Poll: Would you approach someone who wears an AS t-shirt?

Post Reply New Topic

Poll Question: Would you talk to someone about Aspergers if you saw them wear an AS t-shirt?

In this campus of 45,000 students in College Station, TX, I have been keeping my eye out for other Aspies but have not found any...even though I'm sure in a campus of this size there should be more than a handful. So by trying to find others, I always went about it the way of telling everyone I know that I have Asperger's to see if anyone will speak up and say that they are also an Aspie. The disadvantages of this plan were that with everyone knowing I had Asperger's, I sometimes felt the temptation to behave however I wanted to behave, knowing that I might be able to get away with it. I think most Aspies who tell their friends have the temptation to try to use the label to get away with inappropriate things they know they should not do when they are around people who don't understand AS very much.

So I decided the best way to do things is to wear a t-shirt. My t-shirt doesn't say what Asperger's is, it is just a white t-shirt that has the word Aspergers written across the front of it. I think what will happen is that people who do not know anything about Aspergers will not recognize the shirt (which means I'm not using the shirt as an excuse to behave poorly) and at the same time people who DO know something about Aspergers will recognize the shirt (people who may have AS or know someone with AS).

I plan to wear the shirt on either a Tuesday or Thursday one week and then either a Monday or a Wednesday the next week, alternating between M/W and T/TH. I don't plan to wear it for example EVERY Monday because the people I go to class with that day would get tired of seeing the shirt, and any possible Aspies in my Tuesday and Thursday classes would never see the shirt. So I will alternate each week.

If you are on the Texas A&M campus in College Station, look for me.

This university it seems is ULTRA-Neurotypical!

Sounds like a good plan. I wonder how many people will think it's a really small college? Or the new cool place to shop, sort of like Abercrombie? I know, have the lettering made to look like Abercrombie's. Aspercrombie!
Why would you want to use AS as an excuse to act badly? If it happens, it happens- hey, NT's act like a-holes all the time, and they have no excuse! But using AS as an excuse is just encouraging a negative stereotype. Like Tourette's- people say, ''oh yeah, they're the ones who swear all the time''. It's hardly true of everybody, and they- and we- are much too complex to be reduced to a simple, one-size-fits-all concept.

And oh yes, I would be happy to see someone with an Asperger t-shirt. I'd definitely say hello to you. My Asperdar is apparently no better than my gaydar was when I was in college.

That sounds like a fun idea!

No offense, but I'd feel awkward wearing an aspie shirt. Particular neurological conditions don't seem like the kind of thing you want to be known for.

Agreed.

There are much more considered ways of going about meeting Aspies.

You're also running the risk of people Googling Asperger's and jumping to wrong conclusions - from where it's only a short step to the whole class/year/campus whispering about 'the weirdo/nutter/freak' behind your back ... whence you'll never know when you're talking to someone who has mis/uninformed prejudices/preconceptions about you.

You might celebrate your Aspidity - but most NT's won't share it.

At best, it'll prejudice any social prospects you may have had.
At worst, it could exacerbate potential social issues.

I regard it as rather ill-advised, unrealistic and idealistically naive.

You however, might find differently.

Sorry, but I wouldn't initiate conversation with you. Even if I know the person is Autistic, I still couldn't do it.

There used to be a fairly popular "university and college students with asperger's" group, I think it was a mailing list. I expect it's still around somewhere.

yes i would talk to you. I would tell you "stop wearing this T-shirt!" lol... If, as you said, the place is Ultra-NT, you know them enough to know that they won't read "Asperger" on your T-shirt, they will read "kick me"

Maybe you could start a group of some kind and put ADs on the boards and wait for fellows aspies to show up at the meetings....

I'd probably say "Hi"* although I'd think a t-shirt with the word "Asperger's" on it was a bit weird.

What about having a t-shirt with something a bit more fun printed on it, like "Aspielicious" or something, instead of Asperger's? Or some of the other designs on Cafe Express?

*But then I'm perhaps more outgoing than a lot of Aspies. I was in a restaurant a few months ago, by myself because I'd been shopping all afternoon and knew I couldn't be bothered to cook when I got home so I went to my favourite Chinese restaurant, and heard a couple of guys at the next table talking. One of the guys was saying his 15 year old daughter had recently been diagnosed with Asperger's and he was saying that he was realising some of the things were relevant to him. Didn't sound like they knew of any support groups or online stuff, so as I was leaving I plucked up the courage to say Hi and explain I couldn't help but overhear but I was Aspie as well and did he know about WrongPlanet and AFF and gave him a bit of paper with the URLs and also my business card. I was a bit but I thought it was important to let him know about places like this where it's not all tragic, given his daughters recent diagnosis.

No, seems a bit awkward

I would definitely say hi. It would be like, thank god, somebody else!! !

I wouldn't approach anybody on the basis of a t-shirt. Just because the person is an aspie that doesn't mean we have anything in common worth talking about. I relate to people on the basis of interests and how our minds work, not on diagnoses.

Wearing that T-Shirt could make you a target for bullying and on a campus of 45000, thats very likely.
As a former victim of severe, constant bullying I wouldn't reccomend it.
However, with that many students its also a fairly strong possibility that there may be other students with AS or similar conditions. And I understand how important it can be at times to have some friends who at least have some kind of understanding of what makes us aspies tick. Are there any counsellors on site who may be able to help? Maybe if they can't fix you up with fellow Aspies at the college they may know of something else locally.

But to answer your question, when I'm out socially I still find it virtually impossible to start any sort of conversation with strangers. Right now I would definitely feel more comfortable approaching someone in an AS shirt because at least I'd think we have one thing in common that can help break the ice.

So its up to you, and whenever you are wearing your AS T-shirt I hope its with a sense of pride.
Good luck

At A&M, I don't think bullying is a concern. I don't think bullying is generally that big of a deal in college compared to middle school and high school. Also, I saw a friend of mine wear an ADHD shirt the other day and it was no big deal.

I don't know whether or not I would introduce myself. Perhaps if I saw that person wearing the AS t-shirt enough times, I might. It should prove to be an interesting experiment Keep us posted.