Are you an Aspie if you want to be one?

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Well, the disconnection is not FULL, and some of it I am actually HAPPY about! The meltdowns don't happen all the time and, with me, aren't THAT bad. HEY, the part I don't like is the social isolation of which that is only a part.

And there ARE some good things also. As I implied, even some of the disconnection is nice.

It makes me sad to see so many ppl hating who they are. Be proud of your aspergic tendencies.

Thank you... all of these posts about how horrible Asperger's is, and how people wouldn't wish it on their worst enemy... I see no reason for such statements. Baron-Cohen and Attwood BOTH agree that AS is a difference not a disability. There are benefits and drawbacks, and perhaps for some one outweighs the other. But the same is true of neurotypicality.
Now, I don't think WANTING to be a certain way would make you that way. I once was told by someone that he thinks it would be neat to be a savant... if he could turn it on and off at will that is. We were in Academic Team, and I think he was just envious of the savant ability to memorize huge amounts of random facts, which obviously would be a great asset on academic team/quiz bowl. But at least in such statements people express their respect for Autists and Aspies (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery) and acknowledge our unique abilities. By the way, I am not a savant, nor is anyone else this guy knows. Neither of us knew that I was an Aspie when he said this. We did have one other Aspie on the team last year, and he astounded everyone with the crazy things he knew. Anytime we were asked a bizarre question that no one should know the answer to, we all just got quiet and waited for JT to give us the answer.

YOU'VE SAID IT!



THANKS! That is VERY true!



They actually renamed IDIOT SAVANT to AUTISTIC SAVANT! That takes away a lot of the stigma, and makes it clear there is something to autism. That it doesn't just, or doesn't always, make people stupid. Sorry if that came out wrong, but you probably know what I mean.



To some degree I am probably like JT. And NOPE, I'm not a savant either. I wish I was. Looking at shadows of my past, I could probably have ended up that way. By savant I simply mean someone with a prodigious skill in some pervasive area(Like memory, math, music). I guess if I can get to where I want with memory, I will be the next best thing to a savant there. My memory is VERY good in some areas. Besides, the DSM DOES specifically disclude any really bad problems from the basic AS diagnosis. If you have them, they are from something else.

AS is certainly something many wouldn't want to have, but some would LOVE to have it. As for me? Sometimes I wish I was different but, if I was, I would have had to work a LOT to get to where I am, wouldn't be respected as much, etc... And WHO KNOWS where I would be now?

I consider myself a savant, in a way, I'm a free thinking problem solving savant. I don't think the term savant needs to necessarily mean one is a rain man. People who have the ability not to worry about what the heard thinks, and who can break out on their own and think and act for themselves are savants. There are even a few NT savants here and there.

I don't think that anyone wants to go suddenly go from being a completely average NT to having an Aspergers/autistic profile of strengths and weaknesses. If someone did feel like that, I would wonder why they felt such self-loathing that they needed to pretend to be a completely different person. Instead, I think that they've already noticed that their strengths/weaknesses don't fit neatly into the average NT profile and that they have trouble meeting societal expectations because of it. They then "want" to have Asperger's because it gives them a way to explain their differences instead of just feeling like their failures in areas like social interaction, emotional regulation, face-recognition, coordination, executive planning, etc. are due to laziness.

I guess I "want" my self-diagnosis to be correct because I have been called lazy, unmotivated, and spiteful so many times because of the above characteristics. I think that a lot of AS characteristics fit me, but there are enough that don't to make me question it. I've also met a half-dozen or so people with severe AS symptoms that were immediately noticeable, and I know that I don't appear as "off" to other people as they did. So I guess that I am an AS wannabe, at least until I'm able to save up enough sick days at work to take time off to get formally evaluated.

I feel the same way. My parents see me as lazy, unmotivated, underachieving, having no goals in life, i mope around too much, Im wasting my talents. etc.

Most people in my town see me as weird, strange, ret*d, sloppy or lousy, slow, thinks like a child, etc.

Im not an intelligent person at all, but my parents and relatives think I am. When I was a kid, I represented my school in grade school and high school spelling bees and grade school science quiz bees. But Im not really smart (109 IQ) I just remember lots of useless general knowledge and trivia. Thats not intelligence.

m living a sad existence right now. Still not living on my own and Im just working for my cousin, low paying job. But my classmates and some friends from my younger years are now doctors, accountants, painters, living overseas, or are filthy rich already.

I dont wanna think about stuff too much, it makes me feel sad. Who am I kidding? I probably dont have AS. Im probably just your regular bum.

Well, if THAT is the definition of SAVANT, it doesn't mean much, and I could get possibly HUNDREDS of people to say I am a savant. I solved enough peoples problems. HECK, that is a big part of my career.

I agree with Ana. I came here to understand my AS bf, and he barely has the life struggles a lot of people here do. Def social anxiety, def the rigid mind, odd posture, odd voice, minimal eye contact, hording, ocd, narrow interests, anxiety if a routine is broken, but he gets by really well. When I met him I didn’t notice these things because he hid them so well. No one would suspect a handsome and financially well of man would have something "different ( I shutter at the thought of using the word "wrong"). I can tell you right now there is no way I would want to be AS. Or physically disabled, or have poor health. A lot of things I don't want to be.

However, like everyone, there are things I am that I can't change, but I accept it and work around it. An example, I am 5'0". "Petite" LOL! I cannot reach things on the top shelf of any grocery store. I am to stubborn to ask for assistance, so I have become an avid shelf climber.

NTs have a lot of self realization, and it must be easier to work around our short comings. I also am fortunate to not suffer from depression or low self esteem. Which I can't figure out is part of the AS brain wiring or the result of how the world has mistreated you for so long. Depression makes the simplest task monumental to start.

Looking back I realize I have known quite a few AS. Successful ones too! Believe me, I work in a college and I am surrounded by both NTs who are nerdy brainiacs and by lots of AS teachers and students. Once your eyes are opened to this world, you see AS everywhere. Real AS, not “oh, he/she is a little off, must be AS”.

It is a shame the most about the social anxiety and depression for AS people. If you could erase that from your world, there would be many more success stories on here. Or maybe the “successful” ones aren’t diagnosed and have no clue they should be here!!

Well it's important to bear in mind that if you go looking for autism or AS characteristics in people, almost anyone could be called an aspie for one characteristic or another. But it's not a matter of one characteristic, it's mulitple characteristics that act in conjunction with one another. Extremely bad social skills, that's the number one give away (especially for men, if a guy gets women regularly or like a NT, he's probably not aspie). Non-conformist analytical thinking patterns, an individualistic mind, these are traits that belong to the savants (most on here aren't really individual or non-conforming thinkers, otherwise they wouldn't be so "pc" or theocrats, or followers of dogmatic common-man religions), lesser degree aspies are just somewhere in between aspie and NT in the evolutionary cycle. Um, rigid routines and such are often a common characteristic throughout the spectrum.
But yeah, if you go looking for characteristics in people you'll undoubtedly find some, even if theyr exagerated. It's kinda like when you were a kid and you were scared to go to bed because of a monster under your bed, so when you hear a bump or the house settling, you make yourself think it's "the monster".... It's kinda the same concept.
I am an aspie, honestly, it is VERY rare I cross paths with another aspie in real life, unless I went to an autism meeting or something.

Do you question everyone you meet on this?

Um...no. Not all Aspies want to be Aspies.

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Last edited by CockneyRebel on 08 Sep 2007, 10:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I would love to lose all the negative parts of ASD. I hate it at times, but I can't help but like it since it's more integral in what makes me me than my being male. I felt this way before I had a name for it. The sad thing is there are NT nerds that do want AS. It's popular with them to be self diagnosed Aspie. I'll never understand trends of any form. I think they would change thier minds ifd they had a real melt down, or shut down in public.

I can't understand why anyone would WANT to be ostracized, bullied and ridiculed for being "different" I'm old (mid 40's) so I guess I'm not "hip" so is it actually "Trendy" now to be AS or autistic???? Do I really get to believe that my 6 year old autistic daughter will not be tormented in High School? That would really take a load off my mind.

Ditto. That's not exactly the accepted definition of savant. I don't where you got that from. Breaking out from the herd doesn't mean you get to make up your own definitions for words, BTW.