An Asperger Fraternity?

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Living near the campus of the University of Illinois, home of the largest Greek system in America, I wonder what would happen if a bunch of guys with AS start their own fraternity on campus. When I attended the university 25 years ago, no fraternity would accept me (perhaps because of my AS). AS guys typically have little chance of being accepted by any existing fraternity, so why not start our own?

Frankly, I'd me AMAZED if enough autistic people were on campus at any one time to form such a fraternity.

For all the numbers and statistics you hear about, I'm sure we're not that densely clustered together.

Additionally, it seems somewhat of an awkward requirement. How would you determine whether someone was allowed to join or not? There's plenty of self-diagnoses, and it seems like discrimination. A fraternity of like-minded people would be possible though, and might get enough members to be viable if not very big.

It would be like the movie "Revenge of the Nerds." Lambda Lambda Lambda and Omega Mu!

Yeah, there would be a problem for such a group defining themselves. I think it would be much more interesting to make a king of a club (not fraternity or sorority, but, preferably, something that has both boys and girls) for all sorts of geeks to get together and do geeky stuff. This way, all aspies would be eventually dragged in, but it would also accept compatible personalities of NT.

lol ! !!

I'm in full support for an Aspie-only frat because it will bring us closer... and make our school life more fun!

If 1 in 150 people are with some form of recognizable autistic spectrum disorder, then at an averaged-sized public state university of perhaps 15,000 people, you would expect to find 150 individuals with such a disorder. Assuming that we are underrepresented on average, you could still reasonably expect to find 75-100 such individuals, and approximately half of them would be males. It's unlikely all of them would be inclined to join a fraternity, however. It's physically possible, but it also seems unlikely to happen. The odds of a support group on campus are much higher, I would think.

Perhaps the support group could be regrouped as a frat? Lol

It's funny you posted this because I go to a university not far from University of Illinois. I was actually in a sorority for two years and let me tell you starting a greek organization is a pain in the rear because you not only need financial backing, but have to have the support of a national head quarters as well. Also you have to have enough members every year or your chapter gets closed down by nationals. I would go for the club personally.

You'd be surprised how many Aspies are not immediately obvious as Aspies. According to a study from Cambridge, about 40% of all autistics are undiagnosed, and even many diagnosed autistics do not present obviously differently from NTs unless you are very familiar with ASD.

Sigh. Let's hope to a rich backer --- I will hope to dream on for an Aspie-only frat.

That's what 95% of fraternities are. Groups of "like-minded people". Those who are not "like-minded" are not allowed.

When I was in college I was in a fraternity, and I joined it because it was actually a group of people who were NOT like-minded; I didn't know things like that existed, and I was amazed. It was awesome--until a couple years later a group of coincidentally like-minded people had joined that was large enough to basically take over and turn it into your basic meat head frat.

There seems to be a strange commonality (and maybe one of the only ones that exists) between people with AS and the most stereotypical, hyper-social NTs--an intense desire to only associate with people who are as exactly alike as possible. This is probably why it gets tossed around here all the time that someone responds in a particular way that differs from "the norm", and someone else comes back with "there's no way you have AS".

I wholly reject this mode of conduct, but it's not my place to tell people how to live their lives and construct their social circles.

Let's rather make an Aspie Separatist Movement. With special zones, torch parades and stuff.

Huh, we cannot have Aspie-only frats?

Oh well, there will never be a frat that I'll like in the world.