aspergers is almost gone

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I didn't phrase my point very well. Yes, it is possible to gain a huge audience. My point is that no one person can be sure of doing so, but that we shouldn't let that dissuade us.

I'd love to see one of us gain such a "platform" the whole world would take notice. And I'd love to see them use that platform to convince NTs that we are all human. But even those of us who cannot attract that much attention shouldn't give up for that reason. We each need to do whatever we can to spread the message, whether that is to one person, one million, or one billion.

Society can put pressure, but not force people. Did all women go blond when hair dye became available?



I don't see anything wrong with that, one should pay for one's own choices.



Quoting for my twisted personal amusement =D

Some people seem to be able to somewhat rewire their brains, while others have more difficulty. What is it you have been doing to "work on it", if you don't mind me asking. You can give the rest of us a few pointers

What do you think this website is? WP gets thousands of hits every single day, and it contains thoughts on autism from the autistic people. This is a platform. Scratch that, this is one of many.

No one can be sure of building a massive audience - correct, but how many Aspies are on this site alone? How many Aspies are there online? There are a lot of us. If we all spent some time getting our voices out, we'd reach a much bigger audience than Autism Speaks ever will - they are virtually unknown outside of the US, in fact. I doubt I'd even know about them if it wasn't for WP.

This site, however, has a WORLDWIDE audience, and Aspies themselves are EVERYWHERE.

In fact, you often see NTs signing up here to find about Asperger's. These people are getting our message. It happens all the time.

Not only that, but there are big organisations standing up for us too. Here in the UK, the National Autistic Society is the main autism charity. They stand up for our rights. That's their mission statement, and they've shown that they have our interests in mind many times. I'm actually trying to get a place to volunteer for them.

Over in the US, you have the Autism Self Advocacy Network. It's not as well known, but it's up to you to make it well known. You have your potential audience, you have platforms.

It's up to us to show the bigots what reality looks like.

Well, as I said, I do mostly agree with you.

Any audience for those miserable propagandists is too large! Until we've all managed to get our voices out well enough that no one listens to them, I won't be happy. For that matter, I'm not sure those who abuse the legal process to suppress free speech ought to be accorded its privileges.

I do agree with you; I simply had to vent slightly on seeing that name... But thanks for reminding me. I've got to get one of those t-shirts.

http://www.aspieweb.net/store/
http://www.aspieweb.net/aspieweb-vs-autism-speaks-fight-for-the-right-for-autistics-to-speak/

I agree, Autism Speaks need to be brought down to the ground.

Don't buy anything from AspieWeb, though. Get some t-shirts made somewhere else. The guy behind that blog isn't too nice himself.

Oh, and I was mostly just venting, too. I'm feeling strongly emotional today for some reason. MUST REBEL!

My thinking is that, to the extent that Asperger's is different from autism, Asperger's, as the term is used (not necessarily the diagnostic criteria) more applies to the "difference not a disorder" kind of things, and autism more to the disorder things.

And, also, because the autism spectrum includes both kind of traits, it's much better, I think, to talk about specific traits one has overcome.

AS has nothing to do with self-loathing or hatred. So i'm afraid that even if there were a so-called cure for AS it would not be much help for the problems you are having.

Ah, thanks, good to know. I just liked the sentiment.

By learning to pass as NT does not mean you aren't an aspie anymore

aspergers is not a psychological state, it is neurological - a physical difference in the structure and function of your biology.

I also have epilepsy - I don't look like an epileptic, I look like anyone else, I can convince people who have never witnessed a seizure that I may not be epileptic, I have even convinced employers to allow me to work in areas where if they knew I was epileptic they could not legally give me that job - just because they can't always tell that I'm epileptic . . . doesn't mean it's not there.

Though at times it has been better for me to hide my differences, I still have to live with them.

By the way, brains can change. The connections in our brains, those can change. One isn't always stuck with what one has, as far as one's neurological make up. Those changes are a lot more work in adulthood than early childhood, but, still, changes do happen.

Now, how that might apply to autism/asperger's isn't really known. At least not that I've seen.

Still, it's too simplistic to say it's neurological, therefore it's not something that can change.

Can change in childhood more than adulthood.
I grow weary of these 'you can re-wire the brain' posts.
I've tried everything and all that does is lead me closer to a suicide attempt. I'll rather just live with what I've got.

But my post wasn't a "you can rewire your brain" post. I'm just saying something that's true and verified, as a counter to the false idea that if our brains are "wired" a certain way, then it's permanent. Sometimes true, but sometimes not.

Aspergers is almost gone.

You sound like you're feeling the same way I am. My Aspergers isn't gone it's just well hidden. For the last year I've been working realy hard to surpress my normal aspie reaction to a situation and reacting in what I think is the correct way for that situation and that doesn't mean acting in an NT way. I try to not answer a questions if I think the truth will offend someone and I ask questions even if I'm not interested in the subject. I'm nice to people I don't like I can even lie to people and not feel too guilty about it.

In the past 2 years my marriage has gone from talk of divorce to being the strongest it has ever been in 10 years. I can now tell her if I don't want her near me or if I need a cuddle and she wont get upset about it.

Telling the truth at home and telling lies at work seems to be working for me. Having a great sense of humour helps too.

For many years I never knew I had a problem, or rather, a name for my problems. So all of my life I went against my own instincts and suppressed my normal reactions trying to behave as I had observed others. Perhaps I passed for normal on the outside but never felt so within. The price I have paid in stress, anger and depression was just not worth it for this outward veneer of normality. For what? To please others and fit in? It never brought me any happiness.

I'm going the other way now; I'm starting to accept what I am. It is the only way I can see to enjoy the rest of my life.

One thing you might have overlooked, your username