Do you hate having Asperger's/autism?

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Do you hate having Asperger's/autism?

Never

No

I hate being misunderstood by people who think Asperger's Syndrome is a disease of the mind, and not just a different way of perceiving and dealing with the world.

I don't "hate" having Aspergers/autism---but it's certainly quite irritating at times.....

No. I believe I view the world and experience things with a greater intensity than most people. Life is very intense. I theorize that people with autism experience life more intensely than most people. On what basis do I support the theory? Hypersensitivities. I think it's elementary; when seemingly mundane and routine experiences can drain a person, that person experiences those things at a greater intensity than most.

I wouldn't want to experience life with less intensity.

No, we can thrive when we're dealt with by people who know what they're doing. Hence this website's name, 'wrong planet'.

I like being an aspie as it gives me a nature that is peculiar to me that I wouldn't otherwise have, because there are certain fancies that I quite likely would not be able to appreciate had I been an NT, also I like the quirky-odd qualities of other aspies/autistics, so I enjoy and prefer their company.

Yep, always have done, always will. There a lots of reasons why, but I won't list them unless somebody asks.

Will you list your reasons, Joe90?

No but I hate being chronically ill. Autism has benefits and cons where as there is nothing good about being chronically ill. I do not like the executive functioning deficits from autism though, I wish I did not have them.

OK, where to start...

1. I have always been a problem for my parents because of my symptoms and behaviours, and compared to me, my NT cousins were a walk in the park to bring up/live with (NOT saying NT children don't bring problems but compared to me it seems that way in my experience).

2. I don't like being different or an odd person.

3. I give off vibes when out in public that causes people to stare like I'm deformed, even though I have learnt how to conform to NT standards and not do anything to look different or dress different or anything like that. It's not even body language, it's just vibes that you cannot do anything about.

4. Social isolation. No matter how hard I try to fit in and make friends with people, I often feel excluded in groups and feel like I'm not liked enough to be fussed over like on a birthday (I know my family make sure I'm loved). But it's still so hurtful to remember all the times I have been rejected because of my Asperger's (I blame the Asperger's because I know that if I were NT I would have just been automatically accepted).

5. I don't like having a disorder that has "lack of empathy" listed as a symptom, because I have very high empathy abilities but no matter how empathetic and understanding I can be, some people (who know about Asperger's) just automatically assume that I will naturally lack empathy just because I'm on the spectrum.

6. Autism disorders seem to be thought of as the "most disabling neurological disorder", especially by people on the spectrum themselves, because some see every person not on the spectrum as "normal", so make it sound like even a person with downs syndrome and mental retardation has more chance of succeeding in life than a high-functioning Aspie with average intelligence and the ability to pass off as NT has. That belief makes me feel more like we're aliens to the rest of the world than the Asperger's itself.

7. Murderers have been known to claim they have autism in court, which gets leaked out into the public media, which just puts a bad reputation on the autistic community, making "lack of empathy" even more believable.

8. I hear scary things about autism statistics on the internet, like "autistics are more likely to become homeless" and "autistics are going to be thrown into torture asylums in the future". So I've got that to worry about.

9. I don't like the symptoms. Special interests: got me into trouble before, which was embarrassing. Needing routine: had outbursts if routine has been disrupted in the past, and outbursts aren't good, especially for other people around you. Sensory issues: makes me hate crowds and noisy kids, to the point where it stirs up anger and hatred inside me, which makes me feel like I'm a bad person for wanting to whack a toddler for screaming near me, or whacking the parents for not controlling their kid.

10. Asperger's sometimes makes me feel like I'm insane. When I've had outbursts in the past, my mum has called it "madness", which I suppose it is when you're screaming abuse at loved ones, hitting yourself in the face, kicking doors and shouting - all over a first-world problem.

11. Asperger's can make it hard to work full-time in a demanding job, and if you are high-functioning you aren't always qualified for financial help, so you've either got to stick in a job you feel is sensory overload fuel, or you've got to work short hours and live on hardly no money. And looking for work elsewhere can not only be hard but very daunting. I'm in a job that I love (because there's hardly no pressure and it's predictable), so luckily I don't have this problem, but if I got made redundant or something it would be a huge issue for me to find another job that suits me as an Aspie, and the support for high-functioning Aspies is crap. My brother has been diagnosed with Asperger's and is crying out for help with his work and finance issues, but keeps getting rejected by every support services he tries, just because he's high-functioning and can communicate.

12. I have to take meds to control my outbursts, as nothing else worked, not even meditation. So basically Asperger's is costing me £8 a month to keep sane.


I will post more if or when I can think of any more.

No

But I think my family are weird

When I was growing up we used to pretend to be imaginary people. I was the only child. I didn't start it...

Now my stepdad won't stop singing weird songs from the 40s. He plays imaginary cricket in public. My parents have a big age gap. Mum always wears quirky clothes.

So maybe if I had a normal family I'd hate it. But when I come home I'm home and accepted.

The one thing I do hate about it is my light sensitivity.

I hate certain aspects about having Aspergers but I wouldn't say i hate having Aspergers. I have other disabilities I hate alot more.

Same here. I had some (unpleasant) eye-opening experiences after getting diagnosed.

Yes. But at least I pondered over my answer, whereas in the past I would not have hesitated.

For me it's a significant disability. Makes me a significant special needs person. I'd like to be able to take a pill that would make it go away.

Not a bloody chance.