I said I do call myself an aspie, but I think perhaps I could have said other. It depends on the person I am speaking with. I might tell someone that I have autism... but that person, if they know nothing of autism, is most likely going to think I am a liar because I am not Rain Man, so I generally opt to not do that. I will say I have autism though if I have to explain something quickly that is of importance... for example, my llw teacher. I told her I have autism and as a result, if she calls on me to answer a question while music is playing, I will not hear her, so I will not answer her. That gives her what she needs to know in a short and simple burst of information. I do not like to tell people that I have AS because most people have no clue as to what that is... at least most people have heard of autism, even if they are mostly clueless about it. Now, I do not tell people I encounter that I have Aspergers because I hate it when they say things like, "You have what? A-- burgers?" That annoys me more than I can say... bugs the hell out of me. Besides, like the term AS, most people do not know what Aspergers is either. I find it easiest to say to people that I am an Aspie because if they know the word, then no more need be said. If they do not they will then either decide that they do not care what I mean and I do not need to waste their time or mine explaining... or they will ask and I can tell them that it is a cutesy word for a person with a certain type of autism. If they ask for more info, then I will get into more technical and correct terminology and assume that they are clever enough to follow me and decent enough to not snicker like a moron about my a-- burgers.
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"...don't ask me why it's just the nature of my groove..."