The Name Aspergers SYSNDROME

Post Reply New Topic

Today workmate was talking to each other about dyslexia. I said have dyslexia, I said it wasn’t as bad as before. My workmate next to me did not believe me, say it is the same case as with aspergers, I don’t have it.

Again she said don’t have AS she added that AS is an illness, do you want have an illness. When I said AS is not an illness she said the term A Syndrome means it is an illness. She got me their  , thats NT logic for you.

I wonder what some people think when they hear that name?

I can tell you that I can come up with the phrase, "Asperger Bo Basperger" myself.

Quite funny, isn't it?

Actually, syndrome is NOT an illness! From Dictionary.com

Pathology, Psychiatry. a group of symptoms that together are characteristic of a specific disorder, disease, or the like.
2. a group of related or coincident things, events, actions, etc.
3. the pattern of symptoms that characterize or indicate a particular social condition.
4. a predictable, characteristic pattern of behavior, action, etc., that tends to occur under certain circumstances: the retirement syndrome of endless golf and bridge games; the feast-or-famine syndrome of big business.

Frankly, I disagree with the first one. The others merely indicate some range of symptoms(GOOD OR BAD) that make up a common pattern, and the syndrome gives the pattern a name!

HECK, I just don't like garbage like what your friend said. As for dyslexia, it is some kind of confusion that is either due to reversed wiring of a sort, or incomplete associations. Either way, it CAN be compensated for and "get better". Heck, most believe that is what AS is. Improper remapping, so people still lose some social stuff, but gain elsewhere.

Steve

Absolutely!

look at the definition of illness

1. unhealthy condition; poor health; indisposition; sickness.

Aspergers is not an illness. It has nothing to do with health.

People are idiots

It is not an illness. It is more of a way of thinking and viewing the world than anything else. It has both its advantages and disadvantages.

I lot of people think in terms of health and sickness. My mom is a Medicalholic (drugaholic, docaholic, testaholic, et al). Before my son was diagnosed or even referred to a neurologist, I'd describe his delays as habits.
"Pop can't eat at the table."
"Pop can't speak yet."
"Pop cries a lot when you hold him."
(you know the list)
My mom wasn't sympathetic at all. She thought I was raising a brat and didn't understand, barely listened to what I had to say about it. The second I brought up the word, "autistic", everything changed. I had to rush him to get treated, get help!! ! "don't you want to the very best for him?!"
She started inundating me with the least relevant information out there about autism.

Some people (many?) can only handle neurological differences as medical issues, needing to be cured or intervened with.

If someone doesn't believe me I have Aspergers the first time, I drop the subject, it's too hard to change someone's mind and I would have to describe myself in the process, and I don't want them to know me that well, I'm trying to hide my sensory issues and other stuff.

To quote a friend of mine, "A syndrome means that there's something wrong with you, but we don't know what." (This comment was said in reference to the early days of HIV/AIDS, but I thought the comment was rather amusing, nevertheless.)

The reason it's considered an illness, disorder, syndrome, etc., is because the professional community considers it as such. And therein lies the debate.

I personally don't prefer to call it a "disorder" but a "profile". The word PROFILE takes into account both the things we as auties tend to have more difficulty with AND the things we can often do BETTER. And "disorder" et al. always implies "dysfunction", which is actually scientifically inaccurate because there are many things about ASDs which are actually improvements in functioning.

Therefore, profile gets my vote. I have an Aspergers Profile.

There are always pros and cons to everything and you cant have your cake and eat it to..

If society was 75% aspie, then we'd try and fix NT's claiming they have a condition.. Majority doesnt always mean they are right, especially when we dont know what "right" is..

Stop comparing yourself to NT's and live your life.. If you dont care what others think you should have no issue with that..

I always throught the word syndrome was stupid.

I thought it meant a mutation or difference in genetic makeup, but it does make us sound like freaks.