Aspie and AS Advocate

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Hi, my name is Mike, and I am a 21-year-old college student from Philadelphia with Asperger's Syndrome. I've dealt with a lot of ignorance about my condition through the years, and have known many people who, not knowing how to react to my disorder expressing itself, reacted in ways that were harmful to me. I struggled with depression and low self-esteem for many years, but have been consistently recovering for several weeks now and feel like my life is on the upswing.

I am very outspoken about my dedication to increasing awareness and understanding about autism spectrum disorders such as AS, hence my username. I feel that autistic people have a lot to contribute to society, but society is structured in such a way that makes it extremely difficult, but not impossible, for them to achieve their fullest potential. Essentially, everyone is expected to act in certain ways and conform to certain standards, and everyone who does not do so is judged or ignored. Autstic people, who are more sensitive than most, are more likely to take this personally, and when it happens to them on an almost universal basis, it can lead to their self-esteem spiraling downward and their lives entering into the vicious cycle that psychiatrists talk about all the time and that there is no easy way out of. I know this because it happened to me, and I also know what it's like to go through it. It's not fun at all, and whenever you talk to somebody about it, they either give you advice that you can't follow until you break out of the cycle , tell you to stop being negative, tell you they don't know what to say, or ignore you completely. They're too immersed in their own lives (sound familiar?) to be able to give the situation any serious thought, and so you are left to your own devices.

But it shouldn't have to be this way. There doesn't have to be so much ignorance about ASDs. If we collectively put in the effort to help others understand WHY we are the way we are, then if they are willing to listen (which many are, as evidenced by the rising awareness of ASDs), they will make the effort to treat us accordingly. And the positive effects might not just stop there. Judging from what I know about human nature (and I could be wrong here, but bear with me), their attitudes towards us could slowly begin to manifest themselves in their interactions with others, leading them to treat EACH OTHER with the same respect and dignity with which they would treat us, which would lead to an overall better, happier, and more genuine society. I have no idea whether or not this is realistically possible, and it obviously isn't going to happen overnight, but it is something I would like to see accomplished in my lifetime, and I'm committed to doing whatever I'm capable of to make it happen to the fullest extent possible.

Welcome!

Right. Well, good luck with that.

Voice, that was beautiful. I agree with you 100%. I wish people on the spectrum would give us NTs a little more credit. There are caring NTs out there that understand the unique amazing gifts that people on the spectrum have.

I'm aware of this, but much of society lives in a bubble. While I was still trying to break the cycle, I went to an autism research fundraiser event and after it was over, I talked to the people who ran the event and ended up venting about how difficult it was for me to make friends and how paranoid I had become. One of them later told me that she had never met someone with an ASD before and did not realize how real the issue was until she saw me struggling to express my frustration.

Hi, Mike. Welcome to Wrong Planet!

I notice that you're from Philadelphia. Have you ever come to any of the Philadelphia GRASP meetings? If you'd be interested in joining us, feel free to PM me. Or, you can learn background about GRASP at grasp.org

To WrongPlanet!! !

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Your signature is exactly what I'm trying to do.

Glad to meet you, Mike - and welcome greetings to the Wrong Planet neighborhood.

Hello and welcome to WrongPlanet Voice

I agree with you.

When I read that my first reaction was "what was that person doing there then???! !!" .... but I am guessing he/she wanted to help, but should definitely learn more about it and meet people who have ASD, or else the person is kind of helping "blindly".

See you around on the forums!

Shadi

Whatever disorder, disability, or difference someone may have, I think you can place people into a few general categories. I've learned that most people are, on an individual human level, fairly decent. A few are not. Identify these quickly and waste no more time on them than you absolutely must. I find that most people that mock or discriminate against those who are different do so out of ignorance or social compliance rather than malice.

As Agent K warned Agent J in Men in Black, "a person is smart, people are dumb, panicky dangerous animals". It's not easy to get anyone to do or think anything new or different when they're in a group. "Normal" people behave very differently in a group than they do individually, to the point they seem to contradict themselves. For a long time, I found this frustrating. It annoyed me that people were so false, inconstant, and malleable. However, as I have mellowed with age, I appreciate that we're all somewhat at the mercy of the environment we find ourselves in, and I try to be more forgiving. I have also learned (through observation and practice), the value of tailoring one's words to fit a particular audience. I believe the best way to change people's minds is one at a time. Trying to fight group thinking, mob tendencies, and entrenched stereotypes directly at the group level is unlikely to be very successful. However, at an individual level, when they're face to face with an actual person, I think most people's basic humanity and compassion for each other can overcome ignorance and prejudice.

Hello and good luck to you

Hello and welcome to the weird and wacky advertures of WrongPlanet.
You have a voice, use it wisely.

- Mich.

Welcome to WP Mike