AS and ambition, what's realistic?

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Is it unrealistic to think that a high functioning Aspie who learns to adapt relatively well in society could do almost anything they wanted to, if they had some natural aptitude?

I'm not trying to invoke inspiration here, being realistic is my thing, I really believe this but I wonder if I'm being a little short-sighted. It seems to me that Aspies can have strengths in many different areas and that the weaknesses affect everyone differently so I would think that an Aspie could do almost any job they wanted to if they had a strong enough desire for it and some of the natural ability. They may not be like everyone else in their field but they would have certain advantages others don't, just like an Aspie would in most areas of life.

I'm really not sure, though. I can be sure of something and still be missing a huge part of the picture so that's why I'm asking. Do the majority of Aspies have more limits/weaknesses than I realize they do?

I suppose in theory, you should be able to do it. Thomas Jefferson became a politician. Temple Grandin became an author and a whatever you call her other job. I know of Aspie technical writers and Aspies who deal in erotic sculptures. I know an Aspie scientist who also teaches high school. Some people say Bill Gates is an Aspie; I suppose he's not the worst role model. Heather Kuzmich is an Aspie model.

Now, you, specifically, probably couldn't be everything on that list. Nor could I, no more than Temple Grandin and Bill Gates could switch places. It may be that you're unfit to do what you aspire to do. However, that's no more or less likely than it is with NTs.

Go get 'em.

I don't doubt your overall potential; I have no opinion on your overall potential. I don't know you.

Because I knew neither your aspirations nor your skill set, leaving open the possibility that you could be a quadriplegic who aspires to compete in the Olympics. I had to account for the possibility, because if you were a quadriplegic who wanted to compete in the Olympics and I said you could do whatever you wanted, that would be incorrect.

Reach for the stars, and follow your dreams!

Most people whotruly succeed in life were not "normal" so I don't think it is a real problem for AS to have ambition (I want to have a Doctorate in Linguistics and would love to find something no one has found yet but it's barely possible).

Well, a friend of mine is nearly blind and do pretty well in archery (she has been champion of France or almost and was not even 20), it's not the same thing but you would think that someone who can barely see you and recognize you would not be able to do that and yet she did.

I don't think AS should be THE limiting factor into what a person "should" aspire towards. It's a combination of practicality and a person's strengths and weaknesses, and depends on what issues a person has on the spectrum and how much they are impacted by their issues. It also depends on how much a person actually wants said aspirations.

AS isn't like a physical condition that would literally prevent you from doing some tasks - although if a blind man can tear around the Top Gear test track in a car in just over 2mins, I guess there are always ways around almost anything. Just my 2c.

Almost anything. The problem is getting opportunities, so for instance being President may be unrealistic just in terms of getting people to vote for you, but not in terms of being qualified (most of you could do better than the last several idiots I'm sure.) Once we actually get hired for a job, I don't think there's anything we can't do. In some ways we can probably do anything better than anyone else. There was a story on ESPN a while back about an aspie kid who burst onto the pro surfing scene with moves nobody's ever seen before.
And how about her?
Or him?
Teaching probably isn't a traditional aspie career choice either, but it was mine, and there's an administrator (and former teacher) at my school who has Aspergers. If you have something in mind you want to do, I say go for it. Aspergers is a bumpy road, not a dead end.

AS isn't just a disability. It has pros and cons, like anyone else. We can do just about anything anyone else can; we just have to do some things differently.

I think this is a tough question for both NTs and those with AS.

In raising a kid, you want him/her to be balanced. Willing to take risks and dream big but also having a sense of reality.

How does one accomplish that? My best guess is to compare fantasy to dreams. A dream is something attainable. A fantasy is a dream too unrealistic to attain.

If you never try, you'll never see what's possible. If you don't test your boundaries, you don't learn what your real limits are.

Wish I had a better answer than that. I suppose all you can do is once you learn there is a limit, respect it. Yeah, you could fight like crazy to possibly overcome that limit or you could put that energy into something that will allow you to be rewarded for your efforts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishing_well
http://www.bthompson.net/quotationlinks/it_works.pdf
http://www.dreambigcollection.com/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/
http://www.naphill.org/
http://www.daytimer.com/
http://www.sife.org/
http://www.mead.com/

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