Building Asperger's Society; Who We Are, Who Will We Become

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Interesting concept this idea of an autistic society... My thoughts on this in a minute first a few comments.

As far as the so called "cure" that is being developed. I have told NTs that if offered a syringe and told it would make me normal I'd not take it. Asperger's is a part of me, to get ride of that would change me in a fundamental way. Second to this point, the direction that the are looking at for this "cure" for Autism appears to be the same as the one they have for downs syndrome and spina bifida.

Second I'm not entirely sure that autism is as new or as growing as some in the media would have us believe. As a 36 year old aspie who has only been diagnosed for a few months I can attest that adults do have it more studies on adults with asds (autism spectrum disorders) would be useful I think in determining weather there really is a growing "problem".

The idea of a autistic society holds a certian attraction to me but at the same time I'm not sure it's a good idea. I HAVE spent most of my life hiding my diffrences from the NTs around me (trying to at any rate) but have come out of the machine room sort of speak. I'm married to an NT who is wonderful (not going to claim everything is picture perfect but what relation ship is) and have 3 kids 1 of whom is also NT.

That being said, in such a society our love of structure would make certian forms of goverence which doesn't work well for NT's a possible solution for us, not becouse we are more moral or in any other way better then them but because we can thrive in rigid patterns of behavior which would be mind numbingly dull to an NT.

Anyhow enough of my rambling for now

As a 57 year old aspie, diagnosed for half a decade now, I'd concur with the notion of there being a lot more undiagnosed adult cases out there. I work in an office full of fairly odd people, and frequently sit in meetings where more than half the people there don't respond normally. The problem with old ones is that they've believed all their lives that they've been given the same equipment as everyone else. I have a father like that, and he passed the idea along to me. It takes a fairly significant incentive to get over that.

Organisations like the one I work in, without ever attending to the medical evidence, have evolved ways of dealing with such people, and there are grounds to fear that they're not entirely civilised ways. With OHS&W laws the way they are now (in Australia, at least), there's a potential for future liabilities if the secret gets out.