Are you secretive or open about it?

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Do you wear your Asperger's Syndrome on your sleeve, or do you keep it a secret, only talking about it with an inner circle and/or online?

Personally, I only tell people on a need-to-know basis: employment agencies, employers, and very close friends. As far as the online world, WrongPlanet is the single website where I've talked about it with people (this thread being one of the few instances).

i also only tell on a need-to-know basically.
i dont go around parading that i'm an aspie, but i wont deny it either, if someone comes up with it.
usually, if i do something aspie, or interact in a way that needs to know, i tell them.
for example, a few weeks ago, among friends, we were watching a show (dunno which one it was, might have been a documentary), that was clearly influenced by autism speaks. i usually held my breath amongst the lies given, but at one point i just shouted at the fake info they told on there.
now doing that abviously ment i had to disclose my aspergers to that group, becouse else i'd be someone who doesn't believe anything

I prefer don't tell that. When i went to high school i was slighty more open about that, but now i prefer to keep this to myself.
Is more easy that my mom tell this about me, and even she does it rarely.
And in Italy it would be useless. in Italy few people know about AS.

I take a situational approach. There are so many misconceptions about autism that it is impossible to gauge most people's reaction. Add that to the fact that gauging people's reactions is part of the challenge of being autistic and you end up with a high degree of indeterminism.

I'd be open in front of people who understand/know about it, like here for instance.
If someone was to tell me about someone they know having it, then I may disclose it with them.

Neurotypicals were never psychic themselves. They often struggle gauging reactions. As time goes on, it's becoming increasingly apparent to me that saying that those with AS have a harder time reading other people than NT's... may in fact be saying very little.

Open with other aspies.

Secretive with NTs.

NT's don't have to be psychic nor 100% accurate, they only have to be better at gauging such things. In general they ARE better and the difference is significant enough to afford them an advantage in interpersonal relations. That advantage is material to success in a highly social world.

They're better. But most of them are still poor at it. They misinterpret one another, have misunderstandings, and argue and fight over these all the time.

I hate the idea of anyone thinking "they have us beat, they're so excellent at interacting with one another". Maybe it's not the case with many low-functioning autistics, but I do believe those with HFA can catch up with NT's on the whole social thing, if they apply themselves.

That's all I'm saying on the topic for now.

I am very open about it. Last summer I was waiting line for my diabetes medicine at the paharmacy. There was a woman and an eight yearold boy in front of me. The boy was making noises and trying to lay on the floor. The mother kept on apologizing for her son's behavior she told me he is autistic. So I told her don't worry about it I have Aspergers a high functioning autism. Telling her this I believe made her feel better about the situation I was also the only person not shaking their head at the kids behavior.

I will say I'm autistic whenever it's relevant to the issue at hand. ("Autistic", not "Asperger's", for the latter term is not widely known and I believe it has now been recognized as synonymous to HFA.) I think pretending to be something you're not for a very long period of time would slowly but steadily snuff your soul.

I don't think in such absolutes. By definition, autism is a deviation from the norm along several traits. It is what it is. It has nothing to do with who has who "beaten". Consider it a random variable in an equation. NT's reside somewhere different in the space of potentialities. But it is a variable and even events of low probability are still possible.

Check your PM's soon, wavefreak.

In real life I only tell on a need-to-know basis, but online I'm pretty open about it.

Online I'm open but in real life I am very secretive about it and even if I do something a bit aspie-ish I will not mention it. At all.

I only tell others about my AS if I need accommodations on something. Like more time during tests in college.