I wish I was born NT but would I appreciate it?

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I know since I was diagnosed I've spent most of my time wishing and wishing I was born NT and not having to deal with being unusually awkward, but I look at NTs (mostly my age) around me and they don't know they're born. They take their social skills for granted, and I have never met an NT who stands there and says, ''ohh I'm glad I was born an NT, I love myself''.

So if I were born NT but into this same family with the same people, I wouldn't know much about Autism because nobody in my family has Autism and nobody we know really has Autism, so I would probably know a bit about it but it would never occur to me in any ways, so I wouldn't be missing anything (although there wouldn't be much to miss anyway, but I'm just saying).

Does anyone else agree?

You probablly wouldnt. I'm NT myself but I got an autistic brother and that doesn't make me go around full of glee thinking 'thank god I'm not like my brother, I am so proud to be neurotypical, yay!! !' I don't give it a second thought. In fact, there are things I wish I could change about myself. Obviously I understand a bit about autism and that because of growing up in a house with an autistic living with me, but I will never know how he really feels because I'm not him. Only he knows how he feels, and only other people can only know how he feels to a degree.

I think that you are right, you wouldn't appreciate it. If you were NT you probably wouldn't give it a second thought. I'm presuming that you, like me, have two legs and two arms? How often do you think 'I am so lucky that I have both arms and both legs'? Probably not very often. I imagine that is what it is like for NT's when it comes to ASD.

That's true. I am physically able-bodied just like everyone else, but I still complain at how unlucky I am.

I didn't mean that comment in a guilt trip sort of way, just as an example. If you don't think about what it would be like to be limbless and you don't appreciate what it is to have all your limbs, then surely an NT person does not consider what it is like to have AS or appreciate being NT.

This thread is about how you feel, and you are entitled to feel that way even if other people are having difficulties too. I think it is a shame that you feel so negatively about yourself and I hope things improve for you.

I knew what you meant. You just explained it in a better way than I did in my original post. I was just pointing out what you meant, by saying that I am able-bodied but I don't appreciate it, just like I wouldn't appreciate being NT if I were NT. I'd still be complaining about something else that I haven't got.

It's all about open your personal empowerment chakra and heart chakra. The two work together to make you feel good about yourself It takes strength, but all humans have the ability to love who they are instead of hiding it or wanting to be someone else.

Oh that's good, I didn't want you to think I was kicking you while you were down.

I went the majority of my life wholeheartedly believing that I was normal. I tell you that not for a second did I appreciate it.

NT is boring.

The list is pretty endless in terms of things many people should be grateful for, it's certainly not limited to being NT -
Educated, able to walk, food and a roof over my head, working eyes, working ears, fertile and two beautiful children,a good marriage, a wonderful family, friends, a home, a car, decent healthcare, access to clean water, electricity...

My mother calls it 'counting one's blessings', and she often reminds me of doing this. While in general I've been able to cope with my autism and accept myself as I am, I have had spells where I would be considerably more negative about it, commenting out loud on how autism kept me from doing this-or-that. I have an older cousin who is both epileptic and mentally ret*d, and the challenges he faces in life are considerably greater than mine. As a family, my cousins and I have pretty much grown up together and were close; I'd often be reminded that, while I have my own issues to deal with, my cousin has to worry about injuring himself every time he falls when he has a grand-mal (as he's very tall), about sustaining damage to the nerve cells in his brain, about the possibility of having several grand-mals one after the other from which he might not survive.

Is my life without trouble or challenge? No. Are there things my cousin can do that I can't do? Of course, and vice versa. The point I guess I'm making here is that it's okay to look at yourself and say out loud what your personal problems are, the things you crash into and struggle with. And it's okay if it hurts sometimes. But it's also important you try to find a way to get rid of that hurt or at least alleviate it. And figuring that out is part of the long and winding path of life.

Not driving a motor vehicle has certainly made its impact on my narrative. Not crash dying on the highway is one example.

Not at all. You actually made me feel better about this, made me look at myself and think how lucky I really am, to be physically able and even emotionally able. I'm going through a depression patch, but I'm still carrying on, so I must have some strength somewhere, and that is good.

Thanks for making me realise that.

My husband has poor feet and I sometimes think "I am so glad I am not in so much pain" because his feet make him ache. I also think the same about other conditions too when I hear about them. eg. "I am so glad I don't have that." I also think the same about peoples issues they are facing in life. "I am so glad that didn't happen to me" "I am so glad I am not going through that" "I hope that never happens to me."

Well I know if I was NT I wouldn't appreciate it because I don't appreciate what I've got now. Like I am really upset about my bus-driver not on my bus any more, but say if the world was coming to an awfully morbid end on 21st of December this year, I bet I would be sitting there thinking, ''aww, I want life to go on, I'll rather just not having my favourite little bus-driver driving my bus, than THIS happening!''