Why isn't AS taken seriously?

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Okay, this is a bit of a rant, but it's about something I've felt more or less since I found out about AS, so here goes.

It really annoys me that few people who aren't on the Spectrum (or know someone who is) or in the medical profession, think that AS even exists. I know that the Internet is hardly serious business, but whenever I see a discussion about AS on a non-Autism related site, there are inevitably comments such as 'it's a fake disease' or 'it's just caused by bad parenting.'

The 'fake disease' comment is doubly annoying. Firstly, AS isn't a disease and secondly, it ain't fake. I can't help being amused by some comments that people make in ignorance about AS, but the general feeling among the non-autistic population is that it's somehow not a genuine condition.

Other conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and even classical autism don't usually come under the same fire. Why not? Is it because many AS people can pass as normal in some situations, thus making people think that we basically are 'normal people' with below average social skills? Or because many people with AS sometimes have meltdowns, they're perceived as not being able to control their temper properly?

If you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, have a look for yourself on the Internet. AS just isn't taken seriously. It's funny. I'm not offended by the numerous parodies on the internet of AS, but I just find it strange that many people don't think it's real. It happens in real life too, not just the internet. How many of us have friends and relatives who deny that we have a form of autism, because we don't 'look autistic,' or because we have friends, or for whatever reason? Lots of us.

I don't deny that AS exists...maybe it is overdiagnosed in some cases, but I do believe that the majority of self-diagnosed Aspies on this site are genuine. Sadly, people who are clearly NT do leap on the bandwagon, claiming to have AS, despite the fact that they have no problems with eye contact or body language and no sensory issues whatsoever. Who knows, maybe AS will become fashionable, but if a great deal of people claiming to have AS actually don't, it makes it even more of a joke. Indeed, AS has even been (wrongly) associated with the emo culture, albeit jokingly.

Maybe this would have been better as a blog, but as I'm about to hit the send button, it's tough luck . Share your thoughts please.

Well, I'm off to get some shuteye. I'll be back tomorrow to reply to some replies. G'night.

Nice rant...no sarcasm what-so-ever.

Wow! My older sister who's NT thought I had it and my mom said that was me. I researched the disorder and am 99% sure I do. I am self-diagnosed mainly due to a jerk Psychiatrist who says it's a disorder diagnosed in childhood and you don't give pills for it and this is a place that gives so he couldn't help anyway and he still thought I had Bipolar 2. I know what I am!! !! (that's what I think in my mind anyway) LOL! I am kind of happy AS isn't "mainstream" such as Bipolar,Autism,ADD etc. It's kind of ours LOL! It's sad if people are jumping on the bandwagon but an actual diagnosis costs money which alot of people don't have. Also the deep fear in the back of there mind that it's NOT AS and is something else (one person from WP was saying he walked out of a session with 5 plus DISORDERS!! !!) So I like thinking I have it and it's something I can compare my behavior here too. I agree it's frowned upon and it shouldn't always be about Autism as in the disorder where children don't verbalize right etc. (the classic kind you see on shows) but more on the SPECTRUM and the different disorders ON IT!! Not all of us are like that child!! !

I have been on one other website where there was a discussion about it they said it has become a new lable to diagnose children with. It was ADHD in the 1990's, now it's AS now they said. They said it was being overly diagnosed just like ADHD was in the 90's.

Well done rant, Hodor.

Unfortunately as with many not so visibly obvious things that cause individuals to be perceived as ‘not normal’, it would make one wonder as to whether such things exist or not. Do you suppose if we all had some obvious physical disability we would be taken more seriously?

Try explaining major depressive disorder (or any other psychiatric disorder) to someone who has been fed nothing but the stereotypes of said disorders. They will try to convince you that there cannot be anything wrong with you because you look ‘normal’ and even act ‘normal’ and those perceptions are from people you only have casual contact with. While the people you live with try to tell you that your diagnosis is nothing more than a cop out from having to deal with the real world.

I had a solution to the dilemma of those who deny such conditions exist… it involved trading minds with the doubters, unfortunately, it isn’t a realistic solution.

Anyone care to walk a mile in my shoes?

Maybe it's simply very common, just like ADHD. About 5% of kids have ADHD. Asperger's, ADHD, and other common diagnoses which influence how someone learns are increasing; and it's not because they're overdiagnosed but because they're common--so common that it makes more sense to change the educational system to accommodate than to take the child out of a system tailored for what amounts to a minority... those close enough to average that the school system aimed at the average actually works for them. Just because there are a lot of Aspies around doesn't mean that most of them aren't really Aspies.

It's just not easily quantifiable. If they had something they could measure, like amygdala size, then it'd be easier to "prove" to people. No one ever doubts that you have Fragile X or Down's syndrome because it's easy to quantify.

I'd like to add an (unnecessary) amendment to your lovely rant...

The drug firms will find a way to market something specifically for AS and then they'll be basically begging people to self diagnose, so they don't have to rely on psychiatrists to generate demand, i.e. it's fake until someone can make money off it....

It would be nice if aspies and auties all had a special "mark" like in Heroes then we wouldn't have all this nonsense. A secret mark but one recognised by the medical community. And don't mind me, I'm just being silly.

I think a lot of aspies experience something similar to those in the gay community except that there aren't quite so many people hostile to those of us who appear "normal". Maybe we should all wear red and purple trousers to show people we are "different". Apologies to anyone who really does wear red and purple trousers.

/silly boy shuts up

Well, it DOES sound silly. Don't get me wrong, I certainly have to believe because of 4 reasons:

1. People doubted the veracity of claims I have made(Concerning abilities, sensitivities, insensitivities, etc...), though they were true.
2. I sometimes act/feel strange.
3. Some things are so unusual, I don't even want to discuss them in venues like this.
4. With all that, they match the DSM and the experience many of you have.

HECK, I suspected someone of being autistic. I have a few reasons for that. Anyway, I later found his daughter was seeing a psychiatrist! Guess why! YEP! She is diagnosed AS.

She seems nice, but apparently can get overwhelmed, and overreact! She sounds a lot like I can be. She also rocks when she is really into something. Still, people could look at her, and figure she is fairly normal.

I think the reason is that there are quite a few successful people being tagged as having Aspergers. I am a classic autie, and I thought if I said I was Aspie (to explain my behavior), people wouldn't equate me with "Rain Man." What I got in reply was, "Oh Yeah, I believe that Bill Gates has that." Most people think of Asperger affected people as geeks and nerds. People see that part of the Aspie population, and they think all Aspies are in the high technology business and therefore being Aspie is another word for geek. I, however, know better.

I believe that as a general rule, aspies are more intelligent in many more areas than classic auties. I could be wrong, but when around the few Aspies I know in real life, they don't manifest behaviors people consider as severe.
While I have never personally witnessed hand flapping with Aspies I know, I cannot say that that behavior does not exist.
I do know however know that people with Aspergers have to suffer the same types of social problems as us auties do.
The few Aspies I know do not seem as coordinated as us auties. I believe that there is a very good reason to call autism a spectrum disorder. I only wish that the medical profession would lump Kanners Autism, PPD-NOS, and Aspergers under only one category - Autism. Therefore the ASD label should have 3 categories, Autistic Disorder, Retts, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. This would be a more accurate depiction of the spectrum.

Yeah I have experienced some of this too. What bothers me is that professionals who have a degree in psychology really have little understanding of what it's like to deal with Aspergers & adults. I find it condenscending when said doctor looks at me & asks me if I am not sure it's bi-polar. Other than eye contact, I have pretty much every symptom of AS & it's been there with me since I can remember. Very few people who get diagnosed with BP start off from toddlerhood (or earlier) with behavioral issues/oddities. I have! I'd love to run down the list of my symptoms but have yet to meet up with a doctor who is even a little interested in hearing my story. It's insulting that few people listen let alone dig into the truth.

I don't see what bipolar disorder has to do with Asperger's. I don't see a single common factor. You could have both, sure; but there's not a single thing in common between them.

A similar thing happens with the auto-immune disorders. No one wants to believe I have rheumatoid arthritis because I'm in my thirties and appear to be in good health. Add to that the fact that this disease tends to come and go, and people think I'm just faking it. Doctors misdiagnose these disorders or tell the patient "it's all in their head." It's even worse for people with fibromyalgia -- many doctors refuse to believe it even exists. People have a hard time believing in anything they cannot see, touch, smell, taste, or hear. If there is no readily apparent physical evidence, they just dismiss it as being "imaginary".

I hate this. It hurts when someone says it's fake, it's like they're calling me a liar.