Who Finds This Extremely Offensive?
MONKEY
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I totally agree with what you are saying. Okay so it could be seen as offensive by some people, however what he says is slightly true. Okay they shouldn't tar all people with AS with the same brush (sorry bout the metaphor!) but at the same time has anyone looked at the replies (to the OP's article) at the bottom of the article? It's all a bunch of people belittling NT's and saying that they are superior and that all NT's are ret*d etc. Sadly, this only adds to the opinion that people with AS are exactly as he describes. I wish that we could be PROUD of ourselves as people but not necessarily keep rubbing in that we are better. I have met enough people with AS to know that the majority of us aren't.
Again, this is very truthful. I don't understand this whole NT hating culture... although I did kind of feel that way as a teenager for a while... but that was because I was stuck in a sucky situation! We should if anything, do more to help people understand lower functioning autistics because we probably have more idea of what it is like for them than a professor or doctor who isn't on the spectrum.
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Yes! People do stupid things, are intolerant, so-on and so forth, but that isn't because they're NT or anything else. It's just very easy for people to say 'It's because they're neurotypical', especially if they've had bad experiences with others misunderstanding or bullying them. How we go about helping lower-functioning people is tricky, more so if they are non-verbal. I agree we do have better insight into how they see the world and it's effect on them, but it's still problematic when someone claims that AS people can/should literally 'speak' for LFA people. We probably make the best middlemen between them and the neurotypical world, but still need to be careful and not claim to be able to know what's best for them.
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I thought that Autism poster on the first page was pretty funny though
The article isn't about people with AS. It's about neurotypical people with poor social skills who convince themselves that they have AS so they can feel special. These people are usually narcissistic jerks.
What about the jerks who have actual aspergers and sometimes really marketing it as there personel mutant superpower?
I think the article critizes both AS and NT Aspie Pride Members but well maybe with something of a point...
This latter group doesn't care about your "medical credentials," "basic common sense" or even "knowing people who actually do have Aspergers." This syndrome they read about on Wikipedia once is their winning lottery ticket to a life of never having to learn how to interact with other humans. Welcome to the Aspergian Pride movement.
To be honest, whoever wrote this article has a point. I don't mean that most people who are self-diagnosed (or even diagnosed) are faking it, but it is hard to argue with the author's comments when you read some of the threads here about 'aspie supremecy' and how people with aspergers should be excused prison etc.. It's a bit stupid. I don't think having AS should be something to be proud of. it's just a medical condition, not the next step in the human race.
You have to scroll down a bit.
I did not get all that offended. I think (sometimes) Aspies get carried away a bit about how others (especially NTs) respond to their condition.
ruveyn
I actually agree with it. It doesn't describe genuine AS, but certainly what it has become, spot on actually. Especially the bit about Self-Diagnosis, that is getting waaaaaaaaaay out of control.
(edit: I said 'does' but meant 'doesn't')
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Last edited by KoS on 23 Mar 2010, 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
All of those sections in the article were really horrible. The comments were more entertaining... it also gave me some insight into what people think, sort of. I was offended...and then it was like, well this whole thing is dumb. I didn't know there was an Aspergia movement, with a color and everything. According to what I've been hearing, though, I don't know... ("restricting" me to Wrong Planet culture, I guess). It's a disorder indeed. But how would they find it the "most ret*d" cause?
...
Anyway, how can one person be expected to speak for another, or one group to another? I think a gift of the HFA and AS people, at least the ones who are more verbal or communicative, can spell out their needs more easily. But, needs differ from person to person, such as sensory issues. My BFF and I have quite differing sensory environments... (so, we couldn't speak for each other, not entirely)
The only thing that offended me about it was the way he talked about people who are "self-diagnosed" from reading about it on wikipedia one time. I have done a numerous amount of research on the subject, which is why I believe I have an ASD, whether it is actually Asperger's Syndrome or not. I don't think I have ever even read the wikipedia article about it, anyway. I don't consider myself "self-diagnosed" but "undiagnosed" so I don't consider myself to be one of those people he's referring to or else I would be far more offended.
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Agreed. Actually agree with pretty much everything on this page. I'm glad that the 'supremacy' discussion on this forum has gone down a bit.
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So, what exactly is this movement about? I've heard of it, but not really seen anything about it on this site. It sounds stupid to be honest. The problems that I have aren't anything I can see pride in.
The issue isn't even in being self-diagnosed, more about the self-diagnosed people who use it as an excuse. That, and it's nearly become condition of the month. Not that there aren't people like that with a professional dx as well. It's just that there are too many people who do nothing but whine about the evil NTs keeping them down, all while having nothing to back-up their own claims of having AS.
The 'movement' was supposed to be about awareness, rights, acceptance, difference not disorder etc - Which would be great if it hadn't descended into NT bashing, AS superiority and forgetting about the existence of lower-functioning Autistics.
Oh, to be honest I didn't know it was that large of a problem, I restrict myself to this site which provides all the help I need if I have any trouble with my life. Although, a lot of people who are new members tend to share the "AS is better" viewpoint, that's something I noticed a while back.
It sounds as if the movement wasn't a bad thing but then turned into one, shame. The "awareness and rights" part would have been useful for those with diagnosis' who needed help to get through life. And those who don't, like me, who want a diagnosis but have no way to get one or even know if I have AS.
I suppose it was rather amusing.. But do you know what ISN'T amusing? Your avatar. It creeps me out, I don't know why either, but something about it is just... evil.
I think something that happens is that people do not distinguish the condition Asperger Disorder that appears in diagnostic manuals from the possible neurological difference that is superior in some respects (while being deficient in others).
So, maybe I am this Aspie neurological type and it gives me all these uber superpowers (whatever they may be). This is great and I could potentially be the next mutant superpower, BUT with this wiring comes the problem that during my development the brain had to compensate and maybe has not quite got it perfect. This leads to all kinds of real world problems that, if they are more than what myh superpowers can compensate for leads to me having difficulty functioning in my daily life which then leads to having this diagnosable condition known as AS.
If I am being rude and inconsiderate, missreading facial expressions, having a breakdown or whatever because of it - THAT is a problem. Its not a difference (although it may be my difference that caused it) and its certainly not an ADVANTAGE.
On the other hand, if I have all these mental superpowers but manage to not have the weaknesses then I have won the genetic lottery. I have a neurological difference, but then I would not have AS. Certainly in no way can AS be an excuse for behaving like an ass. Maybe a more interesting/difficult question would be at what point somebody would call themselves "Aspie", but I think it is clear that if you are AS your luck was perhaps mixed and you somehow might have lost more than you gained in the deal. Still, we are all more fortunate than some who cannot be here to argue over this matter and debate the relative merits of their "condition".
This. ^
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