What is your view on Asperger? Give your opinion!

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What is your view on Asperger? Give your opinion!

I definetely feel the last two options myself. Aspergers syndrome is not a mental illness anyway, its not in that classification. We certainly are not in need of a cure. The comorbid conditions that some of us have, such as depression, ADHD, can be helped, but to take away our AS would change who we truly are. We have the right to be proud of who we are, the same as anyone else, and to have our own culture and recognition of our achievements.

I feel that it is a blessing and also a curse. A blessing becasue all of us each posess unique skills that no one else has, and a curse because we were all robbed of the skills that would have allowed us to appear "normal" in the eyes of the rest of us.

Yes, likewise, a combo of the bottom two for me. They say it is not a disease nor an illness but a condition... and I believe this too. I agree it is the double-edged sword of blessing and curse. My words cannot even begin to express the frustration I experience sometimes at trying to communicate but not getting things across effectively enough. But in hindsight, the learning process is rewarding and there are loftier heights to climb to, still!

The word "culture" in this sense is interesting, because usually, culture is associated with what you grow up with -- not with what you're born with. Although part of an Aspie culture could include learning social skills and relating on that level, as well as coming up with our own traditions and rituals and things of value in that regard.

The rainbow will shine brighter... not yet... but it will.

Second one from the end for me. It's not in anyways a menatl illness. I have depressions sometimes and I also get anxiaty atacks fromt ime to time, but that's not because I'm an Aspie, that's because I can't handle the world sometimes.

I do not see Asperger's Syndrome as a mental illness, more as a condition. As Amy wrote, there is no need for a cure. I would only say that there is need for acceptance. It causes problems when it is not taken into account.
I do not really see it as a culture either, at least not in the traditional sense, because people are born with AS. Maybe there is something related to it which could be called a culture, but it is AS.
I voted for the second option from the bottom.

Loy

Hello, Patti here,
Being Autistic is a part of who I am. I am Female, I am Left-Handed and I am Autistic...Not necessarily in that order but I am all of the above for a fact. I can pretend to be something other than these three things but it would seem very strange/awkward for me to do so and I would not be happy with the end result, that's for sure. I enjoy being who I am and will never try being anything else. I can't imagine not being Autistic and even though I have days of overloading, I would never be happy being anything else. Life without all of the details I see, hear, think and feel would be a very dull life indeed.

I agree that having Asperger's is part of who I am. If I was 'cured', I don't know who I would be.

Social training is very important... to help someone feel more at ease with society at large. Even though one may never feel totally comfortable, it does help immensely.

I voted for the second option from the bottom as well. It is most definitely not a mental illness. I would not call it a different culture either. It is a different way of communicating and fitting in and people like us with this condition need to be accepted and not be treated like an alien from another planet!

Acceptance is the key! Once that happens people with Asperger's will become valued and respected members of the human race.

Oh yes, and Asperger's isn't the only thing... we still have a lot of racism and homophobia in the world, not to mention sexism and other ignorant misconceptions about Schizophrenia, Down's Syndrome, etc. So it'll be awhile, and it definitely won't happen all at once. But we can make sturdy progress.

A lot of it has to do with relating to things that are marketing and cool. As "surface" and "superficial" as this may be, we live in a very accelerated world where most people don't care -- or don't have time -- to digest many details. So it's about image. Not an empty image, by any means!

I think maybe a kind of Aspie culture is developing though forums such as this but it would be hard to have a truly unified culture as there are so many differences even between different people on the autistic spectrum.

When I was really screwed up during my school days, I never liked it and was never proud of it. But ever since I understood it, and got over my depression, I've come to the conclusion that as said above, it's a blessing and a curse. I don't think it's better or worse than anyone else overall, it just has it's ups and downs, just like being an NT has it's ups and downs.

AS isn't really a condition as much as it is a different way of thinking. The only real reason AS is even considered a big deal is because the minority has it and the world hasn't fully adjusted to cater for these people. In a perfect world, ASs and NTs would put their upsides together to make the world a better place. But until they even understand it, it's going to cause problems.

Maybe the question we need to ask is what constitutes normal, anyway? What's "normal" behavior in one culture might be seen as pathological behavior in another. For example, Islamic suicide bombers think it's not only honorable but rewarded in the afterlife when they commit acts of terrorism. Looking through a westernized lense, we find their behavior irrational and evil. Japanese culture also holds suicide as an honorable choice whereas in the western world, suicidal ideation is grounds for commital in a psych ward.

Because people on the autistism spectrum are few, our behavior is seen as part of a disorder that needs curing lest we not think or act in ways that are "acceptable". Look at how threatening black culture is perceived, the stereotypes perpetuated toward other minority groups and you'll notice this undercurrent of hostility toward those who don't assimilate into "mainstream" society.

People perceive autistic people to be more difficult to control and aren't able to apply the same societal pressure to conform since, well, we don't respond to demands to fit in since we couldn't if we tried. So what is the rest of society to do, then? They could learn to accept our differences and work to accommodate us or,......they can do what comes easier, couch autism as a pathological abnormality, try to cure autistic people or those who refuse, exclude them as punishment for having the gall to reject group-think. Of course, we all know which option the majority chose.

There's nothing stopping you from doing just that. Most people are accepting, though the importance of social skills in the workplace is a real problem. Socially, most people like the quiet type who actually look like they listen to them. You can get through most of the day with just a handful of words, and a nod at the right time.
Personally, I think the idea that there is no acceptance is bullcrap, but that's just me.

Hence, I would vote that autism is an expression of neurodiversity, yet with some comorbid problems that do need, if not a cure, a reliable method of treatment.

EDIT: I wonder if the person who voted "a gentic flaw that needs to be cured" has an ASD or not. Just curious.

Last edited by danlo on 31 Jul 2005, 12:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.

The best advice for improving social skills is to accept the fact that you're socially inept and just compensate with everything else so no one has a reason to argue with you. Won't help you fit in with the unaccepting people, but there'll be plenty of others who'll respect you and at the same time you'll be pissing off those who don't.

But to make your social skills bearable, don't do anything stupid if you're not sure how they'll react. At the moment that's never, but before you do anything, try to think of it from the point of view of the other person who's hearing it. Then think would this person sound like an idiot to you? At first this takes time, but when you get used to it, you can do it much quicker and it becomes a standard way to think.