"My Experience is Everyone's Experience"

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While there is a certain logic to saying "If I experienced this, perhaps someone else has as well," it is NOT logical or scientific to think "If I experienced this, this is true for everyone of my age/gender/diagnosis." I think, or hope, you know where I'm going with this.

"I have AS and it disables me, therefore AS is disabling" or "I have AS and am able to live a relatively normal life, therefore AS is not disabling" seem to be two pretty common ways that people argue their POV on whether AS is a "disability" or "disorder." It really, really bothers me when people do this because it's just so... -euphamism coming- unscientific.

What you experience as an Aspie or person on the spectrum is NOT necessarily universal. I know someone else with AS who IS pretty incapacitated by it insofar as social skills, and another who has better social skills but is nowhere near my ability to socially function, IMO. None of us is "the rule of thumb." All of us have it. ((I'm, as I think of it, integrating daily, and am as close to a- don't kill me here, I'm not endorsing one OR saying one shouldn't exist, as my opinion on that is another matter- a CURED Aspie that I think most people would think possible. If you knew me as a kid though, you'd watch me for three minutes and go, "Aspie."))

I know most of you hate it if people tell you "You don't have AS, because you don't do X Y and Z." Well, stop trying to argue both sides of the fence. Please.

I second that. Someone slap me if I've ever been guilty of such a thing!

*edited for idiotic comment*

What do you mean? I have Asperger's syndrome and like to say random nonsense from time to time; therefore, all people diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome like to say random nonsense from time to time. It seems perfectly logical to me.

Yes it annoys me when people here think their experience is the only one but lets not forget that to be diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, you should have so many of the symptoms, many of which are disabling. Otherwise it's not a disorder or a disability or a nuerological difference or wiring of the brain, it is a myth.

I always have to remind myself, that other people differ from me. There are people who don't understand english (What do you mean? I learned that in school. You went to school too, so that means you understand english.) or can't write computer programs in seven different programming languages (You said you use computers, so why would you be unable to code?) or fall for tv commercials (I'm not stupid enough to do so, so why...). It's all part of mind blindness I think.



It's a spectrum. There are a lot of possible symptoms and nobody shows all of them and nobody shares exactly the same set of them. Why would one argue about it? I don't see a reason for it. Ah! Yeah, right. I forgot, other people might think differently.