Do you feel comfortable disclosing your Asperger's/autism?

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Just wondering.

I don't.

No.

Great question! I have only disclosed to a couple of people (other than those who are directly helping me with my NVLD and ADD): my ex, who I was dating when I went through the diagnostic process, and someone I have worked with, who I knew was safe for various reasons. If I start dating someone seriously now, I feel that I would have to tell them. Otherwise, I have no plans for further disclosure.

I have ambitious career plans and I don't want people to think I'm not good enough because of learning disabilities, so there's no way I would tell my professors, for instance. Their prejudice, not mine, but I don't want to bash my head into that particular brick wall.

I'm not ashamed or embarassed by it, so i don't see what the big deal is.

To me, just admitting that I have a label attached to me makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm scared that people would start looking at me like I'm some specimen in a jar. I don't like getting special attention.

I don't mind disclosing to people who also have Asperger's/autism, just as long as there aren't any neurotypicals around.

Last edited by MathGirl on 09 May 2010, 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Doesn't bother me. Though, I'm usually not the one to disclose it.

^This.

It's not like they have the vaguest clue what it means, anyway. If I tell them I have a form of Autism, they just look at me blankly and say "Autism, huh?" They think Autism is retardation, so they assume I'm pulling their leg or it's a ploy for sympathy. If they know me, they're really confused by that, because they know I'm not intellectually impaired, nor social enough to want anyone's attention, much less pity.

Only people who actually have some understanding of what Asperger Syndrome is recognize it as anything but gibberish, and I only know three or four of those.

As far as I can tell, everyone else thinks I'm just making it up so I can live on the dole. Boo-yah, what a party.

Last edited by Willard on 09 May 2010, 6:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

No. I like seeing how long I can 'pass' as NT before they start noticing how eccentric I am and I have to tell them. Actually, my mom is the one who tells people I have it, since she and I are always together and when I start acting strangely, she's the first one they look to for explanations.

I don't have a problem with telling people about it so long as they aren't complete strangers to me.

I'm fine with disclosing it. People know I'm different, and knowing that it's not just difference, but difference with a name, doesn't really change people's opinion of me. I don't go around announcing it, but if someone asks me, I'll happily tell them that I have AS and answer any questions about it.

I wonder how you know that people know that you're different. Because most of the time, I feel normal. I've been told that I come across as different many times throughout my lifetime, but it doesn't happen very often now. People tend to comment on my positives, but not on my negatives or differences.

They tell me.

It depends on the cirumstances

here in the UK if i declare I have aspergers on my application forms sometimes it can lead to garunteed interviews depending on the employer. Also you are protected under the Disability discrimination act by declaring to an employer at the application stage. You have less rights if you withold your disclosure from your employer.

I would feel uncomfortable disclosing the condition when I was in other countries which don't have a particuarly good record for treatment of mental and intellectual disabilities. Thankfully its not something that appears on your passport.

It depends. I can pass. When I need to, I do.

I haven't disclosed that I have AS to anyone. My reasons have nothing to do with the condition specifically, but due to my overall reluctance to divulge anything personal about myself. I do not freely share my opinions or emotional states or anything else (including AS) with anyone.

Usually doesn't bother me. But it honestly depends on the situation...