how do you feel about the term "asperger's sufferer

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I saw this in an article about someone the other day and I blanched. I don't like it, but do other people find it useful and accurate? It sounds pitying to me. I can't remember the name of the person but they were accused of a (non-violent) crime and it seemed to be being offered up as a reason or contributing factor.

It's a leftover from back when people assumed that if you had a disability, you had to be suffering. Awkward, totally incorrect, and hopefully fading.

It depends.

I suffer when my senses are overwhelmed. But when they aren't, I'm not. They aren't the majority of the time (I smartly avoid the causative agent), so as far as the ASD goes, I don't suffer for the majority of the time.

It all depends on the symptoms and how and when they manifest.

I hate the term. I don't suffer from AS. I suffer from the attitudes of mainstream society, Autism Speaks, and even my own family members, who think that "Every illness should be cured, so that people can live their lives in peace." Autism is not an illness, or a disease, and I do not suffer from it.

Using "sufferer" as a synonym for "person who has [condition]" is really not at all correct, because it presumes suffering that may not be there.

I most certainly do suffer and have for my entire life. But it stems from the way I have been treated because of my Autism, not from the ASD itself. So it comes back to the same argument - it's about society's attitudes more than the handicap itself.

Still, suffering is suffering, even when it's suicidal depression from being treated like an outcast and a loser for years, and not from chronic back pain.


And honestly, I'm not sure how much of that depression is caused by external conditions and how much is an organic result of the brain configuration itself - it seems virtually impossible to separate the two, like the old 'chicken and egg' conundrum. Which comes first, the depression and unhappiness that keeps one socially maladjusted, or the social ostracizing that leads to even more depression and unhappiness?

Doesn't bother me; one of the definitions of suffer is "to undergo or experience (any action, process, or condition)", which is totally correct.

Yeah, but you have to admit that's an archaic definition. It hasn't been used that way for... oh, fifty years, at least. Maybe more.

It also means "Allow". So, you get the connotation of passivity there, too, which isn't exactly something I like very much.

It's fine with me. In a way I do suffer from some of my symptoms. I still call it a disorder. I'm not going to sugar coast it by calling it a difference or gift. That's not to say that I'm not happy with having it. I'm neutral. You don't get diagnosed with Asperger's because you're different, you get diagnosed with it if you're having problems in your life, which really does make 'sufferer' and 'disorder' fit.
That's just my opinion.

AS is not a wound.

Is that spelled right?

i dont know what do they mean by suffer? AS alone realy does not cause you to suffer but i have anxiety so i cant work and i get very irratable due to that and the fact ssi will keep deniing me for AS and anxiety plus possible borderline personality thats not yet diagnosed. the AS and anxiety are my dx not borderline but im shure i have it and i suffer from it from time to time

Nothing. It's true for some aspies. I used to suffer but not anymore.

i dont know what do they mean by suffer? AS alone realy does not cause you to suffer but i have anxiety so i cant work and i get very irratable due to that and the fact ssi will keep deniing me for AS and anxiety plus possible borderline personality thats not yet diagnosed. the AS and anxiety are my dx not borderline but im shure i have it and i suffer from it from time to time

I know a lot of people are offended when someone says autis msufferer, but I am okay with it.

It's outdated when referring to any condition including ones that cause far more suffering than autism does. The fact that some people view autism as causing them suffering doesn't mean it's okay. I have trigeminal neuralgia which is thought by some to be one of the most painful medical conditions and "suffers from" and "sufferer" still sound totally wrong to me. It's not about that.