What do you think of people with autism/aspergers?

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When I got the diagnosis and read the criteria and a couple things online -this was 14 years ago and there wasn't as much as there is now. I had an impression of someone really robotic and who's entire life revolved around collecting facts about some esoteric subject like trains and just rote memorizing the facts-only having a very shallow understanding of them. Worst of all I thought they were uncaring and indifferent to other people. Now I've come to realize that people with AS can have a variety of interests and personalities. They include girls who are interested in fantasy fiction and fantasy worlds like me and include people who are extremely intelligent and have a deep understanding of all kinds of subject matter, history, science ect, and include people who are not very intelligent (they aren't all geniuses either) and include people who are obsessed with video games or t.v shows or movies or politics or just about anything you can name. Some people with AS are arrogant and obnoxious and some are mean to others and some are very caring and kind.Basically , we're just people of all kinds who have a disability.

I think sometimes we come off as a"ret*d" because of our gauche, clumsy body language and facial expressions or weird voices (because of prosody issues) or because we have an awkward gait when we walk ect. We do have a neurological disorder and people are used to associating these neurological signs with intellectual disability but that's not always the case.

We come off as annoying because we don't read social cues correctly and we may interrupt because we don't know when it's our turn to talk in a conversation and we may go on and on too long because we don;'t know when to shut up ect. This makes us look rude and annoying sometimes. People might find the weird facial expressions and voices some have annoying too, I suppose.

To be honest, I do find other aspies annoying sometimes, and I certainly see how they are acting "weird", even if I simultaneously realize that I act the same way or did when I was younger. Sometimes they seem really oblivious to how they are presenting themselves and it makes me wonder to what extent I'm the same way. At the same time, I find them more interesting to talk to then NT's, because they tend to be more willing to talk in-depth about a topic instead of gossiping or making small talk.

Then there are people who are "higher functioning" than I am, who I tend to see as unusually likable (though possibly insecure) NT's until I get to know them better.

You went to a college seminar for "people with special needs".

And they all acted like a bunch of annoying ret*ds.

But were these people identified as being aspies, or as autistics?

You didnt make that clear in your OP.

Did you know for a fact that thats what they were?

If not then what are you basing your judgement on?

I see myself in other aspies and it makes me realise how annoying other people must find me

It's more of a level playing field among other aspies as at least I get given the time of day

with NTs you've got about 5 seconds to impress them in their 'language' and then they'll switch their attention elsewhere

Part of me does always want to impress NTs, to show I'm just as good as them, while another part resents their
having an advantage over me

I understand the snobbery that goes on between the different levels of autism on the spectrum

I'm more likely to have a problem with a person who sees themself as less autistic than me than
someone more autistic

Sometimes, when you are annoyed about personality traits of other persons, it might be for the simple reason that you find those unlikable personality traits in yourself.

If you are an alcoholic, you might be annoyed about other alcoholics. In the end, it is really just yourself you are annoyed with.

I enjoy being around them more than I enjoy being around NTs. I feel that I can relate to them more easily. I like them so much, that I affectionately call them Sids after a favourite character of mine. :O)

On average, I like people with ASDs a little better than NTs. Some are nice; some are interesting; others are annoying or boring. It's the same with any group of people, except that when they have ASDs they are more likely to know interesting things, and more likely to share some of my oddities as well as being okay with my having said oddities. So my odds for connecting with somebody who has an ASD are a little higher than for people in general. I think it's the same for eccentric people, people with other disabilities, and nerdy people. There's just more common ground there.

I think at first I was a little bit uneasy about how many of them were odd in ways I wasn't; but you get used to that. Most disabled people grow up in a world where most people are NT and able-bodied, and it takes a little while to get used to interacting with other disabled people. But once you get used to it, once you're no longer scared you're going to offend somebody or look really stupid--at least no more than you usually do--it seems like there's more potential for friendship there than most places, what with the shared experience of being different.