On this whole AS="genius" thing...

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When we have people like Tony Whatsisname saying things like "people with AS are often the best in the world at what they do" or whatever, surely that is harmful? Surely we need people to understand and accept, not put HUGE expectations on us like that?

"are often"

I don't think that is too much pressure, or anything. I am also sure this is often true.

I don't think he has said that? I think the phrasing was more along the lines of "The people who are the best in the world of what they do often have Asperger's". Now that's a whole different saying. I am sure that if you take those people and compare how many of them who are (or could have been) diagnosed with Asperger's, and compare that percentage to the general population you will find that then number is significantly higher. In other words, it is still few, but there are way more than it should have been purely statistical based on the rates of the general population. So you could then say that they "often have Asperger's".

So I do not think it's wrong to say so, but I do not think it's productive either. Since people in general are morons and they will misunderstand. So the message has to be as clear as possible (A general rule of PR); we are different, without claiming to be either better or worse.

I actually think the number of people who have aspergers is really closer to one in 15 or 20 and I think it's definitly genetic...

I do think it's bad that Asperger's is so often paired with genius and brilliance. While it is true that very many Aspies have above-average to genius IQs and are highly intelligent especially in special interest areas, it isn't fair to those with AS who merely have an average IQ and no "special skills." While it is flattering to have the connection and helps against the "autism is mental retardation" stereotypes, I feel badly for those Aspies who haven't been blessed with extraordinary abilities. My IQ and splinter skills are what make me unique and stand out, and it must be horrible to have all of the deficits and struggles of AS but none of the potential benefits.

I've read that there is a higher percentage of gifted people among people with AS and HFA than among the general NT population, but I wonder who made this assessment and what kind of sample groups it was based on.

Personally, I think that most living people with AS and HFA haven't ever been diagnosed. I'm pretty sure that my mother is, and my grandmother was, on the spectrum. Neither of them is/was gifted, they merely managed to get by. I also think that in some countries, such as the USA, children from families with a better educational and higher socioeconomic background have a better chance to get an AS diagnosis, simply because they have better access to health services in general. Of course that skews the numbers quite a bit.

I think it's true that aspies are more likely to take a special interest in their work and often excel in their field of expertise, but that's not always an academic field. Besides, there are just as many NTs who do exceptionally well in their job or field of research and don't have any social impairments that stand in their way of success. All things considered, I don't think it's fair to say that aspies have extraordinary abilities compared to NTs.

I do understand the desire to see AS and HFA as something more than a crippling developmental disorder, but the view of aspies as brilliant geniuses with special abilities is just as extreme and innacurate, imho. If you look at the lists of people with genius-level IQ, you don't see anybody who is known for being on the spectrum or very likely to be an aspie (afaik). Bottom line, we are different but not stupid, we can often perform quite well if society gives us a chance, but we also have social impairments that make it harder for us to succeed in life.

I just realized another reason why this genius / savant image of aspies bothers me a bit: It reminds me of the more recent gay stereotypes. "They have such a great taste. They always dress so well. They make great interior designers" and so on. Of course that's a lot more positive than "they are effeminate and promiscuous and talk funny", but it's still a silly stereotype that isn't true in many if not most cases.

Can't we just all be respected as human beings, without the need to have special powers that make up for our differentness?

Don't sweat it.

The concepts of "genius" and "gifted" aren't particularly well-defined. Actually, the notion of "intelligence" in general isn't particularly well-defined either.

IQ tests are a measure of your ability to take an IQ test. Personally, I have very high standards for what I consider a "genius" and most Aspies don't even come close to qualifying. I also think terms like "genius" and "gifted" are waaaay over-used. We're quite fond of studies showing that high IQ people who are super rich and super successful. I'd like to see a study on how many people with a 140+ IQs never accomplish much of anything besides having a bad-arse wizard on WOW and an extensive working knowledge of Pokemon cards.