What do I say to "tough guys" who...

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Well, I care if I have to be around them (i.e., work related stuff) and it's going to end up being a continuing sore point.

So become a recluse or stop caring what others think.

The world is full of idiots with opinions you have zero chance of changing; that's life.

I would advise sticking to things that you have control of, else you waste your energy.
You have more control of your own thoughts than someone-elses.

That's how i deal with such things.
Although it would be nice to have my own cabin in Alaska.

Being around idiots like this reminds me why I love the company of my cats!

Hey, how do we know they're not right?

Because it's an issue of neurology, not attitude. Attitude only affects how we deal with the cards we're dealt.

Are you sure? What are the differences between an AS brain and a normal brain?

It's in the way the nerves are wired, and how the neurons fire.

I'm not sure what you think that means, but if the neurological cause is known there would probably be a physiological test for AS. Does one exist?

Last I checked there are a number of current theories for the causes of AS including poor parenting, vaccines, a lack of oxytocin in the brain, etc. Again, if there is one common neurological thread, what is it?

Last edited by beautifulspam on 21 Apr 2007, 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Of course your quintessential "Tough Guy" will immediately call BS on that anyway, so I see it as a moot point.

My friends and family understand that I have this condition but they wouldn't accept it as an excuse for anything I do or fail to do, as they know that despite my AS I am able to work around the disability in a number of ways.

Bah, starting to realize my own Father is one of these types. For my tics and stims he tells me that Affirmations will help me stop. And I have tried them.. in ernest... but my hands still drift. It doesn't work for me.

I usually tell them "If you're so sure about your theory about Autism despite the massive scientific evidence that says otherwise, go form your own control group, your own experimentation group, observe them using your theories as a way to combat Autism, then get your report peer reviewed. If your methodology to deal with Autism is correct and the Autistic people act differently when your methods are applied, then you'll be a very rich man for proving a previous convention of science false. Until then, shut the hell up and keep your uneducated redneck pseudoscience to yourself."

What about the opposite of the "Tough Guy" approach? What about those naysayers who glom on to any diagnosis as a reason why you can't do something? I don't even have a diagnosis, and I've met my share of these. I'm certainly not letting a diagnosis determine the course of my life.

What's "Affirmations" with a capital A?

The work in neuroimaging studies on people with AS is just beginning, so its really hard to say anything definitively. Just google something like, "asperger fMRI studies" and you´ll get a bunch of results.

Most studies focus on the deficits of the brain in people who have AS, i.e, the inability to process certain emotional stimuli. Here is a study that actually focuses on the inhanced abilities of someone with AS which I found a little interesting:

http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/con ... 122/7/1305

Sure, its only showing that people with AS are better at recognizing certain patterns. But, hopefully this will be the first of many studies showing the inhanced abilities of those with AS in other areas.