what would life be like without AS?

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Since I've accepted the diagnosis, most of the time I live happily with AS. Well, not actually happy considering that AS has caused depression, anxiety and OCD on me...
There were times when I started wondering how my life would be being an NT instead of Aspie?

I would not get bullied in schools and uni.
I would not get descriminated by teacher and all the others.
I would not have all those massive fight about my conditions with my parents.
I would not have to seek and fight for 10 years for a diagnosis.
There will not be depression, anxiety or OCD.
There will be no pills and pills...
There will not be as much tears for my parents.
There will not be me trying to kill myself over and over again
There will not be me studying in Australia, I would still be in my own country.
I would not be on wrong planet. I would probably never care about what Autism is about, just like most NTs I've met.
I would be much more sociable. I would have friends.
I would not skip all the classes because my feeling depressed and failed my exams.

There are times that I'm so proud of being an Aspie,
but there are also time when I just wish that I was a NT... like now... I wish I was a NT...

It might not be as green as you think on the other side of the fence. Aspies aren't the only people who get bullied etc, and not all Aspies go through that stuff either. I think there are a lot fewer true NTs in the world than most people realize. I don't think it's possible to be purely typical. We all have odd tendancies. Anybody who thinks they have it all together is probably in for a surprise.

I'm sorry you've had a rough time, but you aren't as alone as you think. I've run into kids from high school who I thought were popular and very "normal" only to find they felt just as picked on and persecuted as my friends and I did. I'm not saying it's always like that, just more than you might think. Everybody has their struggles.

My mom says that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...I don't completely agree, but I don't disagree either. If life is too easy you don't learn to work for what's worth it. If it's too hard it's overwhelming. Somewhere in the middle is the best.

You would not have obsessions and would not have passion for your interest. That may deter you. On the bright side that is.

My Asperger's is such an integral part of me that I couldn't possibly imagine myself any other way.

I am sorry to read of your "what ifs." But you you plucked stuff out of your life - who would you fill those holes with? Because you can have that, whatever it is. Leave the rotten stuff where it is and get *anything* that appeals to you.

I think everybody has about a cup and a half of misery, each in their own unique form.

Mom used to envy her teenage friend who married well and had a good marriage with a good man - and I said, "Mom! Her daughter is a deaf-mute who can't take care of herself! Do you think she would be envying you with your rotten husband and 4 healthy kids?"

My grandmother used to say, "Ne regarde pas le monde qui rit" which literally means "Don't look at those who laugh" and more realistically means "Don't envy people who seem happy" - which I render as "Everybody has about a cup an a half of misery."

So our job in this life is to put some positives into it. It's hard work. It doesn't happen by itself. Find something that even vaguely appeals to you and get involved with it.

I would probably would have a wife and kids who were getting ready for college by now. but instead I sit here in the dark responding to a post on wp. Which one do you think I would rather be doing? Even if I would not have wife and kids maybe I would have better job and an education.

I would have been able to read a sociopath's non-verbal "I'm trustworthy" signals and been fooled by my stepfather's high degree of social skills, and would likely have been hurt worse than I was by their abuse.
I would not have learned to read early, and would not have learned to love books nearly as much as I did.
I would not be able to notice tiny details.
I would not have the skill at categorizing and organizing that I do.
I would not be as good a scientist.
I would not have a social perspective that lets me see and analyze society from the outside.
I would have kept my stereotypes about disabilities.
I would be dependent on social relationships for my sense of well-being
I would not have met several of the best friends I have ever had, who are also autistic or disabled in some other way.
I would not have been able to help parents with newly-diagnosed autistic children learn what autism looks like outside the "awareness" ads.
I would not have become a disability rights activist.
I would not have become aware of the problems inherent in the systems that exist in mental institutions, nursing homes, group homes, etc.
I would not have developed my skill at writing to the extent that I have.
I would not have been able to learn enough about psychology to self-diagnose depression at the age of fourteen, and understand enough about myself to survive three episodes of it.
I might actually be dead: My interest in medicine during my early teens caused me to study first aid; and I was able to use the Heimlich on myself when I was choking on a piece of ice. At the time, no one else was in the house, and without that knowledge my life would have been dependent on how fast ice melts...

When I want to guess what my life would have been like if I hadn't had autism, I just look at my NT sister's life. But I try not to do that too much because I get envious and bitter and start dwelling on "the life that was stolen from me."

And that's just pointless and depressing.

hey guys,
thanks for all your replies.
I felt much better now after talking to mum and eating my fav food and lots of relaxation...

by the way, i have a puppy, and i think he's very much similar to me maybe he has AS too?

Easier.

Life would be very dull and boring for me. Please don't ask me to elaborate, because elaborating is not my strong point.

Life would be easier, happier and its course would have run in a totally different direction.

Vanilla_Slice

I think the overall effect on society would be to have a slower rate of scientific progress and new technology development. If there were no AS the human race would manage to survive.

ruveyn

Life would be very different. I don't know what I'd be like without it though or where I'd be right now in life.

Boring. There's cruel people out there everywhere who will harass you about anything they can AS or not. If there was no AS or even autism, we would still be living in caves.