Is Asperger's syndrome / autism a disability?

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Let me list a few of the ways in which AS has been a disability for me:

- Impaired social interaction.
I have no friends or close interpersonal relationships. I can't seem to keep people around, and I'm confused as hell when I try to do so. I have problems with the expression and regulation of emotion, I misinterpret other peoples' words and actions all the time, and I just can't "get" the nuances of social interaction. This also causes problems with things such as job interviews and the workplace. Thus, I've been underemployed, at a level below my qualifications, as a result.

- Sensory issues.
I have heightened sensitivities to sound, especially. Particular sounds will totally unnerve me and cause me to become completely distracted and panicked. Certain environments, filled with certain sounds, are places I find incredibly difficult to go.

- Narrowly-focused interests.
My obsession is plants. And I think about my plants and work with them as much as possible, to the exclusion of responsibilities of home and family. The people who are in my life end up feeling ignored and neglected.

- Panic/Anxiety attacks and Meltdowns.
Sensory and social issues, left unaddressed, will cause me to panic and meltdown. Depending on when and where this happens, the result can be disastrous. I've lost jobs because I was panicking and having meltdowns at work, and it caused me to be unable to perform the duties of my job. Giant stores, lit with fluorescent lights, create a mild form of anxiety that basically short-circuits my brain, and I have trouble remembering/finding whatever it was I actually came for.

I could keep going, but I think you get the point.
For me, AS is a disability. It prevents me from getting the most out of life. It makes my days harder than they should be. Sure there are interesting things about it... abilities and perceptions that, in certain ways, can exceed those of NT people. But I've been far more hurt than helped by having AS.

This is the part that autistics often claim as evidence for them being disabled, but I don't see how that makes any sense. Blacks, historically, were segregated, not just in the South, but that was where segregation was worst and lasted the longest. Did that make them disabled? No.

Just because other people ostracize you for their own lack of understanding does not make you disabled.

Yup. Most of the things people think are really bad about autism tend to be things that are actually really bad about prejudice. If we got a fair deal, I bet there'd be a lot less people out there trying to find a way to abort autistic fetuses.

Actually, this is true of just about any disability. Give them a fair deal, and most of what was bad about being disabled instantly vanishes. The rest tends to be things you can live with.

Mild AS is a gift, not a problem.

ruveyn

My AS has been disabling for me, so it is therefore a disability. If you don't have social or communication problems, how do you even have an ASD?

ASD's can be both a disability and a gift at the same time. It really depends on where you are on the spectrum. Those on the low end most likely see it as a major disability, while those on the high end it is less disabling. It's always a disability to some degree, it's just that that degree varies from case to case.

I think those of us on the high end are often even more likely to see is as a disability because we tend to be more aware of our difficulties and differences than someone very low-functioning.

In what ways do you see AS as a gift? (I'm not suggesting you're wrong, just interested)

Well, I for one am not tempted to follow the crowd, and thanks to my intelligence level in part, I have a more mature viewpoint than many others my age. I also think the fact that my IQ is so high that I was able to learn social skills in an anaylitical sense (as opposed to NT's who have social skills in an intuitive sense), which in turn made my AS more manageable and less obvious to the untrained eye.

I am definitely glad I don't really follow the crowd as well. That has probably saved me from getting involved in a lot of crap other kids my age did in school. I also kind of like how I get engrossed in my interests. But generally I view my AS as more of a problem than anything. I've managed to develop a lot of coping mechanisms and ways of working out social things, but not being able to understand these things intuitively is something that still causes a lot of problems for me. No matter how much I try to learn these things, I still can't seem to put it into practice in social situations. Sensory problems are also a definite problem.

But how has any of that been beneficial to you? I have a high IQ and am generally considered smarter than most, but due to my circumstances, I can't really say it benefits me in any way.

Same here really. I struggled a lot in secondary school, despite being capable of doing much better. This was IMO mainly down to undiagnosed AS. Society doesn't reward intelligence first and foremost.

There has been a lot of discussion about AS being a difference or a disability. I guess it's up to the individual to decide. As has been said, "You've met one person with AS, you've met one person with AS."

We try to break autism and AS up into degrees like mild/moderate/severe. So where am I? I am moderate AS, and also by definition I am an autistic savant (talented type). I once listed all my positives against all my negatives on a post---and there were more negatives than positives. But yet those who see me on here note me as being positive. I focus on the positives---I have to in order to not be miserable in this NT world.

So why do I view it as a difference for me rather than a disability? Easy, I believe God made me autistic for a reason---so therefore it is not a disability for me. It is the way I was designed. (And please note---I am not pushing religion on anyone here---as I have said---it is my belief---it is how I view myself in this world). He made me different from the NT world---and the NTs are different than those in the autistic world. If an NT person moved to a community made up of only AS people, I do not believe the NT person would be disabled---instead, I would view the NT person as different.

Well, that's my view of AS. I have more negatives than positives. I have been to therapy for issues. I get depressed like others here. I frustrate my family a lot. I have nearly lost my job on several occasions. I lose my sense of direction easily. I have serious sensory issues---and I mean serious. I have virtually no friends. I have comorbid OCD. And...well the list goes on. But...I am not disabled in my opinion because I operate in my AS world in the way I feel I was meant to. I have gifts that have gotten me through life so far. I am different. And...have you ever met an NT person without problems? I don't think so. And does that make them disabled? No, just challenged in areas. I am challenged in areas. So perhaps I have just redefined how I view my AS in this world. I am different with challenges. And this is not denying my AS issues. It is how I seriously view it.

And here is an interesting note. We that are autistic tend to measure ourselves according to the rules of the NT world. But, you know what? NTs only make up 40% of the world's population. That means 60% of people on earth are not NT. Autistics make up a small percentage of that 60%. But, if not being NT creates disabilities in people that don't seem to fit that ideal NT blueprint, then 60% of the people on earth would be considered disabled. I just can't buy that. I can't imagine the majority of a population being disabled since they do not fit the NT criteria. Everyone one on earth is different. No two people are alike.

Since this is an opinionated topic, I realize there is plenty of room for debate within each posting here---mine included. I can see where the argument for disability can be seen as valid. But---it is how each of us choose to view ourself. Even though I have moderate AS with plenty of negative type traits---I still choose to view myself as different. And if someone else had been given my exact same traits---they could easily view it as a disability. It's just how we view ourself.

And now here is the most important part of my view as to why I view my AS as a difference:

If I focused on my negatives more than my positives---then I would say I am disabled. But since I focus on my positives---I am different.

It's good that you focus on the positives, but that doesn't dictate whether or not something is a disability IMO. Anyone with any kind of disability could focus more on the positives, but that doesn't take away the negatives, or change what it is. When it comes down to it, having AS is about having social and communication problems. That is disabling in a society that puts so much emphasis on these things and in which related skills are almost always necessary if you wanna be successful. Yes, we're different, but I still think that AS is a disability. If you're not disabled by it, then surely it wouldn't be AS?

Last edited by Kasanova on 24 Jun 2009, 11:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Maybe you have different circumstances then. All that I'm saying is that AS, despite being a disability in definition, has some positive aspects. Maybe perhaps its (and shitsurei shimasu if this offends you) the fact that, rather than accepting the label of "disability" as a life sentence, I accept it as a challenge, and use my talents to attempt to lessen it's impact on my life. It's the difference between a false prophecy and a self-fulfilling one.

I completely agree about doing whatever you can to lessen the problems and deal with whatever you find difficult because of the AS. I'm not suggesting that we should sit back and accept we're not going to be able to do this and that.

I did not say you were, friend. To want to use your talents to lessen your shortcomings is a noble goal. There are some, however, who fail to understand that. They gain a pessimistic view on life because of their own shortcomings due to AS and other factors. They think that this disability has made them worthless, and slip further and further into depression. They fail to realize that every being on this planet has worth. That's the first step, knowing that you are worth something. Realizing one's positive attributes, and using them to lessen the impact on the negative, is a philosophy that I think everyone here should follow, regardless of diagnosis.