Ever been called out?

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Other people tell me its very noticable theres something weird about me. People usually think im just high though. Im in a band and my bandmates say people come up to them and say, "that guys way too high to be here" and they explain im not high. I dont really care what people think. It doesnt matter. I was at my neighbors house earlier today and i noticed his fish didnt move and pointed it out and his friend said, "maybe hes autistic." I dont know or care if it was a joke on me or not. Ive only met the guy a couple times before though. I dont really care if people know or not. I dont feel like theres anything wrong with me. People will make jokes about it but so what, they make jokes about everyone. Its not a big deal if someone doesnt like you for it. They didnt matter in the first place anyways.

I almost got called out, a friend who works with special needs adults including autistic. She said I reminded her of one of them.

Nope, not so far. I'm usually just considered shy, rude, arrogant or my absolunt least favourite - a little slow in the head.

Hahaha that's kind of awesome actually. Now that I think of it, people have occasionally mistaken me for being high or drunk.
Hey, you're in Tacoma? Cool, I'm in Renton.

wigglyspider wrote:

Good grief man, be proud of your AS, I am.

I guess I just have something against labels. And it's a pretty strong one.

When I was 15, these girls on my softball team saw Rain Man and asked if I was autistic. It was brought up again when I was 16 and they thought I had his memory. So I said "My memory isn't that good."


When I was 21, I got off the bus after work with some guy and we were talking and I started talking about Benny & Joon and I tell him every actor that is in it and he asks "Are you autistic?" I guess regular people don't normally know all the actors names in their favorite movie.

This is actually rare that someone would ask if I am autistic. As a kid I got "Are you ret*d?" I rarely get asked that today now and have someone think I am. Those who do are usually as*holes that think I am.

So do I actually, particularly if the label is disparaging to the individual and only describes what they would be like on a very bad day viewed from a negative angle. I found some of the criteria very offensive as they seemed to be directed at personality traits that my family and I have no problems with at all.

I've always been happy with who I am, however, I've never ever been happy with other people deciding that my personality is "defective".

I'm all for people getting the help they need, but others often view a label as an excuse to put others down for their so called "deficits".

If my AS label had meant that I had got access to understanding and appropriate social help that really helped me to connect with the other kids; people didn't pity for my differences; and expert private curriculum relevant, gifted fast-track tuition was thrown in for free, my parents would have been all for that.

The thing was, that my label made it harder for me to mingle with the other kids because they were afraid of the label; so were some of the support staff. Many assumed that I was "stupid" just because of a label.

Where I live, I'd get some very questioning looks if I said that I was proud to have a "syndrome". It would be as illogical to them as someone being "proud" of having cancer.

Perhaps this is just the country I live in, I don't know, but many "pity" the labeled and disabled. I have physically disabled relatives who are fed up with this attitude.

Gosh, if people were more understanding and I'd been given sensible information to start with, I would have been more open. But the fact is, people aren't open and don't want you to unnecessarily label yourself. Some might even see a label as a sort of "excuse" used by "lazy and uncooperative" people.

I don't know. This whole AS thing does sound like some of my friends and family: it probably is genetic. But, I don't honestly think that any of them are "disordered": they're very nice people.

That's probably why they aren't happy with this whole concept of labeling. People are individuals. Some don't like to be pigeon-holed like that.

No.

But it is not any kind of secret - I've alluded to it right on my Facebook profile, I have discussed it in public, there is not really anything to be "called out" about.

I got called out once, got called as a ret*d.. then I punched that kid between the eyes and knocked him out. Back when they wanted to institutionalize me.

"Are you ret*d?" I think everyone gets asked that at some point when they're a kid, LOL. The first time I got asked though, I had no idea what it meant, so I kept going "what?" and she kept going "are you ret*d?" for like 5 minutes. Maybe we both were. XD

The thing is, *I* would sort of see it that way too. For myself, at least. Since I only recently found out I was on the spectrum, I've known for my whole life what my strengths and weaknesses are without them having a name. Giving them a name now seems unnecessary.

This is how the convo went. My mom and I were talking about the tests I had to take when I was a kid.
me: So what did they find? What's wrong with me? Nothing, right? *confident*
mom: Aaaactually....

So yeah. I didn't even think my problems could possibly be worth a diagnosis, they seemed so trivial to me. (I still wonder if HFA might not just be something the doctors made up when they were bored) But now I wonder how trivial they really are, and if they're at all apparent to other people. I just want to keep the label off me for as long as I can. Hopefully forever. That whole situation you described, that's exactly what I don't want. I'm not strong enough to be the voice that stands up and shows people that autism isn't a bad thing, or whatever. Because I've seen how one of my close friends reacted when another friend of hers confided in her, and I just don't want her or anyone else to start tiptoeing around me like that.

If you get called that for many years by lot of kids, it's obvious they are thinking you are ret*d so they ask you that to see if they are right. If you get made fun of in school and bullied and being told you're ret*d, you would think you are doing something wrong if someone asks you if you are or not.

There is nothing wrong with aspergers. I dont concider myself disabled or disordered even though i recieve ssi. I hate the label of disabled because it implies that someone is unable to do anything when even a blind person with no legs can is still able to do things. Most my friends know i have aspergers and it doesnt bother me. People are usually more understanding when they find out. Its rare someone has a negative attitude but sometimes they will but thats their problem, not mine. The thing i dont like is that people stereotype things. Not everyone with autism is the same or has the same symptoms. Everyone in the world has their own personalized "disorder". There is nothing wrong with me.

I wasn't "called out", so much as recognized. Friends who had experience with autistic individuals mentioned that I might be Aspie. I did the research, and it fit very very well. I've never been shy about admitting it, and I don't consider it some dark secret.

I do tend to pass for "normal, if a bit weird", and at times get the comment that I seem too detached, even scary, at times by people who aren't familiar with AS. But for the most part, people don't notice. I think it's less that I'm high-functioning (because I'm definitely not as high-functioning as I seem), as much as I had social skills repeatedly beaten into me when I was a kid.

You...you mean people actually understand it enough at this point to do that? Ha, Jenny McCarthy eat yer heart out!

Well, my girlfriend sorta did recently when I quoted entire passages from Ghostbusters to her...passages I'd memorized, not from reading on IMDB or anything.