Why is it that you think that anyone without Aspergers is "normal"?
That's pretty close-minded.
What about people with ADHD? Non-Verbal learning disorder? (which I have) Clinical Depression?
There are people with much worse off mental disabilities than you.
Also, avoiding the "NT World"? Running away from real life, you mean?
Aspies are no better than "normals". Yes, you have some nice talents, but with those come PROFOUND disabilities. I'm GLAD not to be an aspie.
Welcome to the forum!
Spending a little more time and staying a lilttle calmer, I think you would discover the following:
1) NT stands for neuro-typical. It refers to those who do not have neurological atypicalities. It does not mean "everyone else but aspies."
2) While some here might, most of us do not use NT in a derogatory manner. Many of us refer to people quite important to us as NT as a point of information. My wife, for example.
3) Look at people's profiles. A large number of neurological conditions are represented among those who post here. Many interested NT's also post here very actively.
You're taking things wrong and jumping on them a little too quickly. For the most part, this is a very open and supportive place, unlike many other places on the internet.
I hope that you stay around and discover that to be true.
mmaestro
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That's pretty close-minded.
I don't mean this as an insult, but that's honestly the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
The way you phrase your sentence you're assuming that everyone (who is reading) thinks that everybody without Asperger's is normal. First, you cannot know what everyone is thinking. Second, it's extremely highly unlikely that anyone reading this and interpreting it properly will say that everyone who is not an aspie is normal. Do you think the people reading this, the aspies, think that a pyschotic serial murderer is normal because he might not have Asperger's? No. Hence, your statement is completely idiotic.
And to top it off, you call everybody reading "close-minded." Unbelievable.
NT is just terminology to differentiate those with AS with those who don't hate it. That's it.
I agree that the original post was really badly phrased and rude, but I can see where she's coming from.
The terms NTs, normals, and normies are frequently interchanged here, which could lead to the perception that people on this board believes that anyone without an ASD is "normal." People here frequently make blanket, derogatory statements about NTs, like "NTs hate aspies" and "NTs are incapable of acting rationally" and "NTs try to keep aspies shut away and don't want them out in public." There are also people who go on about how people with AS are geniuses and better than NTs and the "next stage of human evolution."
My interpretation was that this was someone who came here to read the forum and to learn, but became frustrated by those statements. While I don't believe that everyone on this board agrees with all the statements above, if one comes here for the first time and reads over many posts, all of those sentiments will appear multiple times. In fact, I was very hesitant to join this board despite the fact that I do want to learn and participate, because I feel like many people here will hate me automatically just because I'm NT; that people on this board will assume that I must be irrational and secretly despise them and want them to not be allowed in public. Because they often say that "NTs" are like that and I'm an NT.
But the original post was still rude and should not have been written that way. If it were me, I would probably not have written it at all and if I had, would have waited until I was a member for much longer and phrased it in a much less hostile way.
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TheMachine1
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Well said, it always bothers me that some people fail to realize that prejudice works both ways. Geniuses and people of greatness come from ALL groups, skin colors, sex, religion, etc, but now some people here found a different way to discriminate by disorder and state of mind :0
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I will confess, sometimes I do tend to paint all NTs with the same brush and that certainly is not fair. Apologies for anytime I've done so in the past, and I'll try to refrain from such stereotyping in the future. However, I am a bit of a misanthrope, so I need some term with which to express contempt for people in general. "Prole" usually fits the bill, especially considering my username.
I think such comments largely arise out of mutual misunderstanding, and often a sense of resentment for certain NTs who have wronged us- after all, most of us Aspies were outcasts and have been bullied quite a bit.
But the comment about "PROFUND disabilities?" That is a little over the top. The female monarch of toaster pastries may be glad not to be an Aspie, but I'm just as glad that I am an Aspie. I've never considered myself disabled, and no one has ever perceived me as such. I'm just a little bit different from your average person. In terms of ultimate worth, no better and no worse. But I do enjoy my ability to focus intensely on one subject (I took an entire AP class in two days) and I find fulfilment in my stereotypical "narrow, intense interests."
As MarieElana said, prejudice works both ways. Just a result of human herd mentality and the us/them dichotomy.
Well, to PoptartQueen, I wish you could have brought this topic up a little more politely, but in any case I'm glad you did. Hopefully you will come to see this forum as the supportive and constructive place it (mostly) is.
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That's pretty close-minded.
I don't think that. I think that the people with AS are normal.
Also, as Litguy said,
"NT stands for neuro-typical. It refers to those who do not have neurological atypicalities. It does not mean "everyone else but aspies."
Yes. And? There's always someone worse off. Do you think it makes the loneliness and ostracisation we suffer any less real?
No. Avoiding things such as
: Valuing appearances more than substance.
: Pretending to like people who you hate just for the sake of getting ahead.
: Being defined in terms of other people rather than in terms of your own interests and values.
: Destroying a little piece of yourself each day just to fit in.
These are just some of the things I see normal people do every day. How can people live like that?
Aspies are no better than "normals". Yes, you have some nice talents, but with those come PROFOUND disabilities. I'm GLAD not to be an aspie.
Of course we are no better than normals, just as normals are no better than us. Being autistic is a neurological thing, not a moral thing.
Nice talents? Don't generalise, please. Not all Aspergians have "nice talents", just as not everyone on the autism spectrum sits in a room all day rocking and screaming. Most of us are just getting on with our lives. We may spend those lives wondering why other people are so puzzling, why we feel so different, but, for the most part, we survive.
What are these profound disabilities that you speak of? The only areas in which I have a noticeable lack of ability in are
1. Making and keeping friends.
2. Organisational skills.
3. Motor skills.
Since I'm fine on my own, it doesn't bother me to have very few friends.
My organisational skills are a problem, but I am very much aware of this and have strategies to cope with them. I am also intelligent and very good at what I do. This helps, as does my obsessiveness (an AS trait, by the way. The traits can be an advantage in certain situations.)
3 is not an issue since my ambition is not, and has never been, to be an Olympic athlete.
Glad not to be an Aspie? How you feel is your choice. I'm glad I'm not NOT an Aspie.
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