Why are you proud of having AS?

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In that case, I'm proud of what I can DO with my AS. That's like someone being tall being proud of winning the High-jump, right?

So, in other words, I've been making a big deal out of absolutely nothing!

+1

Sometimes I wish society concentrated on people being proud for their acheivements and what they do with the cards they are dealt but it seems that that is considered elitism and we really should be proud of arbitrary nonsense such as our skin colour, genes, cultural heritage and the religeon that we only consider ourselves a part of because our parents did.

There is a big danger in minority communities for people to overcompensate against prejudice and start making assertations such as the fact that their minority group is better, they are proud to be in it, the 'others' are dumb and non-worthy of respect or individual consideration etc. That disease is obviously prevalent on this forum. For example look how the word 'NT' is used primarily in a pejorative context in posts on here, look how people constantly write how they are more intelligent and glad to have Aspergers because they are brighter and more intelligent than the 'stupid' NTs. It reminds me of a book I saw when I was looking for information on Einstein for a biographical sketch I was writing. The book was about Jewish winners of the Nobel prize and its opening comments were along the lines that the Jewish people had provided so many Nobel Laureates as they were a more intelligent people and it just left me thinking 'So you are claiming traits concerning the population of the whole religeon? Isn't that just what the Nazi's did?' I think if you are against people making sweeping pejorative statements about minority groups then you should be just as cynical about supposed positive traits. Why can't we just agree that people are different and not try to claim that some groups are better than others and show humility rather than false pride based on the shallow meaning of the fact that we have one genetic characteristic as opposed to another.

Rubbish. What is the basis for this? I think that is an (incorrect) oversimplification of how the brain develops and functions.



Again...I don't have a clue what the basis for this comment is but I don't agree at all.



I disagree; most diagnostic procedures talk of ruling out those with extremely low IQ/retardation etc. That isn't the same as saying that a particularly high IQ is a diagnostic criterion but rather a particularly low IQ is a symptom that suggests another diagnosis.

We only LOOK smart due to our logical thinking.

My personal opinion is that people with Aspergers are often considered intelligent as children because they become very interested in an isolated area and people naively mistake a deep interest for intelligence; they think that if someone knows many facts, even on the most shallow of levels that it is a sign of intelligence. A lot of people with an intense interest tend to treat it like stamp collection; they collect up facts, figures and lists but don't take the time to consider, ponder or expend deep thought on any subjects. I mean, look at popular culture, we have popular quiz shows like 'Mastermind' and things like that that only serve to further align the collation of a body of meaningless facts (without any association with consideration thought or understanding) with the concept of intelligence.

Also, in popular culture, the whole concept of being a so called 'geek' or 'nerd' is mistakenly confused with intelligence. There are a hell of a lot of geeks and nerds out there of average or below average intelligence; you only need to have had some experience with IRC to verify that

So, am I right to say I'm proud of what I can DO with AS instead of AS itself?

Well I suppose it depends on your moral standpoint but personally I have a respect for pride in ones acheivements.
On the other hand I feel an element of contempt towards pride in those characteristics over which one has no control e.g. inherited wealth, genetic makeup, race etc.

Yeah, you shouldn't be proud of being rich if you didn't earn it, you should be proud of what you DO with it to help others (if you decide to do that).

I'm proud of my AS because I'm able to come up with witty comments and make everybody laugh. I came up with a carton of milk which said 'Batteries not included'.

By why do you need to characterise your life by your AS? Can't you just be proud of the fact that you are witty in isolation instead of feeling the need to state that 'your AS causes it'. Think about it, some people with AS are witty others aren't...so it probably isn't AS that causes wit or lack thereof.

I guess so, but my different way of thinking about things allows me to come up with things that'd take a 'normal' person some serious thought to come up with. true, my AS doesn't cause it, but it makes it a lot easier, and I like that, therefore, I am proud.

You don't know that everything in your life is connected to your AS and bringing it into everything isn't always helpful or meaningful - everyone is different and claiming that you have talents that are specific to AS is tenuous at best.

Well how am I supposed to know?! I'm only 16!!

I thought that was a darn good example if you ask me... I like my uniqueness anyway...

ACTUALLY, historically, AS people ARE supposed to have a high verbal IQ. Still, excluding lower ones DOES push the average higher. AND, one way in which autism is different from MR in that parts of the brain that aren't used for something are generally used for something else. SO what you call rubbish IS NOT rubbish, it is just true! Sorry if it sounds too simple. Some people get lucky and they find their strengths quickly. Some may not ever find them.

Steve

I'm proud of having AS as, it has allowed me to understand the world from an unorthodox manner yet, Truthfully I've been hindered in some areas of my life mainly, friendships & relationships but, I've not let that stop me. So, even if I have AS it's no different from any other strange phenomenon in this world.

ProfessorX

There is a big difference between average intelligence being higher and especially high intelligence being a diagnostic criterion.

It is equivalent to saying that the subset of the adult population over 5 feet tall are taller than average than the entire adult population. You don't have to be particularly tall to be in the first group you just won't be in it if you are particularly short.

In terms of verbal IQ, the same thing applies; the diagnostic criteria says that a person with AS should not have low verbal IQ and should not have shown sign of excessively late speech development.



I think this is a complete oversimplification. I don't think that there has been any study that actually specifies an exact area of the brain that should be used for 'social functions' that isn't utilised to this extent in Aspergians. If it were so then diagnosis would be simpler.