Are You Able to Hide Your Aspergers?

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Do people notice there's something "odd" about you? Are you able to conceal your aspie-ness? And, most importantly, do you care?

I could act "normal" if I wanted to, but why should I change myself to seek the approval of others? Hell, I don't even WANT the approval of others.

I used to act like a total clown and flaunt my intelligence because, I suppose, I simply didn't know how to act. I would sing and dance and generally make a buffoon of myself so people would think I was cool. Looking back, it simply makes me cringe.

Nowadays, I am very cold and distant, especially with strangers. The more respect I have for someone, the less likely I am to talk to them. This is because I know I'll say something wrong and ruin it -- or perhaps they'll say something wrong, and I'll lose respect for them. I have been told many, many times that I lack basic social skills. But, the thing is, I really couldn't care less.

I try to hide it, no idea if it works though.

No problem!

Most folks, even if they knew what AS/ASD is, would not correctly recognize in others. If they did, they would likely be appropriately-trained and licensed mental health-care professionals, and how many of those does the average person even know?

Yeah ever since I can remember people thought there was something off, different, weird, wrong with me. In the past I've tried to act 'normal' to make friends and avoid bullying but it does not work. So yeah now I feel like if someone has an issue with me being me then I don't want to change to satisfy them anyways.

No, I used to. But then I realised that I was way too weird and, instead of shrinking back into a shell, I got really eccentric and embraced the weird. It's great! I have everyone around me convinced I am absolutely insane in the best way. I also started the funny hat society!

I can hide it. I don't flap my hands about or rock about or anything like that.

People have suspected anxiety, learning difficulties, social phobia, slow, shy and introverted, depressed, but never AS. Not even PDD-NOS. Not even any ASDs. My anxiety disorder does come out, and I am unable to hide it. But somehow most people understand and respect that, because it's more well-known and everybody knows what the word ''anxiety'' means. I could tell everybody that I have anything co-morbid to my AS, and get away with it completely.

I don't even had an unusual gait (although unusual gaits don't make NTs suspect AS, since some NTs can have unusual postures etc).

I try to hide it from people since I'm not always sure how they'll respond. However people always seem to notice something "strange" about me, and then they tease me for all the little things they notice. People at my school don't really have any respect for those who are "different" and don't fit in with the group.

No. I get a lot of weird looks. I just think people are looking at my Doctor Who bag and not me stumbling, staring and stimming.
I'm around a lot of people who love me for me though.

People usually just think I'm weird, shy or rude.

I have learned to hide a lot of my AS traits quite well. I just describe obsessions as hobbies and keep most "abnormal" thoughts/ideas to myself. I talk to people regularly but only have about 5 close friends. Most people just view me as a smart kid who is useful for homework help. I don't let people copy my work, I only give tips. I'm sure a lot of people find me weird or misunderstand me but they don't connect with any type of disorder. Most people simply chose to ignore me unless they need help with something.

I think I'm largely able to hide it--in fact, I wonder how many people would actually believe me if I just came out and said it.

I was introduced to a guy a few years ago I was told was an Aspie, but I'll be danged if I could tell that he was either. On the other hand, there are others I know who aren't officially diagnosed (AFAIK) but clearly show a lot of signs (obsessive interests, lack of conversational filter, etc.)

On certain occasions, when I am in the mood and my mind is focused on the task os socializing, I can pass for NT for a few hours... but there is a crash.

whether I have it or not, people recognize my oddness. I joke about it, try to stay confident about it and they act as if they think I am just different. This may be them being polite (I suspect) but I can't tell.

Fascinating topic though. If your oddness includes not being able to read social queues the only way to really be sure that people think you are odd is if they tell you directly. It's a good thing that some people speak up!

In my current adult environment people are too polite to say "wtf is wrong with you!" so I wouldn't know for sure how people think of me now.

I'm less revealing around strangers and people I don't know very well, and I'm a lot more relaxed with my coworkers, even more so with my friends, and I don't hide anything from my wife... But I think NT's do that too. We call it trying to pass as normal. They call it manners.

It's too forward and a little rude to just be "all if you" to someone you just met, whether your an NT or in the spectrum. And if I behaved around a stranger the way i do with my friends, they'd turn around and run the other way. But my friends love me for me, or as much of me that I show them anyways. I don't think I'm 100% with anyone, except for my wife, and that's more because she's so keen rather then me wanting to be completely transparent.

So I don't think there's anything deceitful being an undercover WP'dian. It's not even really being undercover. It's just being polite, and i can get by fine being subtle for awhile. That's good for NT's and WP'dians alike. After all, if everyone walked around the store juggling their car keys while repeating apples n bananas at the top of their lungs, I'd have to do a lot more than listen to my iPod to go in there.

Aspergers is so far off the radar screen of the average person when it comes to day-to-day life that it really isn't much of an issue. The folks I deal with on a regular basis undoubtedly sense something is a little different about me, but they all put me in their own convenient little box. Anti-social, shy, eccentric, smart, weird, dorky etc ... It's really no different now than when I was growing up in a pre-Aspergers world.

There have been some more important people to me who I've been afraid of finding out how they might treat me differently if they knew I was autistic, but for the most part I've never really thought of acting a certain way or to try to hide who I am. Some find me weird, but apparently in a good way, and some of my friends don't seem to believe me at all when I try to tell them.