Is ASD really a disability?

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TrueDave,
The flaw with the Dr-Swamp Thing story is that the traits and emotions of the Dr were embodied in swamp thing but the Dr’s humanity wasn’t; swamp thing wasn’t the Dr. it was just the emotional reactions of the man. Swamp thing couldn’t possibly go insane because it was just an animated collection of emotions. The story sounds like great entertainment but is detached from reality. In real life you can’t destroy emotions without destroying the person who has them. The whole topic of free will beckons here but I’ll forego its temptations.

You’ve got the best possible mindset IMO. You don’t view yourself as “dis-abled,” you probably see yourself, at least sometimes, as “differently-abled.” I share this view; I’ve been what’s now called AS for decades and I wouldn’t change a thing about myself, not one thing.

Remember this: Having a disability doesn’t mean you’re a quivering mass of helpless ganglia slobbering down the conveyor of life. It’s much subtler and much more situational. It means that at certain tasks or in certain circumstances you are at a disadvantage because you are different from the norm. Under the law assistance to ameliorate this disadvantage must be available and may take the form of help mitigating those disadvantages. This can involve all sorts of things; but none of it will change you. It will only assist you in functioning in those situations in which you have a disability. In fact the thing most likely to change is the entity you’re dealing with…it will have to change to accommodate you…and all those like you who follow.

Finally, never forget these facts. 1) People who have life long disabilities typically have half the lifetime earnings of their equally qualified non-disabled counterparts. 2) Upwards of 35% of “normal” people are repulsed by or would discriminate against disabled people or those they perceive as disabled.

Kit,
How about this one: On "Seinfeld" whats her name was dating a bald guy.He shaved his head regularlly for two years. She finds apicture of him before he started shaving his head. She begs him to let his hair grow out. Days later theyre snuggling on the couch and she looks at the tiny pattern of stubble coming in. She mentions it he runs to the bathroom mirror sees his hair is growing in a male pattern baldness way. He bolts into the living room and screams "oh my God I'm going bald!" (She dumps him)

Have you seen "hunters' dad"s videos on You Tube? The guy is really through and touching. I found out about some of the negative outlooks of AS there. AS and long term measurement of sucsess, AS link with violence. type in "Why do we have Autism" and it should lead you to him . I wanted to hear the good and the bad, not just the optimistic stuff in the books.

I'm confused about the legal status of an AS. I was frustrated as I called around to see if insurance companies covered it. I asked about the condition and eventually they assumed I must be calling on behalf of a family member because I sounded coherent. I thought it would be easier to lie and say it was for my adult son right out of college. "but isnt it achildrens' disease?" I was asked . Anyway noone I called covered it.

I 've heard rumors if your employer is aware you have AS you can't be fired for AS related behavior. But if you admitted it during the interview would'nt they just find somone else "more qualified"? I'm completely ignorant here.

Lately I often think of a photo in my college freshman psych 101 book. It showed apicture of a man in overhauls with a mop. the section was on IQ, and the photo caption read that the man had one of the highest IQs ever recorded but chose to work as a jainitor so no one would take advantage of his genius. After reading my way through WP I fell theres much more to that story.
Thank You
Dave

I find it disturbing and disheartening, to say the least, that so many Aspergers consider themselves disabled, while I do not. It's really depressing, to me, that so many are ashamed when Einstein and Bill Gates purportedly had/have Asperger's. We don't have to put up with the NT BS.

So depressing.

I agree Kit. It does seem to be situational because there are things that some of us do better than NT's while social circumstances are difficult. Yep no quivering mass here unless it is in the physical belly wobbling type Sometimes I think it would be best not to mention AS. It seems NT's do just think of it as disability, they think you are dumb because you don't have a physical disability.

I recently started going to a sewing class to learn more. It is a new environment so I am still nervous about it. I think the people there realised that I was different straight away so I thought I would mention that I am AS. Well the first question the teacher asked was what year of school did I get to. I then told her I had been to Uni and did Maths then later I did a finance and economics degree LOL. It is a small class and the other student was very quiet after that. I don't know whether it has helped telling them about it but perhaps they might do a bit of research. I think I will stay there till I learn all I need to and then probably won't go again. They talk about really boring things like what so and so is doing. Who is having a baby. It doesn't help that I don't know the people they are talking about. It is more of a social chit chat than an actual class. At the end she showed me part of a pattern designing course and said it was really hard. I saw the lovely shapes and immediately saw what they meant clothing wise. I think she would be very surprised if she knew what I was capable of doing. I am only just learning what I can do myself and haven't come to a limit when it comes to designing patterns. I have more trouble with the business side of it and will probably take longer to learn this than NT's.

Anyway enough rambling

Tell people you're an artist! Yopu're allowed to be eccentric and they feel safe now that you've been pigeonholed. ( Is that sp right ? You know the rats with wings!)

By the time I've spent years being treated badly, I've developed Major Depression and PTSD - and *that* is a disability and it's covered by insce companies.

Disabled people can NOT do something; we have social difficulties, but we CAN overcome them. Basically I'm agreeing with Purple Spider.

Rather than overcome them would'nt you say we can go around them?

For me personally, it is a disability.

I am beginning to see that it depends alot on how you perceive it. I have in the past had times that I really hated myself but felt dreadful being so upset so pushed my mind into thinking properly again and seeing things better. As an AS person I think that if you try to have a positive outlook and search for the things you are good at it helps immensely. It is not always very easy to find the positives because alot of the negatives get in the way. Also if you compare yourself or expect anything from NT's you will be disappointed. People will muck you around but sometimes they do surprise you. Some people are nicer than others and some NT's have trouble fitting in with society as well.

Over the years I have worked out ways of directing my thoughts and ways of turning off the extra sensory input. Though I have trouble doing this when tired or under alot of stress. I am not sure how I do it but have started analysing how I do this. It helps alot. Also I watch the people around me and again analyse their behaviour in fact it becomes a bit of an obsession some times and I have to be careful not to stare at a particularly interesting person. Often I see things about people that NT's don't see because I am taking alot of notice. This does get tiring though and sometimes I redirect my thoughts back to my kids and dh.

Yes but for a while there I was on top of the NT world. I was an outrageous Art student. I grew out my hair and dressed handsomely. At work many of the ladies actively sought me out and I let them.
But now ten years and an AS diagnosis later I realize I was wrong. I was oblivious to the consequences of my behavior. In my Anti Depressant mania I justified any and evrything that did'nt suit me and I've finally admitted that those older women took advantage of my naivte. I only went along because thats what I though a man was supposed to do.
So what now?
And why do I keep thinking about "Flowers for Algernon"?

Aspergers Syndrome is a developmental disabilty so its more on the mental side but it isn't a learnin disability as we have average or above intellegence.