Are you proud of having Asperger's?

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I am proud that I think differently from most everyone else I know. And I am proud to be an individual!! !

But Im not proud of the fact that I have never had a relationship and I can't drive and my social age is about 15.

I never understood pride in ones state that isn't under their control. It's like "proud gay" why? It doesn't make sense to me.

Anyway. I don't hate having Asperger's. Sure life would have been overall easier for me if I didn't have it; however, I would also miss out on a lot of things. I probably wouldn't know as much as I do now, that's for sure. What I dislike about Asperger's is probably just the odd behavior which drives others to treat me oddly. It's not Asperger's fault, it's the fault of the world for lacking tolerance.

I am proud of what I have accomplished despite the barriers autism and this society has put up for me. But I believe that autism has helped me overcome these problems. My stubbornness and strength and failure to 'be realistic' has helped me greatly over the years. Where would I be without my stims and special interests?

duh

It's also worth noting, about all those people telling you to act your age:

you seem to enjoy paying attention to topics that according to them "a child would be focused on". Hell, my family pulled the same on me. So what was the big alternative? They didn't have one.

Well, they kinda did: paying attention to "the way the world is, and how terrible things just suddenly now are, and how great they used to be"

Really. That was the best they had. Joining the crowd around the water cooler to complain about the stupid problems of the world that any of us could solve in 5 minutes flat.


Believe me, having your "childish" interests isn't anywhere near as bad as they'd leave you to believe; you're doing something constructive with yourself....and your knowledge will come in handy somewhere, at some point.

In their case, all they're doing is parroting some popular talking points here and there.

Yeah, throughout human history, no one's ever done that before, have they?

I wouldn't say I'm proud of it, as you said, it's not something we control. However, it's such a big part of me, it almost defines me. I'm afraid if that were to be taken away from me there would be little left.

I don't feel pride.

I find the question very confusing... That's like saying "are you proud to have brown eyes/red hair?", or "are you proud to be 5'7"?"... It isn't something to BE proud of - it's just part of who you are, something you're born with that you have little control over... I like my red hair, my eyes don't work as well as I'd like, but they're pretty and I'd love to be taller, but I can wear heels if I need... My AS traits, I like that I'm different, I don't like it when people bully me for being different. I would never want to be a sheep, I like that I can make up my own mind (without being programmed to follow fashion/celebs/gossip). I like that I can remember facts about specific things, I wish I was better at remembering birthdays...

None of them are particularly things to be proud of, but all of these make up who I am... I am proud to be who I am... And everyone is entitled to be proud of who they are, however they're made up, whatever labels can be tagged to them... !

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Edit: Doh! - I maybe should have read the rest of the thread - my post is pretty much saying "I agree!"

It is not childish to not want to marry and have children. Not childish at all. In fact, in some ways, it's sensible. Every single adult I know have split up from their partner (apart from the elderly generation). There's probably about 2 couples I know who have stayed together, and even then they don't sound all lovey-dovey anymore - they're just plodding along together. The couples I know who have only just got married or are just dating are the only people I know who are together (obviously) but I bet I know where their relationship ends up in a few years to come. About ninety-five per cent of relationships often go out the window in the end.
And as for having kids these days - it's no ''crime'' if you don't want any. Personally, I want to get married some day, but I've made up my mind now about kids - there's no way that I am having kids because I just know that they will be Autistic (knowing my luck), and I'm not bringing Autistic children into this world. And there's more reasons than as to why I'm not having children.
So you are not childish just because you decide not to get married and have children. My neighbour (who is NT) is 22 and she's been to university and has got a degree in law, and wants to train to be a lawyer. She says she wants a career - she doesn't want kids and she doesn't want to get married. All she wants is to to never give up what she's aiming for, and it will take time, but in years to come she will be earning very good money, and also doing something she has chosen to do. And she will make friends with other high-class people, and I think she will do far better in life than my other neighbour, who is only 17 and already is bogged down with 2 babies, and her boyfriend has already left her because he just had the 2 kids without even deciding on whether he wanted them or not.
Once you have kids, your life is over (so they say).
There are loads of other ways to live your life - kids and marriages aren't always the answer.