AS a Gift?

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How is life a gift?

Because it's beautiful how I see it.

life is a gift, in that you don't ask for it, but you kinda have to keep it.. ?

But if it being beautiful is the definition and some view it as a curse then it can't really be a gift, no?

I think you're missing the bigger picture here. I would rather suffer than never have existed. I would never sacrifice all that I am or have ever experienced to escape from anything this world could offer, including homelessness. I've been through rough times, and quite frankly, I'm no happier now with a nice amount of cash and luxury than I was when I was living off of condiments and constantly being robbed (once even held at gunpoint in my own home). The time I spent as a child living with my father, sharing a bed with my step brother and step sister (who wet the bed every night) with maggots crawling on the floor, playing in fields of junk and dumpster diving all day, were actually some of the best I can recall.

My father was also homeless for about 4-5 years, and though he was rarely healthy, he told me it was extremely liberating. Other than the health problems, he almost preferred living that way. Personally, I think I'd take it in a similar way, though I definitely wouldn't prefer it.

Happiness is a state of mind.

I think I have a very firm grasp on what I would consider acceptable. Perhaps I'm just a bit more positive than most.

Last edited by GhostOfTheChameleon on 02 Jun 2009, 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

Ignoring the semantics involved with the various interpretations of what a "Gift" is... I will address the spirit of the original question, which I believe to essentially be: "Is AS a good or a bad thing?"

For me, AS has been a terrible and debilitating thing,
because it doesn't work in the social world we live in.
Take away other people and sure, I love AS.
It's great. All sorts of neat perceptual and cognitive differences that are fun to play around with.
But as soon as I have to even think about other people again,
there are problems.
It's very simple for me. I'd either prefer to have AS and be the only human on earth, or not have AS at all.

Why would for me anybody's opinion be more correct than my own?

I don't really care about what others think about such questions, because that's me living here.

And there's only the possibility that from my perspective others are at fault for thinking it's a curse, of course.

I think I now begin to suspect what these 'autism is a prison' campaigns are about... I'm really somewhere else, far far away and don't understand why to let others' answers to those questions that have no factually correct answer touch me. Even when I metaphorically peek out of my place, others don't touch me.

I totally go like '???' on anyone who thinks life is a curse because I cannot put myself in their shoes beyond a mere intellectual understanding.

Others opinions do not hold true for me as I fail to be as socially orientated as others.

So for me, life truly is the biggest gift of all.

Who was it that said "It's hard to be a Cat in a world of Dogs"....
Anyways, it kinda hits the spot yeah

It depends. If you know what I mean, I'd say it's half-and-half. Because I like some of the things like the special interests, however I don't like the social skills problems and difficulty understanding stuff etc.

It is a difference. Maximize the good and minimize the bad if you can. Since it manifests differently and with differing intensity in all of us, this may be easy or excruciatingly difficult.

Exactly. That's precisely why calling others negative when they have extremely hard lives due to Autism is a mistake as well as cruel. Each and their own intensity, each and their own luck. Each should talk for themselves, rather than preach and admonish others.

I agree with Acacia except for the last line. Once, i would have agreed with the last line as well. I may well have wanted to change myself - even though i loved being who I was in many ways.

I feel it is a gift for me. It has been a hard road getting to this perception of myself, and it has been arduous, painful and worth every minute of the ride of life.
I find life hard. this morning has been bad and i have done everything to avoid interaction with son and ex. it is one of those mornings when the clink of a fork on a table goes right through me and words chatter at me from toothy mouths.

and yet, I feel as if I am getting somewhere with a sense of loving who i am. I really LOVE how i perceive the world. I thin it i is extraordinary and quite novel.

I am reaching this point because more and more I am able to retreat from people and live in isolation. HOwever, I am in a lucky situation, whereby I am able to do this and my situation is not necessarily possible for everyone. So in m ycase, I understand perception of my ASD as a gift is because I am finally - at 46 - reaching a place where I am being accommodated for who I am. Some people get that at birth> I am only getting a bit of that now. I am grateful and thankful i am able to experience it at all.

And i wish the same for all others. A utopia for all with ASD's.

Greentea...

This is now the third time I am attempting to engage you in dialog about your concerns regarding positive threads and the portrayal of "negative" people. If you want to ignore me, that's fine. but please do not continue to spread these misconceptions of yours around WP. It's extremely unfair to attack repeatedly yet ignore the people who are actively attempting to engage in dialog.

Thank you kindly.

If you only have it in mild form I can see why it you might call it a gift, because there are positive things that come with it (hyperlucidity, hyper-logical mind, tendency to more objective thinking, etc).

If you have severe AS, then no, the negative aspects would outweigh those positive things.

I know how you mean.

Hyperlucidity/Hyperfocus is a cool thing, and one that has served me well...

It's not so cool when you're so deep in hyperfocus that you fail to realize that it is 6am, you have been awake all night, and you have to go somewhere at 9am.

I'd say it's a gift like that ugly, itchy hideously uncomfortable sweater your aunt gave you when you were 5 (or the bunny costume Ralphy got for Christmas.)


Life ain't a gift when your life sucks.

At the moment it doesn't feel like a gift. I'm unemployed, well I've never had a proper job. I still live with my mum, struggle a lot with organising myself and don't socialise a lot. But if I were to get and keep a job and see people from time to time I'd feel a bit better about it.
I do like having AS at times, and other times not so much.

If it is a gift then my flat feet and extremely small tongue tie is a gift too.