Are you secretive or open about it?

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I was open about my Asperger's this semester and it has worked out great SO FAR. Gender differences came up so I mention AS. A character in a literature story I thought could be AS and someone e-mailed me saying they worked with Autistic children and I did a paper "Aspie" for my Philosophy professor!! ! Hopefully this "openness" with the teachers/students doesn't back fire!

I don't go around telling people, but if someone asks about it I'll tell them.
I'm more likely to mention it to those who have shown they know something about autism.

I'm very much open about it, although I used to be very secretive. Sort of "came out of the closet" so to speak.

That being said, I don't go telling every person I meet straight off I have AS. I may mention it if it's relevant to the discussion or if someone asks me something related to it, and I'm open about discussing various AS related stuff on my facebook (as well as non-AS related stuff). I'm involved in a lot of AS groups in my local city, and do some activism stuff, so many people in the AS community know who I am.

My ideal life is where I am free to express every part of me without secrecy. AS is one part, but not all there is to me by a long shot. I like being open about it but at the same time I'm not going to discuss it ad nauseum to the exclusion of all else (there's more to life than just AS).

I keep it to myself. Outside of WP the only people who know I have AS are my mom, my friend, and the psychologist who diagnosed me.

I don't hide it, but I wouldn't say I'm open about it, either. Whether I say something or not depends a lot on the situation at hand and who is involved.

Somewhere in between. I tell people online and close people. However, I sometimes tell other people if something comes up where I need to tell them.

My 2 close friends know but I haven't open told anyone else but I'm sure they may suspect it if they know anything about AS

Same here I'm open to telling people who know a bit about Autism that I have HFA. If someone happens to ask me then I mention it but I wouldn't just go on telling everyone I meet.

I'm very open about it online and offline.

It is a closely guarded fact due to my chosen career field's views of autism. Only a select few outside of my family know.

Makes sense. Very recently the U.S. military decided to exclude those with AS from enlisting.

I was unaware of AS when I enlisted so I couldn't have disclosed it at the time. However, I am currently working towards getting into law enforcement and I'd be surprised if any PD's would hire me if they knew about my AS.

I'm open about it because I felt that the alternative of hiding it would increase my anxiety and decrease my self-esteem. I'd have felt like I had some dirty secret that I should be embarrassed about. I talk about it on Facebook in order to advocate for myself and to share information with my friends who want it. I had to put up with a few nasty reactions and some abusive treatment from family but I stuck to my guns and, in the end, the positive responses far outweighed the negative. I don't tell potential employers. If a conversation leads to including a mention of my Asperger's, I'm happy to talk about it. I'd rather people knew why I was different than came to untrue, negative conclusions of their own.

I used to be open about it, but now I am much more careful on who I tell and not tell. The few people that I did tell who were not family reply, "You do not seem to be autistic." I feel more misunderstood or misinterpreted than ever, especially to the people I used to work with. I would love to talk to people about Asperger's Syndrome/Autism in a positive light rather than how the media portrays it. People need to know that Asperger's Syndrome/Autism is not a life sentence, it is a blessing.

Am all about education, here. When you see a girl rocking, ignoring you when you talk to her, walking away mid-conversation, you're going to know SOMETHING'S up. Would prefer to tell them it's autism then have them make things up in their heads, whatever those may be.

Everybody at work knows that I have social problems, anxiety issues, sensory issues and previous drug abuse problems. I was obliged to tell them in order to work plus urine tests plus an ethics and patient counselling course. That's what I got for telling them and being forthright about my conditions/problems. They took away my license, they prevented me from working for over 1 year, they gave me many stiputions, etc. Honestly, I think being forward with some of your mental issues can sometimes cause more problems than it can solve. Lucky my boss/staff are really good and supportive. At least they seem that way. It's always hard to predict people's thoughts based on their behaviour.