Do you think Asperger's is something to be proud of?

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From my observation it isn't.

It looks like there are a lot of people on this forum who wave it around like a badge of pride. Not a good thing. You tell people out in the real world you have Asperger's, they see that as a disability and a bad thing. People are naturally uncomfortable around those they perceive as sick. If you tell someone you have Asperger's, they will think of you as mentally sick and try to avoid you.

It will also probably be extremely hard to land a job or make friends if you tell people publicly that you have a mental disorder.

If anything you should hide it and try to act normal. Believe it or not, it's not that hard.

No.

It's just a medical condition. It annoys me when people act like it's a lifestyle choice or something.

Well, I don't believe in taking pride in things you didn't accomplish. As it takes no special effort to get Asperger's or an other ASD, I don't think you can really be proud of it. Of course, you can be proud of yourself for coping with problems that arise, or for achieving your full potential, but of having the condition itself I just I don't see it.

However, I don't believe in hiding who you are because of society's pressures. We've had that experiment run quite a few times in the 20th century, and it never worked. That's not to say I think it's wise or necessary to tell every person you meet all about Asperger's Syndrome. After all, telling them doesn't change who you are, and if they were going to accept you they'd do so even if you didn't tell them. It seems a bit of an attention-grab, though I'm not accusing.

You can be happy to have Asperger's Syndrome, but proud? Nah.

Pride in your AS makes as much sense as pride in having blue eyes, being right handed, or being American.

No sense at all in other words.

Having Aspergers is only the foundation of a house built with greatness.

Your question doesn't make sense to me.

Having a certain neurological configuration is not something to be proud of. It is what we do with our condition that should make us proud or ashamed. However, again, it may be something to be proud of. We have Black pride, White pride, Irish pride, etc.

I've not been diagnosed with Asperger's but I do deal with Bipolar Disorder and I'm not proud to have that, though there are people out there who like some Aspies have "Bipolar Pride".

What I am proud of is how much I've overcome while dealing with it. I'm not proud to be Bipolar but I'm proud of the coping skills I've developed.

edit: Yeah, pretty much what cyberscan said.

Last edited by Dots on 09 Jun 2010, 4:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

No.



Not IME. I've had good support and understanding.



You are wrong. You may yourself be able to act normal, and if you feel you should it's up to you, but you imply that that choice is open to all. It is not. It's pretty much not by definition, as an autism diagnosis requires impairment in interaction and communication.

When I say this I am not posting from anger to you specifically.

Where do you come from when you think it's easy to act normal? You have your own experience on the Spectrum. Other people have different experiences. I did try for a long time to pretend to be 'normal', all I got for it was ridicule and rejection. When I accepted myself as myself and not pretending anymore, I got friends and finally felt happier than I had been since a small child.

I don't go and tell everyone in sight, I tell people who I trust, people who I know see me. And I'm proud of what I've achieved despite my difficulties.

I can act normal enough to make it through a job interview, but that is it. People pretty much know I'm different in just about every social situation.

I am proud of things that I have accomplished before anything else, but I'm also proud of the unique person that I am and Asperger's is part of that. So, I am not proud of my Asperger's, but it is one ingredient in making a me.

No. Not any more than being proud of being left-handed, or being tall or short.

I blond hair something to be proud of. The only things to take pride in are things acquired by effort.

ruveyn

All true.

You can also be proud of a skill/talent that is easier for you due to having AS.

And, finally, while being proud of having AS may not make sense, not being ashamed of it definitely does.

As the chorus has concurred, it is what it is. We neither chose nor created it, so pride is perhaps the wrong word. I'm not ashamed of the fact that I'm not like the superficial masses, and generally unconcerned with what they think, so if I seem like a snob to them, they may perceive my indifference as some kind of aloofness or pride.


Okay, there are several things in that statement I have found not to be true:

First - When I tell someone I have AS, virtually none of them know what the hell it is - if I call it Autism, they can't wrap their heads around that, because they think Autism = Retardation, and its abundantly obvious that I'm not mentally ret*d. And even though they have no clear understanding of Autism, they know enough to know they can't catch it, so they don't treat me as sick. If they avoid me because of it, good effin' riddance to them. Why would I want to associate with someone that ignorant?

The problem with AS and jobs is not in getting one, we can seem as 'normal' as the next person for the length of a job interview, and a lot of us are quite talented at one thing or another. I've never had a problem making a good first impression, or doing a job well - its the social functioning over the long haul that gets me fired. Again, if you mention it in a job interview, you may be asked how that condition might affect your ability to do that job, but it's a congenital neurological condition, not a 'mental illness'. If you characterize it that way when you bring it up, then yes, that might kill your job interview. Not mentioning it and then running into problems on the job because of it will get you fired every time, because nobody will believe you when you tell them why you're unable to do what they expect you to. Of course, I will grant you that people are not the least bit sympathetic or understanding even when they know you have a disability, if it's not one they can see.



Oh, poor misguided one! I know a lot of Aspies like to believe that. 'Faking NT isn't that hard, I do it all the time and nobody knows the difference' Well, I know you don't want to believe this, but the light bulb will come on for you one of these days - YES, THEY DO KNOW.

Asperger Syndrome by its very nature causes us to lack the natural ability to read and interpret nonverbal social cues. If you can't SEE the social cues, or understand them when you do, how the hell do you KNOW when you're acting 'normal'? What seems 'normal' to you, what feels like 'behaving just like them' can still mean you're failing to give or respond to a dozen little gestures and looks and facial expressions that everybody around you is seeing, but YOU ARE NOT. In other words, you may be passing for 'normal' up to say 80 or 90%, enough that the people around you aren't constantly saying "What the hell is wrong with you?" But that does not mean that every time you leave the room, they aren't shaking their heads and muttering "Jeez, what a fruitloop."

Whether you tell them or not, they know you're not quite like them. If you share the truth, then at least they'll know why you seem a little different.

I think what we should be shooting for is to make Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism as well understood and as accepted as Dyslexia. Nobody think Dyslexics are crazy, stupid, ret*d, dangerous, or sick.

Last edited by Willard on 09 Jun 2010, 5:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.