Has living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder enhanced your....

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A couple of questions (well quite alot to be honest) that I'm intrigued on getting different perspectives.

Has living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder enhanced your life and contributed positively to your existence?

Or has living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder put you at a greater disadvantage and negatively impacted significantly enough on your life, to impede on the happiness you could of achieved without such a disability?

Do you feel being characterised by your mental health issue, blurs the lines between where your diagnoses ceases to be and your own individual personality actually begins to start?

Without changing your interests and pet habits, would you prefer to be able to rid yourselves of Autism altogether?

Why do you want to know?

I prefer to be able to function enough to get through life without being ridiculed and judged by people. Which is something I currently am not able to do, and yes it has taken away from my happiness. I feel I'd probably have a decent job that pays well and that I enjoy doing, I'd be able to drive instead of relying on everyone else, I'd be able to afford my own house with the stuff that I currently have (internet) because I'd have money from that job I could've had. Though at this point, the damage is done, even if I were able to rid myself of the symptoms today or tomorrow, it wouldn't change the past 27 years and I'd still be stuck where I am now, only slightly worse because there are no jobs here and I can't afford to move or go get a college degree for a career.

Occasionally. Some days it feels like a battle with executive dysfunction, and just feeling mentally overwhelmed. Everyone has their challenges in life I guess, so I'll ultimately pick the devil I know.

Has living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder enhanced your life and contributed positively to your existence?

I don´t know if its due to my Aspergers or not. I see patterns easily. I see stuff as they are and their not influenced by my personal beliefs(don´t have much of them). Im really rational and reasonable, but others see that as being cold.
.

Or has living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder put you at a greater disadvantage and negatively impacted significantly enough on your life, to impede on the happiness you could of achieved without such a disability?

A lot, im already 28yold and im only like 50% on the way to my self-subsistence. I hate asking for money to basic things like my apartment rent, food, cloth to my parents. I need to live alone because I don´t get along with anyone. In my current job my superior is 21 years old and im 28. In every job I have worked, since I don´t laugh of my boss jokes(when they arent funny), since Im just focused on the job, since I work for results and I don´t go there to try to relate to others other than about the professional subjects I have a really hard time getting promoted. Only the ass-kissers gets promoted.

I have been dumped plenty of times easily because since I don´t get personal with people, they can do it easily.
I have been dumped by gfs because I was not successful in my job carrier also.
I have the need to socialize, but it drains me all the time. So I just drink and smoke(pot, cigarretes etc) a lot alone at home cuz it keeps me out of this world. I'm gonna die pretty soon by lung cancer or something like that.


Do you feel being characterised by your mental health issue, blurs the lines between where your diagnoses ceases to be and your own individual personality actually begins to start?

Thats a thin line, i have not thought much about it.

Without changing your interests and pet habits, would you prefer to be able to rid yourselves of Autism altogether?

I don´t know about that, really. I would never know. Because since I would be another person, it is impossible to know who I would be.

Last edited by syndragon on 27 Jun 2013, 7:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I do feel that I wouldn't have my artistic ability without ASD... on the other hand, having an ASD makes it impossible to market myself and network, both necessary for a successful career in photography (and also writing, to some degree). I believe I could do well in a masters or PhD program... except I can't deal with/pass the courses that I don't like in order to get the bachelors (I can analyze complex pieces of literature, but I can't do elementary level math, etc). So, while ASD gave me talents, it also rendered me unable to utilize them.

Generally, I just feel like autism is a part of who I am, not everything I am, but nothing to take lightly either. Whether I'm "being autistic" or just being me depends entirely on who I'm with. I'm not autistic when I'm alone, it is only when other people come into the picture that my disability becomes clear.

I struggle with a lot of anxiety and depression, so some days I think not being on the spectrum would solve everything... obviously not true. I do appreciate my ability to be rational when others can not... says the lady who gets nervous if her favorite table or check-out line is unavailable.

oops

Last edited by gdgt on 28 Jun 2013, 8:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

Note: My issues are much milder than that of most people on this forum, so my answers will likely not reflect the views of the entire community.

Has living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder enhanced your life and contributed positively to your existence?

I wouldn't say that autism had "enhanced" my life because I do not believe that any one life is better than any other life; every person changes the world just as much as any other person. That being said, good things have arisen from me having some traits that are often associated with an autistic spectrum disorder; my distance from social norms, for example, prevents me from engaging in customs and cultures that I find harmful to myself or to others (many, though not all, teenagers incorporate a bit of bullying into their social pecking order; I always refused to engage in such and often intervened). My unique approach to the world also gives other people a unique perspective of the world that they may have never considered otherwise.

Or has living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder put you at a greater disadvantage and negatively impacted significantly enough on your life, to impede on the happiness you could of achieved without such a disability?

I am too young to tell how much my future independence and happiness will be impacted by my neurological differences; I do know, however, that I have still been able to achieve things in spite of and even because of my traits. I "screw up" many things fairly often, yes, but I have had poetry published and have won state-wide contests in an academic contest dealing with one of my special interests (psychology). Sure, I battle depression and anxiety at times, but I do not believe that I would be much happier, or at least not happier in the same ways, without my specific traits and inner workings.

Do you feel being characterized by your mental health issue, blurs the lines between where your diagnoses ceases to be and your own individual personality actually begins to start?

I believe that certain labels, such as "autistic," "gay," "deaf," and so forth can actually serve to enhance one's sense of identity and personality when utilized correctly; a certain level of "characterization" can lead people to a community where they celebrate the ways that they are unique and perhaps be made aware of aspects of themselves that they were not priory aware of. Of course, the characterization can and often is overdone; when others (and perhaps even the person in question) no longer sees the person attached to the autism (or homosexuality or deafness), then the issue arises that the person is not as much of a "person" as someone without that label.

Without changing your interests and pet habits, would you prefer to be able to rid yourselves of Autism altogether?

I second GregCav's question if it has not been answered by the time I submit this post. I would still have to answer "no" for myself, as I believe that even my moments of suffering and heartache can be turned into something positive; should the proverbial "cure" come into existence, however, I would respect the decision of any consenting adult who has carefully considered the situation to take said cure on the condition that the decision was entirely of their own volition.

Yes. It's enhanced my life because I'm more accepting towards special needs people than most people are. I've also learned not to hurt others emotionally, mentally or physically, because I know how it feels to be hurt in those ways. I've also had opportunities to get to know unique people. I also have a strong sense of who I am and I'm not influenced by the Popular Culture of today. I don't need to live in the present to be happy and healthy. I can still live in a time warp and still be happy and healthy.

This is a difficult question for me to answer.

There are many good skills and qualities that my AS give me like my artistic ability, my musical ability, photographic memory, attention to detail, honesty, and being genuine and true. I mean some people may disagree on the artistic and musical skills but I think they would not be as strong if I was NT. I am somewhat gifted at them and they come so naturally. My love of animals and my kind-hearted nature also are part of my AS.

On the other hand there are things that I absolutely dislike about my AS like the way my brain overloads if I have way too much stimulus. I get confused at times with social behavior of others. I tend to lose control in difficult situations. Also the bullying growing up was really difficult for me to deal with.

Honestly I would not change the fact that I have it though. I would not want it to be any other way for some strange reason.

I honestly look at the good qualities as a trade off or counterbalance to the negative traits.

I have enough social skills that I can market myself. I am getting into the video game industry but I think I can do okay in it because I can "act" NT to a certain degree and I really do not come across all the time as socially challenged. But it all depends on how much stimulus there is around me. I think with a close-knit group I do great as experienced in my last job. There was comraderie and I was part of it. They took away my awkwardness and I was able to laugh. I did have some conflict with them but they looked past that since I gave a good impression at the beginning and I come across very friendly and genuine.

If they had known back when I was young, say 45 years ago, I believe my life would have been much different or better. It has not been easy living 50 plus years knowing I was different, being told I was different (weird, odd, etc.), and not knowing how to function in the NT world while living in my aspie world. I’m not bitter, just bewildered.

With that said, I cannot say it has enhanced anything since I didn’t know I was an aspie until about a year ago. If anything, it may have helped me in a round about way since I grew up in an extremely bizarre and dysfunctional home. I’ll save that for another time.

Yes
Yes
Kind of
No.

I is what I are, and that's an element of who I be.

It took a long time to learn to love and respect myself and I wouldn't want to have to start over again with a stranger!

It's not who you "are," it's what you do. We are not our genetics, we are how we use them.

It is impossible for me to answer your questions. I have no idea how my life would be different if I wasn't autistic. Sure, I can think back to a given situation and think "oh yeah, that would have been different", but I would have started behaving differently very early. I have no idea what the knock-on effects of these changes would have been. My personality would probably be fundamentally different, and not necessarily for the better.