Is Asperger's Syndrome a curse or a blessing?

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I had to respond. I agree with you in principle. However, didn't you go off about how stupid NTs were because you felt one NT, who you didn't even know, was unable to read your body language? You were shopping with your mother, and you felt the the NT cashier was supposed to be able to tell the two of you were shopping together.

So you were shocked and surprised when he asked you if you needed help. You thought it was stupid of him, because he should have "just known" you two were shopping together.

I said, in fairness, the cashier might not have been NT, just because you yourself wouldn't know from a 10 second interaction. You said "of course he was NT, why do people on Wrong Planet always alleged that?" Then I said sometimes, even if cashiers can tell two people are together, they may be paying separately, so the cashier has to ask.

I bring this up simply because I think there's a slight irony in what you're posting on this thread based on what you've said before. I'm not trying to be jerk, just a memory I had to put out there.

Last edited by again_with_this on 02 Jul 2012, 11:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I see AS as both a blessing and a curse simultaneously.

AS is a blessing because my black and white thought process helps me understand sciences such as biology and chemistry more easily than my NT classmates. A lot my classmates found chemistry difficult last year, while I found it easy. People asked me for help on homework problems. I am going to college to major in genetics this fall and knowing science well is going to make the experience better. I think this understanding of some subjects in school comes from AS. I'm also going to college a year early and taking some classes meant for sophomores in college. AS has helped me through the academic part of school.

AS is also a curse because it has impaired my ability to socialize. I was diagnosed at age two and was in special ed programs from then until I was nine years old. When I started school, something never felt right. Kids would play together and it seemed so effortless. I was terrified of other kids. My parents and teachers always told me what I was doing wrong socially. I fixed a lot of my AS behaviors eventually, but it was a long and painful process. I always felt removed from other people, and I sometimes still do. I had a heck of a time making friends in elementary school, even though I had a few. I never understood why I felt so removed from other people until my mom told me that I had AS in third grade. The concept was difficult to grasp at first, but it explained why I was having issues socially. Now, most of AS traits are gone, and I have amazing NT friends! I'm lucky to have them. The main social issues of I have now are dating relationships and understanding all social cues. Most kids my age have had relationships, while I've never had anything more than a short fling. I also have trouble reading social cues and figuring out what to say in some situations.

Well people always tell me that everyone can tell that I'm not NT just by 1 second of walking past me by ''my body language'', but when I say ''oh this person was NT'' people are like, ''but how do you know just by 10 seconds of interaction?'' So then how do people know who I am when I'm not showing any signs of Autism then? Why do I get all these looks like I'm Elephant Man for? And they say Aspies can detect another Aspie. I can't.

If you can't detect other aspies, then by definition, you wouldn't know if someone was NT or aspie. Especially if it's only 10 seconds of interaction. So when someone asks you how do you know a person is NT, the correct answer is that you really don't know, as by your own admission you can't tell who is or isn't.

Based on 10 seconds of interaction, I wouldn't know either. So I couldn't, in good confidence, claim someone was definitely NT based on a 10 second interaction, and neither can you.



Because you ARE showing signs of autism, apparently. You just don't know it. But they do. And I guess if they actually tell you that you're different from them, then those people who say that probably are NT and can see something is different about you.

I see it as a curse. It gained me nothing but difficulties and the feeling of not belonging in this world. I find most people (NTs) extremely tiring, I'm prone to depression and anxiety, I'll always have difficulties in getting things done, there are many things I don't understand and so on.

"It's a blessing... and a curse." - Adrian Monk

It's a little bit of both, really. The good thing is that it gives me certain qualities other people don't have. It distinguishes me in some way. The bad thing is all the social ineptitude and other strange feelings it causes.

Well that's weird because people who I know don't suspect AS or any other differences in me, so why should strangers be able to tell? I've become good at hiding my AS and I've also worked on a lot of other things like posture, fashion sense and actions, also through observing behaviour of NT females of my age. Also I have developed a ''sixth sense'', where if something doesn't look right about me then I can feel something ain't right, and 9 times out of 10 I'm right about it (by people who I trust, like relatives and close friends, giving me honest feedback).

Nobody's perfect anyway.

A blessing, because for the most part I stay out of trouble.

Honestly I can't think of a time when AS hasn't hindered my life in almost every way, so I tend to see it as a curse.
I've spent the majority of my life away from people because of two reasons: 1. my lack of social skills and 2. because people have always judged me for being different.
Things that AS has ultimately taken from me:
-Relationships (this means no dates, no dates=lonely)

-Friendships (because people expect me to be normal so they think they know what's going on when they actually don't, so they misread events and I lose them as friends)

-Any real social development (not only because I don't understand "normal" people enough to relate to them or talk to them properly for the first time, but I also don't understand the complexities of real social interaction, to me it's just a bunch of nonsense that people do when they talk to each other, I've never understood the reason for it, nor the proper way to use it)

that's just to name a few that I can think of from the top of my head...
in the end I get frustrated because of my inabilities because it interfere's with things that most people normally take for granted, such as relationships, or being able to talk to people.

I don't think AS is a blessing or a curse. It's the person you are. If you're not happy with the way you are and don't know how to be no matter how much help and experience you do, that is a curse.

If I was happier in myself, more confident, more clever, more in control of my emotions, and didn't care about what other people around me are doing, I would probably think AS is a blessing.

Wow, I found out at 54 years old I have AS LOLOL ,,, and yes it explains alot,, now that I know whats going on, I notified my employer that I have autism, and they tend to leave me alone,, I Drive a Bus ,, a very busy city bus for a living and that is stressful,, I have also been a Barber, and short order breakfast cook,, also,, lol all the jobs have been High stress and interacting with huge amounts of customers,,,, Well I have prepaired over 1,ooo,ooo million meals, and over 80,000 Haircuts,, A customer told me a while back the ,,Long Bus rides was a therapy for Autism,,, ??? well I love Driving the Bus ,,, I always say a Empty Bus is a Happy Bus

Interacting with people is fun and now I understand why relationships, and customers are difficult sometimes,, My eyes can look right thru a person to the other side, and dont lie to me or I will never forget

Any way Is it a curse or Blessing,, I choose a gift or Blessing

I have always had a dog to help guide me, thru life

I am not aware of my surroundings, and recently got bitten ( 9 ) nine times in ( 3 ) three hours by rattlesnakes and did not feel the bites untill a week or two later LOLOLOL

I have developed an imunity to rattle snake venom, and an immutity to peoples insults,, by driving a city bus and interacting with 200 people a day at times,,and co-workers I simply tell them I have autism or aspergers syndrome and they tend to leave be, Blunt, Honest, Fast at my job, it is overwelming at times and my family is in denial concerning me having aspergers,, yet exercise, music, and playing my pianos, help me with all my symptoms,,, and yes I am hoping to find a new Best Friend in the future,, but now I know Friends best or not are Friends indeed: I am glad to be on this site, and I Wish everyone Here and Happy Hello, and when you are a little down grab life by the Ears and do something fun,, We all have great Talents it is important to realize your Gifts and make Goals to show others How to Enjoy Life even if it is Difficult,, Even some Co-Workers of mine are trying to Cure me of Aspergers, or do refuse to Believe, I have High Functioning Autism,, Either way,, they work with me, they see what someone can do with thier life when, We work hard against all odds to be a productive part of Society,, I am glad I found out I have AS,, but I am also glad I found out late in Life since I did not miss a thing,, I wanted to do while thinking.. I was the Same as all other people in my life,, most people treated me as an equal, most did not realize who or what i am,., yet after I self diagnosed myself last year,, My life is complete,, I now must help others do well in thier life

AS is neither a blessing nor a curse. Witches and dark magic aren't responsible of AS. Priests, bishops do not grant you AS as blessing : popes would have been Aspies.

Well, just joking. I think Asperger's can be a disability at times and be helpful at other moments. It can be disability just because we think differently than NTs, it is not inherently a disability, you see.

Well, ReneDescartes, viewing Asperger's and/or autism as a disability, is not necessarily a negative thing.

I must say that I have viewed my autism as a disability since early childhood, but I do not consider it as a curse or a blessing. Living with autism and having gone through some of the difficulties that come with it throughout my childhood and also in my years as a young adult up to now, I can say that I find it strangely empowering to have 'lived with autism', even if its a 'milder' form of autism than the more severe autistic people experience.

I view it as similar to my near-sightedness. Yeah, my eyes' lenses are too convex, and mess up the focus inside my eyes so that everything's blurry, but my glasses correct that. I don't feel bad about myself for having a mental disorder, since I can compensate for it. I don't feel shame, I don't feel I'm inferior to the next person, it's just how I was born. And as far as I'm concerned, I was born a little bit broken. But who's perfect?

I apologise if this offends anyone, I know that there are those among you who thoroughly dislike when Asperger's or autism are referred to as disorders or disabilities- but in my experience, I can't view my autism any differently- unless you guys can convince me otherwise.

both

For me it's more of a blessing than a curse. Yes, I have difficulty socializing with others. Yes, I have trouble seeing the point of many actions people take, but coming from poverty Asperger's helped me absorb copious amounts of information that allowed me to orient myself better in the world than most of my "peers". In the future, I will probably see that the tough choices now will lead to a better future. I don't cheat, lie, or steal. I also happen to be bisexual and unlike a lot of gay people I don't feel the need to bed a lot of people for my ego. So yeah, autism is a b***h some days. People don't understand me and I don't understand them, but most days it's a blessing. Other than tribal cultures, autistics are the only free thinkers in the world. How could that not be a blessing???

I consider it both, but more so on the curse side of the scale. I don't have an intense interest in anything as most Aspies on here probably do; not a lot of stuff excites me. Plus the fact that I am a failure in most social situations with the superficial things my age group tends to talk about (parties, smoking, appearance, etc.), I feel that AS can be a curse.
But in the same breath, because my parents know about my condition, I don't feel pressured to constantly try and make friends and socialize. I can be more independent and not have to constantly interact with someone. AS prevents me from being myself in front of anyone except my family, but I prefer being independent instead of being dependent on friends to hang out with all the time.