Why does society view us this way?

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If anything, my impression is that the dominant stereotype about AS is the opposite - that people with AS are super-genius who don't really have any problem and that the diagnosis of AS is a conspiracy of the Big Pharma to sell drugs.

Agent, you are correct, and society doesn't view these people very kindly either. Here is a well-written, brief essay on just that topic, though because of its honesty and crude language in places, it's not for the sensitive:

http://takimag.com/article/the_art_of_n ... z2VvRSnn9G

Fnord offers sage advice. Not all aspies are capable of holding down productive employment, but those who can should.

My opinion is that if an NT behaves this way, then most folks would just shrug it off; but if a known Aspie behaves this way, then most folks would wrongly think that it is "typical" Aspie behavior.

For instance, a lot of white folks like fried chicken and watermelon - some can even tap dance - and no one really cares.

But let just one "Person of African Ancestry" be seen doing the same things, and suddenly it becomes "typical" of all such persons.

This doesn't seem right, somehow ...

I wouldn't really say society looks down on us. Some individuals do, but generally they look down on anything different to them. The type of people who might make fun of us for our particular Aspie traits will most likely make fun of people of different races, religions etc.

It's all about those types of people not understanding any sort of "difference". They don't like not being able to understand us, so they make fun of us as a defence mechanism. It's pathetic, really.

Well, you have to consider that the evolution of spoken language was slow and limited compared to the evolution of humans and their extensive ability to communicate with no or few shared words. So people still do much of their communicating this way and mostly aren't aware of it. So give NP's a break-as we know, they're looking for a language from us that we aren't speaking. When you tell someone you wrecked their car or stole their girlfriend, aren't you yourself kind of looking for non-word communication first and automatically? Or let's say you propose an activity, and then look around to see if people seem to be in agreement, you probably do this a split second before anyone speaks. So if someone is looking away with a blank, distracted face, it's unsettling. If you don't know about Aspergers, you may interpret the look as disagreement, craziness, or disinterest. Once someone knows us, they don't make those assumptions.

Hi Fnord.

I think you are right, but what do you mean by preferential treatment?

Because anything invisible gets misunderstood. If a person with a mental health condition can do some things well and others poorly, they get misunderstood and misjudged as ''weird''.

My grandmother has Alzheimer's, and I find she gets terribly misunderstood because she can chat away like nothing's wrong, but has memory of about 4 seconds and can't do things properly any more like cook a meal because of too much confusion and her narrow thoughts cause her to be unable to use common sense, although she is OK physically. So if the hospital rang her up for an appointment, she would answer the phone and sound wise by saying, ''OK, that will be great, see you Tuesday then'', but won't think to write it down because simple tasks are hard for her now. But the person at the reception will think she sounds fine and will expect her to attend the appointment, even though she has her condition Alzheimer's down on their records.

Obviously AS is different from Alzheimer's but it still gets misunderstood. I am physically normal in every way, and I look normal too, but my emotions are too intense and these cause too much anxiety and overthinking, which makes me become inwardly stressed, and then I become avoidant, even though in another way I am capable to do anything an average person can do. I suppose it looks like I'm being lazy to some. All the doctors do is put me on anti-depressants and think that will solve all my problems.

Fewer people "accept failure" than you think. The world is not so f*****g black-and-white as you make it.

We have to accept that Asperger Syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder. This is as serious as it sounds. Just because of its apparent invisibility doesn't mean it has no effect. I've seen it compared to missing not one leg, but both legs. It's really a very serious condition, a disability. Among other things because social interaction is hugely important in life.


Asking whether society see people missing both legs as lesser/wrong is not much different from asking the same thing about people with AS.

It's not pretty to look at, but there are "leagues" in society. It's called social status.

It's not like people with AS suddenly just decide to "accept failure". It's a result of many years of struggling because of the condition. It goes to show how serious of a disability it is. People accept failure when they feel they cannot keep fighting anymore, it's not the choice people originally preferred in their younger years.

Life is tough.

Last edited by qawer on 11 Jun 2013, 4:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It's not just a "social" issue. If it was it would be easier. Most people can work on social skills. Some of us have sensory/processing issues that make functioning in typical noisy/hectic/chaotic work environments too stressful to handle without eventually going postal. This doesn't mean people aren't trying. I don't think Fnord gets this at all. He doesn't have the ability to comprehend people who are f*****g different from him. He might not even have autism for all I know.

1. Why do many of us accept failure as a way of life? Why would any person choose failure over success?
2. What is success and why is it so?
3. Why do only successful people deserve preferential treatment?
4. In fact, why do successful people deserve preferential treatment at all?

I completely agree, hence the "among other things". AS is not just a social issue. Social issues should on the other hand not be underestimated.

The fact that autistics sometimes end up accepting failure is a sign of how serious the condition is. Not that they just don't care about trying in the first place.

It's not impossible that a guy with a healthy mentality but with missing legs is better off than a guy with autism and no physical abnormalities. I understand that now. A healthy mind is vital.

Just because you disagree occasionally with a poster should not justify questioning a DX.

Ignorance and intolerance.

Not all of society does. Just the more extroverted outgoing ones usually.

I don't think that's what Fnord is trying to say.

He says that



The "while simultaneously" is essential in what he is writing. You cannot expect to simultaneously accept failure and expect to be preferred. I'm not saying we accept failure because we want to. If we do that, we do it because we feel we are forced to it through a long time of struggling.

Those with succes will be preferred. The pretty girl will most often be chosen over the obece one in partner choice. The succesful guy is chosen over the guy without aspirations. Life is that way. Let's not kid ourselves.

I normally don't participate in these types of threads. I just don't like these outsider judgements on who is and isn't "trying hard enough". Yes, there are "lazy" people in the world, but the number is far exaggerated and the number of people who decide to become that way would be less if society decided to stop being so damn selfish and "success" obsessed. To me success is helping others, making the world a better place, contributing to something larger than yourself, finding happiness, etc... not "standing on your own two feet" and thumping your ape haired chest. f**k that meaningless right-wing BS. Only people who have had their soul beaten out of them think that way. The ones who aren't able to kill their feeling side end up with a bullet between their eyes, or mowing down children in schools.