How did you feel when you found out you had AS?

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You'd prefer schizophrenia to AS? That's pretty ridiculous.

I was kinda relieved to find out at first. Then, I kinda started settling into anger mode. How different I was, how much of the s**t in my past I could'a had to not deal with had people known this about me, how much more time woulda been spent trying to learn to fit in instead of sitting on the side.

It took a meltdown at work and a really cool boss to pull me out of that. He has an Autie brother, so he recognised everything. Even taught me some coping strategies that I still use. After that episode, and talking with him about it, it was more of an acceptance phase. I'm still learning to accept that no matter what I do, this is who and how I am. I hate not being in control of this aspect of my life, but I'm learning to live with it.

I hope mum shapes up and doesn't leave my bro in the same boat... if it's all he knows, it won't be so hard for him.

Tired as ever. Nothing different, really.

I felt cheated too, but it also explained so much. I spent all my childhood being sent to shrinks and school counselors and just being weird, but I also suspected on some level it was all my fault, that I just didn't "make enough of an effort". To finally hear at 27 that it wasn't my fault was liberating.

I'm not talking about autism though, I'm talking about AS. Do you have figures comparing schizophrenia with AS?

Schizophrenia is not as big a disorder really. Only the extreme cases are called, and made fun of. But mosts schizo's haven't got that hard times because of it.

It's the same as with epilepsies. Most epileptics don't really care that often, they only once in a while have an attack, still people believe they are more on the ground than on the floor.

I was relieved that there was an explanation for how I perceived the world. Knowing that my behavior wasn't simply from laziness or not trying hard enough was a breath of fresh air.

I was happy when I was diagnosed. Relieved that I didn't have schizophrenia and that I finally had a good explanation for my specific problems.

Here:

60% with Schizophrenia have a good outcome, with 50% being able to still hold a job
Around 30% (it's around 15% in the UK) of those with AS work, and their social deficits are lifelong in all cases (the current figure puts the marriage rate at a massive 1%); not all cases of Schizophrenia have the negative symptoms [that usually aren't as severe as the lack of social reciprocation seen in AS]
1-12% of those with Autism (HFA and LFA) work and have an "ok" outcome that's similar to AS

I felt cheated. Well, I was, I found it in a letter to a psychologist, which I wasn't supposed to be seeing. And I felt angry because I also was diagnosed with histrionic syndrome in that very same letter.

i was angry at first, angry that i was put through the psychiatric system for 10 years, treated like an invilid, and that AS was never mentioned to me. i was angry at my family for putting a label on me, and judging me.

i have completely accepted AS as a defining factor in my life. that is to say, a characteristic of who i am. it made a lot of sense and essentially, put some demons to rest.

When I was a kid they didn't know about AS- not in my one-horse town anyway. They didn't even know about learning disabilities. Smart, dumb, good kid, bad kid- you had to fit in one of those boxes. What do you do with a kid who tests off the charts in first grade, then pays attention only in the classes that interest her, while disrupting the other classes and school in general? I could go on, but you've all been there. I felt like I went through life wearing a big sign that said, ''Don't ask me- I'm just a tourist here!'' Even when I thought I'd found a community, I'd still be different. What saved me was that at an early age I realized that I just felt different and came to terms with that, and learned to enjoy playing alone and even feeling most comfortable being by myself. The fact that I was an only child with a working single mother (did THAT make me stand out!) helped me develop my independence.
So I knew I was different anyway. When I found out about AS, it just made so much sense. My life made sense! And I feel that, yeah, it makes you different, but lots of people are different in worse ways- you learn to deal with it. ''Disorder''? Please. I've known people with bipolar disorder, and it's a new nightmare every day. I had a friend with epilepsy, a wonderful, vibrant girl with her whole life in front of her, and she died, alone, during a seizure.
And now it seems that the technology that is rapidly changing the way everyone on earth lives their day-to-day lives, needs us- the ''rejects'', Aspies, to design and run it. ''Nerd'' and ''geek'' were fighting words- now they're badges of honor. If I could, would I start life over as an NT? And risk turning out like one of those ya-yas who can't go to the bathroom without bringing her friends?
What do you think?