Heather Kuzmich does NOT have Asperger's (misdiangosed)

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Because having Asperger's is a part of who we are. How would it feel to be born without a leg and have someone say that it wasn't a "true" handicap because it may not be as bad compared to the challenges posed by more severe handicaps? Perhaps some of us (like Heather) don't have the most outwardly severe case of autism but that doesn't mean that one should minimize our struggles.

Two words: Publicity stunt.

After reading this thread, I decided to look up some clips on youtube of the episodes described. I tend to believe that she does have AS; she did seem "different" from the other girls in the sense that was outsider much of the time and had a great deal of difficulty coping the types of things she was asked to do compared to the other girls. However, very fact that she could even SURVIVE such a hostile reality show type environment says to me that 1) Her AS is waayyyyyyy milder than mine and 2) She must have worked really hard on her social skills to get to where she's at.

As far as the literal language thing, I did have issues with that until about age 12 but I really don't think it's an issue for most AS adults
As far as the nonverbals, Aspies can be taught to fake it for short periods of time, especially if they have therapy and read books like "Socially Curious and Curiously Social," a social thinking guide for Aspie teens and adults.

IMO- Heather is an Aspie who learned to fake NT quite well but of course, like most Aspies, her Aspiness comes out now and then.

I have seen Heather interact in class. I attend the same program she does. I don't know much about Aspergers though, so I can't say much as to whether she qualifies for that. I've always thought that autism was about missing social cues (to where you can offend others due to missing said cues), missing most often, the non-verbal conversation that can go on. I've also worked for a language camp and had autism children attend and dealt with such. They were much more inclined to 'act out' and were the age of 17 or so.

I -personally- feel like Heather can't control herself(or else chooses not to). If she gets stuck on something, and the teacher is unable to attend to her right away, she throws a tantrum like a child. She is incapable of taking punishment. There has been more than one occasion where she's supposed to attend my class, show up a week in, there for a few weeks and disappears. This could be due to a modeling career(I'm not friends with her, simply in close quarters with her). Regardless, she acts much like a child when dealing with frustration and/or when she is given the consequences or 'breaking a rule'(as in being locked out when class has already started and she shows up late). Otherwise, she seems to function properly.

I don't intend to stand one way or the other in the situation, because I simply don't have enough understanding of Aspergers, but I thought to give this little discussion someone who has at least sat next to her, instead of watching videos.

I've had people say I am not longer autistic becasue I've just gotten so good at masqurading as an NT. But stay a while and you will eventualy see that I am not "all there". I guess Temple Grandin is no longer autistic either because she can speak and hold down a job.

I'd probably be disqualified in a contest like that for b***h slapping one of the nastier NT girls who said things about me.

i wanted to chime in and give everyone my two cents. i went to grade school with heather for years, and she definitely has AS. just like on the show, she was made fun of for years, but didn't even acknowledge it. she was an amazing artist. most times, in class, she would be drawing. i felt bad for her because she was made fun of so badly, but she didn't seem to care one way or another. as if, she didn't harness the emotion to care. she was made fun of the most in gym class because people thought that she looked funny when she ran. to be honest, her running was unlike anything i had ever seen even to this day. i would try to make conversation with her here and there. i remember her telling me about her sister who was a model, and she really looked up to her. she brought pictures of her sister to school a few times. when she talked about her sister, it was the only time i saw real emotion out of her, aside from being angry. she would also smile and get real bashful when i complimented her artwork. like a previous post said before, she threw tantrums when it came to rules, but not the way that a regular person would be defiant to rules. antm did not represent her as she really is; therefore, anyone basing their study on what they saw on antm is flat out wrong. the only thing that is clear from the show is heather's obliviousness and blank stares when people were being emotional. she is most definitely the definition of AS - a high functioning austism.

In other words

You are autistic! You aren't allowed to be pretty or do anything with your life because I said so!

She proved you wrong.

[Moved from Autism Politics, Activism, and Media Representation to Random Discussion]

It's also a growth thing - I know I acted alot more AS when I was a kid and gradually improved as I grew older, maybe Heather did too. I know I put alot of energy and effort into trying to act normal and socially acceptable. I never watched the show, but I think the only one who can really know are Heather and those who are very close to her.

I have to agree, and I can't understand why people would think it's fun to be diagnosed with Autism.

There is nothing fun about it, and I had to deal with it my entire life.

I can read social cues and don't have sexually inappropriate behavior and I'm AS... oh wait, I'm not ,I was misdiagnsoed too. Now it's PDD-NOS for me.


But yeah, maybe she was misdiagnosed... but it wouldn't be for those reasons. Her awkwardness I know was due to social anxiety. I have the exact same problem. It's not that we don't know and don't care. It's that we know and care too much!

AGREE!! ! I want them to see what its like to cry during recess because your friend(s) are absent and no one else will play with you. To have a friend that you love but are losing because they don't get why you do what you do. To cry because a friend is being confusing and you can't tell if they are still your friend. To be put into a new situation and want to interact, but the way you do so only drives people away. To freak out uncontrollably because your mom said you would do something and then cancel it. To be called weird and obsessive because you focus on one thing and that one thing permeates everything else you do. To be explaining things twice because the way you think is not compatible with how others think.

This psych is obviously extremely unprofessional - feeling completely confident . What he said IS relevant though, except it's relevant for children. In children, AS is noticeable in the ways he mentioned. But with adults like Heather you can't be confident in diagnosis based on those factors any more. Everything he said is impossible is definitely possible - because I have done it, and when I was a kid I was a textbook case and fitted all his descriptions (I was diagnosed as a kid also). Now that I'm an adult I needed to see a psychiatrist last year and I went to see one specializing in Aspergers and in initial meetings she flat out questioned whether I was sure my diagnosis was correct. I know how I present, and that is completely non-aspergery except when I am under some form of stress.

i wanted to chime in and give everyone my two cents. i went to grade school with heather for years, and she definitely has AS. just like on the show, she was made fun of for years, but didn't even acknowledge it. she was an amazing artist. most times, in class, she would be drawing. i felt bad for her because she was made fun of so badly, but she didn't seem to care one way or another. as if, she didn't harness the emotion to care. she was made fun of the most in gym class because people thought that she looked funny when she ran. to be honest, her running was unlike anything i had ever seen even to this day. i would try to make conversation with her here and there. i remember her telling me about her sister who was a model, and she really looked up to her. she brought pictures of her sister to school a few times. when she talked about her sister, it was the only time i saw real emotion out of her, aside from being angry. she would also smile and get real bashful when i complimented her artwork. like a previous post said before, she threw tantrums when it came to rules, but not the way that a regular person would be defiant to rules. antm did not represent her as she really is; therefore, anyone basing their study on what they saw on antm is flat out wrong. the only thing that is clear from the show is heather's obliviousness and blank stares when people were being emotional. she is most definitely the definition of AS - a high functioning austism.[/quote]

And despite the lack of specialized professional training you are in more of a position than this psych to diagnose her for the reasons you and I have stated above. Unprofessional psych's really piss me off because they can really screw someone up by prescribing them the wrong drugs (happened to me), not giving people the therapy they need, giving people the wrong therapy, and a whole host of other reasons. In my opinion any psych who specializes in diagnosing AS in children has no more qualifications than a lay person to diagnose AS in an adult as they can present so differently depending on a whole host of factors. There should be a new breed of psyc specializing in adult diagnosis in my opinion.

I believe this to be the truth and if they are I imagine they had a loving |Mommy and Daddy tell them how wonderful they where growing up and told how to be a sheep from a young age , than latter on in life had their parents pay for their college and pull some strings in the employment field.*



No offense just saying I find it hard to believe any autistic could or would want to be materially successful. may be it's just me

* I guess these rules also apply to NT's , to a lesser extent of cause.

I also find it hard to believe why an autistic could be in the company of sterotypical NT's day in day out 24/7 -even for money

Mutual exchange. NTs need the AS people to think for them and stuff.