Aspies - Are you "ill" ?

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So do I.

But then again some people aren't that quiet.

I think that this whole AS thing desperately needs a more scientific and measurable definition and better classification of different types and severities.

An illness (disease) requires proper physical and medical testing.

As far as I'm aware, AS at the moment has no such objective test or measure: it's all subjective assessment. Someone judges whether you're "normal" or "abnormal" based on a set of criteria.

I myself have had depression and difficulties, but I don't consider myself to be ill. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time: stuff like that happens.
Sometimes one's personality doesn't fit with in with the environment.

In my experience I am not "ill", but I appreciate that other people's interpretations and experiences will be different.

There's also this thorny issue of where personality ends and supposed "psycho-pathology" begins and what normal is.

If someone is distressed, I think that they should seek help (as long as the help is appropriate and the person isn't stigmatised, which doesn't always happen).

If say someone is acting in an "inconvenient" way (and isn't harming anyone or damaging property), but their family isn't happy with it, but the person in question is happy...I'm not so sure. Should there be intervention?

Is that person really "ill"?

The word "disease", kind of implies an "uneasiness" on the part of the patient. So if the person is otherwise happy and physically functioning, is s/he diseased?

I haven't got a clue...

I wish that there were better more precise definitions of these words and better scientific understanding. There'd be less confusion and misunderstanding that way.

Last edited by AmberEyes on 05 May 2009, 8:52 am, edited 2 times in total.

^^
I reckon you're right, Daniel......we picked on a detail and didn't see the big picture.

You're getting very good at putting yourself into NT shoes By all the laws of the game, we aren't supposed to be able to do that.

That's worrying, because these words refer to different concepts and therefore have different definitions.

These words don't mean the same thing.

Not in a medical or psychological dictionary.

This is how misunderstandings can happen.

O, I have quite a bit of insight (many doctors have commented on such too; they say the level of such I have is actually rare for someone with an ASD especially--go figure. My father who has AS has near-zero insight. I guess I was lucky in this regard), it's just not always on the right time.

For what it's worth, I posted a follow up comment. It's quite possible she may never read, but others may. The text follows below:

I know you may not read this, but I feel the need to comment anyways.

Teri, no one is saying or insinuating that you are a bad parent. It is absolutely wonderful that your son is doing so well and that he got the help that he so desparately needed. When I was a child, I didn't have that option. (I am also extremely lucky because I only mildly lean towards AS and was able to overcome major obstacles on my own.) Your son has a family that loves him dearly and will give him the best, and that is the absolute most important thing that you can provide.

Unfortunately, many of us with AS have a tendency to take things a bit literally. I think the original person with AS honed in on the word "illness" which implies to many of us that we need "curing." Many of us (especially adults with AS) feel that it is a condition and not an illness. Certainly it can prevent major obstacles for kids growing up.

In fact, you didn't even state your opinion about AS being an illness. Your statement that it is "finally being recognized as a neurological illness" meant to highlight that there are now so many more resources for people with AS then there once were. And we all agree that is a wonderful thing. It's obvious to me by the tone of your original post that you would never try to "cure" your son of his AS completely; you simply want to help him get over his obstacles as much as you can. What parent wouldn't want to do that?

On one hand, I don't see myself as abnormal and I like my thought patterns the way they are...

on the other hand, people tell me I they try and tell me things or work with me, and I either don't understand or get the wrong ideas.

But calling that an illness is going too far. There are genuine illnesses, like cancer or AIDS. AS isn't one of them.

I've just remembered something. Before I knew of AS and had a label, a manager at work once said how my colleagues were uneasy around me and "We've never had to work with someone as ill as you." I think they were picking up on my sensitivities and other quirks.

I agree.

We need another word.
Or at least a group of words.

We probably need a different angle to approach this whole issue from.


Biological variation?

Could AS traits be difficult for someone manage in really high doses, but "beneficial" in some way in lower doses?

Or is that wrong?
Who are we to judge what's supposedly "beneficial" or not?

Be beneficial in some environments, but less so in others?
Like a specialised organism would be?


I suppose depends on the person and the environment.
Also the person's interpretation of the situation.

Doesn't surprise that some anti-cure people would go over the top and take the little things in this blog completely out of context. No NT is gonna be an expert on AS in this lifetime (I've come to accept that) but insulting the blog writer for trying to help other NT people understand AS is a bit pushing it.

I think I misinterpreted your post, but my first reaction was... Aren't the NTs a little fixated on this part of an ASD person?

I did notice at least one post that was pretty aggressive, yes........but also I think maybe the sheer volume of posts aimed at this one issue was bound to be overwhelming - the most angry post there might not have come over as so threatening if it had been the only post about that issue. My post was the last of the lot (before the walkout), and although it wasn't unfriendly in itself, I guess I wouldn't have posted it if I'd stopped to think how it would add to the weight of the attack. Right or wrong, we're not likely to win any friends out there by pissing people off who probably never meant to piss us off.

I agree......those people are simply frustrated because they can't get you to understand what they intuitively feel anybody should be easily able to understand. Rather like trying to talk to somebody who doesn't understand English, only the speaker doesn't realise that they don't understand English. So they think you're somehow "not all there" or "not quite right" in some way, because they can't see your (essentially invisible) impairment. It's not exactly their fault, though if people were taught a little more patience and (perhaps) respect for others, they'd probably be less likely to judge you that way when they patently don't know all the facts.

It's a cruel irony that neurotypicals so often don't bother to put themselves into other people's shoes in such situations, when they're presumably quite able to do so, while at the same time Aspies so often can't reciprocate because of the brain-wiring thing. Small wonder Aspies and NTs have a reputation for disliking each other.

I suspect that it's because NTs simply are ignorant (literally, not as a judgement of their personality) that there are folks out there like us. Heck, I was completely ignorant of ASDs until last week! For instance, most people think that people with autism are visibly mentally handicapped (as in lower IQ). This is why education on the issues is so important.

I think you're right.....somehow I always expect too much of the human race.....it's just so annoying, the way they can be so quick to say that person's an idiot/weirdo/nutcase/malingerer or whatever diminutive label they like to use, when the only objective thing they can say is that they don't understand their behaviour. Perhaps education is the only way, though I think there will be a lot of individuals who just won't want to know, the ones who prop up their own egos by making others out to be inferior. But I don't suppose that's an "illness" peculiar to NTs - no offense to present company, I just mean it's a sad part of human behaviour in general, and yet it seems so obviously hideous that I can't understand why society hasn't purged it out of everybody. Whatever happened to love?

I'm gonna do the 'aspie' thing and spell it out logically

I'm not normal by normal's standards. If I'm not normal, I'm different.

So I guess you could just say that we're different.

Its funny, the more experience we get, the more we realize that all of our hangups are sheerly psychological. Like getting hung up on a detail or a word.

You know (to digress), that really is why (when writing) people like us can be such good writers, or editors even. We can notice an incorrect detail, get hung up on it, and figure out what would be the most logical replacement.

I think we all can be very successful in very interesting and meaningful proffesions. Our mental processes give us that ability. We all just need to rise above (overcome) all the other stupid hangups we have. It isn't easy, but I think it can be done.

On a random note, does anyone else feel like they're in their bodies, just waiting for their head to get caught up to where it should be? Like you're in some sort of process? That's how I feel sometimes too. As in, I know what I should be doing or how I should react, but I still can't muster the correct response to it. Almost as if you're ahead of the game against your own physical? It's like your trapped or something.

Edit: Also, I feel like I get stuck in various 'modes' of thinking. Until I realize some new way to think, I'll harp on the same stuff over and over

I guess I'm also pretty god damn compulsive, because I feel the need to post any new thought I have. I think it is a good thing though, sorta theraputic, so this compulsiveness isn't in a bad thing. It's also because I'm bored.

Last edited by seedub on 06 May 2009, 10:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

True, it's very annoying. But it also highlights that they have their own issues to deal with. Unfortunately they take it out on other folks. It's their problem to purposefully be that way, so don't make it your problem by worrying about it.