AS a disability or a difference

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And if that were the case, NTs would adapt and live lives exactly like aspies, as they do not have the disabilit to prevent them from learning socially like we do, so 100% of the world would act AS.

Any autism is definitely a difference. If you meet the criteria for AS or autism, then it is by definition at least an impairment in many situations, and can often be considered a disability. For most of us, it is not a disability until we need to interact with people that don't understand autism. For some people, that is nearly all the time; for others, it is rarely. Disabilities vary in severity - some people can get on fairly well; others not as well.

If I were asked to answer the topic's question categorically, I would say that it is both a difference and a disability.

I'm not disabled, if anything I'm more abled, especially since all my peers waste their time doing pointless crap and acting like idiots in class (except they're not acting ).

Sorry if I sound arrogant, I don't mean to, but if you have seen my class then you would agree.

Ironically, I vehemently dislike the "differently-able" P.C. mentality. It insults the intellect by watering down the ugly truth that is life.

The first step in being one who overcomes is to be honest about the obstacles in your life.

A person in a wheelchair is disabled. None of the P.C. rah-rah or adaptation skills that person uses will fully replace being able to walk on two good legs (unless we perfect cloned replacements or bionic limbs).

To me, a person with AS will never fully function as a NT person does. No amount of coping or adaptation will make us 100% as NT people are. We can emulate NT behavior and try to build relationships as NTs do, but we never can be NT.

As much as we may dislike the "normal" label that NTs sling about, the fact is that if you have a part of you that does not function as a "normal" part should function, then you are more than just "different." You have a disability.

"Different" implies that what's at issue is something superficial that does not run to a matter of function. Having dark skin or light skin is a good example of that. Prejudice might make one color skin a disability, but otherwise, there is no impairment of function by being dark skinned.

"Disability" implies that there is impaired function. Repair the impairment and the disability ceases.

Last edited by zer0netgain on 09 Mar 2009, 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have seen many classes act very immature, but I think. that is common.

Thinking about my son & myself, I'd say that in NT society, we're considered 'disabled'. Here at home, I'd say we're pretty normal, with differences.

i refer to it as specialness

I'm tempted to answer "both."

I'd say I'm at an equilibrium of merely pros and cons in terms of mind and body, when compared to the larger percentile of individuals, BUT, what that translates into is that sometimes accomplishing anything for me is like rowing a boat with only one oar. (And by that I mean a row-boat and not a canoe)

I have met real people in real life with obvious physical and medical difficulties who resent being publicly referred to as "disabled" because they feel it's an overly negative term. They don't want to be pitied or ridiculed. They want to be treated with the same courtesy and respect as everyone else.

They'd much rather just be referred to as "John" or "Alice" etc than some arbitrary label or stereotype describing their physical conditions (though they are grateful for the productive help that they do receive) or have people talking to the pusher of the wheelchair than the person inside it . Still can't understand that. It's as if some people are afraid of the "disabled" or have a fear of people in chairs. It's just stupid .

These people certainly don't have a "defective" sense of humour or ability to express themselves.

These people have adamantly claimed that there's nothing "wrong" or "broken" with me at all and that I'm just me. They're right. I can walk around fairly easily.

If I have to work with a lot of people I can't identify with in a crowded and stressful situation and can keep up socially, I'd technically be "disabled".

If I'm doing technical work alone, I'm not disabled at all: I'm fantastically abled. The difference helps in that environmental context.

It also depends on whether other people choose to focus on the negatives or the positives.

Perhaps everyone is disabled and abled in different ways.

Some people's individual strengths and weaknesses might be more physically obvious than others. These strengths and weaknesses manifest in different ways in different environments. Some people can function in some kinds of environments better than others.

A little bit of both.

I'd have to say that my social dysfunction is a disability, caused by AS.

Some of my AS traits, such as stimming, uncommon vocabulary & special interests, don't constitute a disability - since they don't pose a problem for me in my everyday life.

Other of my AS traits, such as difficulty decoding non-verbal communication and (perhaps) certain routines/rituals, very likely contribute to my social dysfunction - so that's the disability component.

In all other respects, I have no disability. I have a great job, where I am probably the most highly-skilled person in my department (and I work with a lot of smart people.) I live on my own - as I have for pretty much my entire adult life - successfully manage my money, etc.

I just never have been able to figure out how to make friends, date, have lasting personal relationships, get married, etc.

For many decades, I wouldn't have even characterized my social issues as a disability - I got along perfectly well in all other areas of my life - was even quite successful. But in recent years, I've come to feel that these things are a definite disability. It wasn't until I started wanting social connections that my disability became evident.

Definitely difference as i find the word disability rather negative.

In my case, difference.

Perhaps a balanced approach would be more productive here taking into consideration both strengths and weaknesses.

I think it's kind of unfair and negative to just focus on what people can't do.

I think it is both. It is a difference to be celebrated, because of the unique strengths most of us have. It's a disability in my case because I can't work and have only one friend right now.

My BF and I were just talking about this and he would love to not be disabled. He would take the NT pill if it were available. I would not. I am passionate about the opposite view. He understands my point, that we need understanding and acceptance. He just would also like there to be a "cure."

He's pissed off though about all the money going into cure research, because he really doesn't think there will be a cure and it's a waste of money that could be put towards helping us instead of trying to fix us.

I'm off topic of the thread a litttle bit. Still, I think we have a beautiful difference, but we are also definitely disabled, to differing degrees.

AS is a feature, not a bug.

ruveyn

I understand your desire to think of AS in different and more positive ways, but it would be delusional to ignore the struggles and suffering of most people with AS. It is a very real and crippling condition for a lot of us. You can hide behind terms all you want but lets face reality, different is no better then being disabled. I was beat up and choked into unconsciousness because I was different, I was picked on because I was different, I was called every horrible name in existence because I was different, and to me different is every bit as bad as just calling it what it is...disability. Being different in the NT world is the difference between acceptance and rejection. In my opinion NTs have more trouble accepting differences then they do disability.

I'm sorry but if you do not think that AS is a disability it obviously doesn't cause a significant amount of distress in your life. By the very definition of what meets the criteria for a disorder/disability, it has to cause significant impairment in your life. If not you were probably misdiagnosed.

Last edited by Whimsi-Cal on 09 Mar 2009, 6:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.