AS a Disability?

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I believe it is both a gift and a disability. It just depends how bad off you are on a particular day. Some days I literally cannot function and on others I zip through schoolwork because of my photographic memory. My moods are like a yo-yo, which is why I'm on the mood stabilizer Lamictal (has helped immensely). It gives me both intense passion and enthusiasm that can help me and breakdowns that hinder me. All in all, though, I view Asperger's as a very, very positive thing, and I wouldn't change having it for one second. It makes me, me. I'm proud of it.
-OddDuckNash99-

It is a disability. It effects us in a bad way, socializing, senses, emotions, reading people, etc. And you don't call that a disability?

I think it's important to note that Asperger's Syndrome, like the autism that it is itself a part of, exists on a spectrum or a continium, giving some folks better or worse social skills than others (and so forth). It also gives some people more useful (in terms of potential work applicability) obsessive interests than it gives others. So, as I think is probably evident from the diversity present on this board alone (Not to mention the wider diversity that exists amongst people with AS in general), some people do alright in the working world, some people are disabled in the sense of having great difficulty working, and some people can't work at all. The same goes for relationships. We're in the same category, not clones.

It's easy for us as human beings (Something we share with neurotypicals! ) to generalize about a group we're part of, or about society as a whole, based upon ourselves as a template. Of course, the truth is, the world is a very diverse place and generalizations can sometimes be less than accurate, especailly when they're based on a limited sample size.

Let's also try to keep in mind that being disabled isn't anything to be defensive about or feel ashamed of. Beyond the fact that disabilities can't be helped, there is the larger issue that all it really says is "Can't get along well in a certain situations, like work, due to traits that are different from the average person", it isn't a value judgement that anyone's an inferior person. An Aspie who is disabled just can't navigate a world not designed for Aspies, just as a neurotypical might not be able to navigate an Aspie world. It could easily be more a problem of incompatibility between the individual and the system versus a flaw in either. We wouldn't say software designed for a PC is bad because it can't run on a Mac, or that the Mac is bad because it can't run the PC software (Granted, many Macs now can run software, but I'm thinking of years past), but they are disabled relative to each other.

How about the word impairment?

Take my glasses off and I am impaired. In total darkness I am no more impaired then someone with 20/20. Impairment can be situational but it speaks of diminished ability in one or more areas. I know this doesn't speak of the positives but it covers the negatives.

Obviously, whether or not neurotypicals accept AS as a disability has an impact on how accepting people will be of AS folks who feel they are disabled, but it has no impact whatsoever on whether or not it's true. I'll be straight-forward here, I feel my autism is a disability. I think coming to that realization was important for me, because I believe it tells me more about who I am and how I relate to the world, and because it's the truth. If some neurotypicals don't accept that, that's unfortunate, and a source of potential pain, but they would be wrong and I would be right. People not believing something doesn't necessarily make it inaccurate, and isn't directly related to truth, in so far as truth exists objectively (If it can indeed be said to).

Also, a little off-topic in terms of the particular reply I'm replying to, but I want to note while I remember it, since it relates to the thread overall: Let's remember, too, that Asperger's can sometimes be a disability in combination with other disabilities. For example, I have physical problems and memory issues and some other things. It's possible with just one of the group I'd be okay, but the combination is a clear disability (Though honestly I suspect any of the three mentioned above would be independently disabling for me given the spots I am on the spectrums).

It goes beyond just how you are perceived. If AS were to be viewed as a disability, then asking Aspies to interact socially would be as cruel as asking a paraplegic to run a marathon. But here is the problem: if social interaction is the issue, and since almost all forms of work will require some level of social interaction, what sort of work can Aspies do and what good would the disability label do us? I take the view that AS is a disability but unlike other disabilities, labeling it as such may not actually be helpful.

Actually Zeno,

The kind of relations needed at work are NOT those aspergers aren't good at. Quite the contrary.

MAYBE if aspergers was classed a disability, managers would smarten up, etc...

Steve

It's not for all, but it is for me. I have an impossible time holding jobs due to multi-tasking deficits, face blindness, and inability to communicate well verbally. I have a good vocabulary, but can't express myself well. For office breaks, I'm often stressed and like to sit in the coffee room alone with a book, which makes others think I don't like them. So I would sit with THEM and feel more stress as I tried to make small-talk.

I wouldn't change though. I like ASers more than NTs, and I like being unique.

I don't think it's a black and white question, though many would like it to be.

Diability:
A disadvantage or deficiency, especially a physical or mental impairment that interferes with or prevents normal achievement in a particular area.

Hmm, that sounds a lot like AS to me. The problem with any conversation about the term disability is not the term itself, but the emotional response to the term. As is a disability in that it removes some or all of a person's ability to function within the constraints of normal society. That's absolutely true, that's part of the diagnostic criteria.

Whether society should be more flexible, more accepting, or more understanding... that's a completely different subject. Obviously, society at large should be more accepting of those outside the norm, but we can look at history (I'm in the US, so I use us as an example) and see that it is not well equipped for that.

Early Americans believed that being other than white made one less than human. How long did it take for society, not individuals, to realize that idea was incorrect?

Women were thought to be less able than men.

People with mental retardation and those with psychiatric disorders were often locked up and mistreated or abused because society believed they didn't deserve to be treated humanely.

We have legislation now protecting the groups I mentioned because individuals realized and fought for the rights of those groups, but even with legislation enacted, there are still problems. To think that society should change to accept AS isn't wrong, but it is unreasonable. Societies do not readily change to accept what is outside of their norm. Those of us living on the edges, those of us from "another planet" must learn to carve out our own niche in the world, to find a way to function successfully within the society in which we live and it is up to us to balance the demands of society with out own needs, if we are capable.

I hope that the world changes, that people become more accepting of one another, but I'm not going to hold my breath for it. I don't look good in a coffin.

Thanks for the laugh - I needed it.

Asperger's already IS classified as a disability (in the US anyway, though I suspect it is in the UK too). If you are diagnosed with Asperger's you are entitled to accomodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Are there any other 'disabilities' that also enhance aspects of yourself (like AS enhancing mental faculties in most)?

I'm wondering if this may be a myth propagated by the self-help industry. When you go to bookstores you will read titles like the, the "Gift of ADHD". The notion behind this is that negatives are often balanced by superior attributes, I am beginning to be skeptical of claims like this. I know that many ADHDers see themselves as highly creative but when you actually take a look at clinical studies, the results are not at all conclusive about that idea. I'm wondering if the same couldn't be true about AS? What are the particular strengths of AS and have they been clinically shown to be superior to the traits of "NT"s. The other difficulty I see here, is that positive traits are not uniform across the spectrum.

It's a consellation prize as long as we believe in it. I like to think that I got *something* positive out of this crummy thing.

I also thought it was quite ironic though, how AS obsessions that lead us to fixate on a person are rendered useless by our lack of social ability to do anything good about it.

Perhaps for some Apsies, being pressured to interact socially to anything more than a limited extent *is* as bad as asking a paraplegic to run a marathon. I don't think we should automatically discount that as obviously not a possibility, just because society tells us lots of social interaction should be possible for everyone. Certainly, society has gotten it wrong about a lot of things historically, particularly as it pertains to minorities (Whether racial, cultural, physical, or neurological), so there is no reason to believe that society is suddenly getting everything right. In fact, I think our society today is just as flawed as societies ever were, just in different ways than it's predecessors, in some respects.

It's also true that some Aspies can't sustain employment. We have some here on the forum. The truth is, though, that this forum actually probably isn't even a representive sample. It is my belief that many Aspies wind up homeless and even dead on the streets, because their condition doesn't allow them to make a go of it and their friends and families, if they have any, dismiss them as just lazy rather than being disabled, and just let them die (It's also an easy condition to have go undiagnosed, not that diagnosis even will always guarantee anything.). Those people don't have the luxury of posting on the Internet, unfortunately. This forum is also missing the ones who are so crippled in terms of social interaction that even posting on a message board is too much for them.

You asked what the point is of the label disability. Well, there are several. First of all, it can help people get disability benefits so they don't wind up homeless or dead. I'd say that's important. Secondly, it can help increase the general level of understanding that exists -- most neurotypicals will still dismiss and taunt us, but a select few more than understand now might begin to understand if we could educate society about aspeger's as a disability. Thirdly, there is a level of self-understanding and having Aspies know that it isn't always their fault that they can't achieve, which can slightly help out with self-esteem and quality of life. It may not provide much just to label, but it provides enough that it's worth it to fight this battle and make sure Asperger's is recognized as a disability.

Does anyone here receive government compensation for AS?