Anyone else feel defective? Bring on the cure!

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The reason for naming famous people is simply that they are known, if for example, I tell you about the great things my aspie friend Jonathan did, since you don't know him, it might be a little more difficult to imagine how much the things he did helped others.




I agree with you on this. However, because of the subject of this thread, I focused more on the good sides of autism. Personally I think it would be great if there was more help generally, but I think if autism was to be completely eradicated the world would miss out very much.

I have a great frustration with pride advocates and am biased. There is the good and the bad. I think the online autism community needs leadership and direction to help people more. Maybe you can be a leader.

I could have been aborted. But my mum fought for me and has continued to fight for me ever since.

I don't think everything is dull or boring either. I just think what people think is boring is interesting and what they think is fun I want nothing to with.
Get yourself some special interests and things will get better for you. Just forget about trying to be normal. It works for some but it's a lot of hard work.

Just think you could have had something so much worse. You could have had it more severe.

I too am frustrated when people point to the hugely successful outliers like Bill Gates and Albert Einstein (If they are even AS), or even Temple Grandin.

This gives the false impression that everyone with AS can be like them.

The reality is that despite the success of a few AS celebrities, The overall trend is that people with the disorder are less functional and less successful than the typical person without the disorder.

Very true. I hated it when people expected me to be some kind of math genius.
I mean I think I have some potential but I'm struggling a lot in many areas, especially life skills.

The point of mentioning "celebrities", at least when I do, is to illustrate that people on the autism spectrum are as important as anyone else in/for the society, and that many discoveries, inventions, arts, etc, many things that people enjoy today in our society exist because of them, and that without them the world would be missing out.

Of course famous people and/or geniuses are a minority, but this is true as well for NTs, only a minority of them are geniuses or celebrities, and most of them aren't. The problem is when you mention autism many automatically think Rainman, so I think it would be good if people understood that we are all different just as NTs are, maybe mentioning people like Mozart and Einstein (who both had many AS traits) can help break some stereotypes.
(p.s. the "main" model for Rainman was a great guy, died in 2009 http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/ ... s/kim_peek )

As I said tho I definitely agree that there should be more help and services, it is a fact that some issues are more difficult to work around/live with then others, and society in general should also be more understanding, but the more we talk about it and explain to people, the easier it may become, or at least there would be less people who are clueless about autism.

The problem is that it is exactly the stereotypes that make it difficult sometimes to talk about it openly to our family, friends, or co-workers, etc., and we give up before even trying, and also the reason why many don't get the help they would need, because they don't even want to admit they are on the spectrum, but if they could relate to people they admire maybe it would make it a little easier for them to admit that maybe they have Aspergers and/or are on the spectrum. It would probably also make things easier for family members sometimes, for example a mother or father who perceive autism as something to be ashamed of and refuse to admit their child is autistic, therefore not getting the help their child would need to overcome some of the issues.

Here is an example of a stupid clueless person who has a very stereotyped idea of what autism is (and she thinks she's funny!)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq88QLtSgDI[/youtube]

http://chaoticidealism.livejournal.com/30335.html This is what I'd like to say. Far easier just to link you.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... ience+News)

I don't understand the science but the new study above shows a lot of problems with the functioning of some of the components in brain cells of autistic children, specifically mitochondria. The impaired ability seems to relate to (in my simple terms) the ability for the braincells to fuel their activity. When you put that together with the differences seen in brain scans of Autistic people (activity more localized and sometimes in different areas) then you start to get a picture of what might be going on there and why.

A treatment for Autism - or at least one or more of the causes- will come at some point; that is a certainty.

It is one thing to say that people with autism have made important contributions to society and that it should be recognized.

Others in this forum use the success of the autism celebrities to shove it in our face that "Asperger's is not a disease and shouldn't be cured."

For me Aspergers certainly has been as debilitating a disease as deafness or blindness would have been if I been born with those disabilities. Being completely cut off from the social side of life is as tremendous a loss as never hearing or seeing. There is a huge gaping hole inside of me from missing out on all of the social experiences I wanted to partake in, but couldn't. I have received very little in the way of "special talents" to make up for my loss.

Stevie Wonder was a great musician and had he been born sighted, he probably would have done something else and the world would have never heard of him. However if blindness was completely cured, the reduction in human suffering would far outweigh the loss of future blind musicians. Future treatments for autism will have to start in infancy and we will have no way of knowing beforehand if the person being cured would grow up to be the next Einstein or a man who spends his whole life alone and unable to get a job. I think the benefits of eliminating a disease which results in an 80% unemployment rate for those afflicted (as the statistics go) outweighs the loss of a one-in-a-billion Einstein.

This is why Temple Grandin insists on keeping different types of classes, because it is in those classes that many have found their "special talent", sometimes it can be something you didn't expect at all, that you didn't even know you had in you. Example, it is in one of those classes that one of my sisters-in-law discovered her talent for ceramic and pottery.

About the things you missed socially, I'm sorry , I also missed out on some things, I would like my social skills to be better sometimes, but I probably didn't miss it as much as you because I enjoy my "alone" time and don't care much for some activities (like the Tupperware parties I mentioned in another thread lol). However, again, if there was more understanding in the society in general about autism, it wouldn't be so difficult to socialize. Once people know then they can at least figure out that, for example, you weren't rude intentionally, or that you like them but you have trouble focusing on a subject that is boring to you, etc., understanding can make things so dramatically different and better. And the ones who would still prefer to single you out, or make fun of you, or any other negative reaction, well to be honest I wouldn't be interested in socializing with them anyway even if I was 100% NT.



Yes I know what you mean but it is not only about the few celebrities, it is also about all the other people and everything they bring to the society.

And the unemployment rate would go way down if only NTs were not so clueless about autism, often they see that the guy is autistic and that's enough for them not to give him the job, while he could have been the best employee they ever had. It is also about knowing what we are good at, so we aim for the jobs that we know we can do. For one it could be a job with a specific routine or schedule, for another it could be a job related to maths like accountant or mathematician, for another it is theatre, etc. For some people it is not possible tho because of the severity of their issues, but for many it would be possible to get and keep a job. The "getting the job" part may be the worse because too often interviewers don't see further then their nose, they don't get that just because the guy/girl is not the best at interviews it has nothing to do with their ability to do the job.

There is another quality that I consider priceless (in myself and others), it is the honesty that most people on the autism spectrum have, sure some are a little more manipulative then others, but honesty is a trait that is present in many Aspies and most people on the autism spectrum. I wouldn't trade that for the hypocrisy some NTs are capable of (not all are like this of course).

Now if I could be sure that a "cure" would only take away the issues but leave all the things that are positive maybe I would feel differently about it.

I just finished reading your blog ... I can't tell you how much I liked it! it is awsome. Everyone should read it

Among other things what you say about social rules is so true. We are judging our social skills based on NT social rules, but these rules often don't apply very well to us. At one of my jobs for example (my first job, at a fast food restaurant), I remember 2 people who worked there at different times, and with whom I naturally socialized without a problem, while I felt I didn't have anything in common with all the other ones and I rarely talked to them. Neither of them talked with any of the other ones unless necessary and for the job, and both told me this too, that they didn't talk much to anyone. At the time I didn't understand why it was so easy for us to relate to each other, I just knew I liked them and they liked me, but now that I know more, I realise they were most probably both on the autism spectrum as well, with either Asperger or other. It was easy for us to communicate with each other probably because our rules were not the same as the other ones ... but they sure worked well for us tho.

That's not my blog! Please direct that well-deserved praise to the blog's author, who is on WP as Callista.

Personally, I used to feel extremely lonely, but now I find my social life satisfactory, occasionally overwhelming, even though I have FAR less than most NTs would be content with. Until I found out how much would content me, I would never have believed I needed less than average; I was getting none at all for a few years, and I was unhappy with that state of affairs. But at the moment I can attest that I have plenty of friends (I just made a new one, so now I have four in my peer group, plus I'm on friendly terms with my teachers and have friends online), spend most of my time not in close physical proximity to them and am satisfied. More than satisfied! I don't rival NTs for sheer ability to interpret NT nonverbals unconsciously in the moment, but I think I definitely rival or exceed most of them in satisfaction with my friendships and enjoyment derived.

Wow.
There are worse things than being born on the autism spectrum.
So you've never been happy or excited or passionate, you've just been miserable 100% of the time? You would rather have never existed?

How can you cure something that doesn't exist - like Asperger Syndrome

There are things you can do to improve these areas. I had a class once and we had a quiz every time we met. I studied for the quizzes by matching the names and definitions every time and I made 100% on every single quiz. I made the highest score in the class this way which surprised the people teaching it. You can work on some things and find later that you are better at them than NTs. That's been my experience. You might have to work extra hard to get good, though, but it's worth it in the long run. Just keep going and people will be singing your praises or extremely jealous, one or the other.