinated and was attracted to my husband because of the unique qualities he possess. He woo-ed my with a rubics cube. That tells you how old I am.

My son is fascinating as well. I wish I could get inside his head more so I know why he mimics (echopraxia) others. I don't know if he is doing it as a motor tic or for learning socially.

I would have to say the only thing I don't like is the tantrums. I could do without those. I got bit a few weeks ago and he took his rage out on me. I am his safety net and so I think that is why he lashes out. I am never mean to him or pushy. We have a great time together for the most part but when he has a bad day it comes out on me.

I am fascinated by his musical ability. He tells me not to sing because he knows how out of tune I am. I am his biggest fan.

He seems to like Math alot (he is only in first grade). My husband is great with numbers too.

Pros - the mind is fascinating and I think it is amazing how you can tap into parts that create genius.

Cons - Temper tantrums and agression and feeling like you are walking on eggshells all the time.

Obsessiveness can also have pros and cons

pros are you end up being great at something
cons - it will drive you nuts because you obsess over things and your mind won't stop

I can really relate to you M&mikey!
I am married to a wonderful man of just over four years now and the more I learn about Autism I am convinced he is an undiagnosed high functioning ASD adult. He went through school in special ed classes and worked really hard to get his highschool with advanced courses and some OAC's. I am very proud of him considering all the help he recieved was some speech therapy and a very dedicated Special ed teacher who he still keeps in regular contact with. He is very talented in music and math and has a fabulous sense of humour however he can get emmersed in the computer, music, or T.V to the point where I am not even there...so to speak. I am working on getting past this and the times that he appears not to want to spend time with me or to be alone. There's the pros and the cons right there...
We have a wonderful three year old son diagnosed with severe Autism who is greatly improving every day but still the tantrums and frustrations to work through, not to mention eating with utensils, potty training,and increasing communication and social skills which is an on-going work among other things. Our son on the other hand is so loving, affectionate and happy expressing intrests in cars, trains, music and art. He is a true joy and there is so much potential in this young life!

I don't think I really expressed, how intensely and for how long I submerged myself in perseverating over this very topic.

There are just way too many examples to list, but truely, you cannot have a pro without a con, and visa versa. You can't feel happiness, without having felt sadness for instance, I mean, like I said too many examples to list.

Anyhow, just wanted you to know Mooseman, that this was a point of massive perseveration for a long time for me. (Not saying you're perseverating).

Another thought I enjoy tossing around, is "too much of anything is no good" and couldn't come up with a single acception to that rule. Too much love is obcession, too much oxygen and all the worlds plants would die from no Co2, etc etc... And nope, with so much more important things to think about, I have no idea why I have all these types of thoughts. It's like creating my own social conversation in my head, in which I am 'all' of the participants on my own philosophy debate team....kinda like a certain part of my brain is perpetually on pot, hee hee. And no, I don't smoke pot. I hardly need to!!!