Proud to be an aspie/autist?

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While talent, drive, and willpower haven't been originally determined by the person involved, they are part of that person's core character traits. Achieving things while drawing from that talent and willpower is something an individual may well take credit for, and subsequently be proud of.



The reason I am not proud of being autistic, is - agreeing with Aimless and Lecks - that my autism is not an achievement. I didn't sweat or toil to become autistic, I was born this way!
Same reason why I am not proud of my ethnic heritage (Indo/Caribbean), or my nationality, or my bisexuality. (Though I do VERY MUCH understand and appreciate the importance of any minority I belong to asserting ourselves and claiming our rights; it's just because of my preference to avoid groups that I feel part of the demographics, but not the communities.)

At the risk of sounding controversial, I feel very proud when, after I have told other people that I am autistic, they say "I wouldn't have guessed you were" or something similar. Being able to function better in social situations, that to me, would be an achievement I can really be proud of.

As for the apparent boons or assets Asperger's syndrome is supposed to give me, I can't say my affinity for arranging and listing things systematically (be it the taxonomy of life, the genealogy of the Greek gods, geographic things like flags and capitals, or more popcultural things), have gotten me very far. Sure, the way I obsessed over my special interests gave me a nice comfy pillow of knowledge when I was a kid, but BAM depression BAM apathy, and my head start was gone. I was planning on going to university as early as 18 years old, like most people, whether they're autistic or not autistic. I'm almost 23, still no uni. But right now, things are good.

Last edited by CyclopsSummers on 16 Jan 2010, 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

OK now, time to go.

The first thing I wanted to do was hit the 'report' button. I'm used to the comicbookresources.com message board, which has one. What's the procedure over here when there's an obvious troll at large? I suppose we just PM a mod with a link to the post?

irapespazkids this type of language is unexecptable, have you read the rules?

There for if I was a moderator, I would personally ban you after reading all of your post and they seem 100% offensive and hurtful and is certainly not allowed on my post!!

It's trying very hard to get a reaction, isn't it?

Yeah man, I'm proud to be in Aspie for sure. Nobody's going to talk to me anytime away saying that I should be cured.

Which really speaks to the point I was making:

1 - Asperger's is a part of a person's core character traits
2 - Achieving things while drawing from said trait is something an individual may take credit for and of course, be proud of.



Some, such as myself, can call upon the resulting product of their Asperger's when it comes to various accomplishments. Since I first touched a computer, I've spent countless hours doing, well, everything one could with a computer; now, I am in a position to greatly use my vast experience and knowledge with computers to benefit myself and others at work (and often outside of work). Had it not been for such hyper-focus or obsession (or both), I'm not sure what achievements, if any, I would be proud of--maybe something, maybe nothing. Regardless, I know what I have accomplished and what it is about me that contributed.

Keep in mind the very last point I made:

Accomplishments (that which we are proud of) are a collection of traits inherent to us for which we have no involvement; what matters is determining which of those traits to credit the most.

I tend to think that ALL of what makes a person is responsible in some way for their achievements, it is vitally important to know what parts played the larger role.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is just two days away here in the US; I mention this as even one's skin color can play a role for their accomplishments, as it's likely if Martin Luther was white, he would not have made the same accomplishments with his life (though still possible).

I've read, Stephen Hawking started taking his work more serious after his first revelation of ALS.

On the other hand, I can see also where Asperger's (and other such inherent qualities) would, unlike say in my case, wind up on the lower end of contributing factors to one's success--though, contributing none the less.

I'm proud, I'm proud of the talents Asperger's has given me and have made it my goal to use them for the good of others as well as myself.

Thats the one thing I would also be proud of with my autism....

I'd say I am. It makes me what I am today and I wouldn't want to change that!

I am proud of being an Aspie, because there are many aspects/traits about having AS that DO allow me to succeed and make achievements. Specifically, I am proud of my photographic memory, and I'm proud of my special interests and the encyclopedic knowledge thereof. And both of these things are directly related to AS, so yes, I am proud.
-OddDuckNash99-

Tomorrow, I get to rebuild a computer and I simply can't wait
and I'm all the time going on and on about computers, once you mention the word computer, I end up eventually talking about it an ld it would on an on and I would be speaking a fast speed...

My so called aspie obsession that is also what I love about having autism without that, I wouldn't have the ability to do that.

Ahh, but now we're entering the realm of the metaphysical. I think some of the contributing traits you mention are more backdrop or scenery rather than being on the foreground.

King being a black advocate for equal rights as opposed to being a white man doing the same, is an important factor. A black man standing next to his white peers as an equal; he was a role model then, and continues to be so, for African Americans, and extending beyond.

I think Martin Luther King would have ascribed his achievements not to his being black, but to his talents: his eloquence, his compassion for the less fortunate, his intelligence, and his charisma. To be proud to be black in this case, would be for Martin to see other African Americans stand up for themselves, while in return, MLK himself had become an icon to proud of for the black community in the US.

Hawking, meanwhile, may not have been the same person without ALS, acknowledged. He'd still have been a genius, however. But I can certainly see how his sclerosis would have fired him up to work as hard as he has done.

In those two cases, while ethnicity and chronic illness respectively played an important role in defining the achievements of King and Hawking, those aspects could surely be considered 'atmosphere' or 'environment' so to speak, where the true driving force were their intellectual abilities? This is not to say that either wouldn't be able to say they're proud to be black or proud to be successful while having ALS. But in my eyes, when taking pride in aspects such as these, while it's no less justifiable, it's something less tangible, more abstract or ethereal than taking pride in your skills, it's something that nearly always speaks to a sense of kinship with others, a shared pride.


I do understand better now that many on this forum say they're proud to be autistic, with regards to how a special interest and 'obsessing' over it may provide someone with a goal and the drive to completely pursue that goal, sometimes becoming a veritable master in the field.


I'm careful in taking pride in my Asperger's syndrome for a different reason, of which I'm reminded when I see people like Stephen Hawking, or my cousin who has both epilepsy and mental retardation: I'm reminded that many people who have an ASD can't move through this world half as comfortably and easily as I can... I fear I'd be imposing myself on territory I shouldn't dare tread if I claimed pride in my autism while I'm a relatively 'mild' case, as opposed to the lower functioning autists and the otherwise less fortunate people on the spectrum.

Your view on this subject intrigues me, KazigluBey, and we don't even have to agree with each other, but it's certainly engaging to read another's opinions on it.

I am proud to be an Autie!

Without understanding autism is feeling good and hopeful that Autism can give me hope and help me, I would had led a miserable life as an Autie!

yes, i have my quirqs but dont we all?

We can solve it together, yeah!