Do you find that AS gives the wrong impression? (IQ)

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(Edited to seem less offensive several times)

For me, the whole point with having the term Asperger's (or any diagnosis), outside of a doctors office, is that it makes it easier for people to understand you. Ideally I should be able to tell my teacher that I have Asperger's, and then there would be no need to say that I have a normal IQ, trouble with group exercises, smalltalk etc. etc. With that in mind, it is not productive. It gives the wrong impression.

Thoughts?

Updated with my last answer:

It is not a problem that they tell me, I know that they should not have received an as diagnosis if they are in fact clinically ret*d. It is a problem for me when they tell everyone else. Because people around here do not know anything about Asperger's and will then assume that individual was a good representation for what Asperger's is (without taking into consideration various other disorders the same individual might have).

Then I can not later tell these individuals that I have Asperger's as an easy way to explain my problems as it will just create confusion and wrong impressions of me. I think it is unfair to conclude from this that I have something against clinically ret*d people because I do not want people to think I am one.

I do not want people to think I'm a savant genius either, because that is also a poor description of who I am, and what problems I have.

I apologize for the wrong impression I obviously gave starting this topic. Thank you for your support Rascal77s, I will try to learn something from it.

Last edited by psychegots on 13 Jun 2012, 3:59 am, edited 7 times in total.

It's more of a reflection of our society's prejudice against those we consider "less intelligent". Many people with AS are afraid of being considered ret*d because of how ret*d people are treated. The problem is: Neither you nor they deserve to be treated that way. And distancing yourself from that group of people can only hurt them.

I have been taken for developmentally delayed myself, even though I'm a college student making high grades. Appearances can be deceptive. Those who are so obviously autistic may very well be smarter than you (here in the sense of "better at IQ tests" or "better at school", because "smarter" is too global a term). Or they may not be. But, in the long run, does it matter?

Those Aspies who want to be considered quirky geniuses should ask themselves very pointedly: Why do I want to be considered superior to other autistic people? Why do I associate intelligence with superiority, when it's something you're either born with or not? What am I telling the rest of the world when I say, "I'm an Aspie and that means I'm smart; I'm not like those autistic people who can't take care of themselves"? What does it say about those obviously autistic people, and what are you implying about their status as compared to yours?

I don't think the question is, "What should I do about the Aspies who look ret*d?". It's, "What should I do about my own reluctance to be associated with them?"

Well someone seeming ret*d to you, is not necessarily an indication they actually have mental retardation. I mean what are we all supposed to come of as super intelligent nerds or something?

How can you tell these people are "ret*d"? Are you basing it on their speech and communication skills? It could be so easy to get completely the wrong impression of an aspies capabilities if you based it on that alone.

Jason.

How can you see someone and determine they are "clinically ret*d" when someone has to be observed, tested, etc in a clinical setting to determine that they are clinically ret*d. The way you're coming across is. "I can spot a ret*d from a mile away".

Not trying to beat you up. I'm trying to help you understand how you'll be perceived. This thread is going to back fire on you in a big way. My advice to you is delete what you wrote and find a more tactful way to express yourself. Doesn't matter to me if you do or don't, I have my popcorn ready.

Removed

Last edited by psychegots on 11 Jun 2012, 3:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.

You seem ret*d to me (you're married. That's the biggest sign of mental retardation there is).

Subjective and all that.

This may sound funny but I feel more offensive when I get considered ''alien'' and feel more better when just considered ''stupid''.

Some people think I am ret*d and I was diagnosed with AS in my late childhood. But I'm not ret*d because my IQ is too high. Even online some people think so but I don't let it bother me. It's usually jerks who think I am.

I have seen ret*d people post online and I can't even tell they are until they say so. I have seen slow learners post online and I wouldn't even guess their IQ is low if they never said what their IQ is or what they scored on the test.

But sometimes doctors diagnose AS in patients with low IQs but they are on the autism spectrum. But it doesn't mean their diagnoses is correct and it should be PDD-NOS if they didn't meet the autistic criteria but yet met the aspie criteria except for that V part. I also think aspies who can't take care of themselves don't have AS but more PDD-NOS or autism. I don't know why doctors don't always follow the criterias.

How do you know they're ret*d?

Did you give them an IQ test?

If they have AS, it's most likely that they aren't mentally ret*d.

Is that directed at me?


People say what their IQs are sometimes. They say what they have been diagnosed with. An aspie online once told me his daughter was diagnosed with AS but she also has a low IQ he said.

No I did not give them an IQ test, if you had actually read what I wrote, you would see I had said they mentioned their IQs and I would not have even guessed they were ret*d or slow learners.

BTW didn't you say your IQ was tested at 58 and you were diagnosed with AS at one point?

I edited the first post as recommended. Maybe it expresses my thoughts better.

BTW I know you can not see peoples IQ, but you can see if someone has Downs syndrome and certain other disorders that include low IQ.

How do you know they have a low IQ? If a person has an ASD, their social communication may not be terrific. They might not be able to present themselves as being as intelligent as they are. I'm pretty sure I don't come across as all that intelligent IRL. No-one really has a clue what's going on in my mind, if I'm having trouble getting the words out, for one reason or another. On many occasions, I've been looked at strangely, as if my intelligence was in question,

In the DSM-IV descriptive text, it says that mild mental retardation can occur in people with a diagnosis of AS.

Not directed at you. The OP. He wouldn't know if someone had a low IQ by just looking at them.

Yep (also tested "high" too). Have an AS label and also an AD one.

What is to say someone could not have Downs Syndrome and autism? also I was under the impression not everyone with Downs syndrome is actually mentally ret*d, hmm maybe its one of those generalizations.