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Aspergers not a disability or disease?

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Crazy_Ben
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02 Aug 2007, 1:30 am

I consider myself lucky to be able to utilize my talents, whether they be from my AS or not, and luckier still to be in an environment where eccentricity is considered the norm. Very lucky indeed.
Yes, AS causes me some impairments, but in other areas it allows me to put together pictures about how 'reality' really works that are far beyond what many NT's brains could ever hope.


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LabPet
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02 Aug 2007, 2:45 am

Yes, we may be 'square pegs' but we stack nicely.


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2ukenkerl
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02 Aug 2007, 6:16 am

LabPet wrote:
I will 'copy & paste' an exerpt from what I a letter I recently wrote:


I am intrinsically motivated and curious; I am synonymous with science. Due to my neurology, I assimilate differently. I am autistic. This means I neurologically developed into fruition later than another adult. But since the puzzle pieces have assembled, I see the Gestalt pattern with meticulous detail. I am grateful for what I have been given and acclimate for my deficits. For me, I knew the depths of mind and finally found a channel to the ‘outside world’ through logic, science, art, and other forms of expression, which can be shared. The scientific method is verifiable, repeatable, and therefore has merit. This is my channel. When I came to recognize this channel then my infinite mind was not just confined to my skull.


WOW, in what context was that paragraph written? I'm going to have to get some of my curiousity back. People used to be upset at my always asking why! :lol:



Danielismyname
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02 Aug 2007, 7:07 am

Asperger's is probably closer to being different than a disability for a good portion of the sufferers.

Its cousin Kanner's is definitely a disability for a good portion of its sufferers.



Kelsi
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02 Aug 2007, 7:45 am

Well, I don't suffer from Asperger's. I suffer from NT's ignorance, attitudes, prejudices, intolerances, manipulations, etc., etc.



KingdomOfRats
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02 Aug 2007, 7:51 am

am not an aspergers autistic,but am do think aspergers is a disability for some,and not a disability for some,people who say they are not disabled cannot say aspergers for everyone is not a disability as not everyone is as mildly affected as them.
the severest and lowest functioning aspergans live in residential/group homes,or still live with their parents.



Kelsi
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02 Aug 2007, 8:48 am

KingdomOfRats wrote:
the severest and lowest functioning aspergans live in residential/group homes,or still live with their parents.


They and I may well have started off the same. Perhaps our earliest experiences with the world had a profound effect, as well as our ongoing experiences.



etg1701
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02 Aug 2007, 10:19 am

But for all your disagreement, I do find Aspergers to be a disability because I can point to clear and obvious cases where it has held me back in life and denied me the same opportunities as other, neurotypical people. If that doesn't make it a disability, I really don't know what would. However, I nonetheless see people claiming that it has a positive side, a reward for paying a massive price, but no one has yet to tell me what that is (in particular, I am talking about Imipak, whose analogy to Celtic myth has potential provided they come up with a good answer).



JerryHatake
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02 Aug 2007, 12:49 pm

To me AS is a challenge to over come and not to be used as a handicap.


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sandra3
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02 Aug 2007, 1:10 pm

to me AS is a disability and something i just need to work with. it doesnt really bother me anymore,but theres alos something specail about it.



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02 Aug 2007, 1:41 pm

2ukenkerl wrote:
LabPet wrote:
I will 'copy & paste' an exerpt from what I a letter I recently wrote:


I am intrinsically motivated and curious; I am synonymous with science. Due to my neurology, I assimilate differently. I am autistic. This means I neurologically developed into fruition later than another adult. But since the puzzle pieces have assembled, I see the Gestalt pattern with meticulous detail. I am grateful for what I have been given and acclimate for my deficits. For me, I knew the depths of mind and finally found a channel to the ‘outside world’ through logic, science, art, and other forms of expression, which can be shared. The scientific method is verifiable, repeatable, and therefore has merit. This is my channel. When I came to recognize this channel then my infinite mind was not just confined to my skull.


WOW, in what context was that paragraph written? I'm going to have to get some of my curiousity back. People used to be upset at my always asking why! :lol:






Here's why I wrote the above: I am moving 385 miles North, back to the Interior! The reason: PhD program at the Univeristy!! !!
They took me :D

I am happy.....wish me well, Aspies. I start this fall
I leave tomorrow morning early and will not have Internet access for ~ 1 week.


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imipak
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02 Aug 2007, 3:32 pm

etg1701 wrote:
But for all your disagreement, I do find Aspergers to be a disability because I can point to clear and obvious cases where it has held me back in life and denied me the same opportunities as other, neurotypical people. If that doesn't make it a disability, I really don't know what would. However, I nonetheless see people claiming that it has a positive side, a reward for paying a massive price, but no one has yet to tell me what that is (in particular, I am talking about Imipak, whose analogy to Celtic myth has potential provided they come up with a good answer).


In order to answer your question for you personally, I would need to know a little more about your life, what you enjoy, what your strengths are, and so on. If you prefer, you could message me with what details you're comfortable with saying. I'll then be able to tell you whether I'm right in my theory and what good you have received (again, if I'm right).



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02 Aug 2007, 4:13 pm

LabPet wrote:
I am grateful for what I am. But it's hard too.


I agree. I am just grateful that I have good and bad days. Better than having bad days and ugly days no?



etg1701
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02 Aug 2007, 7:36 pm

Quote:
In order to answer your question for you personally, I would need to know a little more about your life, what you enjoy, what your strengths are, and so on. If you prefer, you could message me with what details you're comfortable with saying. I'll then be able to tell you whether I'm right in my theory and what good you have received (again, if I'm right).


Well, I enjoy discussing topics like art, philosophy, and language, as well as writing, reading, drawing, and music. As for strengths, though, I honestly cannot think of any apart from having slightly above average intelligence if you consider IQ tests at all accurate. Despite being 20 years old, I have only one real friend, never dated or even come close, and still live with my mother. Is this enough detail or do you need more?



2ukenkerl
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02 Aug 2007, 8:39 pm

LabPet wrote:
2ukenkerl wrote:
LabPet wrote:
I will 'copy & paste' an exerpt from what I a letter I recently wrote:


I am intrinsically motivated and curious; I am synonymous with science. Due to my neurology, I assimilate differently. I am autistic. This means I neurologically developed into fruition later than another adult. But since the puzzle pieces have assembled, I see the Gestalt pattern with meticulous detail. I am grateful for what I have been given and acclimate for my deficits. For me, I knew the depths of mind and finally found a channel to the ‘outside world’ through logic, science, art, and other forms of expression, which can be shared. The scientific method is verifiable, repeatable, and therefore has merit. This is my channel. When I came to recognize this channel then my infinite mind was not just confined to my skull.


WOW, in what context was that paragraph written? I'm going to have to get some of my curiousity back. People used to be upset at my always asking why! :lol:






Here's why I wrote the above: I am moving 385 miles North, back to the Interior! The reason: PhD program at the Univeristy!! !!
They took me :D

I am happy.....wish me well, Aspies. I start this fall
I leave tomorrow morning early and will not have Internet access for ~ 1 week.


Well, that explains the move also. HEY, Congratulations, and GOOD LUCK! Are you saying in that letter that at one point you didn't seem to notice the outside world? I have to say that that you took what some might see as your worst feature, and put it in a great light! I guess the university felt the same way. :lol:



jaderabbit
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02 Aug 2007, 9:51 pm

To quote a Gary Numan tune: 'I'd love to be like me if I could feel like you'.
This is a good discussion, and it illustrates that no one is the same, whether your personal traits have been categorized into a syndrome or not. There isn't a mold. This is a band of the larger, all-embracing human spectrum that's being scrutinized because its supposed members stand out.
Some of us are different. Just like Einstein, Edison, Lao Tzu, Jesus...It's all relative, depending on what we're being compared with.
The idea that the 'others' are better or right doesn't hold under analysis.
The myth analogy is a good one. You are your own story. Look into Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, James Hillman. As with any epic mythic tale, only the hero can win the treasure and bring it back.