Ashamed of being AS?

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Ashamed? I finally found a group of people that I belong with

No. No shame. But then, there is nothing "wrong" with me, so why should I be ashamed. The only thing that brings me shame, or makes me ashamed of myself, is if or when I treat someone badly. If I can avoid doing that then I have no shame. BTW, treating myself badly also makes me feel ashamed.

I am not ashamed, and am actually proud of it, because it is the name of what I always liked about me (not being "the same" as everyone else, and all that, being my own person).

I just recently learned I have AS (I didn't even know of its existence). I want people to learn about it, so I actually want to tell them I have it, but I have to be careful I don't do it at the wrong time because they'd get bored and never pay any attention (which would be counter productive to what I want).

Some people may also think I am "normal" and think I don't have AS. I got that from a friend from high school (who happens to be a psychologist now). She told me she didn't think I'd have it, but then, she only knew a part of me and for a relatively short time, while my (neuropsychiatrist) brother, who told me about my AS, has known me all his life, and has seen all the signs from when I was a kid and even recently.

So, there are some people I have already informed about it, but not as many as I would like.

I read somewhere that Al Gore is an Aspie

I don't tell anyone. It's embarrassing, and I don't know what kind of treatment I'd get. I don't tell anyone why I am not good at reading people or why I am literal.

What I would like to know is this:
Is anyone ashamed of being NT?

I was diagnosed with NLD...officially LD-NOS of course.


Yes....I feel the opposite, but only because my own particular *case* seems to be among the worst imaginable. On purely rational level maybe I shouldn't be ashamed, I didn't will this upon myself of course.


Nonetheless....we humans aren't always rational so.....


As a determinist...I of all people should be the last one who feels ashamed of themselves. It's self-contradictory for me to believe even the most nefarious NT's among us has anything to be ashamed of.


Considering all we now know about genetics, epigenetics, neuroscience, etc....i'm still waiting for someone to tell where this ghost in the machine known as "free will" resides.

No. I never feel ashamed about it. I generally don't see it as that big of a deal. I am relatively open about it (unless I am at work, and don't want to divulge any information that may be a detriment to my employment status). As far as I am concerned, this is just the way I am, neither something to be proud of nor something to be ashamed of. It just is what it is... perhaps a bit unfortunate from my friends' perspective, as I need to be alone most of the time, but I am willing to take the good with the bad. C'est la vie.

Some people are ashamed to be "too normal" or actually "common".

I'm undiagnosed and haven't told anyone outside of immediate family and one person I blurted to while in a meltdown. If I were to be diagnosed I'd only ever tell someone if it were in my best interests (which is a very usefull rule for any important piece of information btw) but I wouldn't say I was ashamed. If anyone tried to make me feel ashamed they'd regret it soon enough.

i never felt shame about anything i ever did.
and i have infinitely less possibility of experiencing shame about anything i never did.

i am not responsible for my fabric, so the question is null.

u are not spycho u are ninja

Not ashamed, exactly.
More... not proud.
Certainly not a pleasant association, by a long shot, anyways.
I have no problem talking about it, or sharing it with other people.
Indeed, I feel good discussing AS and autism. It can generate understanding.

For me, having AS is just a frustration.
I'm high-functioning enough to where my AS went undiscovered for 25 years. People had ordinary expectations of me, and then rejected me when I couldn't meet them for some reason... which they explained away as lack of motivation on my part. It's frustrating to be in the middle. I'm not severely handicapped by AS. I have a job, a stable residence, life skills enough to maintain a fairly high standard of living. But my dealings with other human beings are usually messy and riddled with conflict and misunderstanding.

I'm not proud of the fact that every day I hurt so many people's feelings unintentionally.
I'm not proud of all my failures.
I'm not proud of there being a profound barrier between me and the rest of humanity.

It's something I could do without.

yes I am quite embarassed about my AS and I tend to be very self consious incase it's showing and I don't usually tell people. But I'm not entirely ashamed because it's just a part of me really and I just have to grit my teeth and get on with life I suppose.

I've always been pretty open about it; people know I'm a freak, at least they know why I am a freak.

When i found out Steve Clark of Def Leppard had Asperger's I had this strange feeling that if my favourite guitarist can do well in life with Asperger's than so can I it was an amazing feeling!