Has anyone called you the big R word?

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Words don't cause me to react. I have disassociated words from emotions. Words are just noises coming from a human's oral cavity, and generally humans are far more 'bark' then they are 'bite.' Words pose no threat to you. Once you realize this, insults won't affect you nearly as much, and words can pass right through you. Especially if you possess already a self-deprecating humor towards yourself.

Cultivate your wit. You are going to be called all sorts of things. I know I have. Since I accept this fact, I have memorized many comebacks to be deployed... If you are called "stupid" or "ret*d"::

- "By all means, enlighten me with your superlative perspicacity..."
- "Takes one to know one, eh?"

Agree with them, an go into casual, specific detail about the flaw they have illuminated. Lay it on thick with anecdote of some sort. Make the person uncomfortable, using your own level of self-insight and ease within yourself.

Show a look of concern, look them in the eye, and ask "You're under stress ... What can I do?"

Look at them cockeyed and say "Have you always been this way?" "I think there's a medication for that..."
Not understandingly, and say :: "I understand. I suffer from low self esteem, too."

Stare at them blankly, yawn and/or snore. "Sorry, what?"

If you get comfortable enough with all of this, the moment becomes even more impromptu and you can actually begin to play it by ear rather than relying on memorized types of humor.

I've been called a ret*d many times.
I've called other people ret*d many times.
It's a FIGURE OF SPEECH not to be taken literally unless you are ret*d.

Well, I can remember students wondering that when I was in the 5th grade, and my brother telling me that people asked me whether I was ret*d or not while I was in the 8th (he was in the 6th). Of course, my brother would defend me. I'm sure people wonder if something is wrong with me if they notice me enough, but I don't associate with enough people to really care what they call me. Just b/c someone has an ASD, doesn't mean they're mentally ret*d. A lot of those people don't realize that Mental Retardation is a separate disorder.

It appears that being called the r word resonates with alot of people. I used to teach school. Some of my students told me that some of the other teachers told them I was ret*d. My response to them was "what do you think?" It has also been insinuated by others that I am ret*d. I did very well in college, was exemplary as a teacher; and now I have a very responsible job outside of teaching. No matter what I have achieved or will achieve in the future, I will still be known as that "smart ret*d dude" To them I will always be f***ed up in the head. There is nothing I can do to change their perception. I have tried to use reason, such as "you know a person can't pick how they are born, you are what you are" or "I hope your children will find more acceptance and not be ostracized if they happen to be different from others". This is where my diagnosis has come in handy. Now I tell people (in a condescending way) "I'm sorry that my autism offends you".

Yup; in fact, she's the one who taught me that concept to begin with. I hadn't thought much about the relationship between autism and MR before that.

I used to say the word spastic,not as an insult,i did not even knew that a condition named spasticity exists.But i speak greek and in greek language when you want to say ''You break my nerves'' we say ''Mou spazis ta nevra''.So if someone breaks my nerves i say to him ''Ise spastikos'' aka ''You are spastic(break)''.

my brother calls me a ret*d and a social ret*d

No. I usually get called eccentric or odd.

I was called "ret*d" many times in middle school, several different times later on in life.

Very painful whenever I'm called that, the whole "ret*d" thing and AS causing me to have a staring problem are my most painful challenges dealing with AS.

I got "you're weird!" and stupidity was frequently implied in my later years. (And the disjoint between others claims and my IQ test results really confused me about what exactly people meant by "stupid". I'm suspecting I might have memory problems given my semantic memory access difficulties that *seem* more difficult than normal, so I'm seeking to evaluate that soon.)