Do you like having an autism spectrum disorder?

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You're right, a "greatly developed concentration ability" is a great trait - but most autistics don't have that in a positive sense you refer to. The number of autistics whose concentration skills exist in that sweet spot where it's beneficial but still well above NT standards is vastly dwarfed by the number of those who either lack the hyper-focus trait or have it to the degree that it is harmful. There are very few Temple Grandins in the world.





Autism researchers are not always looking at Aspies exclusively in their research, they are looking at the collective body of autism sufferers. Truly excessive and narrow obsessions are quite common among those who are lower on the spectrum. I referred specifically to Aspies, however, in my post because they are the ones who always claim to make productive use of their special interests (lower functioning typically do not), yet their obsessions are rarely narrow by autistic standards and are much more comparable to NT interests in severity. By the standards I've seen held by Aspies, a significant majority of millennials have special interests (in shows, celebrities, etc).

It stands to reason that autistic traits should be distinct from NT traits. How can "special interests" by Aspie standards be an autism trait when it does not impair their function or affect their behavior but is instead a source of a few hours' recreation or a productive career? What makes it different from a NT pursuing a hobby or academic career? Unless a special interest is unquestionably distinct from NT behavior, I don't think it can be categorized as an example of hyper-focus.



You make this claim as someone who does not have social skills. We do not, as we often say, have the code book for finding meaning in the exchanges of NTs. We are not built to appreciate them. But just because we can't see it and benefit from it doesn't mean that those exchanges are useless. It sounds a lot like how NTs say that our narrow interests are useless and so don't understand why we pursue them. They don't experience it, so they don't know why we are drawn. And social skills are vastly important. You are on the wrong side of the research - in many fields of study - when you say otherwise.



Only those who cannot conform use nonconformity as a defense, because it creates the illusion of having a choice, or having some power over their isolation from the main group, or even some power over the group itself. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em set in reverse. They can't join the herd, and this is the alternative that they have found.

Throughout this conversation, you've sounded a lot like one of those "autism is the next step in evolution" sorts. Look, I'm glad that you feel good about having autism. That's not inherently a bad thing. But I hope that you don't extend that view to all Aspie cases, many of whom have traits that you call "positive" in a way that is definitely not positive. Trying to paint everything in a positive light is rather insulting to those who do not benefit from the "sweet spot" in autism, as well as the NT majority of the human race, which you seem to have a grudge against. The exceptions (I do think they exist) do not free any of us from the fact that autism is a disorder - a disability - and the claim that it is more beneficial than harmful overlooks the vast, vast majority. These traits you promote as defining are not an inherent aspect of autism or Aspergers.

Welcome to the forum, Antrax.

I approached my assessment with a similar kind of pragmatism, having already accepted that at least some of my difficulties might be innate. Nothing that has happened or that I've learned since my diagnosis has really changed that. I have some traits which give me immense pleasure, some which are neutral, some which I think I can learn to manage more effectively, and some which I can maybe only learn to stoically accept. Some of these are autistic traits, and some are dimensions of my personality, and it's not always easy to tell which are which, assuming that there is any practical difference at all. One thing that is for certain, especially for someone as predisposed to ruminating as I am, is that speculating about what might have been can become dysfunctional extremely easily, and is best avoided.

AceofPens, I agree.

I do not know how symptoms can "cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning" in order to qualify toward a diagnosis and not be a negative. For example, if your restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior (e.g. special interests) are positive and do not impair your functioning, then how did it qualify toward an autism diagnosis? Would you not just have a social pragmatic communication disorder?

My hyper-focus is not a positive trait. It is not about being able to ignore outside distractions when beneficial (e.g. ignoring distractions when hyper-focused on studying); it is about not being able to focus on anything else though detrimental (e.g. ignoring self-care when hyper-focused on studying). Being stuck on a task like that is, at best, frustrating and, at worst, terrifying.

No point in hating something that just is.

Yes.

Not particularly. I don't like having autism any more than I like having dyspraxia. But I am accepting of it. Most of the time.

It doesn't give me any gifts so there is nothing to like about it.

I have had similar experiences with the hyper-focus trait and, there's usually burn-out waiting for me on the other end of the tunnel to cap it off. It's wearying, even if it is sometimes enjoyable at the onset, and the people around me usually find it obnoxious (I can't say that I blame them, given the mundane nature of my interests). Narrow interests mostly lacking the obsessive quality are much more enjoyable but are also useless except on a personal level.

Like you, I find the application of the diagnostic criteria to harmless or positive traits confusing and frustrating, especially when the different-not-disordered type is pushed as the defining image of autism, ignoring the vast majority of us. I have seen it again and again, especially here on WP. Everyone wants to remake autism in their own image, usually at someone else's expense. This is why the ASD umbrella doesn't work.

No, but I mostly accept that it’s the way things are.

It's a pain in the tushey----but, like LivingWithAutism stated, we are sort of stuck with it....

I don’t like to self-pity either.

People on WP don't have to like being aspie or autistic, but they don't have to say other people who do or accept it are delusional or brainwashed or whatever.

I guess homosexual people shouldn't like being gay, either. Why would someone want to be gay when so many people still think they're sick or evil and go around with signs saying GOD HATES F**S? If there was a cure for homosexuality that would be great because their lives would be easier and there would be no problems with them getting married or starting a family. And why do they have parades and public events celebrating homosexual culture when they didn't *choose* to be gay. People should never celebrate or be rewarded for anything they choose to be or didn't work at being, including being black or born female or even the day they were born.

I'm left-handed. It wasn't that long ago (and still is in some cultures), that being left-handed supposedly meant you were cursed by the devil, you were stupid because you couldn't use your right hand, you were a hopeless klutz and you'd die at an early age due to being so accident-prone (from being forced to use dangerous things that were made only for right-handers) and burn in hell for eternity. But instead I'm proud and happy to be a leftie. But no, let's never be proud and happy about our uniqueness ever again.