Being " downgraded " .

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Friends who dump you because of a diagnosis aren't true friends to begin with. Screw 'em.

I don't see AS itself as a "downgrade," but a diagnosis could be detrimental if the knowledge of the condition can be used as an excuse to keep me from accomplishing things I want to do and need to do. That is why I never sought a formal diagnosis.

...Yes . but " once you've turned that corner "/opened Pandora's Box ypu can never go back again .
Are you looking to drop the identification ? ( really rushing this out , again . )

Coming out -- well, this is my experience -- has different effects on different people. Some people will not take you serious anymore or even call you wack. Those who love you will accept, but to understand is another matter completely. Those trying to understand you, may find it hard. Remember that most people do not even know what autism is. A little wiki isn't going to give them real feeling for how we experience and live our lives.

Yeah, before you come out of the closet with a Dx everybody who accepted you as being a little strange still had hopes that they could 'change' you for the better but afterwards their hopes are dashed when they realize that you'll always be the way you are. That's hard for a lot of people to accept, especially those very close to you.

Strange how people will rack their brains trying to figure out what is "wrong" with you, blame themselves, but once they know it upsets them or they go into denial. I'm not sure which is better.

That's why people shouldn't go overboard when they get an AS diagnosis later in life and suddenly abandon the survival mechanisms they learned pre-diagnosis. That means you must continue to do your stimming in the privacy of your own home. I've seen some older adults go bonkers after a AS diagnosis and suddenly think its somehow "okay" to do or say things in public that they've never said before. Folk, what was weird before is still weird to the public eye.

I agree. Before diagnosis I was treated as an intelligent hard working member of society, but after diagnosis I suddenly became "one of those ret*d people" to people that found out I have AS.

I still don't think of it as being 'downgraded' since we're right and they're wrong so for me personally it was more like an upgrade from just being an anti-social misfit and general all around trouble maker.

...Well , I hardly have any real friends , and I have no status/$ , really .

I agree with you garyww. After I got my diagnosis at 44 this past November I realized the need to apologize to my family for the way I had always been. But at the same time I like what AS has done for me---I love my interests, etc. But at the same time I wanted to be better for my family (wife and two sons). I began therapy for family issues---to be a better father and husband. I feel I have been better, but this past week I haven't been the best. This is a challenge for me, but I am confident I will be better for them. As far as feeling demoted, I do not feel that way. I am proud of being an Aspie. I even wear my Wrong Planet golf shirt a lot.

When you started to tell people about your diagnosis did any of you fall into the trap of trying to answer the inevitable question 'yes, but how does it affect you?'. Answer, how the f*** would i know. I have no insight into how nt's think and therefore how different i am to you. How was I to know that you didn't think, feel, react the same way as me but just hide it better. And lets face it very few of us are affected in the same ways.

Be ASS-Positive! topic

Consider yourself UP-graded. I have. Maybe I do not have the brilliance, the super intelligence, but what I do have I use to the fullest. You can, too.

How? Each AS person has a special interest. Capitalize on that! (Millie told me this in another thread.) This is what I have done. It helps me and others.

My brother, source of all wisdom, says that we are the next evolutionary step. I told one nt who was being particularly rude that she had been out evolved, and how did she feel about being a neanderthal in a cromagnum world. She deserved it, she told me that aspergers was just an excuse for bad behaviour so i felt free to give it back to her.

...I couldn't get into the Yahoo! acc't that correspond to this AP name , now , finally , I was able to do it , altho I had 2 change my password there ...
I'm not sure how to change the " legend " underneath my name and avatar !

[quote="ASS-P"]I'm not sure how to change the " legend " underneath my name and avatar[/b]There's no need. I think it changes with the number of posts you make. It's kind of like a rank.