High Functioning and I tend to clash a lot with Aspies?

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I was diagnosed as high f. autism, not Asperger's. I find in numerous situations, I tend to clash (on a grandiose scale) with Aspies. I'm not sure why. In fact, there is this guy on youtube named "Aspie Sean" and he almost blocked me from his channel over my particular views which I expressed in the comment section. I'm not sure if maybe its just coincidence, and its really the personality, but I find the Aspies off putting and harder to read- even moreso than NT's. I don't have anything against them in particular. Is this a common thread? Because I always seem to make Aspies upset and vice versa. This largely comes down to religious/spiritual and political debates. But even in general conversation, I can't connect with them. At all.

Based on your location of USA, it's not a surprise that you were diagnosed with ASD and not Asperger's, because USA uses DSM-5, which eliminated Asperger's as a possible diagnosis. Nobody diagnosed under DSM-5 gets a diagnosis of Asperger's, because it doesn't exist anymore. Most people who would previously have been diagnosed with Asperger's are now diagnosed with ASD level 1 instead.

I don't find it a surprise that you clash with Aspies. Given that people with ASD/Asperger's tend to have difficulty seeing other people's perceptive, when *both* parties can't see the other's perspective, it seems to me that it's going to make it all the more likely to clash.

They are the same thing.

Being unable to connect with people is the definition of autism.
If you have two aspies, you have two people being unable to connect with each other, unless you talk about shared interests, which it doesn't seem like you're doing if you're debating politics and religion with them.

How many people with Aspeger's have you interacted with? And do you get along with non-Aspies when you discuss these topics?

By non-aspies, do you mean only NTs or other conditions like ADHD, et al.?

If you are getting involved in religious/spiritual and political debates you are going to be debating with a lot of people who have very strong views who will often present their views in a very robust and sometimes aggressive manner.

Both autistic and non autistic people do this and many of both are totally unable to see or consider any point of view other than their own. Perhaps with some autistic people it is an inability to do so whereas with many non autistic people it is an unwillingness to do so. Having said that many autistic people are capable of seeing and considering other points of view. I found certain aspects of my life, particularly exchanges on the internet, got a whole lot better when I started spending time carefully considering the viewpoints of other people. I may well still not agree with them but stopping to think about what they have to say is always interesting.

Have you considered perhaps thinking about whether the way you present your own views in these debates may be part of the issue. I'm not saying it definitely is but it may be something to think about. When I first started interacting on the internet I got into all sorts of trouble by challenging things rather too robustly. It didn't usually help with winning any arguments and made my life far too stressful in the meantime.

Anybody who states that Trump is such a great guy, and one of the greatest Presidents of all time, will get some flak. It doesn't matter what your neurological makeup is.

You have opinions that people don't agree with. And you are quite definite about them, and about disagreeing with people who don't share your views.

It's just the way of the world. People are not always going to agree with you--and vice versa.

The key is to always be civil in these discussions, and to seem like you have an open mind.

On my report it was listed has HFA and not Asperger's.... I don't think they they are exactly the same thing. Its like they are a cocktail mix of the same thing but opposite ends.

That's part of it, but its also their communication style. I can recognize an Asperger's and I immediately feel put off by them, and they seem the same way towards myself. And this is more common. When I recognize (well frankly, a majority) of people who are not on the autism spectrum, they are some times even easier to understand than the Asperger's But it could be a perception issue I have.

yes, but I don't do that often. I don't go up to everyone and shout "I am a Trump supporter!" By the same token, people need to understand that the silent majority of Americans (perhaps not in all aspects of his views, but most) support the current President. If people are that upset that I support Donald Trump, I believe the issue lies mainly with them.

I find your question really interesting!

I’m an aspie and I’ve found the same thing to be true! I seem to clash with certain individuals who have received a “high functioning autism” diagnosis. I actually had to break up with an ex of mine once because he was HFA and couldn’t empathize with me AT ALL (and sometimes vice versa). We were like polar opposites. That being said, I’ve never had that issue with another aspie (not saying I’ve never clashed with another aspie before, but not in the same ways).

I think sometimes it has to do with the HFA having the mentality that their autism is “worse” than an aspies. And sadly some aspies might have the mentality that they’re “better” than the other end of the spectrum. I’ve seen this a lot and it breaks my heart. Maybe we’d all get along better if we stopped comparing our autisms and just accept people as they are?

But hey, thanks for the post! It really got me thinking

Hello my friend. You and I have something in common, we're both Aspies. If you are diagnosed as being High Functioning Autistic, as I have been, then you have Asperger's Syndrome because most every other country still uses this specific moniker and rightly so. Now I realize that recently the American DSM-5 has de-classed us both as simply being "Autistic" instead of more specifically being ones who have Asperger's Syndrome, but despite the arrogance of the American classification of us, we are, Aspies regardless AND Autistic.

Because you see, they are one and the same, High-Functioning Autism is Asperger's Syndrome, in essence. Autism research wouldn't be as advanced as it is today without the hard work and research of Hans Asperger who published his splinter definition of Autism in 1944 at the University of Austria and was officially recognized by the world in 1994 and so-named Asperger's Syndrome in his name at that time.

Many high-profile intellectuals today have taken a very arrogant stance with regards to the naming and defining of many accepted theories of old simply because they desire a more "advanced society" and seek to re-write history as it was. This pattern seems to becoming more and more tiresome in our world today, particularly in America. These are the same type of people who seem to think that Pluto is no longer a planet but simply a "dwarf-planet" and not a real planet like the rest in this system simply because its orbit is off-axis from the sun, among other reasons. Anyways, I digress.

With regards to your question, I wouldn't worry too much about clashing with other Aspies particularly in the subjects of politics and religion because these topics will ALWAYS create a very charged debate process in any situation. It has nothing to do with the fact that you're Autistic (or they). All ASDs have difficulty with emotional control so this is something that will always be out of our reach but it has nothing to do with the current topic of conversation.

Try not to take our or their emotional reactions too personally because all in all, we can't really control ourselves as much as NTs would like, that's for sure. But we as Aspies should feel perfectly OK with being ourselves and so should you!

The rest of the world is following America in eliminating Aspergers as an “official” diagnosis this year.
Aspergers Diagnosis Gone In Draft Of ICD-11 - Wrong Planet Thread

As I mentioned in the the thread “Aspergers” and “Aspie” are likely to remain as colloquial terms. “High Functioning Autism” NEVER WAS AND IS NOT an “official” diagnosis anywhere. It is a just commonly used term in the field. That does not mean clinicions do not on occasion diagnose people with conditions not in the DSM or ICD diagnostic manuals, as far as I know clinicions are not disbarred for doing so. You are correct in saying just because scientific consensus at the moment says Aspergers does exist does not mean Aspergers do not exist.

And everybody has a right to call themselves what they like, it is not up to me or you or a diagnostic manual to decide how a person should self identify. If rvcountrysinger feels enough of a seperation from “aspies” that he does not want to identify as one so be it.

Aspergers and HFA are indeed "the same thing" in general kind of way.

If the OP was diagnosed in the last couple of years (after they cut aspergers from the DSM), and if your actual diagnosis is "level one autism, with out speech delay" then .... it really is EXACTLY the same thing as aspergers.

Incorrect.

High Functioning Autism is an official diagnosis in Canada and many other countries. You said that this is not an official diagnosis anywhere and that is quite incorrect.

Also, Asperger's Syndrome is still an official diagnosis in Canada, just because it isn't in America doesn't mean the entire world thinks that way. How very American of you to say that and a quite typically arrogant thing to say.

I am not calling myself anything because I think it sounds cute, I have had official diagnoses made as High Functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. That is what I am. I'm not calling myself anything because I like cool sounding nicknames or whatever.

It is what it is and America can call it DSM-5 or whatever they want if it makes them feel self-important.