Is Asperger's syndrome / autism a disability?

Post Reply New Topic

Same here really. I struggled a lot in secondary school, despite being capable of doing much better. This was IMO mainly down to undiagnosed AS. Society doesn't reward intelligence first and foremost.

There has been a lot of discussion about AS being a difference or a disability. I guess it's up to the individual to decide. As has been said, "You've met one person with AS, you've met one person with AS."

We try to break autism and AS up into degrees like mild/moderate/severe. So where am I? I am moderate AS, and also by definition I am an autistic savant (talented type). I once listed all my positives against all my negatives on a post---and there were more negatives than positives. But yet those who see me on here note me as being positive. I focus on the positives---I have to in order to not be miserable in this NT world.

So why do I view it as a difference for me rather than a disability? Easy, I believe God made me autistic for a reason---so therefore it is not a disability for me. It is the way I was designed. (And please note---I am not pushing religion on anyone here---as I have said---it is my belief---it is how I view myself in this world). He made me different from the NT world---and the NTs are different than those in the autistic world. If an NT person moved to a community made up of only AS people, I do not believe the NT person would be disabled---instead, I would view the NT person as different.

Well, that's my view of AS. I have more negatives than positives. I have been to therapy for issues. I get depressed like others here. I frustrate my family a lot. I have nearly lost my job on several occasions. I lose my sense of direction easily. I have serious sensory issues---and I mean serious. I have virtually no friends. I have comorbid OCD. And...well the list goes on. But...I am not disabled in my opinion because I operate in my AS world in the way I feel I was meant to. I have gifts that have gotten me through life so far. I am different. And...have you ever met an NT person without problems? I don't think so. And does that make them disabled? No, just challenged in areas. I am challenged in areas. So perhaps I have just redefined how I view my AS in this world. I am different with challenges. And this is not denying my AS issues. It is how I seriously view it.

And here is an interesting note. We that are autistic tend to measure ourselves according to the rules of the NT world. But, you know what? NTs only make up 40% of the world's population. That means 60% of people on earth are not NT. Autistics make up a small percentage of that 60%. But, if not being NT creates disabilities in people that don't seem to fit that ideal NT blueprint, then 60% of the people on earth would be considered disabled. I just can't buy that. I can't imagine the majority of a population being disabled since they do not fit the NT criteria. Everyone one on earth is different. No two people are alike.

Since this is an opinionated topic, I realize there is plenty of room for debate within each posting here---mine included. I can see where the argument for disability can be seen as valid. But---it is how each of us choose to view ourself. Even though I have moderate AS with plenty of negative type traits---I still choose to view myself as different. And if someone else had been given my exact same traits---they could easily view it as a disability. It's just how we view ourself.

And now here is the most important part of my view as to why I view my AS as a difference:

If I focused on my negatives more than my positives---then I would say I am disabled. But since I focus on my positives---I am different.

It's good that you focus on the positives, but that doesn't dictate whether or not something is a disability IMO. Anyone with any kind of disability could focus more on the positives, but that doesn't take away the negatives, or change what it is. When it comes down to it, having AS is about having social and communication problems. That is disabling in a society that puts so much emphasis on these things and in which related skills are almost always necessary if you wanna be successful. Yes, we're different, but I still think that AS is a disability. If you're not disabled by it, then surely it wouldn't be AS?

Last edited by Kasanova on 24 Jun 2009, 11:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Maybe you have different circumstances then. All that I'm saying is that AS, despite being a disability in definition, has some positive aspects. Maybe perhaps its (and shitsurei shimasu if this offends you) the fact that, rather than accepting the label of "disability" as a life sentence, I accept it as a challenge, and use my talents to attempt to lessen it's impact on my life. It's the difference between a false prophecy and a self-fulfilling one.

I completely agree about doing whatever you can to lessen the problems and deal with whatever you find difficult because of the AS. I'm not suggesting that we should sit back and accept we're not going to be able to do this and that.

I did not say you were, friend. To want to use your talents to lessen your shortcomings is a noble goal. There are some, however, who fail to understand that. They gain a pessimistic view on life because of their own shortcomings due to AS and other factors. They think that this disability has made them worthless, and slip further and further into depression. They fail to realize that every being on this planet has worth. That's the first step, knowing that you are worth something. Realizing one's positive attributes, and using them to lessen the impact on the negative, is a philosophy that I think everyone here should follow, regardless of diagnosis.

Leading experts say you can take away autism from a person very easily. You simply shut us in a room by ourself---and poof---the problems go away. There is no social communication problems there because---there is no one to talk to. Thus the social and communication problems no longer exist. You would just have a different person in there. Remember---this is each of our personal views. Well, I don't socialize much at all. I have tried in the past---but it's just too awkward. Do I consider that a disability? No, I just don't socialize. No problem for me---I just curl up with my special intense interests that have ruled most of my life. I am quite the classic AS person.

Anyway, where I am getting at with this is this:

We have been asked to express our personal views on AS. I try to make it clear that my view is simply my view---not necessarily everyone else's. I view my AS as a difference---but that doesn't mean I don't have AS. I most assuredly do have AS. I have moderate AS. But---I do not view myself as disabled. I am different, I am challenged in some things, and I am autistic. No one should say that a person who views themself as different rather than disabled does not have AS---remember it is a personal view of each person. I like being autistic. In fact, I am proud of it. I consider it something that has given me great joy in life---wonderful interests, and savant talent in music. How can I view that as a disability? I view it as a difference. I am unique. I am eccentric. I am me. But yes---I do have more negative traits by definition than positives---so therefore, I live by focusing on the positives.

I just thought of another way to explain my take on AS as a difference.

I will use some terms here that I don't like, but it will make the point.

AS has definitely screwed up parts of my life big time. I have no friends, and I speak to my neighbor on my east side maybe once a month; the neighbor to my south I have spoken to once ever; the neighbor to my west maybe once every 5 years, and the neighbor to my north maybe once every two or three months. On my first date (I was a senior in high school) I lectured her on the history of roller coasters. On subsequent dates, I carried house plan books along and made her analyze the plans with me. How she ever became my wife I will never know. And I have two sons---it is so awkward to play with them that I have gone to therapy and broke down crying over the frustration and guilt I have over feeling I have not been a good father.

However:

I am like a house. Not everything in the house works. I could keep trying to use the broken appliances and would therefore be disabled. But instead, I have learned to use the things that work and try to ignore the things that don't work. So what if the garbage disposal is broken---I just won't try to use it anymore (like my socialization skills). But that doesn't mean I (the house) am fixed. Instead, I will be different than the other houses and operate differently. Rather than go fishing with my sons the way most fathers do, I will instead listen to them and spend as much time with them as I can. According to my therapist, I am a good father. I am adequately giving my sons what they need---I just do it differently than most fathers do.

These statements deeply resonated with me. I have a young son, and I've had many of the same experiences. Indeed, I often feel like it is difficult and awkward to play with him. Like I just don't "get" what I am supposed to do. I try and just be around him, read with him, take him outside in Nature, and include him in the things that bring me joy. But I can see his frustration with me. He acts out and misbehaves in trying to get my attention and keep me "present" with him. He rejects some of my attempts at shared activities.

All this can be seen as a complication of AS. For sure, he is not going to have the kind of dad who is signing him up for little league baseball, taking him out fishing, and watching NASCAR on Sunday afternoons. He is, at age four, already expressing interests and personality traits that I find difficult to follow. But I don't think I'm a bad father to him. I do all that I can, and I feel like that is a respectable effort. He'll turn out fine.

AS has been mostly a barrier when it comes to being a parent. I get sensory overload and anxiety when I am around my son for too long. When I get up with him in the morning and he has breakfast, I can't even stand to be in the same room as he is when he is eating his customary banana and bowl of cereal. The sound completely unnerves me, and makes me stim out of control, and I don't like him to see that. Of course I try not to let the stuff get to me, and attempt to focus on the positive. AS also plays a part in my intense love for Nature and Music, and I love to share these passions with my son. In certain ways, AS allows me to remain singularly focused in a way that can be beneficial in my attention and caring towards him.

It's a complicated issue for sure, with many pros and cons. But I truly feel as if AS remains a disability in this way. It keeps me from ever being fully and consistently "present" around my son. It creates problems with verbal and nonverbal communication. The hypersensitivity and anxiety are ever-present. It's not like I can ignore the fact that these obstacles are there. I can learn to work with them and adapt to be my best, but it will always be an uphill battle for me to maintain, when other fathers can just be themselves.

Again, thank you glider18, for your posts. Your personal experiences and attitudes certainly do convey a sense of optimism and the prospect of good things, even if such things may currently seem out of reach.

I overcame the problems by learning/formulating algorithms that made it possible to get along with the NTs. I am even married to one and most of my children (except one) are NTs. I simply learned how to "paint by the numbers" and I avoided many of the social difficulties. In the mean time I prospered in the wonderful world of technology and software and my Aspieness was a definite advantage. I converted into $$$$$.

My childhood was rough, but I soon learned to pass for human. Most of my NT friends have no idea that I am an Aspie. Every now and again my literal mindedness manifests itself and on (now) rare occasions I am socially gauche. But that is a minor glitch. As long as I do not fart in crowded elevators, I am just fine.

With a rough childhood I grew thick skin and hardened my heart. I was regularly tormented by NT male bullies when young so I learned to fight very very dirty. After breaking some wrists and arms and knocking teeth out, the bastards learned to leave me be. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Nobody messes with the Zohan or the Ruveyn for that matter.

ruveyn

I wasn't saying you didn't have AS glider. I don't know you and have never met you. I was just explaining how I see it in general - if someone doesn't have problems or difficulties, then how is it AS?

Being able to cover up these problems or deal with them well doesn't change the fact that they are ther. Yes, when they're on their own a lot of AS people are perfectly fine, but then when someone who cannot walk is sat down or lay down, they are fine too. That doesn't change the fact that they have a disability. It's great that so many of us can learn to deal with things and create coping mechanisms etc, but IMO AS is still a disability

The extent of my disability is in direct proportion to the time I spend in the NT world. For the last seven years, I have been the sole support of my family and I am forced to spend most of my conscious time in the NT world. I entered my field before I knew I had AS, before I became aware of what AS is, and with no real understanding of how different AS made me.

With 20/20 vision looking back - knowing then what I know now (everyone humming those country tunes - haha) I would have chosen a career that gave me more protection in the NT world, like a bubble for those kids with no immunities. Then I would have only negligible disability. But my job requires all-day interaction and I SUCK!! Every morning I feel like vampires fed on me all night.

With early diagnosis, good self-awareness, and skilled career counseling, the teens and young adults with AS could likely enter the world as somewhat eccentric but without disability.

How true! I'm in a very similar position and this is absolutely what I've experienced. I got onto a career path, not knowing how deep some of my social/cognitive/sensory limitations were. So when I finally got a job in my field, I was unprepared, and I failed. Having found out about AS only in the past year, I am still in the process of re-structuring my whole approach to life.

With early and comprehensive support, no doubt my sense of disability would be less.

Hi Kasanova, glider18 here. Right now, sitting in this condo unit in Hilton Head trying to give my family a good vacation---I am sucking. Everytime I try to do something, the sensory overload is awful---and I can't read anyone right it seems. Maybe it is more of a disability for me too. I was just diagnosed at the age of 44 this past November. I try to be open-minded with everything as long as the discussion is civilized. And you are civilized. I try to deal with things from a positive viewpoint, but I have difficulties in life in this NT world. I can see after a lot of thought that there are definite markers here for it being a disability. I do have fun in life with my interests---but that is at the exclusion of those around me. Whenever I operate in the NT environment---I don't do so well. When I am absorbed in my world---I am different. When I operate in the NT world---well---I guess I do have disabilities.

I, and I assume many of us here in this autistic world, just don't like to be looked down on like we are defective. We can do things others can't, and they can do things we can't.

I think this brings an important point to my view of autism, and life in general: Don't fight who you are. Autistics are told that they need to socialize more and they need to be less obsessive about their special interests. This exacerbates stress and depression, and creates it in those that don't have it naturally. Not only that, but it interferes with an autistic's natural abilities when those that are told this try to become more social or less obsessive.

Now, autistics on the low functioning end of the spectrum are disabled by their autism, and a number of others have comorbids that disable them, or disable them when combined with autistic traits. However, the high functioning end is not disabling by itself. Forces outside of the autism itself must exist to make it disabling.

This is a crock of horse manure. But its the sort of horse manure I might have spouted myself when I was younger and still held out hope of finding some employable niche for building a stable future. Get back to me when you're fifty, obsolete in your old profession and unemployable in any new one because your very age raises employers' insurance rates.

AS makes life very difficult socially and emotionally as a youth, during middle age it's easier to build coping mechanisms and almost forget that you have it. But once you pass middle age, unless you come from a wealthy family or own your own business, you're going to find yourself in trouble. Being unique, different, avante garde when you're twenty or thirty-something is chic. Once you pass forty you're just an oddball. Beyond that you're strange and eccentric and a little scary.

In the US, to answer the question simply, Asperger's Disorder, like any form of autism, is considered a qualifying disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act. You can apply for disability benefits; whether you get them will depend on how serious mental health professionals determine the effects of AS to be on your quality of life and your ability to survive on your own.