Mdyar wrote:
My point is simply that likely, with enough time, the tipping point is quickly reached. If not then, there is something present, whether AS or ADHD, etc.
Yes, it took me nearly 6 months to consider this. But it's not hard to see why.
I don't think the general bias towards "you have an ASD" here helps much. Elsewhere on the internet, there is a huge bias towards "you don't have ASD." Now that I'm aware of that (which took this long), it only makes sense to average the two together, and say that I'm BAP or very mild AS.
I do still have quite a few traits. It's just that the ones that aren't explained by being gifted are rather insignificant. By combining the two, it can be very deceiving.
And, let's not forget a complete lack of information on the subject. In my 6 months of being here, I think I've seen no more than one or two threads on the subject of AS and giftedness, other than this one. It never crossed my mind until just over a week ago. As soon as I thought, "well maybe I
could just be gifted," it started making much more sense than AS by itself.
I always knew that my brain works differently from that of most people. When I heard the same thing about people with AS, I immediately thought "this is it!" I, too, was extremely biased. I could not view the topic subjectively, because I was too emotionally invested in the idea that I've found what I'm looking for.
My argument was that "yes, I'm gifted, but that doesn't explain my social problems." That was total ignorance on my part. Yes, giftedness explains my social problems. In fact, it does an even better job of explaining it. Notice how a simple lack of empathy and ToM in AS causes a whole difference in the way aspies think? Being gifted is the same way. It doesn't just mean I'm intelligent, it affects nearly every aspect of life, for better or for worse.
In conclusion, I'll restate something I've read in another thread:
Quote:
I tend to think that the difference is a matter of perspective. When one is looking at the good traits, the traits that are helpful or one sees as helpful, one sees gifted. When one is looking at the traits that hinder, one sees Asperger's. An Aserger's diagnosis requires that the traits hinder one, socially, in school, or work-wise. Gifted doesn't have a single agreed on official definition, but the label comes from traits that are seen as pluses.
It does seem to me that, well, why not a label that doesn't have either of those biases. Though, actually, I think Asperger's does, despite the official definition, get used that way. I think many people do see it as covering the whole range of traits.
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postx65017-75-0.html
I have always believed that my AS has been far more beneficial to me than the other way around. That's why I'm starting to think that I'm much more gifted than AS, although, for the last time, I still agree that I have *something* in addition to giftedness. Nothing huge, by any means, but something. Just quirks.
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Remember, all atrocities begin in a sensible place.
04 Sep 2011, 10:20 pm
