I know this is an ancient post, but I didn't want to create a new topic. I thought the discussion on here was rather interesting. (I found it through google trying to understand myself and how Fe works.)
I have high functioning autism. Diagnosed PDD NOS at age 6. (I think now they've changed things up, dropped that and just classify it in the High Functioning Autism, but that's whole 'nother topic).
This is just a guess, my understanding of what is really going on changes as I gain awareness, but I think to understand Fe I had to generate "Fi" by combining inward intuition and thinking. I also had to develop "Si" in order to be able to use Fe. I could be off base in my understanding, but I know for sure whatever is going on, I had to take on some form of self awareness to understand what is going on. Thus why I kind of sway between INFP, INTP, INFj and INTJ. It seems when I am in "INFP" mode it drains me, and I feel insecure after a while, so that was what tipped me off that I may not actually be that type even though I learned to synthesize some of its functions.
That said, I seem to have si (or generated it from se - haven't figured out exactly what is happening) which is a blessing for being able to understand others, but it isn't something I can dwell on or I get uncertain of myself in the current moment. I doubt I can utilize it well for making judgements, but I can use it as a cross reference to recognize past mistakes, but new experiences can be tricky. I get torn/ shift between trying my past experience or what tends to happen: Try to empathize with them by getting a read of their feelings and think about emphasizing with them. When I get it, the other person is happy, we have a positive experience, and I feel happy that I helped those around me. They are at peace, I'm at peace, everyone is happy and I am happy. When it goes badly, they are visibly upset, annoyed, critical, or feel awkward. I get a feeling of surprize or shock, and then that is when I try to turn to my past memories to break down the moment into components and try to figure out where I went wrong so I can try to adjust my future behavior to have a positive outcome for the next person I meet. Lately I've been factoring it could be a mistake on their end too, but I have to practice tolerance and keep that in mind for the next time.
Absent of nonverbal communication, I seem to have better use of Fe, but I still kind of switch back and forth, trying to loop back, zoom out to understand self and then turn around and view the other person. It is a bit slower process and if I am drained, I can forget to answer replies, forget to answer emails, or if I do remember, there's this sensation of "I want to say something but I don't know what. I need to say something, but I can't externalize it."
I get that feeling in public too. Especially if someone is opening up and expressing their problems. I really want to help them. I'll say things like "I'm really sorry to hear. I hope things work out." and it may help or backfire. If it backfires I go into hermit mode for a while, just kind of internalizing the sensation of I need to say something but can't figure out what.
It seems for me my Ti and Fe are switched. More like an INTJ, but because I feel the need and desire to empathise, I am usually striving to develop some sort of feeling preference.
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Other details:
Anyways at about age 2-3:
I remember not knowing a sense of self at all. I was the environment. Literally the entire scene of what can be captured visually. My hands just kind of floated. Thoughts drifted in and out. I remember single words popping up. Hearing my parents talk. I can tell their emotions. Whatever they felt, just kind of blended in with the whole experience.
Age 5-6: It puzzled me that I was just an "existence" while other people had an entire body. I could see their eyes but not my own. I could see my body, but it wasn't from the same perspective as theirs.
I started asking others "Do you see your face/eyes?" And always got a confused response no matter who I asked. I would ponder over that question, wonder why they were confused. I kept asking, trying to refine the question. "If you look in a mirror?" I had the feeling I was somehow odd and different that my "self" looked vastly different than theirs.
Age 4-5 was also when I started verbalizing my thoughts. Prior to that I thought the monologue in my head *was* the external communication. Even as I remember it, I still remember it as verbal speech, but know from asking others that I did not talk, or if I did I was whispering or only saying parts of my sentences.
Age 6-7: Figured out all people have the "problem" of "not seeing their own faces sans a mirror. Each person has their individual thought strings and that I am not alone with what I was experiencing. That was a sense of comfort and also a generator of more questions. I also found out about my diagnosis.
6-10: Realized I was different than everyone, had my disability. I pondered over if I really had it or just didn't understand how to behave. Thought I could try, but usually my focus was whatever I watched in front of me and the thought strings that monologued in my head. Questions of "why do I exist" "What does being alive mean?" generated. I'm sure I was picking up emotions from others, but not consciously processing them.
The output: after school I'd be drained, need to be by myself, but at the same time be so overwhelmed with emotion, I needed to release it, but not sure what it was I felt. I just knew it wasn't comfortable. I'd be crying, upset, and not sure why.
Age 11- present:
Learned more about autism, met other people with autism and connected. It was a huge relief to know I wasn't alone, and that their struggles mirrored what I was struggling with. That was a huge relief, and helped me grow to understand myself, and in turn understand other people and the world around me. That is what I've been using since. I can pass almost as a non autistic person, but at times of stress, I lose the Fe, retreat a degree and have awkward exchanges with people, because I can feel there is something they are looking for and that my response didn't satisfy them. At work this translates to me trying to keep talking to offer something, but further annoy the person. I feel lost with a sense of confusion and they feel angry, annoyed, confused, and in their mind I'm sure the thought loops are: "Wow how tactless, rude she is."
Fortunately as I keep on trying to interact, it gets better, and I seem to develop Fe stronger, rely less on having to generate "Fi" and "Si", but I still can fall back. A good coping strategy is to write down my thoughts, post them and then observe how they change over time.
I'm not sure what type Temple Grandine could be, but she is definitely someone who has a high functioning autism and has show feeling preferences, imo.
Feeling? I think she is an ISTJ. I've read a couple of her books and she definitely seems Si dominant, IMO.
Met her once in person. Kind of an awkward rude moment where were were eating at the same table. I had a very methodical approach to eating broccoli, which she did not approve of. Rather bluntly she told me "You eat like a pig." Which at the time hurt my feelings. Making it worse she used it as a topic in her speech after the meal. Embarrassed, I kind of lost respect for her (at the time) and used that experience to check myself if the reverse is to happen and I'm the one doing the public speech. (I don't want to generate that same level of shame/ embarrassment in others) if I can recognize it.
I'm not sure I can type her either, but I can say, whatever she has, she does appear to utilize intuition combined with Si very well. Her speech went on about how she can visualize things from an animal's perspective. To gain a better mental visual image in her head, she goes through physically experiencing what she views the animals must be experiencing. (crawl through tunnels, wear some of the equipment, etc) She draws up on those past experiences.
Also a clear thing she noted about herself that is telling: She said she remembers specific people and places when she thinks about the future. She made it very clear in her speech that she does *NOT* see a general mental visual image of a dog or family. She sees dogs she's met in her past. She may be able to switch the image, but it always draws from her past.(Si). Family = her family. Experiences = what she experienced in the past. This is a strength of hers, one that she was/is very proud/ clearly boastful of. (compared her mind to a file cabinet of photographs and past experiences.)
This is just a random guess, but I think she may be utilizing something in the INFP, INTP, INTJ, axis if she isn't using a sensing preference. (Factoring autism, the "F" part may be dropped to the bottom of her stack if she is an IN) Likely she's an _ST_ type. I'm inclined to believe her intuition is stronger than her sensing preference, just based on how well she maps out things in her mind. But her sensing preference is very well developed.
The sticking points for me is her great ability to generate a mental visual image, but it is drawn from her actual experiences. Thus her need to actually experience the stuff she uses for her intuitive map. She seems to need Si to generate her mental visual. I'm thinking Ne dominant (?) for the ability to generate new possibilities drawing from her Si. Or if she's using Ni, the Se is mimicking Si and helping her to visualize whatever specific mental map she's working on at the time.
That said, her memory of the past is very accurate. I met her briefly a year or two after that meeting and she, rather casually but still rather pointed and directly, asked me how my eating manners were.
Me: no verbal answer, but I did change my method of eating.