Is this always the case?

Post Reply New Topic

Every person so far I have met with aspergers (about 4) have come across to me as a little geeky or ecentric.

Is this always the case?

I myself have dyslexia but for some reason were not as ecentric as aspies.

I'm a very eccentric person.

I am both geeky and eccentric. It works for me! I cant speak for anyone else though. I do see what you mean however- it is why I feel at home here!

If i compared myself to a geek, it would have to be Cliffy B.
fashion and Gorey video games, Hell yea

I definitely am a computer geek. I'm so sad that I don't get much opportunity to fool around with computers. I want to put together a computer so badly. I love helping people with their computer problems.

If statistics hold true and AS only affects about 1 in every 150 people, you're saying you've personally discussed Asperger Syndrome with 600 different people? That's assuming everyone you ever met with AS told you about their neurology, or even knew themselves. That's quite a bit of research.

It also depends on what you consider eccentric and what your own personal definition of GEEK is. Technically, a geek is a circus performer specializing in exotic and disturbing stage illusions, like sword swallowing or sticking needles through their faces, or biting the heads off small animals. I've never personally met anyone who did things like that, but I've never worked for a circus, where I assume that sort of thing is not viewed as especially eccentric.

The very criteria listed in the DSM for diagnosing Asperger Syndrome list several behaviors that are by definition not typical of the average human being. If we were not unusual, we would not qualify as having the disorder in the first place. If I choose to refer to myself as eccentric or even geeky, that's one thing, but I don't appreciate being stereotyped by someone who has not lived with my condition.

How would you feel about people assuming that since dyslexia causes mixups in recognizing sequences of letters and numbers, that all people with dyslexia can't read or spell very well and are therefore functionally illiterate and ignorant?

Exuse me? As a dyslexic there are many challenges such as when I get fustrated with people around me or not being able to pick up social cues in my enviorment.

I do think it is fustrating if your brain is wired diferently to that of a neurotypical.

I might be a total idiot (lol), but I can't see where you get the number "600".
Help me out a bit?

Well, i think the whole "super-smart computer geek with Asperger's" stereotype is annoying... But i do think that the vast majority of us are going to come off as eccentric in at least some ways. That's almost guaranteed to happen when you don't connect well with other people.

4 X 150 = 600 About.

Last edited by Willard on 25 Apr 2010, 5:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It's not always the case, but very often.

I have always wandered how neurotpyical people think compared to aspies?

You can't hold it up like this. What if we say that I know 4 persons with AS, and 10 persons without?

EDIT: It's not like he needs to know the 596 neurotypicals.
I'm sorry if I am coming off as a little eccentric (or annoying) right now, I'm just trying to point out the fact.

Wauw... new numbers are saying that it's now estimated 1 in 91. That's alot.

We probably all come across as eccentric. Being a geek is more specific though. I wouldn't say I'm one. But I am probably a nerd...

I think he's saying he's met four people with AS in his life. That's entirely possible if he attends a large school or university. I don't think he needs to actually discuss AS or neoroligical conditions with 600 people to meet four individuals with AS. 1 in 150 is really not that rare, comparatively.

My therapist says that when I was a kid, people with AS were generally just considered eccentric...harmless, often smart, but strange. I said that I bet that I was just classified as "wierd kid," if anyone thought about it. Thinking of myself as "eccentric" or "odd" actually helped me deal with and overcome my initial negative feelings about my diagnosis. I accepted that I was strange and different and couldn't change that (nor did I want to) a long time ago, so just adding to the knowledge of why I was so different didn't seem like such a bad thing, after a while.