Do you consider your autism a disability?

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My difficulties associated with my autism are disadvantages caused solely by the communications problems of being an outlier, thinking differently, different non verbal language. Other of my difficulties I think are caused by autism impairments(I believe executive dysfunction is an autism trait not a comorbid). Some are caused by a combination of both the disadvantages of being an outlier and autism impairments. Hard to tell which is which.

It really depends on my mood, actually. Sometimes I am and sometimes I am not.

Yup.
NTs are so dysfunctional in so many ways, but the are the dominant life on this planet and make the rules.

If neurotypicality is a spectrum...

Then my native NTs are on a severe scale.
Severe enough that even other NTs would complain about it.

Too emotional, too social, too loud, too crowded.
Not to mention are social media addicts, selfie addicts, chat and texting addicts, etc.

Oh no!

My autism is NOT a disability! And it not pc and it's denigrating to call it a "disability". And blah blah blah.

Sarcasm.

Of course it's disability. Yes. Pure and simple.

If it wasn't for my meltdowns it would mostly be a gift... I'm disabled other ways too because of Bipolar 1 and my physical difficulties... My physical issues are mostly what is keeping me from working now.

I'm disabled in the sense that my functioning and the functioning of my society are mismatched: I'm disabled but not disordered. I don't have any autistic traits that are dysfunctional in and of themselves. The fact that society is too loud, too fast-paced, and too heavily based on eye contact, chattering about nothing, mind-reading, etc. to suit me is at most only partially a reflection of who I am.

That's so true. It's mind-boggling to me how mentally ill some people get just because they are socially isolated or how intensely bad they feel over minor mistakes they've made or over being "ugly" (in their own minds).

When you consider people who are living in war zones, people who've survived horrible accidents and are quadriplegics or brain-damaged, and people who are imprisoned, tortured, and sex-trafficked all desperately want to continue living, then compare that to people who are considering suicide over something as minor as being alone or hating themselves over minor or neutral personal traits...social dependence and excessive negative emotionality (which I think is called neuroticism) very much look like disabilities.

But there are autistic people who are like this as well. And considering conditions like bipolar, anxiety, and depression...no, I think the excessively emotional people are not the ones writing diagnostic manuals; they are primarily the ones being diagnosed according to it.

I have an Asperger’s diagnosis. Personally, I would say that I’m not “disabled” because I have no problem caring for myself and can do stuff like drive, ride my bike, but I would say that I have a “social disability”.

Yes because I know the issues and so do all the people around me but I will never disclose unless I feel it is important and relevant and there's no other way to....

EG. I told my son's principal (who is a very sincere and trustworthy seeming person)
because it was relevant to many things...

Also I wanted to explain if he saw agitation over my explanations or extreme emphasis on certain points it wasn't anything personal it was me feeling the situation very deeply..also so he knew I might need explanations, I wouldnt instantly know what to do..

etc..and that's how i get on in life is consult and consult people and keep asking....and he could also interrupt or anything to get me to stop repeating 1 thing again and again ,if it happened..which it did.


. also I will never claim disability benefits for mine because it is not something I think is fair considering other people's situations, people whose families abandoned them or IDK what.

I have hyperlexia and lots of things going for me. Like family help which people often don't have, can have great presence of mind (in spurts) , smart/discerning if given examples/ experiences to get a pattern from and reading and not having to transition too much that lose focus, can remember details , can drive (had accidents but at this point i think i'm great at driving)

My son's therapist AND my son's care coordinator (whose adult son also has ASD) told me many many times to claim disability for myself for example-
they only knew because it was relevant - eg they have had to help me in things that isn't their job-- they just saw it was necessary in the moment--

so as to get more support andbut I wont do either of those things because in my case it's wrong to . govt already helps with children beyond anyone's wildest dreams in other countries, and i have an XH to help with things in emergencies like broken foot, parents, family, resources, and even if i dont have something i am still better off than people like my childhood friend who had autism and much worse off than me in it. etc.
but is it a disability..
...so is blindness and one of my uncles is blind in one eye and almost completely blind in the other, and does everything on his own even though his life is tough and the country he lives in is tough to live in, etc. he might have relatives help but that's what they feel is a pleasure and a duty, just like he helps whoever he can.

haha, they sound funny, and the way you phrased it is funny.

I could go either way but I'm not sure I know anyone who doesn't see it that way.

I almost voted for the 'some parts of it' option. Yet, I had to vote for the 'other' option (please elaborate).

I fell I'm a cross between the 'some parts of it' option and the 'yes, all the way option.'

I voted no, but I am kind of stuck between "no" and "some parts of it". I never thought of myself as being disabled, just different. That difference did (and still does) make life quite a challenge. So, in that regard, yes, it can be disabling. It's just, I don't feel disabled. I function just fine (most of the time), in my own way.