Aspie, not autist!!

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If you read the first part of my post, you'll see I have no problem with that at all. Not liking the sound is a matter of personal taste.

I've always denied the label, but its something you can't deny. Autism. I must admit, and I don't want to offend anyone, but ever since I was a kid I've tried hard to dissociate with it.

God I hate myself and my life.

aspie is autist.. it is like types, you got utility cars and sports cars, both are cars

I did read it, I just went off on my own stupid little tangent. I do that a lot.

I cannot blame you for trying to hide being autistic. I have found many ways of doing it. Being autistic affects everything about me from the way I walk, talk, dance, communicate, etc. Many people call me a "genius." I have also been called, "ret*d." There are many ways to help hide or camouflage you autism. If you know a foreign language, you can put together a cover story saying that you are from an area where that language is spoken. Some people have confused characteristics of my autism with my religion. One can also use other conditions that are acceptable to society such as deafness, etc. The problem with autism is not necessarily the autism itself but rather how the world perceives autism. Each year, it becomes harder and harder to for an autistic person to hide autism.

Speech pathologists can pick it up from a person's voice. Physical therapists can pick it up from the way we walk. Teachers can pick it up from being around a known autistic person. Other people who are around know autistic people can easily recognize autism in others.

I have finally decided to quit hiding even though it costs me contracts, jobs, and health insurance. I've decided to start trying to educate people that in many cases, we are more capable and efficient at many things than our neurotypical counterparts. At many jobs, I was recognized as the best.

Employers for example need to learn that for the most part, their autistic employees are more likely to show up at the job ready to work with no lost time gathering in areas to socialize instead of working. There also need to realize, that if their autistic employee is interested in his or her job, he or she will be relentless at coming up with a solution for solving a hard to solve problem. Also, and autistic employee is very likely to be an extremely loyal employee who will do whatever they can to help their employer. Some companies are beginning to realize this. For people who are autistic and are trying to find jobs, they may want to mail articles to prospective employers about many of the advantages of hiring autistic employees (anonymously of course).

I am another diagnosed with autistic disorder who is not ret*d. You must be one of the people who can't tell the difference between a intellectual disability and autism. The number of times people think I have a intellectual disability is frustrating.

You are contradicting yourself


I could be wrong, but I think that the majority of the people with a diagnosis of autism are HFA

I am not an Aspie. I am, however, autistic, or an autistic, or a person with autistic disorder, or whatever your favorite term is.

I'm going to be rather self indulgent for a moment here, but it's only to make a point.

What is about me that you don't want to be associated with? My IQ hits the test ceiling. I can beat librarians and English teachers in Scrabble. I have a college degree from a very tough college and I maintained 4.0s. I am extremely comfortable with who I am and stand up for what I believe in. I treat everyone fairly absolutely as much as I can. My mom said today that I'm one of the most well-liked people she knows. I'm never, ever rude or manipulative and I always tell the truth (okay, sometimes I'm a little too truthful!). I'm quiet, gentle, and with the exception of this post, generally humble.

Yes, I stim. I hit my head. I have staff. I will have a service dog. I hit and bite myself. I meltdown, sometimes in public. I'm partially verbal and can't really carry on a conversation with anyone but my mom and sister. I need a lot of help in daily life.

So, maybe rethink your point a little bit. Saying that you don't want to have the same label as someone with more severe needs is like me saying that I don't want to have the same label as people with AS because they're all jerks. How would that feel?

Heh... well, almost like justice, honestly. I've got to remind myself that most Aspies are not elitists and don't think they're better than other autistics, but boy, every once in a while one will come on here and go, "I don't want to be associated with THOSE people," and I'll want to give them a good big piece of my mind.