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Our Own Individual Personal Philosophy of Autism

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fiddlerpianist
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03 Oct 2010, 10:24 pm

SuperApsie wrote:
Not so long ago :D I discovered that I was not the only one, and I was amazed that so many different symptoms could be summarized by Asperger. I came to this forum expecting to meet people who were dealing with Asperger the same way I was and even better, I thought I would find some people who could give me some practical advices.

But I discovered in horror how in fact people feel stuck in dead ends, I felt how desperate they are. I feel the pain they felt, and worse I realize they can't figure out how to deal with some problems.

I realize now how lucky I was, because from the start I considered "What is wrong with the world?" instead of "What the hell is wrong with me?" and that prevented me to become insane and to focus on solving targeted distinct problems. The more I read the forum, the more I realized how the manifestations of Asperger are closely related with a lifetime experience (what I threw down anarchically in my post) and how every single outcome is realized, rationalized and optimized (or not at all!) how every articulation we build will count for the next event. This is pure chaos theory.

I could have written this, as I feel exactly the way you do, SuperApsie.

My own personal philosophy is that life is a gift. We all have unique challenges, wherever it is we are along whichever spectrum we define. We also have unique strengths. Finding those strengths and putting them to use is easier for some than others, but finding them is absolutely crucial for fostering the growth of one's spirit. The good news is that life has a tendency to work itself out, given enough time. Sometimes it's impossible to see in the short term, but it's been my experience that many things happen for a reason.

I know that I have a disgustingly positive attitude and that I probably sound insincere to many, but that's who I am. I assure you I'm not exaggerating. It pains me to see how many people here are suffering so deeply, and I wish I could help more than I actually can.


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glider18
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04 Oct 2010, 7:09 am

Hi Fiddlerpianist---it's good to see you again. Thank you for posting here.


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sartresue
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04 Oct 2010, 10:00 am

Autful of wonder topic

I find something positive about my AS everyday. Today it revolves around sticking to my to-do list. Good to get things done!! :D


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DonDud
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04 Oct 2010, 10:17 am

Whatever I have (PDD-NOS would be the likely diagnosis, I suspect), it's something that intrinsically defines who I am and what I like, and I'm happy with that, and I hope others who are similar can be happy with that as well. The challenges that it presents involve holding myself back from being social even when want to be social, and otherwise avoiding self-advancement out of confusion and fear of the many things that I don't understand.



pgd
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04 Oct 2010, 10:28 am

glider18 wrote:
I have created this thread so that we can better understand each other here at the WrongPlanet. I wish to state one important rule, please do not criticize the philosophies that we as members of the WrongPlanet state here. Please respect them and realize they are just that---individual philosophies. The philosophy need not be overly detailed. It is just a general statement(s) about how we feel about our life with Asperger's/autism.

The Philosophy of Glider18:

Asperger's/autism is a difference that has the potential to give us many gifts if we accept them, nurture them, and utilize them. I choose to focus my attention on the positives that Asperger's has given to me and to pay less attention to its challenges. No one, NT or autistic, is given a perfect hand of cards in which to play the game of life. I will use my good cards, not my bad cards, to play this game. I do not want cured of my autism because autism to me is a difference, not a disease, not a defect, not a disorder. However, I respect the views of others in regard to autism because no two people are alike, and how I feel about my life may not be how others feel about their lives. My journey has just begun.


---

Agree with you.

No one is given a perfect deck of cards with which to play the game of life so to speak.

Life - From the proverbial cradle to the grave...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_of_Life (board game - symbol of life)

My personal feeling is that some persons are born with what are called subtle neurological challenges/whatever: Asperger/Autism/ADHD, etc.

There are no cures.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/deve ... ities.html
http://www.associatedconditionsofcerebralpalsy.com/

and so on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation

http://askjan.org/media/adhd.html
http://askjan.org/

Persons can very gradually recognize/become aware of the symptoms often over many years.

http://www.hbo.com/movies/temple-grandin/index.html (autism)



Mysty
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17 Oct 2010, 11:42 am

My thinking is, autism is simply a label for a set of traits. It's useful because learning about autism can help us understand various different individuals. Even people who wouldn't qualify for a diagnosis but have some traits. And it's a way of sharing knowledge of what works and what doesn't for people with these traits, or for helping people with these traits.

It's not, though, a thing the way HIV is. It has both multiple causes (with different people having different combinations) and multiple appearances, all under one label because we've made that label.

And I see it as a set of related disabilities. I think sometimes, people can overcome an autistic disability, with a lot of work. Sometimes they can learn to accommodate it without fully overcoming it. And maybe sometimes neither is possible.

In one sense, autism is very real, it has a reality beyond being a social construct. The things people with autism can't do that most people can, those are real. (And I don't mean things like can't ride a bus, can't drive, but the deeper down disabilities behind them.)

In another sense, it's a social construct. It exists because we (humans) created it. It's not simply something we've discovered. It's something that is what it is because we define it that way. Maybe in the future we can move towards more discovering and describing it rather than defining it. (Or, do more discovering to move towards describing.)

Given this idea of autism, and what it is, I don't think it's wrong for me to see myself as in some sense autistic even if I don't fit the classic pattern. I'm somewhere in the realm of people with autistic traits, even if not in the realm of people who fit the official definition. I can use knowledge about autism to understand myself, and my life experiences, and the struggles I've had.


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