If you could be nuerotypical...

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Tough call, since I have come to appreciate also some of the traits that come with AS. If I could choose though, I would definitely exchange some of the "other" parts of AS that are no good for me (isolation, lack of social skills, patologic shyness) for being given the gift of a satisfactory, romantic relationship.

Coming to think of it, that's just about the only thing I seriously miss. (that, and being able to "sell yourself" in business without feeling like an idiot).

HaHa. That puts it all in perspective

If I had to choose though, i would go NT, it sems that NT people just "magically" know everything in social situations, AS has some good traits, but as being AS I often make a complete fool of myself

hard to say. i would like to have an easier time socializing. But on the other hand, AS has given me alot of gifts that I cherish. So iam basically split.
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I want to meet some of those NTs! I think I am a lot happier than EVERY NT I know. I'd really like to spend time with some NTs who are relaxed, happy, and at peace with their lives.

I wouldn't want to be anybody except who I am. I have weaknesses, everyone does, but I enjoy my strengths and talents. I can learn quickly and easily -- I can focus on a task or new skill or bit of information until I know it perfectly. I am creative, and enjoy art in many forms. I am very organized. That's not to say there isn't clutter here and there around my home, but that is a side-effect of having 6 people living here!

In that case I can but only envy you..... I've always been deeply uncomfortable with being me, and still am, even if a bit less so post-AS awareness..... Sure, most NTs are unhappy too, but they're generally unhappy because of things going wrong with areas of their lives that I can't even approach getting to having myself because of my own deeper issues......

I would be NT in a second if someone offered that possibility. I'm smart when it comes to school stuff, but I also know people who are just as good as me who are NT, so I don't think it's an Aspie trait.

I would just love to understand social situations and people. I took a test a couple of years ago where you tried to identify peoples' emotions by their faces. I thought all but one of them were angry! Turns out I can only identify happy, sad, and angry in myself and other people. So there's no way I can read anything more subtle, or tell if someone's lying or hiding an emotion.

Something for you to think on:

In the story of the man born blind (John 9), it was being cured by Jesus that caused the man to be thrown out of the community. It isn't always the disability that causes the difficulty.

And it isn't true that NTs always "magically" know the social stuff. When they have to communicate with someone from another culture, they often need guidance, or they will make mistakes. And NTs do not "magically" know an Aspie's mind, either.

You're absolutely right that socially, AS is hard. On the other hand - so are many other things. Think of people who are visibly different from the "norm", who have all the social skills and understanding but still aren't taken seriously.

Just... something to think about.

When I was young I'd probably have jumped at the chance to have a "normal" life. Now that I'm older I know that my past (however ugly) has made me the successful and happy person I am today. Reaching back and changing the past could only have made my present much worse.

I'd be NT until the age of 28, then AS afterwards.

I'd be NT from birth until I graduated from college and become established in a job. Now that I am doing well in my chosen field, I see how the AS traits help me do my job. Now, if only they would rub off on my chatterbox office mate....

If I had been NT, I would have turned out a lot like my father. Very outgoing with many friends, interested in sports and cars. A typical high IQ NT young man. Without my autism I would have never developed my various obessions which I have in my life.

I would been an academic high achiever. I would gone on and studied at the University of Tasmania, The University of Melbourne or Monash University. Which studies I would have chosen, I am not sure. Probably either Law or Science.

I would want to stay AS, seeing how much NT's live in the box i would not like to live that life, regardless of the difficulties. I like the freedom aof free thinking and feeling. I enjoy being different, the difficulties are hard somtimes, but who wants to be like everyone else?

If I had to choose now I'd chose to stay like I am. I'll soon have my university diploma and enter the real world, and since I'm willing to pretty much dedicate my life to my career, I hope to succeed at it. If I don't, well that's that, it's going to be too late for me to change anyway.

One thing I know, if I have kids some day, if the brave new world of designer genes ain't here yet, I'll adopt. I wouldn't want to them to go through what I had to, I'd just want them to lead an happy life going with the flow of things, autism is just too much trouble.

So yes I'd stay that way because that's what I define as "me" but I wouldn't wish it upon anyone I care about.

Before I found out I had AS, it was so frustrating trying to be like everyone else.....and failing every single time. I could never get it right whatever "it" was and stumbled trying to find a version of "it" that was socially acceptable, that would make it easier and less frightening to talk with others and would make them want to talk and be seen with me. But even with being out on my own, graduating from university and getting a "real" job, "it" continued to elude me.

What is "it" exactly? Is it that worldly brass that makes people know intuitively that you are one that commands respect? Is it an amount of magnetism that draws people? Not necessarily anything to do with money and power, although that helps, but something that conveys that I belong in this world? Well, after years of struggle, I've come to realize that's something I'll probably never have because in order to have the respect of the majority, I would have to be the majority.

Although my brain is wired differently, that doesn't make me defective. It's other people who see me as such and just because that's what they believe doesn't make it so. Some people even think the dark pigmentation of my skin makes me inferior but I don't have to own anyone's perception of me.

If I didn't have AS, that would mean my brain would physically change, therefore I would no longer be "me" and I've begun to like "me" just fine, social anxiety, awkwardness and all. My gifts wouldn't exist if it wasn't for my life experiences dealing with AS or my brain's wiring and there's no way I'd want to lose any of them. I hope what does change is society's view of people like me who are different and that they quit acting in fear and instead act out in acceptance.

I would choose to stay AS. I have a lot of struggles (having one now) but overall I admire the person I am and I would not be that person without AS. I am surrounded by NTs and I don't think they have it all that easy. They not only get the issues and guilt from inside but also from the outside because they know what others are thinking.

Anyway I don't think life as an NT would have been any easier for me so I would choose the emotionless world I have than the one of emotions I see the NTs around me live in.

Y

wrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Why? If I remove my AS, I am no longer me, therefore, I would not wish to change the me that I am.