Use of the word "autism"

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I thought so. This only makes sense to me because I've had BDD/OCD tendencies all my life. When I was 7 years old I changed my underwear and socks several times a day because any sign of wetness disgusted me. As a teenager I looked at myself in reflections constantly and got very compulsive about dieting and weight training. Going through the effort to "fix" one particular obsession never cured me. As soon as I felt satisfied with one aspect my mind would shift focus to something new. It's like trying to force a water balloon into a closed fist - you push one end in and the other end pops out between your fingers. My obsessions are always changing.

As I said in a post I made a few minutes ago, I have a few good reasons why I usually don't refer to myself as having "Asperger's," I view it one and the same with classic Autism, but only as a different level.

It also amuses me and makes me feel a bit more proud when it comes the need for me to say I have it, "No way, I had no idea!!" But that's only because my social skills are much better since the last couple years, when I can now fit in with the majority of people I meet.

I use the words autism or autistic when referring to anyone on the spectrum including my daughter and myself. We both are dx'd Asperger's. Autistic resonates with me better and somehow just makes me feel happier. *shrug* I never got into the whole "person with autism" stuff. That feels yucky.

For me it is the opposite. I get a irritated when people say that I seem to be normal, when I tell them that I have AS or autism. I don't want to be normal! Normal is boring. I want to be autistic and just be so clever and streetwise that I seem "normal".

From now on I am going to be autistic, because no one knows what AS is, and no one will believe that I am an autist.

Saying "I'm autistic" if you have AS is like saying "I have cancer" if you have leukemia.[/quote]


You say it again and again, and guess what! you are wrong! leukemia IS a type of cancer. There are plenty types of cancers all belonging to the "cancer spectrum". Cancer is not A disease but it has so many types. It is a situation where cells multiple rapidly and cause dysfunction on plenty areas that they are spreading. In leukemia they spread in the blood causing the white cells to multiple against the balance of the blood cells. Anyway, it is not the way that you see yourself, it is how others see you. We can't understand we have something wrong if we don't compare our way of living with others. Anyone who managed to accomplish that can see the real difference between normal and autistic. A person with a post before stated it very well, its a situation where the person is more introverted in her/his self, but introverted so much that can't live. There it's where the spectrum arrives, either it is too much (lfa) or it is not too much (hfa) where you can communicate in some areas but never in a satisfying level.

Autistic people tend to repeat themselves a lot! And you are doing exactly that. They are also very stubborn, and have their own ideas of how things work, they are not good in groups, they are to honest and they are usually not that good in social situations! And the other things you wrote about yourself are also common traits for autistic people!

In this thread you have demonstrated all of the above. You have AS!! !

I have AS myself but no one has ever noticed it. So actually you are more autistic than I am!

For clarity and specificity I would use the term "Autism Spectrum" to include both Autism (as defined in the DSM) and Asperger's Syndrome (or Condition.) "Spectrum" could be used for brevity. I used to find the abbreviation: "AS" confusing since I couldn't be sure if it meant "Autism Spectrum" or "Asperger's Syndrome." I don't object to being called autistic, but it isn't as clear. I think that "AS" here on WP usually means Asperger's Syndrome, but I can never be sure.

Would you mind elaborate on that, wigglyspider? I'd be very interested in learning more if you're comfortable sharing info on this.

Sometimes I say Aspies/AS and auties/autism, and the latter will usually mean the classic type. Which basically rules out PDD-NOS and atypical… While other times I will use the term autism and mean any ASD/ASC, or simply use ASDs/ASCs. Didn’t that make it clearer?!

When I say autistic people I mean anyone on the spectrum.

When I inform people of my diagnosis and they don’t know what Asperger’s is, I just say that it’s a form of high functioning autism.

When I have difficulties with people due to autistic traits, like my lack of eye contact, I say ”I’m an autist, eye contact is torture for me”. People often know some of the things that are difficult for us, so by invoking autism, they more easily get it.

I definitely see myself as autistic.
Before I was dx’ed, I was very preoccupied with AS vs HFA vs PDD-NOS vs NLD, but the more time I spend on sites like this the more difficult I think it is to distinguish between them. There is a reason why it is called a spectrum.
For instance, my extreme lack of need for social contact as well as my aloofness and spacing out might be considered closer to classic autism.

Simon Baron-Cohen classifies ASDs this way (from ”Autism and Asperger syndrome the facts”):
”AS: IQ above 85 and no speech delay
HFA: IQ above 85 and speech delay
MFA: IQ 71-84, with or without speech delay
LFA: IQ less than 70, with or without speech delay
Atypical: either atypical late onset or atypical because of having only one rather than two of the core features (social communication difficulties and narrow interests and repetitive actions)
PDD-NOS: where the features are too mild to warrant a clear-cut diagnosis of autism or Asperger syndrome, but where the individual has more than the usual number of autistic traits”

It seems like generally HFAs tend to be better at block design and maths, while Aspies have high verbal IQ.


@ Rocky: AS is Asperger syndrome. ASD (ASC) is autism spectrum disorder (autism spectrum condition).

Even though I was diagnosed with Asperger's I also use the word autistic to refer to myself. The reason is that I seem to have both aspects of HFA and Asperger's, and it seems as if the lines between milder forms of autism are almost arbitrary.

You do sound like you have either HFA or very severe AS, judging from other posts where you described some of the problems you suffer from.

(and yes, I notice that you do have a very high verbal acuity. Your posts are strangely restful to read, because you talk in logic and facts very intricately, and you describe things in lots of detail. Its oddly soothing to my mind. Almost all ASers have this trait too, but you have it to an extreme degree. It's a cool thing.)

i was looking for the reactions to zoonics post and it baffles me that i only found one and it was on page three while zoonics post was on the first, i expected to see a lot more comments about this.

i dont respect people who only look at the outside and dont stop to think that its only the surface they are seeing,do you think looking good on the outside and behaving ''normal'' will make you a better person then others who dont ?.

from what you said in your posts im sure you are a lot better at hiding your as and appearing normal then me but you dont get my respect. WHAT no respect ?? but im so ridiculously goodlooking how can you not have respect for that ! !!.

I call mine autism certainly I generally think its a lot easier in the UK for people to understand when yo say autistic not aspergic. I say autistic because other tha aspergers in diagnosis stage I have dyslexia and dysphraxia with meers irlan syndrome I'm also albino so yes my genetics are muddled lol, I say autistic because dyslexia certainly is something not assosiated with AS, I used to say I have AS but since I found out about 2 months ago my view point changed but not compltely, AS certainly has a greater hold and more influence than the others except being very visually impaired lol.

most aspies I have met say aspie though but on here its more autisitc, wonder if that is because britishness and not american or canadian preference

I have explained to a few people that I was mildly autistic....because if I say I have Asperger's....a. they more-often than not, don't know what I am talking about and b. I am not officially diagnosed with Asperger's...I was only assessed as having AS...so if I say I have Asperger's, i still feel like I am lying

The only times I bring it up to people is when I act badly in front of them and it is more cathartic that just flipping back and forth like a confused and irritable puppet while they stand there not understanding why....and the act of telling them is in and of itself stressful...and I always regret it...but I don't know what else to say.

I havn't told anyone yet, but I'm not going to use the term "Autistic", instead I'll describe some of my symptoms. It's hard to explain that Autism isn't equal to mental retardation, especially when a lot of people are borderline mentally ret*d themselves

I don't tell many people, but when I do I say that I am autistic, and have never used the term Aspergers in describing myself. People can't tell by looking at me or by the way I speak that I am autistic, but that doesn't make me any less so.

If two people have eczema, one with it all over his/her face for all to see and the other with a spot on his/her back, they both still have eczema. However, if the person with the spot his/her back so chooses, he/she can leave his shirt on and deny having the same condition as the other because she doesn't have visible facial sores. So it appears to be with Zoonic. His AS/autism isn't as obvious as it is with some others, so it can't be the same condition.

I read that some people recoil from using the term autistic because they perceive that it evokes a stereotype that they don't fit, most notably mental retardation. Well, it seems to me that Aspergers also evokes stereotypes that I, and probably many others, don't fit, and I think that chopping the spectrum up into phoney categories is a mug's game. So autistic I will be. And how I wish some NT would suggest in some way that I am mentally deficient. The ensuing conversation would surely be the highlight of my month!

i mention it places like on my YouTube Page..etc..(because that's the reason I sorta started my account in the first place...and I used to talk about it, but have since set most of those videos to private)...and i have noticed that sometimes people who come to my venue...(often much younger than me) treat me with total kid gloves, and i sorta wonder if maybe they have seen my You Tube page or if they are just reacting that way to my childlike demeanor...But I do think that maybe people might get autism mixed up with mental retardation....The general population really does not know that much about it for the most part.
A long time ago, before I identified with AS, Flakey's friend who lived with us would get really mad and rant and rave about how there was something wrong with me and that I seemed to be "borderline ret*d"..just because I am odd...and i had to argue back that I have an above average IQ...i just communicate somewhat differently...and whatnot....

As far as Asperger's goes....though I more-or-less fit the criteria..I think I may present as atypical to some people...(provided they even know what Asperger's is)....who have certain ideas of what a person with Asperger's is supposed to be like....Just like I don't represent the stereotype of what people who don't know very much associate autism with.