Autisism and the danger of psychosymatic thinking

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I know what you mean. People tend to dichotomize and think those with AS are smart and others "not so smart". I disagree with this.
So many people are competitive these days. Parents are reading to their children at earlier ages because they want them to be smarter when older. The kids are learning to read earlier because of this. It's increasing their cognitions and their scores on IQ tests. Could this mean they have Asperger's? This is the kind of thinking that leads to the "vanity diagnosis". Anytime you associate a syndrome with genius people see this as good and want their kids to be a part of it because it gives them a percieved "edge" and super-parents are always on the lookout for those edges these days if they think it will get their kid into Harvard or MIT.
But do these "smarter" kids really have a difficult time socializing? If they do not, should they recieve a diagnosis?

At the risk of going off on another tangent (I think I'm famous for that), I've always hated competition, both in school and in interests. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses to bring to the world, and trying to rank people against other people belittles their significance to the world.

That's my take on it, at least.

Beautifully put! I will make this my mantra.

"I didn't read a list of things that some autistic people face and then choose to experience it. I had already experienced it my entire life."

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This describes my experience to a "T." I'm matching what I've read about autism in the last year to the experiences I've had consistently throughout my life.

I can sympathize with the view that *not* knowing might make you stronger, but at the same time, I've seen firsthand how not knowing can give you lots of damage and emotional/mental baggage, too!

Thanks......and I hope you find the right people. It really does work, I've been there

That's true, it trivializes our existence, to an extent. It brings out pettiness so people lose sight of what really matters and it also sets people against people so one feels less of an equal.

For those who feel marginalized and unable to connect, success in competition can translate into a sense of self and acceptance. I am very competitive as a person; not with others so much anymore, but with my expectations of myself. Without competition, there is no drive to excel and surpass... so I think I value it differently than others in this thread.


M.

I think it may depend on the type of competition. I personally feel that quantitative competition (e.g., who has the fastest track time) has more value than qualitative competition (e.g., who is the best piano player). This is because competing and failing when performing a qualitatively judged activity gives you no direction for improvement. Sure, you might get "notes" but such things are wildly subjective.

Qualitative competitions also have a tendency to quash individuality, which I value highly. Highland pipe bands, for instance, got so lost in competition that all uniqueness of style and approach got lost years ago. Now it's all about uniformity and chops. That didn't happen in Cape Breton, where many of the old piping traditions have been preserved and individuality is highly prized.

Valid points; the best competition is objective, and often found within oneself instead against an external opponent.


M.

Pekkla wrote:

Quotable quote topic

To Vanilla slice: This is what pekkla said.

Exactly.

I wasn't even told I was an Aspie.
I would have preferred this.

I was actually told that I "had Aspergers Syndrome", which I think in hindsight was incredibly misleading, almost implying I had some some kind of horrible "disease" or "psychological problem"" that I had to "get better from". So that was kind of a curse.

People certainly became more afraid of me when they heard these words about me.
When people were unaware of the label, they tended to be more sensible understanding and think "oh that's just the way she is" and work with how I was rather than against it.

I've found that people have tried to understand look deeper at my personality when I've kept quiet about AS. They've also been friendlier too.

When other people have been told that I "have AS", they've just seen me as a "label" and made all sorts of incorrect assumptions about me, because they've only been prepared tp see the "negative" surface of who I am.

So people tried to "fix me" and my socialising issues were stigmatised.
There was miscommunication on both sides.


This was a shame because I enjoyed analysing and observe details in the physical environment.

I felt shame at having my curiosity and character being twisted into a series of "inappropriate behaviours".

I felt as though someone had invalidated all the things that I enjoyed doing and learned from (being alone quietly, having a unique viewpoint and investigating objects) .


Having a negative label placed on me made me feel shame about myself and how I perceived the world. When people said I was "bad", it just made me feel worse and exacerbated the issues.

I learned very early on that crowds of people can be frightening, judgmental and unpredictable.


Why can't people just be more open and more informed about issues like these?

Why do these issues have to be so stigmatised and secretive?


I think that people should be made aware that different human beings have different kinds of mental operating systems and therefore different kinds of "radar" for perceiving the world. Also the idea that different people see different parts of the world as important to them. Seeing things differently shouldn't be viewed as inappropriate or wrong.

For example, different people look at exactly the same house in different ways:
- A plumber sees the plumbing
- An electrician sees the wiring and power points
- A brick-layer sees the mortar and bricks
- The gardener sees the plants and flower beds
- An artist sees colour, shadows, perspective and shape
- An estate agent sees the value of the property
- The occupant sees a family home
- A visitor would see the people who live inside the house
And so on.

So there's no single "right" or "appropriate way" to see the house.

Could different types of "perceptual radar" actually be hardwired or useful for different occupations?




Exactly.

I think the other part of the equation (that's often not considered) is how the other person reacts to and interprets the "Aspie". If the other person reacts in a fearful or hostile way, then there's a problem. If they don't mind, are supportive and just let the "Aspie" so his or her own thing, then there isn't so much of a problem.

How people behave probably also depends on the surrounding physical and social environments.

In certain environments, I've had few difficulties.

Other environments haven't been so good.


I think how well someone functions is the interaction between his/her temperament, and the surrounding physical and social environments.

FINALLY FNALLY FINALLY

People are understanding what I am actually conveying its not about the whole revlation of OH YOUR ASPIE now deal with it

OOOoooOOOOoooAna first go it

What I meant to say is wright get this
I think there may be a minefield with the whole aspergers thing mainly because the figures are like 1 in 150 or 1 in 350 Alex the creator believes in the 350 one which is somewhat likely but I think it is truly lik 1 in 10 000 FOR EXAMPLE MY CONDITION OF oCULAR aLBINISM IS OFFICIALLY BY OPTHOMOLOGY STANDARDS IS AT 1 IN 800 000 sorry for caps this means less than 50 in the uk have it making it very rare and the condition is dying out

but for AS to be 1 in 150 THATS INSANE that makes it more common than bloody dyslexia which is now about 1 in 200 meaning in UK standards of 83 million about something like 5.3 million people have it

People are getting smarter and smarter people are bound to invert themselves because they fail to have a stimulating conversation with the common people now this is where my point gets more gritty as this may lead into depression, anxiety and also many other things such as suicide but also the most notable thing of having fewer friends because said individual is clever and following specific interest e.g. birds or engines

The danger o this time is that we especially the western influenced world live in a culture of diagnosis is everything culture e.g. I am afraid of people IT MUST BE A DIESEASE or my son is not good at socialising HE MUST BE ret*d or MENTALLY INEPFT. tHE DANGER OF READING INTO THINGS ALSO PLAGUES THE WHOLE sorry for caps, situation of yes you are reading this especially for the young people no offense but younger minds can be twisted and crafted easier, Psychologists especially the newer ones have been raised in the culture and taught in this culture since the 70s because the PC stuff started then and this makes it a kind of tick tick tick tick box OH CONGRATS you have a disability culture.

I am just saying especially to the new comers don't read to heavily into the AS thing as you might not have AS just take it with a grain of salt all of my aspie friends especially the one told very young resent the fact they were told because it creates a mental conditions and an example of personal experience is I was diagnosed weith dyslexia and dysphraxia in may this year, I am glad so because I knew I had dysphraxia but the point is I did not know that so I continued to learn an yes I was behind but I was still singnificantly ahead of the special class guys who had only dyslexia. and one had aspergers and I se him now and again in the city and think whoa that could of potentially been me cus this guy frankly has no exisistence sorry to be harsh but its the truth

Thanks to especially the seconds page posters for understanding what I was actually saying and to makura psychosymetic thinking is not a condition it happens to everyone especially those who are of a weaker position e.g. people with depressio, socially inept hell even average joe can get it sorry to sound blunt mate

Simply knowing whether you have Asperger's or not, doesn't make or break someones existence.

Everyones experiences and lives are different. You can't lump everyone into the same category and say, "Everyone is better off not knowing if they have AS or not."

Thats the same thing as my family telling me all my life, "You just have to buck up and do it."

Life is not as simple as that. Maybe you wouldn't have pushed yourself if you had known about the AS diagnosis early. Maybe you would have pushed even harder had you known. There are many thing that go into shaping a person, and knowing if you have Asperger's or not is only one part out of many.

There are some people that have difficulty succeeding in life in the way that society deems important, diagnosis or no diagnosis.

@ dragonfly believe me there are people wh solely whine and use things like aspergers depressio blindness deafness or paralysis as an excuse and sole purpose trust me I went to a school for the blind I know hehe sorry to sound blunt but there are many people are

at toughdiamond the disability takes two mantra I love it someone who has a mantra simlar to mine

Mine is; Only you yourself put the dis in disability

oh anoher point does anyone here in this thread think mild aspergers should be classed as a disability as in the UK this technicall classes them equal and as disabled as a deaf person or a blind person or a heavily dyslexic dysphraxic, I just personally think being blind and legally blind this is a bit horrible lol as personally seeing only blur is a lot harder but personally I just think its just a bit cheap especially to the deaf peiople as they have it really hard

or another mantra life's what you make it

Do you mean just classified as a disability? Or able to receive disability money?

Since I'm not in the UK I know this isn't directed towards me, however I am on Disability in the US so I figured I'd chime in here.

Yes, I do believe that for some people having Asperger's can be debilitating enough that Disability should be awarded. In the US Disability isn't given just because you have a condition or a diagnosis, in fact most of the time they deny you for everything. They give Disability based on your level of functioning and if they believe you can work in society right now. I don't know how it works in the UK.

I'm glad that in the US its considered a disability because not everyone with Asperger's is making a 6 figure income, a rocket scientist, or even moderately successful in their life. For some people, life is very difficult. Its not one of those things you can cookie-cutter and say, "Oh you have AS and not Kanner's Autism? Well you have it easy and don't need any support then. We don't believe its even a disability anymore." Even the term "mild" isn't a very accurate term. What is mild? Is your mild different from MY mild? Probably. No one ever fits into categories all the way, and its futile to try to stuff them there.

I'm not one to believe in aspie pride, but nor am I one to wallow in a label either. I don't blame my failures on having AS, and I don't attribute my successes to having AS. I've lived this life and it is what it is. I wish I had known before that I was truly different because I think I might have gotten farther if I had received help. But I also didn't grow up in a traditional family either. Childhood sexual abuse, poverty, broken family, drugs, alcohol.. there were a lot of factors that I grew up in that helped shape who I am today.

I was classified sorry I badly stated it, I just think it should depend on levels you know as there are many aspies who are coping or according to stastics committing suicide aka the easier way to cope with finance but not necessarily the smart way.

I just think the disability classificatio system should be based on a personal intervention level rather than a you have blah blah blah so it makes you diabled, they are trying to do this in the UK as there are many very very very mild aspies claiming about £500 aka in america $900 and it is a large drain its also the case wih bloody harphritus and the "back problem"

Of course I am on the level of yes if you canbarely go out because of hypersensitivity and social anxiety etc etc you should be ut on the register get money but heres the big part have a check basis so for example person a who has minor infrequent anxiety attacks does not have them now so we will have them on te register but pay the same but monitor on a 6 monthly basis ya know

I believe ina welfare state but in some countries it has got insanely lax, can you understand my angle hjust o avoid a massive stockpile as perviously witnessed