Wonderful Asperger Poster

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No. The poster is beautiful. Not angry at all. More like... looking through the transparency of everything. Not looking at you, but through you. I understand it. Beautiful.

Great Poster.

That could work. Same text, different pictures.

To be honest, I really couldn't work out whether that was referring to a claim that people with Aspergers do not know what being gifted means, or that 'NT's can't understand why having Aspergers is considered a gift by some!
And what does a pair of really dark eyes with choppy hair have to do with Aspergers anyway?
Sorry, I know the OP posted that in good faith, just I'm not that good at disambiguating things...

It just grabs your attention and makes you ask questions.
Any thinking at all would be a good thing.

I am curious: And what does a pair of really dark eyes in this presentation have to do with Aspergers anyway?
Salud

I still don't understand how anyone could consider AS a "gift".

Well, I'm rather happy with being so clever. (Wow, that sounded conceited) I see patterns that other people don't see, I pick up on things (academically) that others don't, or don't as quickly. I'm learning to see Asperger's differently.

DJ: AS is a bundle of strengths and weaknesses. The nature of each, and the ratios, is different for each person. The cost/benefit ratio depends on many things, such as your profession. In an area like engineering, in my observation, most of the top engineers are "on the spectrum". That is, when the strength is exploited by appropriate choice of career, the benefit may, in the eye of the beholder, out way the cost.

On the other hand, I know aspies/auties who are miserable. For them the social isolation is very painful, and there is no "plus side".

In my case I love the focus and intensity that I have inherited: it is an almost manic 'high' to, e.g., delve into a textbook on linear algebra. In contrast I find most social events not merely mildly stressful, but largely purposeless.

Penny

P.S. Look at cases retrospectively diagnosed; for example, Glenn Gould. Had he not suffered the costs of AS, he would have also lost the associated benefits. Whether the benefits justified the costs, only Mr Gould could answer. But if my choice were

(1) to be a world-famous pianist with amazing, original insights into Bach and Beethoven, but to suffer Gould’s social limitations, (and what an amazing ego! Glenn Gould interviewing Glenn Gould on the subject of Glenn Gould makes me laugh as I type this),
or
(2) to be a (neuro-) typical “happily married” but unaccomplished High School music teacher, with the day-to-day stresses of life (salary concerns, school politics, home issues, lack of respect from students, dead-end career, …)

I know I would jump at #1. The extremes of accomplishment seem, to me, to define what it means to be human. In contrast, choice #2 seems to be so dull as to barely be distinguished from the lives of deer in the woods. Any lowly creature can mate, produce offspring, forage, and bring home leaves and nuts.

magnificent work of art

Fantastic poster!

this poster was made by me. This is not a girl it is a photo of my son aged 9. He has Aspergers syndrome and I was using my photography to try to get people to learn more about autism and to see the positive aspects. Being an aspie for my son and myself brings many gifts - and many difficulties (although many of the difficulties come from NTs and being misunderstood). The poster was meant to challenge the eye contact issue - some aspies can make eye contact sometimes. Also I was trying to capture my son's intensity. He was undergoing a terrible time at school and had been excluded (while undergoing diagnosis). because he was so bright and clever the school denied his autism. I wanted the poster to highlight that there are some positive aspects to being an aspie and to celebrate my son and his talents. The poster has been used by several people to offer a different view.

If it makes people have discussions and think then it serves it's purpose. Although it was aimed at NTs not people with autism. My son is not an emo, but he did have very long hair then. Like many aspies he did not like his hair being cut.

Lou,

Personally I think it is beautiful...and SOOOOO different from most of the (grossly inaccurate) slack jawed, geeky representations around (look at any of the charity and organisation site illustrations) that it must, inevitably, make people open the mind and think a little. Which is the most important part.

Augh, Asperger's Syndrome. The disorder that is the paradigm of doublethink. The only fact people can ascribe is that we are different. Otherwise all we have are little battles over what is right and wrong about those with 'Asperger's'.

I really like the poster.

The comments on Glenn Gould were wonderful. I have been fascinated by him since I was a child.

No offence madam but you're prejudging here. Every person who is diagnosed that I know of has short hair.

Errr...

I suspect that your sample size is relatively small, and what about those of us who are self-diagnosed?

She said 'many', not 'most' or 'all'.

Let us not forget the women, either - I suspect that many with autism are women with longer hair. Certainly not a majority, but enough for 'many'.

Speaking for myself, I really dislike long hair on myself - I can't stand it when any touches my forehead, or when there is enough to blow around in a breeze. However, I also can't stand personal attention, and being the sole object of someone's attention while getting a haircut is very uncomfortable.

One further note - does anyone else wish they were carrying around scissors so they could cut off errant strands of hair on people they are talking to? I never have, of course, but the desire is strong.