The future of Autisim!

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I'm not on disability. I'm not whining. And I certainly don't want to be 'cured'.

I just think those with legitimate needs deserve a break. They already beat on themselves hard enough without someone telling them they aren't really disabled. I don't know if you've checked but getting approved for disability - even when you legitimately have one - can be a nightmare. If you are not missing a limb, you need to go through batteries of doctors and testing - it can take years to get approved. And trust me, that free ride isn't some cake walk - it's bare subsistence living. People don't do it because they WANT to. They usually do it because they've exhausted all their other options.

Again, I'm glad you function so well with your AS. Others may not.

Gideon: an argument is lost the moment one threatens violence and begins shouting insults.

This is made doubly so when the person threatens violence over the Internet.

Whatever point you were trying to make is now moot. Quit digging, the hole is deep enough.

I will be taking a walk later, right now I'm working (not here, of course--in other tabs).

But I feel fine. I am not frustrated or angry. Neither am I "emotionally invested" in anything happening in this thread. I'm merely offering a friendly suggestion.

Why don't you take that walk? I guarantee it will help your anger and frustration subside. Or, why not have a little treat, like a cup of hot chocolate, a cookie, or something else you like?

Better yet--take a little treat on your walk! Your spirits will be lifted, no doubt.

Here is the thing about those with "Legitimate" needs. Those needs are often, actually I believe almost always created by the NT society we live in. If you look at other "Disorders" that aren't really disorders we see this. One of the best to use as an example is dwarfism. A little person is not in and of themselves mentally disabled. In most cases their problems stem directly from having to live in a society built around people much taller than themselves. We find many of the same psychological problems in people with dwarfism as we find in aspergers such as crippling depression, facial ticks, and other incidental problems. These problems are caused not by any genetic disorder they have but because of the way they have been treated by society.

People with aspergers actually experience even more social isolation than other "disorders" because we don't look different. So we get told to act right, be more normal all the time. the anxiety of having to become like an NT drive many aspies to real disability. The way to stop this is to stop thinking of aspergers as a disability because it isn't and to make damn sure those with aspergers don;t experience the societal anxiety that cuases most of these psychological problems. The idea that there is something "wrong" or something that needs to be fixed in a person with aspergers even in the asperger community intensifies these problems.

Tell that to the city founders of Hiroshima.

Please declare yourself the winner of the internet one more time. It is endearing.

It's been a few minutes. Hopefully Gideon is taking that walk. I'm sure he'll be in a much better mood when he returns, and then perhaps this thread can carry on as it did prior to his "meltdown".

Yes. Yes, you are. By definition, if one's Aspie traits aren't causing "clinically significant impairment" in one's social and work like, that person doesn't qualify for a diagnosis. You are saying that Aspies are just whiners who are looking for an excuse for their bad behavior - or failure. That the only reason they don't succeed is that they didn't try hard enough.

The only meltdown i see is from people who want to milk aspergers as a disability. A melt down in ethics.

I see your walk wasn't so effective. Did you try the cookie? If you don't like cookies, simply help yourself to some other little treat that you enjoy.

Yes if you buy into the "aspergers is a disability" nonsense then yes you are basically using it as an excuse to fail. I don't put it all on the shoulders of the person being further victimized by our society. Those who think aspergers is a disability and continually tell their victim that they are broken are also partly to blame.

Patronizing people for the only goal of making them angry and obtain a reaction is a ridiculous attitude. Desist.

Anyone wishing to continue conversing with Gideon should note his post history and ask themselves if continuing a conversation is worth their time and effort.

Sounds like Gideon might not be the only one who needs a cookie!

Hmm it amazes me that a web site that promotes itself as a haven for people with AS and also actively promotes AS a a different way of thinking rather than disorder draws so many people that want to further the agenda of those who want aspies classified as disabled and or genetically inferior to the NTs.

I'm not disagreeing with you. It shouldn't BE this way. If the NT mainstream would rather pay someone to not associate with them because our differences are too much for them to handle like rationale, thinking human beings then that is the option left open to some. It's not really a choice. It's a last resort. It shouldn't be this way, but for now, it is. Until the NT community can find a way to become more accepting, understanding and tolerant, it is the only option available to some. I think there are many with Asperger's who feel disability is a last resort after all other efforts at 'normalization' have been exhausted.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think you were referring to young adults automatically being assigned a life of disability without the training to address their challenges and help make them productive. Wholesale discounting of an entire generation like this is appalling and I do agree - more mentoring needs to occur. Gods know I would have benefited from mentoring when I was younger. Successful Aspies would be invaluable in educating special education teachers as to what is possible, in mentoring the next generation and in advocacy. I do think Asperger's is a norm. This 'HUGE' jump in autism has to, in part, be because of the addition and recognition of Asperger's.

If you have any ideas on how to influences closed and disinterested minds in changing their opinions of 'ret*ds' I'm all ears. I encounter that sort of bias every time I walk out the door. People just don't give it any thought. Public awareness does work... but how to catch their attention...

To catch their attention the first thing that needs to be done is that people with aspergers need to stop referring to themselves as disabled. How do you convince an NT that you aren't some mentally disturbed anti-social monster when other people who share aspergers with keep telling the NTs that we need to be treated as less than normal.

Second thing that needs to be done is to focus on the many Aspergers' successful lives rather than the failures and to quit setting up other aspies to fail. I am new to this community but in the short time I have been here what I have seen appalls me.

Imagine that during the civil rights movement large numbers of African Americans sided with the racists and stated that blacks were inferior to whites. That is exactly what these people on this thread and this site for that matter are doing when they try to convince people with aspergers that they are somehow disabled.

Damn right Pokey that pisses me off.