reality check

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Aspergers is part of the Autistic spectrum.

Autism is a disability even in its mildest form.
At the very least Autism makes it very difficult to blend into society.

Aspies are not the next stage in in human evolution.

People on the autism spectrum are capable of bullying weaker and more vulnerable people.

NTs are not all evil.

So you get bugged by the aspie-supremacists too? I think those guys have been reading too many X-Men comics. They think they're Magneto.

While I agree with all you other points this one I can't.
Evolution has a mind of it's own so to speak beyond the definition given to it by science.
To say it hasn't is as much confirmation bias as a bible basher dissing evolution altogether.

And if Aspergers is part of the Autistic Spectrum
It would only make sense that AUTISM would then be the next stage in evolution.
Or not?

Are you a half empty glass person or a half full glass person?

"Autism is a disability even in its mildest form. "

Kind of disagree with this depending on if you're referring to autism severe enough to be diagnosed or including people ever so slightly on the spectrum. Other than that, I got a couple laughs out of the AS next evolution thing.

Being here and accepting who I am has given me a new confidence in life.

I also accept reality the good thing about this board is the people and I think we should all encourage each other to be the best we can be.

I have found people with autism to be the most helpful group of people it has been my pleasure to know.

However it is the condition itself that is our biggest obstacle in life.

For people that are unemployed or underemployed that have a history of being fired this alone is a disability.

I won't even get into the relationship stuff.

As for people who have on a slight touch of Autism that would not even be worth getting diagnosed well I was not really thinking about that.

What I meant was mildest form that cuases really problems in life.

The whole evolution argument is made by a bunch of ill-informed or delusional people. Evolution of a species would imply a process that makes it better adapted to the environment around it, for autism that couldn't be further from the truth. For some things that all people with autism bar exceptions share:

- Human society is incredibly chaotic, we get sensory overloads and get fatigued by trying to make sense of the chaos.
- The first stages of social development are very much based on mimicking, most people with autism have ( very ) impaired unconscious mimicking ability.
- Human society relies incredibly much on social interaction, autism means you likely cannot catch social cues and understand how other people think or behave.
- People with autism often think with a very different rationale and outside the norm which often creates misunderstandings between the person with autism and the vast majority without.
- More often than not people with autism get socially excluded and isolated, getting rejected by the human environment because we are too different from the norm.

That doesn't mean there are certainly positive things about people with autism, but it's still a disability. It seriously affects your ability to function in society and greatly affects your quality of life. It's not just something that has downsides and upsides and balances out.

Part of the diagnostic criteria is that your life is actually impaired. If your life is not impaired in some way than you can't be diagnosed with Autism. So technically there is no such thing as Autism that does not impair your life.

Well, there are plenty of people diagnosed as children who are not that affected by it by the time they are adults and would no longer meet the criteria. Yes, some level of impairment would still exist, but not necessarily enough to be considered a disability. They would still be autistic nonetheless.

Last edited by calstar2 on 17 Sep 2014, 8:29 am, edited 3 times in total.

Yeah. I see what you mean. Especially with all the classes and things like that that are available to them nowadays that can certainly happen. So in that regard, you would be right. I had not thought of that.

This might be a little off topic but I actually don't even like the term "mild autism". It's sort of misleading (depending on how you look at it). I mean, I'm probably considered "mildly autistic" but nothing of what I experience is mild. Of course there are people who have it worse than I have, but I'm still highly affected by the AS and it certainly doesn't feel mild a lot of the time. Do you know what I mean? Not sure if others agree.

I know 100% what you mean. What I struggle with is not mild either. Some things actually are though but other things are sheer and absolute torture. They can be difficult enough to make me want to end it all. But since people are much more affected than I am I can only imagine how hard it must be for them.

Yeah. I see what you mean. Especially with all the classes and things like that that are available to them nowadays that can certainly happen. So in that regard, you would be right. I had not thought of that.[/quote]

This is very true. As it now stands my psychiatrist believes I no longer display enough of the social elements of AS as compared to what I used to display, while I still have things like the chaotic environment and issues with learning and concentration. I would say that socially, I no longer meet the criteria. I was diagnosed as a child however and in some ways I am still impaired, though concentration issues may also be attributed to another diagnosis. Perhaps those who fail to meet all the criteria as an adult, still fall under certain other criteria when they are adult. I can hardly believe a child diagnosed with autism would suddenly be 100% normal and in no way impaired. There will always be elements remaining, and reaction speed may still be slower, learning may still be a little more difficult then average. The issues have shifted insofar that they now fall within what is considered the average range for NT.

I honestly can't even imagine how hard it must be for people who are more affected than I am.

Hope it's ok that I ask this but are you going to seek a formal assessment? You might've told me before but I'm afraid I don't remember.

I understand what you're saying, because I don't like when I'm referred to as high functioning, because there are often times when I am, for all intents in purposes, not functioning period due to my autism. I wouldn't say that I also have issues with the phrase mild autism, but I understand where you're coming from.