im starting to want a cure..

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Wetting yourself if left alone is not part of Aspergers. The things I've said are all the very definition. Physical disabilities, such as say immobile legs, are not part of AS, it's just another part of who you are. Just because you have something others don't doesn't chuck it unto AS. By definition, there are perks to AS. AS is mainly sensory and social things.

I'm afraid things like wetting myself is very much due to my autism. A lot of the kids I attend a special ed school for kids with autism have similar issues. All the problems I described are due to cognitive impairments due to autism. I have been tested and evaluated umpteen times by experts in the fields of neurology and psychology specializing in autism. On a scale of 1 to 10, maybe your autism is a 2. For others it's a 6 or even a 10. It's really not some simple mild cut and dry thing. You may have it to a mild degree, but you don't really seem to have any real practical knowledge about it. Which is fine, because most people don't due to its complexity. But at the same time I don't think you should make statements as fact, when they are actually closer to subjective anecdotes.

If your sensory difficulties mean that you cannot tell when you need the toilet, or if you get stuck on one task and are unable to change and go to the toilet, etc, then toileting needs can be related to ASD. Lots of more severely affect ASDers have this difficulty.

Disability, as it is used by the medical and social models of disability and as it is defined by many governing bodies, is not simply lack of ability. If I want to play the flute, but cannot I may lack that skill but in itself does not mean I am disabled.

In Britain, you are defined as disabled if 'You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.'

'What ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ mean
‘substantial’ is more than minor or trivial, eg it takes much longer than it usually would to complete a daily task like getting dressed
‘long-term’ means 12 months or more, eg a breathing condition that develops as a result of a lung infection
There are special rules about recurring or fluctuating conditions, eg arthritis.'

It doesn't matter whether you also have 'good' qualities, as long as the difficulties are there.

This document here provides a very long explanation of what a disability is. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/85038/disability-definition.pdf

Here are the autism case studies, which I assure you have explanations for.

'A six-year-old child has been diagnosed as having autism. He has
difficulty communicating through speech and in recognising when
someone is happy or sad. When going somewhere new or taking a
different route he can become very anxious. Each of these factors
amounts to a substantial adverse effect on his ability to carry out
normal day-to-day activities, such as holding a conversation or
enjoying a day trip, even for such a young child.'

'A man has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. He finds it hard to
understand non-verbal communications such as facial expressions,
and non-factual communication such as jokes. He takes everything
that is said very literally. He is given verbal instructions during office
banter with his manager, but his ability to understand the instruction
is impaired because he is unable to isolate the instruction from the
social conversation.
This has a substantial adverse effect on his ability to carry out
normal day-to-day communication.'

I have picked up a few little trouble shooting tricks when it comes to forums. But a comprehensive knowledge of them is beyond my abilities. As far as writing goes, not meaning to be argumentative, I believe my abilities in that area exist in spite of my autism, rather than because of it. The things I am good at, I am good at because those are the few things not effected by my autism, or less effected by it. But even with writing, I have an extremely limited ability to understand rules of grammar and phonetics. But thank you, you are a very encouraging in the things you say and most kind.

Last edited by EzraS on 21 Jan 2016, 8:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

Always keep in mind that autism is a spectrum.

One autistic person could have virtually "normal" functioning, while exhibiting various symptoms some of the time.

Another requires the constant use of a helmet because of self-injurious behaviors. And is not able to communicate verbally or use the toilet.

Of course, both of these are the extremes.

Be that as it may--whether it's owing to your autism or not owing to your autism, you do have certain abilities.

The possession of these abilities, in and of itself, enables you to expand upon those abilities as you gain experience in life.

Your autism might impair you in this expansion of your abilities--or it might not.

Honestly, I see you as a person who learns readily--especially if something interests you. I've seen the change in your writing since you started here about two years ago. I've seen the expansion of your knowledge.

There are many people who can be useful citizens even while under the care of others.

No argument there. I plan to push and expand as far as I can go and be as useful as possible.

But as far as an autism cure goes, for me personally, I don't see having my autism removed, removing any if my abilities. Only my inabilities and disabilities because of it, allowing me fully flourish rather than only partially flourish.

No argument there, Sir.

If you don't have any clinically significant traits and show no impairment then I would question your diagnosis. Maybe you're just a weirdo that doesn't like certain textures and sounds, the whole social impairment is pretty integral to autism. I don't need to list all the pro's about myself, since one they're not the same as yours and two, I do not have this delusion that I am somehow special or have super powers. There are no abilities that "cancel out" the impairment that ASD brings, socialization is humanity and being able to focus on a bunch of stuff nobody besides you cares about doesn't change it. I know quite a bit about a lot of things, none of it does me any good. I am struggling, I need help, sorry for not sitting around all day thinking about the positives. It's a very therapist thing to do, "make a list of things you like about yourself" which is something I hate since it's vain at best or just sad. Perhaps I'm at a different point in my life, it sure as hell is a disability to me.

I'm really pretty socially impaired. I make lots of social mistakes.

If I try to place myself within "normal" groups under their terms, I would be "found out" quickly.

I set myself apart, and come across as the "court jester" or "village idiot" or something like that. I'm halfway successful in this.

Over my life, I've learned about people and how they tick. Despite this, I still don't really have any "best friends," per se.

I was quite severely autistic until age 5. Then I became Aspergian in presentation. I don't know why this happened. I had a speech delay--didn't speak till age 5 1/2. I caught up quickly, though, though not in "social" speech.

I feel impaired in life--but I'm fortunate that I was able to find a suitable job.

No one is asking you to think of positives. Just quit questioning others who do find positives. Quit demeaning them because they make list of things they like about themselves. Quit questioning their diagnosis because they don't completely hate their autism and think exactly like you.

Denying it is a disability disenfranchises me, it makes my life harder, I do not care about how it makes you feel about yourself since real life is more important than feelings.

I didn't say the sensory issues were all bad, it does seem to make senses a bit stronger....but at the same time it can make normal environmental stimuli to overwhelming, which makes it difficult to even think. NTs have normal senses which allow them to sense things adequately though no extra sensing abilities, but they also don't have to deal with being too overwhelmed by surroundings to the same degree as we do.

Also my not being able to approach people actually is not anxiety, it is not accompanied by any anxious thoughts....I am not worried what the person will do/say I just cannot approach them. Like some block in my brain, I will want to but its like whatever brain process makes one go and approach another person doesn't activate in my brain. If it was just anxiety that would make it easier.

And I struggle with motivation even for things I want to do........I guess you are right on the calculating thing though.

Agreed. If people are flat out saying that autism is not disabling in many respects then I would disagree with them (I haven't left my house in days). However, I also can't find fault with people who are trying to find positives in their experience. I don't believe that is disenfranchising at all. A disability doesn't have to have a 100% negative effect on your life to still qualify as a disability.

That's really interesting. Stories like that make me want to read some more research studies on autism.

I always thought I had a normal early childhood. Then I found out from my parents how different I was. I was not very interested in social interactions and didn't really use facial expressions. There were a lot of other behavioral differences, too.

I spoke very early, however, and was very advanced in language skills for my age. I wonder why?

Those things really interest me and make me want to find out why symptoms can be so different from person to person.