People with AS can tolerate change...

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Where have you heard it being in relation to intelligence?

I'm probably smarter than the majority of people with AS when I'm not overwhelmed, and I have an extreme aversion to change as an adult at 28. I was born Kanner's, and I'm the same as someone with AS now....

So you have answered yourself
You are born Kanner's and now look AS because...

Last edited by Nightsun on 17 Dec 2009, 11:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

I didn't say that HE must accept, I said that THEY must accept his diversity. The important point is not if it fits the Asperger stereotype or not, the important things is that they must accept nevertheless.

@Diamond:
being untollerant to routine change and screaming are different things. I can shut up for 30 minutes or complain for 2 hours but don't scream. Different people have different way to externalize their frustration.

P.S.
I'm not defending those dump people working with the OP, I'm just saying that the OP relation doesn't exactly fit the "usual" AS stereotype (the reaction, not the sensation), but nevertheless, everyone is unique and should be treated for that.

I guess my argument is that regardless of what ONE characteristic you don't present as a person with AS (in her mind), it is only ONE characteristic. How can she exclude you when not one characteristic takes precedence over another (at least as far as I was aware of...in the DSM)? It is the collection of characteristics.

I hope I made sense. Sorry if I didn't.

I've not seen people with AS act all inflexible or all tolerable to change. People with AS are diverse. I'm not sure why the manager doesn't see that.

Thanks for your responses. They've helped me work it out a bit. OK I think that SOME people with AS cannot tolerate change, others can. I am obviously one who can't. Still you are right, they should accept this as part of my AS and not put a blanket rule on me saying that I must be like all the other people she's worked with over the years. I've noticed that I am less likely to tolerate change when I am tired/hungry or unwell. Lately I have been excessivly tired and am having slight hypoglycemia so I have got something wrong. Maybe that's why my reactions are so strong? Stressed as well...

i do not cope well with any external changes. I prefer most days the same. However, I do occasionally benefit from a different kind of day - a change in my routine - which adds a bit of interest to my life.

i do not go to work (cannot work with people) and I keep fairly insular. I can put on a but of a mask for short periods and appear normal for short periods. There is no way i could cope with days on end around different people, although I am used to living with my son and his father (my ex, and friend.)

I develop routined patterns in an instant, and find externally suggested or generated spontaneity that is not connected to my interests, exceedingly difficult.

Ok. Autism is a spectrum. So anything is possible.

For example, most people wouldn't have a clue I don't like change. I love exotic holidays, spur-of-the-moment outings and visits etc. I have next to no routine, and I would just mess it up with impulses if I had one.

However I do hate it and get upset for example with things like when someone makes a plan with me and cancels at the last minute etc. I find adjusting my thinking in that way very difficult, and yet it is something only those closest to me ever see.

I agree with ToughDiamond. She was very rude and disrespectful to you and then tried to make out your reaction was unreasonable.
Anyone - Everyone - has the right to be upset when an agreement is altered without their consent. Its not like you negotiated a break or wanted to be somewhere else.
She changed the plan and then complained because you didn't agree with her and wasn't passive about it. All the crap she fired at you is just that - crap. She was doing her best to make you the villain.
In my experience when someone says "you cant handle change" they are in fact trying to justify their own unreasonable behaviour.
We all, as human beings, handle change as Tough Diamond said "at our own pace and in our own style" - change is part of living - its unavoidable. Being bossed, bullied or controlled for the convenience of a staff person is grossly inappropriate and unreasonable behaviour - I hope this is a one off and not a regular occurrence for you.
Just because you have ASD doesn't mean others don't have their own issues and you are not responsible for their unreasonable behaviour. You seem to have accepted her accusation and defended yourself before you considered whether her behaviour was reasonable and appropriate or what might be a "reasonable" response to that situation. I wonder how she expected you to respond -

I can relate a lot to that. I like doing many different things and actually I can't stand doing the same things over and over again because I need to have my mind continously stimulated. My resistance to change is more evident in subtle routine. I need to sit in my slot at home or check for e-mail in the morning, etc.. this doesn't mean that I can't change it all of a sudden (If I go out for a trip is a complete change). But the choce must be mine.

Tolerate? Yes.

Does it mean I like it? Hell no.