Do you tell people you're an Aspie?
Anyways, I'm convinced I have Aspergers and there are a few people I would be willing to tell; but what about when I'm in my awkward social situations and feel the need to explain why I am the way I am? If you do tell people, do they treat you differently? I want to be looked at like a normal person instead of a weirdo but I don't want pity.
Your experiences?
You won't be any different of a person because you choose what you want to believe and say, you are yourself after all. What will change is the resources available to you when it comes to understanding and coping with your condition. There are many unpleasant symptoms that I'm sure you'd like to be able to deal with.
So: it has less to do with whether or not you think you can tell other people and more to do with what you want for yourself.
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I do tend to tell people, mostly because I either don't want them to misunderstand my strange behaviour and just think I'm weird or obnoxious, or because I need something from them, like at school or work. I really didn't want to have to tell my employers at work, but I eventually had to before they stuck me with a position that I couldn't deal with because of my sensory problems, and the constant exposure to unending streams of people the new position would bring. I tell all of my professors for whom I think the information will be relevant (eg if I need specific accommodations or just more understanding). It definitely helps that I'm majoring in psychology, and as such, not many of my professors need an explanation for what AS is.
I'm generally not ashamed of my diagnosis, nor do I think it will make people think poorly of me. Those who do think less of me because of it are people I don't want to be around, so better to weed them out early. Part of me hopes that by telling people, and by teaching them when they don't understand, I'll be doing my small part to help spread awareness of our condition.
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Rediagnosed with ASD level 2 on the 4th of May, 2019
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regarding telling, i do this same thing too, i understand.
i do really think that i'll get different treatment if i disclose myself as somebody with an autism label, that all my actions they've known about will be seen from a different perspective, but all my current teachers know and they have not brought it up with me or treated any different besides what is required in my IEP. it's ok.
everyone is awkward, yes, in different ways. thank you.
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JerryM
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No. I've only told my family, my best friend and my bosses (and only so they could make accommodations). And even with the select few people I've told, I've noticed that not one person understood what that truly meant. One of my bosses told me it was nothing and my diagnosis doesn't mean they have to accommodate me (until I pointed out the ADA), my sister argued with me and said I wasn't Autistic and not to say I was and my friend thought that having ASD meant that I organized my socks for hours and talked about it non stop. Sometimes I wish I could just tell people that I have ASD and make things easier on us both (especially when I have customers who insist I'm being 'rude' or comment on my tics) but honestly people just don't understand ASD and, more often than not, simply scares them and makes them leery of you
In general, no.
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ASD isn't a valid excuse for jerky behavior. If it was this forum would be catastrophe
As to the question, it's obvious there's something going on with me. So I'd rather someone know what it is than have them speculate.
ASD isn't a valid excuse for jerky behavior. If it was this forum would be catastrophe
As to the question, it's obvious there's something going on with me. So I'd rather someone know what it is than have them speculate.
Oh I know it absolutely isn't, but there's gotta be something about me that rubs people the wrong way. I don't actively act like a jerk unless I seriously don't like someone and then it's no secret anyways. But I've always tended to intimidate people or act like a know-it-all or come off as rude or something of the sort.
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