Slashdot and aspergers discussion

Post Reply New Topic

This goes back to the age old question, what is the difference between a geek and someone with Asperger's Syndrome?

Dandanthednaman might want to consider that a spectrum means just that... some are at one end, others are at another. There is such a thing as having shadow traits of autism, too. Probably as more is discovered about the genetics of autism, we'll see what markers indicate high functioning autism VS severe autism and everything in between.

I used to think Asperger's was just a nonsense disorder assigned to people who once upon a time would have been considered unstable, geeky, and eccentric... until I realized I am one of those people who once upon a time was considered unstable, geeky, and eccentric, and maybe this is why I have produced at least one HFA child. I may be one of the self-diagnosed fools dandanthednaman decries but at least the torment I went through as a child makes sense to me now and is not just a hopeless riddle that fell upon my head as some nameless curse.

Excuse me, I just wanted to point out how much I liked this part:

Most of the people who dismiss self-diagnosed aspies or diagnosed high-functioning autistics point out that autistic people with "real problems" have sensory overload or melt down whenever their routine is even slightly interrupted. Asperger's syndrome is a developmental disorder, however, and this means that some symptoms may improve with time. For example, I am considerably more flexible now as an adult than I was as a child or teenager although my parents would still describe me as somewhat rigid; nowadays I purposely try to put myself into new and unfamiliar situations to learn how to cope for myself. I had hypersensitivities as well as hyposensitivities, but it was never to the point of causing meltdown.

The thing is, for those who wish to equate autistic spectrum disorders with sensory meltdowns, there is a separate condition called sensory integration disorder that covers that. As the diagnostic manuals themselves make clear, autistic disorder and Asperger's syndrome both focus on social deficits (poor eye contact, lack of social reciprocity, gauche body language, inability to read nonverbal cues, etc.) and narrow focus (intense, obscure interest; attention to detail; preoccupation with parts of objects); stims are one small part of the diagnosis, and sensory overload isn't even mentioned.

In another 10 - 20 years, the kids diagnosed today with AS will be adults with AS and so much more will be known specifically about how AS presents in grownups. The fact that many of us learn to adapt so we can make a living for goodness sakes does not mean we don't struggle to make it out of the house and to the office. For us now, getting a formal diagnosis is not easy. And it's no big deal. If the shoe fits - really fits, then learn to wear it. For me, having AS is a burden everyday. More minuses than pluses. But it's my life and I deal with it. Why would I try to convince someone I have AS? For me it's personal, like my sexuality. None of their business. As for work, the less they know about my personal life the better. I know I don't fit in to the 'team player' image and so I keep a low profile and stick to technical subjects. If they ask, I might tell them, but that's my choice.

People love fads and AS is becoming a quirky topic of the small talk that some NTs love and I abhor. So much of the talk is just for effect, drama, posing, stroking, and not for truth. I talk for content only, to present information. Which is another reason they find me weird. I've also read 'us/them' threads on other boards where someone accuses another of being an 'aspie wannabe' or having some but not all the symptoms. Unkind in my view. As others have said, there is a long way to go in having precise diagnostic tools for AS in adults. But that's irrelevant to me.

I sort of can see the point of this - however, there are also a number of people with a professionally diagnosed label of AS which may not be very accurate either. Especially with kids there seem to be some who are now being considered disordered because they don't excell at being social. And the push for early intervention is only going to create more Aspies. Kids really can't be shy or introverted or slower at developing emotionally without someone trying to place a label on them.

I don't have a formal label of AS - and really hadn't paid any attention to the autism spectrum until my son was diagnosed with autism. I have been labeled all around the spectrum - and since AS didn't exist as a label when I was a kid it explains things better. But the geek syndrome stuff is belittling - just like when a couple of people on another group mentioned they had a "little bit" of OCD too. There really is no such thing - it is a disorder (not a syndrome even) and has to have a level of interference. So just like saying that someone has an extremely mild type of AS or a little bit of OCD seems like they are kind of normal. After all, some AS and OCD behaviors, along with anxiety and depression, are not something that normal people don't experience every once in awhile.

Well, here's the deal with OCD, which my husband has (diagnosed by the way). You can have OCD for years but it's not pronounced. OCD, in it's own way is like AS, but in some ways different. Think of it like he had a predisposition to it because of the way his brain works. Their brains are very, very pattern seeking, but it's almost like something happens to flip that switch and set it off. In his case, I was the switch and so was he. When we met up, he already had signs. He has these elaborate rules and cleaning rituals that he had to a lessor extent then. But, he was still pretty rigid and inflexible. Prior to me though, he managed to have two NT girlfriends so I can only assume they had some opinion about things. Then, he met me. I had no opinion on anything to do with where I lived. I was lucky if I lived in the same place for three months prior to meeting him. I liked order, but someone else had to create, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't even know how you begin to do that. So, I move in with him and he teaches me all of his rules. Don't move this, don't touch that, this brush and pail is specifically to clean base boards. These are specifically for air vents. You get the picture. It had already started but wasn't that bad yet.

I never cleaned anything, he did it. If he tried to have me help, he put a stop to it because "it wasn't right." "NO, you can only wash four items of clothing at a time or it wrinkles and isn't clean." My response would just be, whatever. Do what you want. So he did. He did it all. And when he did, he created more and more rules and became more and more rigid. He was creating more and more patterns he felt he had to follow. So, the predisposition now becomes a full blown disorder. It finally got to the point that he woke me up at 2 A.M. because the linen closet was in disorder and I just wouldn't help him. The towels probably weren't exactly squared or however many inches apart. I don't know. I told him, There's drugs for people like you and if you wake me up at 2 A.M. again over something so stupid, I will kill you and you won't have to worry about the linen closet ever again. (I'm not the sympathetic one in the relationship, obviously.) So, at that point he decides he has a problem and goes to get it diagnosed. He's still OCD and still over the top, but he can go to work and deal with me and have a life outside of cleaning the tile grout with a particular style of toothbrush.

The moral of the story is that if he married someone with an opinion, he probably would not have reached that point. Then again, he might have been divorced because she messed up his order.


Anyway, that was the description the Pyschiatrist gave him if that helps.