To date an "ex aspie"

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UGH

This is just...UGH

Autism is a hereditary, PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL difference in the brain that affects MUCH more than social functioning. It can easily be misdiagnosed, but it does NOT go away. Now, I do agree that people can learn to compensate, possibly to the point of having the same social skills as a Neurotypical. You can, with a LOT of hard work, probably make up completely for your inherent social skills deficit. But that doesn't mean you've been 'cured' of Autism; it either means that you didn't have it in the first place, or you've learned social skills to match others' the way someone can learn from a book. It will still certainly affect other parts of your mind and functioning, even if it doesn't bother you.

And I disagree with this "improvement = no Autism" thing. People can, and DO, amount to EVERYTHING without necessarily having great, or even normal, social skills.

GAAH, this is worse than that "ex-gay" bullshit--and it's the same kind of ignorance. You can have sex with people of the other gender and not people of the same, and you can 'function' as a straight person, but you'll still be gay inside. Anyone who claims to be "ex-Aspie" or whatever the hell you were talking about is either mistaken or lying. This person may have been misdiagnosed as a child--it DOES happen, and therapists will often misdiagnose people because they don't know where else to put them. Remember, Autism is wired into the brain. This doesn't mean you can't change your behavior; it just means that if you were born Autistic, you will die Autistic. Period.

I still have my diagnosis papers and I have in fact used them to my advantage when I can (work related). I don't fully believe myself to be autistic or Aspergers, and to a degree, I am starting to sense it really is just psychological and philosophical BS.
This might be a little selfish, but I got a little story to share and I want to see who can relate to this?

I am vaguely remembering being depressed and upset as a kid. I didn't want to talk to anyone because the people around me used me and I had a hard time letting go of things. Growing up being told constantly that I was ugly, or would never amount to anything and being told I was stupid was not necessarily a sign that I was autistic, it was a sign that others were quite harsh with me in their opinions and I took it to heart. I didn't want to make eye contact because I didn't feel like doing so. I didn't like expressing feelings because people lashed out at me when I did. I would respond with violence in some cases where I heard enough of other people. There is a lot more to it, but a shrink/counsellor observed my behaviour and gave me the Aspergers label. I didn't believe anything was wrong with me for a long time, but once close friends heard of this label from my older brother, the dynamic of all my relationships changed. I now used this label only when convenient because I refused to be responsible for my own actions. Eventually, I started to believe this labelling thing to be real rather than focus on the real issues in my life.

Anyone can be labelled by a shrink. I am almost certain plenty of them label someone as autistic or aspergers just because someone wants to make some money. That does seem far fetched though. When you look at the western world, it seems as if people skills disappeared and ruthlessness and ego boosting became acceptable social norms. A lot of people don't want to take responsibility for their own behaviour and some shrinks are more than happy to capitalize on this fact. An ex aspie is probably someone who is no longer allowing a label to affect their life..

UGH

This is just...UGH

Autism is a hereditary, PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL difference in the brain that affects MUCH more than social functioning. It can easily be misdiagnosed, but it does NOT go away. Now, I do agree that people can learn to compensate, possibly to the point of having the same social skills as a Neurotypical. You can, with a LOT of hard work, probably make up completely for your inherent social skills deficit. But that doesn't mean you've been 'cured' of Autism; it either means that you didn't have it in the first place, or you've learned social skills to match others' the way someone can learn from a book. It will still certainly affect other parts of your mind and functioning, even if it doesn't bother you.

And I disagree with this "improvement = no Autism" thing. People can, and DO, amount to EVERYTHING without necessarily having great, or even normal, social skills.

GAAH, this is worse than that "ex-gay" bullshit--and it's the same kind of ignorance. You can have sex with people of the other gender and not people of the same, and you can 'function' as a straight person, but you'll still be gay inside. Anyone who claims to be "ex-Aspie" or whatever the hell you were talking about is either mistaken or lying. This person may have been misdiagnosed as a child--it DOES happen, and therapists will often misdiagnose people because they don't know where else to put them. Remember, Autism is wired into the brain. This doesn't mean you can't change your behavior; it just means that if you were born Autistic, you will die Autistic. Period.

There are some people who vow to change, dedicate themselves to improving and in result expand their horizons.

It's possible to improve so much socially, that your whole way of thinking shifts as well. Where it's more than just faking being a non-Aspie, but being who you really want to be.

However it isn't for everybody. Some people like being Aspie and some people wish they would improve but are too stubborn to.

Tyrion, you're on the right track man. Keep going, you'll get there. Some people on this forum are too aspie-centric to ever improve (so they think other people can't), but don't let that stop you.

UGH

This is just...UGH

Autism is a hereditary, PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL difference in the brain that affects MUCH more than social functioning.

But isn't ex-aspie just a new label, "oh look at me....look at me, I'm better now" Don't get me wrong I don't think anyone with autism should let a label rule their life. But replacing a label with another label isn't any better.