Is Asperger's syndrome / autism a disability?

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There are many definitions of what counts as a disability and for most of these ASD fits. I however do not see it as a disability. I do not see it as a disability because I see nothing good coming from that attitude. There is very little we can change in life except our attitude and my attitude is not disabled. If my attitude is not disabled then I am not either. I can achieve anything no matter how hard it is and although it may take time nothing will stop me!

Well, I have in fact seen people around, people who are "successful/happy in life", who have said/would consider it to be a disability.
I don't know about the flip side of the coin, though.

I didn't get diagnosed until recently, so at 40 years old I've always been 'different' but never been able to see AS as a disability simply because I had no idea I had it. In this sense I would have to say no it has not been a disability for me, however it has made life difficult at times but then life isn't always easy or straightforward for NTs...

I am very disabled by it, but this does not mean I want some hypothetical cure. I only wish to manage the symptoms and have the services available to do this effectively.

"Perfect AS"... an interesting idea. Do you mean having all of the "pluses" about AS without the minuses at all, or do you mean just having all of the "pluses" in spite of whatever negatives you have? If you are talking about the former, I would argue that's not AS at all; possibly spectrum traits but not on the level of a disorder. That could hardly be considered AS.

Judging by some of your earlier posts, I believe that both you and I "trend" NT on many traits. Maybe we're in a bad position to judge.

An interesting way to look at Autism! I'm not sure if I agree with it, but I think I like it.

Unofficially,am think that no one can judge the ASDs as disabilities or not,without actually knowing every single person with either-what they go through,their needs,living situation,difficulties etc,some people will use online places like wrong planet to judge autism and AS on because they have limited experience with it outside their own experience,which isn't a good example to be using because online communities have many parts of autism and AS under represented,and some parts being the majority.

And people often dont understand what disability means,and assume it's something that stops a person from progressing,or being able to do any good,here's the DDA definition of it:
*Click Here*

Both Autism and AS should be kept as default disabilities in the places where they are-officially,because of the very high amount of Auties and Aspies who need various forms of support,residential care or another form of housing,disability benefits to pay for care and motability,education etc.

Yes. ASDs are disabilities. Only because the social rules are set up to disenfranchise and discriminate against us.

Furthermore, harming us is not only tolerated but is often encouraged. People who work very hard, productively, competently, efficiently---people who do their jobs exceedingly well---

are fired simply for not being team players.


I don't see how ASDs can be interpreted as anything but severely disabling. Even though it is society that is disabled, not us.

I like the term "differently abled" better..

I disagree with that

I have AS and I think of my AS a disability, I'm not proud to have AS but I'm not in denial about it being a disability.

I-do-not-understand-this-mindset.

Disabled-does-not-mean-anything-whatsoever-about-attitude.--I-experience-the-disability-of-short-sightedness-and-for-the-life-of-me-I-cannot-see-how-this-says-anything-whatsoever-about-my-attitude.--By-this-reasoning-anyone-who-is-disabled-therefore-has-a-bad-attitude-and-anyone-with-a-good-attitude-is-not-disabled.--To-me-this-kind-of-reasoning-rests-on-a-deep-prejudice-against-disabled-people.--To-say-that-someone-is-not-disabled-because-they-have-a-positive-attitude-is-to-assert-a-baseless-negative-accusation-about-the-attitudes-of-disabled-people.

We-have-ways-to-describe-bad-attitude,-and-"disabled"-is-not-it.--How-grossly-insulting-to-disabled-people-is-this-whole-"I'm-an-ok-person-therefore-I-am-not-disabled".--What-is-so-shameful-and-repulsive-about-disabled-people-that-makes-people-so-desperate-to-disassociate-themselves-with-disability-that-they-will-go-to-such-absurd-and-ridiculous-lengths?--Does-anyone-spare-a-thought-for-all-the-disabled-people-out-there-with-good-attitudes-that-they-are-besmirching-when-they-invent-these-convoluted-reasons-for-claiming-that-they-are-not-one-of-the-disabled?

There-are-plenty-of-worthwhile-disabled-people-with-great-attitudes.--Being-disabled-tells-us-nothing-about-a-person's-quality,-worth-or-attitude.--In-my-view-the-attitude-that-disabled-people-are-lesser-is-a-"disabling-attitude",-and-the-ego-so-fragile-that-it-cannot-accept-it-co-occurs-with-disability-without-loosing-a-sense-of-its-own-worth,-is-a-"disabling-fragile-ego".

Well as I've said before, I think of a disability as just that, a dis-ability. If someone is paralysed they have the dis-ability to walk, stand up, shrug, pick things up, operate switches and open doors. If someone is paralysed they have a disability. If someone has AS they have the dis-ability to communicate properly, maintain a normal posture, stay still for long periods of time, talk fluidly, have friends, get a family and blend in with others. If someone has AS they have a disability. Being paralysed isn't normal in the same way that AS isn't normal, they both result in a disadvantage (or lack of ability) in one way or another so I'd say that AS is a disability.

first of all your sprite is god dam f*****g awesome sonic ftw. anyway i dont see it as a disability, infact i see myself better tha n an NT due to my advanced drawing skills. and many other people share advanced knowledge or skill in a certain subject in exchane for socail skills. the snake differs from the lizard beacuse it evolved to an extent that it replaced its limbs for a single serpent like limb to move. that snake wouldnt be calssified by lizards as disabled would it?

     Sorry, but this is exactly the kind of politically correct view that I can not agree with. Disabilities in most cases don't ask you if you will let them afflict you, and don't give you any choice about it.

     I sure found out all about that - in spades - at school.

     It's possible I have done this to some extent; but not nearly enough, and I still count myself as severely disabled - even though, if you met me, there's a good chance that I would strike you as almost neurotypical, or maybe just slightly unusual. It may be some strain on me, but in some (but not all) situations I am able, when I judge it best, to hide my more noticeable eccentricities, and give an almost normal appearance.

     ... if you're lucky. This has never proved to be true for myself.

Regards, Michael.

     I don't know who "Autism Speaks" are (I'm in Australia), but I would be wary of sweeping statements such as that it is not a tragedy. I am sure that, in some cases, it is an unmitigated tragedy - just totally devastating.
     I think one of the problems with political correctness, in its various forms, is that it tends to prescribe pre-set beliefs about sensitive issues and insist that, to be acceptable, one believe them unquestioningly, and it just won't brook any disagreement with that orthodoxy.
     I often agree with the sentiments behind political correctness, because I don't like discrimination and demeaning treatment of people, but think it is a misguided response to the situation. You don't eliminate unpalatable truths by decreeing that they are not true. And that is what political correctness quite often strikes me as being.

Regards, Michael.

     Unfortunately, whether anything good comes from believing something being a disability does not change the fact of whether it is a disability or not.

     Far be it from me to contradict your statement about your attitude, because of course I don't know you - but this surely cannot be true of everyone. Many people refuse to even entertain the possibility that someone else may not be able to change their attitude.
     In fact, I believe (unfortunately) it is possible that I am in this category myself. I am disabled: I find this distasteful, but I cannot shy away from what I can plainly see to be as true as the fact that my eyes are blue. I am on a disability pension paid by the Australian Government, and have been since about 1983 - and you don't convince those hard-nosed bureaucrats you can't work without a very solid set of obvious medical or psychological facts that you can present to them.

     To my mind, this is old-fashioned positive thinking, a la Norman Vincent Peale. It just doesn't fit with the harsh facts of life as I have observed them to be. I certainly do not think the facts of life support the assertion that, if only you try hard enough and with enough determination, you can achieve anything you want to do. I have been trying for decades to achieve the things that meant most to me, with a singular lack of success. And I went through a phase of reading, and almost believing, those positive-thinking books, too.

Regards, Michael.



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