Disability or not ?

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I was just on another site dedicated to asperger's and the general idea is that asperger's is a disability i personally don't see it that way i do not mind being different. Im interested to see how many people with asperger's think of it as a disability and would give it up to be an neurotypical given the chance

Legally I'm considered Disabled, but I don't feel that way and I certainly wouldn't want to be NT.

It's a disability because it is. You may not feel that way about yourself but you do have one.

I consider it a disability because I have to work harder/do things differently to be able to achieve the things that normal people do.

It is most definitely a disability for me.

There's no way to describe Asperger's for me as not disabling. However, I'd not choose to be NT if I had the choice.

Having a disability doesn't mean I can't be happy. Having a disability doesn't mean I'm worth less.

I am disabled. I'd also rather be myself with my disability than suddenly be swapped to a different person.

I think it's a disability, though for me personally I'm used to it. I have adopted many way of coping with it and have done OK most of the time. I've achieved enough in life to match an average person's. I'm sure I would have achieved much much more if I don't have all these sensory issues or anxiety, though. My dad is a successful scientist, and I've always done as well as he did in school and out matched all his special talents, and beat him in all IQ tests. Yet I have nothing to show for it. I'll never meet their expectations or my own.

I view it as a disability. Be that as it may, I'm still happy with myself. It's the rest of you.

(joking)

Yeah I think its a disability. A disability is defined as a deficit in ability to do things which normal people find effortless. Sure we got our talents but thats the only thing, a lot of the times we cant make use of our talents due to our lack in social skills, and hypersensativity problems.

Yes. It's a disability. But:

People with disabilities can have strong talents. In fact, they can have talents directly associated with their disability.

A condition does not need to be obvious and severe to be a disability.

Very few disabilities affect every area of a person's life, and every disabled person has much more than not in common with non-disabled people.

Most disabled people will work, live on their own, marry, and have families. Even those who do not will be just as likely as non-disabled people to describe themselves as "happy".

The biggest problem associated with a disability is often not the disability itself, but the prejudice and fear leveled at those with disabilities.

When people say "I am not disabled", they often mean--though they don't know it--that "My disability is not the horrible, fearful thing that the stereotype says it is. I don't want to be pitied and looked down on. I know I am capable, independent, and equal to everyone else."

It would make more sense to correct the ideas about disability than to insist that we are not disabled. We are--it's just that disability means something different than most non-disabled people think it does.

There are many differences in individuals that are only disabilities in the context of an environment in which they put the person at some sort of disadvantage which profoundly impacts their life.

In a previous post I gave examples of many types of societies or cultures where having AS would be a non-issue and the effects of it probably would not be relevant to anything.

I believe western society is probably far more demanding of individuals with AS for various reasons. Whether it's a disability depends on the individual.

I keep trying to think of something to contribute to the thread but this just sums it up so well.

Technically it is a disability however, i don't mind being an aspie. I can still do everything on my own and look after myself.
I don't think i would want to be a NT.

I do consider it a disability, there are things that the majority of other people can do that I cannot do or have considerable trouble with.

There's been a bunch of great contributions on here already, but just to reinforce again that it's not all bad, and disability or not there are still a lot of great things about it.

Yes it is a disability.

There is no way of becoming neurotypical.

Such is life.

I was filling in a form for my daughter's singing workshop. There's a tick box for disability then a box to write details. I wanted to write details to explain she's on a waiting list for autism assessment and there was nowhere else on teh form to write it. So I felt I also had to tick 'Yes'.

However, I don't really see my daughter that way (maybe it's rose tinted spectacles, I don't know). She, like me, struggles with some things which most other kids do with ease. But, they just can't do things that she excels at.

But, I suppose that's the same with all disabilities. I don't think I could read braille or lip read or a multitude of other 'superhuman' things that some people can do.