Do you wince when people say ''Asperger's''?

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I have always winced ever since I was first diagnosed. Each time somebody says that dreaded word out loud to me, I kind of get a shock of embarrassment and/or shame run through me, and I feel my face going red even if it isn't, and then I become all unresponsive and don't know what to say. I don't think others notice it from the outside, I just kind of wince inwardly.

Like yesterday I was having a conversation with a close colleague of mine at work, the conversation was just about things in general, but you know how conversations gradually turn from one subject to the next without anybody actually changing the subject? That's what happened, we were talking about something unrelated to stress, then it suddenly came on to stress. Then suddenly Susan Boyle was brought up, and when that name was brought up, I panicked inwardly, hoping my colleague wouldn't say that cringing A-word. Then she did finally say ''she was recently diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome...'' and I didn't know what to say after that.

I don't know why I hate that word being said out loud. I just do. Maybe it's the way British people pronounce it, they say ''Asp-her-jer's'', and it just sounds so ugly that it makes me want to hide under the table. I don't feel like it so much when people say ''Autism'', but I do when people say the other one. I think it's because I have too much self-awareness and I prefer people to not bring up my deep dark secret, unless if it's really necessary, like with a social worker in a private room or something. Or it might be that I just feel awkward, and that I prefer not to be reminded about it when not necessary. I can talk about my stress disorder without having to bring up Asperger's at all.

Does anyone else feel like this or is it only me?

Yeah im 14 and i feel like that too, its quite annoying when people say i have aspergers I dont mind being called autistic it sounds more profound and complex but i dont like being referred to as having aspergers.

George

Do you wince when people say ''Asperger's''?

Not as much as when a certain friend of mine says "ASH-ber-ger's".

He's a good guy but for a brief moment I want to strangle him.

Yikes, that's a new one on me. In the States, the media has everybody pronouncing it "Ass Burgers," which is like ringing a dinner bell for bullies.

While I originally took issue with the AS designation being dropped from the DSM, I've actually come to feel that it's just as well, for that very reason. Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism have, with the single exception of a childhood speech delay, always been the same disorder anyway, and I just feel being called a "High Functioning Autistic" sounds less insulting than saying someone "has Ass Burgers."

Of course, Hans Asperger pronounced his name Ahz-pair-gur, so if people said it correctly, it wouldn't be so bad, but I don't see how you could convince the whole world to change what they've learned from the media already, unless you can convince all the stupid news journalists and talking heads to stop saying it wrong.

Maybe we should enlist Arnold Schwarzenegger to do a PSA for AS, so everybody can hear the name pronounced in it's original Austrian accent.

I have heard Brits saying it with a "J" sound on the final syllable.

Oh well...

"The U.S. and the U.K.- Two countries separated by a common language."

I don't, but I can understand why you would, considering how much you dislike having it.

If I have a negative reaction, it's more along the lines of "Oh, what crap are they going to spout about it now?" I swear there's maybe 3 (non-autistic) people on the planet who can manage not to make sweeping, inaccurate and offensive statements about it.

I'm exactly the same. I hate hearing the A-word (any of them). It has nothing to do with pronunciation for me. The Norwegian pronunciation is pretty close to the German. It's all about how I feel about it.
I don't know what is worst, when I suddenly just hear it and it's a shock to the system, or when I know it's coming and I'm waiting for it and cringing.

I used to be baffled as to why Brits pronounce it that way.

But it turns out that its like the difference between "schmidt" , and "smith".

If your ancestor banged out horseshoes over an anvil in medeaval England your family name is "smith"- if the ancestor did the same thing at the same historic time in Germany your family name is "schmidt".

An "asperger" is someone who 'asperges"- which is to sprinkle holy water in a catholic mass.

In English its pronounced with a "j" sound.

In German its with the "g as in good" sound.

So if you use the English word "asperger" as a model then the J sound would be correct.

If you use how the German speaking Austrian doctor for whom the condition was named prounced his own name- as a model- then you use the G sound.

Either makes sense.

Yes, I wince inside for it. Not for ASD or autism, I'm ok with those.

I've actually never winced or cringed at the word. It's just a part of who I am; I have Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of autism. That's it and that's all. There's nothing I can do to change it. I just have to accept it and move on with life.

Yeah, I hate the sound of the word too. Also, it makes me feel conspicuous and exposed somehow when a person who doesn't know me very well brings up an Asperger's related topic. When I was doing my Bachelor's degree in psychology and professors brought up Asperger's in a big lecture hall I still felt that way. I had to look away from the professor.

I don't have any problems with the Autism Spectrum words. To me they are just words just like any other words. I told my husband the other day that I might like to buy the tshirt with the donkey and the two burgers on it though. I think that is hilarious. Sometimes we tease each other by saying Ass burgers. We get a big laugh out of that. Life can be so challenging that it is always great when something like that can make me laugh.

The same thing happens to me, whenever anyone says the word Asperger's I just get this awful feeling even if they're not talking about me. When they are talking about me when they say it, it makes me feel like I'm about to cry.

I've never felt that way. I can see why you feel that way, though.

I haven't heard anyone say it for...a long time.

Though considering I don't interact with people, that's not unexpected.

I've never heard anyone say it except when the psychologist said it during my diagnosis. I don't think people around me even know that word. I think I'm not exposed enough to that word to feel anything from it yet. When I first came to Australia, I didn't feel anything when I heard the f-word although I knew the word. It takes some time to actually feel something from a word. I will see how I feel about the A-word in the future.