For those who believe Asperger's/Autism is some sort of gift

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Everyone is different. For some being autistic can be very advantageous and for others it can be a serious disability. I for one enjoy being the way I am, sure I struggle with some things occasionally but so does everyone. I personally do see a lot of my autistic traits as good things. I have a really good memory, I'm not swayed by advertising or trends and I catch details often missed by others. It really just depends on where you are on the spectrum and what other comorbid disorders you have.

Besides just because a person is neurotypical it doesn't mean they're all happy and living perfect lives. There are plenty of isolated and lonely NT's out in the world.

All I know is that for all the positive rhetoric on this site, at the end of the day, no one actually want to be neurologically impaired in any way. That alone negates all prior positiveness.

Autism isn't necessarily an impairment (it can be though depending on the severity). I personally don't see myself as neurologically impaired, just different, and a lot of us are like that. I just think there are some things I'm good at and other things I'm not. The same is true for everyone, autistic or not. Again I like the way I am and I wouldn't want to be neurotypical even if I could.

I do not want to change. I've never wanted to change, even when I hated myself. Do you know why I hated myself? Because everyone around me wanted me to change and they still do, but I like the way I think. I like how I see the world and I hate that people want me to stop being who I am. I hate that people want to force me to conform to their idea of "normal."

Normal just means the average of a group. Here on WrongPlanet, being on the spectrum IS normal. I come here to talk to people who actually understand me and don't insist I shut up and listen because they're so much better than me. I use WrongPlanet to pose ideas on the political/religious forums that I can't post on Facebook or other places without getting serious flak and no actual conversation. Is it bad to want a conversation where I'm not called horrible names because I don't think like other people? Why on earth would I ever want to be like that?

Just because I've been bullied doesn't mean I want to become the bully.

Life period is a gift along with however God chose to design us. Whether you're NT, ASD, paraplegic, have cerebral palsy, it doesn't matter.

To quibble over whether ASD is a blessing or curse is meaningless. It's what you do with what you got. Attitude is everything, and if you think that your ASD is a curse, then it will be for you. It's a self fulfilling prophesy, as they say.

Special interests can be a gift and a curse. It's been both for me, but in retrospect, it was ultimately my choice in how I handled myself at the time. I take full responsibility and do not blame ASD for my sins and failures, nor other people.

lostproperty,

Wow, you hit that RIGHT on the money.
That's a realization I had in the last couple years myself.

"being an Aspie leaves me very vulnerable and at an obvious disadvantage when it comes to dealing with the sort of problems that most people will have to deal with at some point in their lives."

And this is the hardest part when talking to doctors and NTs and trying to explain to them "what's wrong".
Because on the surface of things, I'm very intelligent, and I do seem very capable person , as normal NT things and affairs go, but in reality, no, many NT things that NTs do, especially interaction, and the overly aggressive relations they seem to like to keep between each other, I simply can't do. And I can't copy them either. If I had to copy them, I still couldn't live the way they do, it's too aggressive and it's too violent, and it leads to me having melt-downs, or and sometimes shut-downs.

So yes, I'm at a severe disadvantage.
And being still undiagnosed, I feel extremely vulnerable because I have a knife to my throat basically, NTs expect and demand that I act "normal" and live my life "normally". I just want to live my life the way I wish to live it, and be left alone. Obviously, one request beyond what NT society is capable of granting me, or any neuro-diverse person for that matter.

LostProperty,
you're pretty young, and you've realized all this already.
I'm 38yo and JUST recently (last few years) realized this, after a TON of self-research.
Autodidactic research I guess it's called.

I'm afraid I'll run out of money and resources before I can get a diagnosis.
If I can't keep up with the insane-treadmill-hamsterwheel that is NT society , then it's skid-row, daily beating by the police (they don't like you on THEIR streets, they've told me this to my face), daily hunger (I suck at begging and I have a man-beard I won't give up), daily put-downs from well-to-do citizens with money ("get a job ya bum..." , and from women "ewww, a nasty homeless person..." , etc. , which I'm more afraid of women's put-downs, they're so bitchy and entitled to everything because they're female, because they [for whatever reason] hurt me more than men's put-downs).

I get the impression from doctors that "ohya, you're screwed, .... here's another nice fat bill for you to pay".
Then they give you passive-aggressive smile as you walk out the door.

So, you missed my post, then?

Because I want to be autistic, not NT.

This is a great post! I really relate to what you said. I've never cared about the differences until others pushed me to care. I'm willing to compromise on things, as you have to in all relationships, but so many people want to you change fundamentally, which is impossible. And abusive.

I'm going to go ahead and just say I wouldn't support you as a spokesperson for people on the spectrum. I am not diagnosed, but my personality is not like most NT people. I score 178 out of 200, so yes people think I am extremely weird. And I am not the problem. Nor do I want to be like other NTs or if I am not an NT, I don't want to change into one. I like the way I think. I don't feel like I want to be one of those people who have to have a hug when things go wrong or offering sympathy to other people instead of working on the problem they have. F' that noise. If I have a bad day it's not because my feelings got hurt usually, it's because something that can likely be fixed went wrong. So, I want the thing fixed not my feelings they are irrelevant to the problem.

Yes people discriminate. Obviously and that obviously means that they are the ones that should change.

PS I don't see the way I am as a gift nor a curse. I see it as me being the way I am.

I don't feel cursed by my autism at all. I also don't feel suffocated by it. I see it as a gift. I can spend days alone with my dog when my parents are out of town. I can spend hours on my crafts and not get bored. I can keep myself amused with my special interests for hours. I've also managed to get a job related to one of my special interests - money and world currency, working at a local bank. I can also spend days on end making unique avatars that feature my favourite band and not get bored. I also have two good friends who understand me and my unique issues. The last thing I want to be is normal/NT.

I'll second that.

For me, having Asperger's made me somehow feel that I do exist with a reason, not because of the label, and regardless if people knew I have it or not but because it has filled me with answers to some of my questions about how I am often different from other people. I viewed it at an angle which helps me to know what is a part of me, that God gave. I viewed it as something that I do not hold in my hand as a choice but rather a beautiful mystery discovered.


"Beautiful Mystery" which might sound somehow oxymoron, describes my life as having it with the fullest of my passions and having it with the darkest and strange qualities that I have.

"beautiful" and "mystery" are not oxymoronic to each other. There could definitely exist a "beautiful mystery."

Some people say God (of which I have no belief) works in "beautiful, mysterious" ways.

There could be mystery novels which are "beautifully" designed.

Some of the "mysteries" of life could turn out, indeed, to be beautiful.

I don't believe autism is a "gift"---but I do believe, at times, that it could be used to one's advantage.

And moreover, the environment.

I do not defy by any means to demean your beliefs by my opinions, but rather just my Opinions. I'm not sure if I got it the way you wanted to convey about making examples of novels and mysteries of life. But

Beautiful mystery isn't really oxymoron, hence, I stated it as "somehow oxymoron". I wouldn't try my best to be negative in any way just to fit in what other's think, similarly that I try my best to spill my positivity- I can even make myself appear like it even if I don't. I'm not saying that I'm an optimistic person for encapsulating my myself with sugary coated words which does not demean myself of having it, but rather facing the fact that despite that I KNOW having it isn't easy there are still boundless things to be thankful of. I respect you not adhering to my beliefs which I am not pushing you to, but rather firmly stating that whether you have no God and I have mine whether we have Asperger's or not still doesn't make us forever dumbs living in this planet. I do too experience many downfalls having it, but it doesn't necessarily say that I do not acknowledge its spiteful venom that mocks me by the society. It all circulates my mind. Perhaps I haven't experience what you have had experienced and you haven't experienced what I experienced. Perhaps I am sugary coated to SOme if I'd state as seeing it as something beautifully made mystery, or a mysteriously made beautiful person. But that's how I am and I do not see it as a clear view of all wonderful, but rather in both ways experiencing high and low times. I also do not believe having it as a "Gift" but I do believe that in some way not just in Asperger's we could be, but not any step higher to our fellow humans that could cause us to demoralize or underestimate them. I believe each one of us has our own different perspectives. Nevertheless.

Last edited by Owl123 on 31 Jul 2015, 9:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

I agree. I was just giving my perspective.

I wasn't criticizing yours at all.