Another new guy here.

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Hi, I have been a long time lurker of the wrongplanet forums and I felt like it is about time that I registered and started to post. My name is Chris and I am a 16 year old male from massachusetts, in the 11th grade of my school. I was diagnosed with Asperger's at a young age. I have grown from a state of ignorance concerning Autism into it becoming one of my personal interests, (Yay for obsessions.). My other interests are History, and to narrow this one down, Military History, which may be even further narrowed down into the realm of the Great Patriotic War of WWII. (Soviet Union Vs Germany, 1941-1945). I love anything to do with Russia for the most part, though mostly it's post revolutionary history.
I also love military hardware. Many people find it odd that I am a Socialist yet I am so eccentric about weaponary. I also love video games, various types. Right now I am experimenting with older games such as fallout 2, but I usually play realism intensive war games, such as Red Orchestra Ostfront, IL-2 Sturmovik, or Operation Flashpoint.
Lately I have been attempting to spread the word about Asperger's Syndrome at my school. To aid this effort, I have written at article about Asperger's. I attempted to highlight the benefits of AS, and how many NT's remain ignorant of it. I can always post it if anybody is interested. Thanks for reading this, and I apologize if it was boring.

Hello Chris, and welcome!

I would love to read your article if you'd be willing to post it.

welcome. I'd also like to read that

Ok Here it comes, feel free to critique if you wish, though the grammar itself was fixed in a later copy that I don't have with me at the moment. Criticism from other Aspies is something that I haven't received for this yet. The paragraphing is off because I am copying this from an html document,(My brother is on my computer with the actual document). My worry is that I did not express enough of the positive aspects to being an aspie. So please inform me if I did or didn't . Thanks.



Simply Different

By Christopher (Fill in last name here.) (I am not going to post that part.)

A fact that many people do not know is that April is National Autism Month. The subject of Autism is still not very well understood, and misconceptions about it are rampant. For those who do not know, Autism is a neurological spectrum disorder that primarily affects one’s social skills, though there are various other effects. A spectrum disorder means that Symptoms can vary, and for Autism symptoms do indeed vary for each autistic and in intensity as well. For example, some prefer not to be touched, while others can suffer from “Sensory overload” (Too much sensory input, For example, sound can disrupt their thought process’s), while others have trouble reading facial expressions, interacting with peers, reading body language, reading a person’s emotions, Understanding what is literal and what isn’t (as in trouble with such language as idioms and/or metaphors), and a hard time looking somebody in the eyes during a conversation.

Many famous people have been speculated to have had Autism. A great number of people believe that Thomas Jefferson, Issac Newton, Michaelangelo, and Albert Einstein all had high functioning Autism (A form called Asperger syndrome).

I myself have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, which is basically high functioning Autism. In the field of Autism, the syndrome can be split into two primary components. Low Functioning Autism is characterized by low IQ, and sometimes having a speech impediment, and High Functioning Autism, high IQ and no speech impediment. High Functioning Autism has many symptoms, such as, narrow interests (A fancy way to say near obsessions), difficulty socializing, difficulty expressing feelings, a tendency to position objects in various positions, a habit of repeating words and phrases, a tendency to form patterns, and at rare times, a complete and near genius (Or beyond that) expertise in a single field (Often called a savant ability).

The latter is most often seen in art and math. For example, one man, Daniel Tammet, can remember over 22,000 digits of pi. He can also learn a new language in a week. Unfortunately, I do not have any savant abilities (I am awful in math too). As I have grown older, many symptoms of Autism have left me, though many remain. For example, I have a complete obsession with history (especially World War II and the cold war) and the military (The Eastern Front during WWII captivates most of my interest). I admit that I still have poor socialization skills. I also fill the sensory overload quota. This is especially a problem in my fairly rowdy and loud History, English, and Chemistry classes. Another problem for me is differentiating between sarcasm and fact. When I was younger, I had numerous problems with this, and many bullies took advantage of it. They acted like they were my friend but were really just lying the whole time. There is also the issue of repetition. I tend to say certain words too much, almost at the slightest whim. For instance, people tend to tell me that I say sorry and just kidding too much. One great advantage that Autism provides for me is the ability to perform well in activities that I enjoy. For instance, if a subject has garnered much of my interest, I tend to become eccentric and accomplish the task past the minimum requirements.

However, there were many symptoms that I did grow out of. I used to propel myself into fits of crying as a child, until I turned 13. I still remain rather sensitive. I also used to have empathy for inanimate objects and bang my head against the wall when I was crying, (stopped this at about 11.) I used to have trouble (and at times, I still do), with looking a person in the eyes during a conversation. I tended to repeat words and phrases much more. In the 6th grade, I used to use the word superb in every greeting to a teacher.

Living with Autism can be hard sometimes, but in the end, the pros outweigh the cons. Yes, I do not have as many friends as most of the people in my school, yes, I may not be understood well by my peers, but I find solace in the fact that I am unique. I used to be teased for this fact, but I have come to understand that it is better to be different than to be a clone of somebody else. Autism is truly a beautiful thing. We do not need a cure for this; we only need people to understand that we are different, and that we do not want to change. Many people say that we have no empathy and feelings. We do, but sometimes, we are just unable to express it well. I hope many of you have learned more about Autism. It is not retardation, it is not an affliction or a disease, it is simply a different way of thinking. We are simply different.

Last edited by Anubis612 on 23 Apr 2006, 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think you've managed to sum up AS really well without dwelling too much on the bad stuff...it's really well-written and should give non-autistic people some sort of insight into the problems we face. Well done!

Hi!

Welcome to Wrongplanet!

I hope you enjoy posting here!

Just say no! to being part of those "groups" in high school. I was in my small group of friends who also weren't into those petty social groups that focused so much on who was popular for whatever stupid reasons.

Not to bust on high school groups though... Most of us could relate to being completely oblivious to those social groups that matter so much to others.

Don't worry, I completely agree though in a way, I am in one group. Though with people who appreciate me for who I am.