"ret*d"

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But all I see here is alot of aspies getting nothing from socializing. I get too much.

Is that wrong...?

We weren't discussing whether that's wrong.

We were discussing the relevance of the term 'ret*d' WRT Aspies.

Because they don't know how to do it. Other people get jobs, relationships, and pleasure out of socialising.

The fact that people with AS don't get anything from socialising is makes them socially ret*d.

But what about aspies who get nothing from it but know how to do it?

Or ones that get to much pleasure to the point of overstimulation?

ret*d, like gay, is an insult that gets applied regardless of whether the normal meaning of the word is true. Someone can be a "ret*d" without being mentally ret*d, and someone can be "gay" without being homosexual. Heck, both "ret*d" and "gay" can be applied to things and ideas, not just people.

Not that I agree with the use of such insults. But I think taking them overly literally is missing the point.

I know what people mean them to be. I just don't like the way that they are using descriptions of people, words that ought to be neutral, to insult people. It's like what would happen if people insulted each other by comparing them to you... even if it became a figure of speech, you still probably wouldn't like it very much.

It's like someone being hypersensitive instead of hyposensitive when it comes to sensory awareness. Some Aspies (a minority IMO) are hypersensitive to socialization and tend to avoid all but manageable quantities. Anyway, the point isn't *why* the traits are there, but that they are there; that's what makes an Aspie. Autism's a complicated thing. I've heard other Aspies mention that they are overwhelmed by social contact, rather than simply being unable to understand it; they seem to be in the minority, though. Most of us are just the sort who regularly open our mouths and stick our feet in.

Getting nothing from socialization, but being able to socialize, would be a personality trait rather than a sign of Asperger's--probably something like being very introverted.