"Trendy" to have AS.

Post Reply New Topic

When I had my regular appointment with my doctor two weeks ago. We had the usual talk about how I was coping and so on and then he said that the media was representing AS as being quite a "cool and trendy" thing. I am not sure if he was trying to make me feel better or not. He mentioned some television programs that I haven't seen. Big Bang Theory was one of them. Is there a character in it that has AS? I have never seen it so I don't know.

He also said that my social skills were not terrible, I just come across as "quirky or eccentric". That actually made me feel really bad as I have been really, really trying hard to improve my social skills. I thought I had learned how to not appear weird.

I wonder what other people on the spectrum think about this "trendy" business.

I think there is nothing wrong with being quirky or eccentric.

I read that every decade makes a condition so trendy. Back in the 80's it was asthma. In the 90's it was ADHD, now in the 2000's it's AS/autism. Now I wonder what the new trendy label be in the 2010's?

Sheldon in Big Bang Theory is widely perceived as an Aspie. I've only watched a bit of it, but that seems about right to me.

Some people really think that autism/ASD is the new "fad". As you look at how more and more people are dx'd it's no wonder. Where were those people before? Now there is much more help available and more awareness as well. The proportion of those who need only subtle help is growing.

These together reinforce the stereotype.

I think more people are aware of it now than were in the past, thus leading to more people getting a diagnosis. I came to the conclusion that it MIGHT describe me from an article about a hacker in Wired a few years back, but didn't really research it extensively until quite recently.

As far as Big Bang Theory goes, I would postulate that there are three characters with AS on the show: Sheldon, Amy Farah Fowler and Leonard's mom. There are other well-known people who seem to have a mild form of it as well, such as James May from Top Gear UK or Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters. Whether or not everyone with the somewhat odd social traits described by AS actually has it, I don't know. I would surmise that many of the self-diagnosed aspies are more borderline and that it does not significantly impact their lives in a negative sense. They are (like me) trying to define why their social lives have never been very successful and may be overlooking some environmental conditions that caused them to pick up quirky AS traits as adaptations rather than it coming as first nature. It is this question I find the most difficult to answer as I can see some of it being nature and some of it possibly being nurture.

Now as to it being "trendy", I don't know about that. Most of the populace still has no idea what autistic traits really are except maybe for having seen Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Raymond Babbit in "Rainman". I know that I am fairly well-read and to be honest had never really come across what abilities and dysfunctions came with autism spectrum disorders until very recently, when I started seeking answers. Some of the reason for the increase in diagnosis is no doubt thanks to the ready access to data on obscure conditions that is now within easy reach due to the internet. Before that, if you were poor and on the margins of society you had no way to learn about it except by happenstance.

I think it's problematic to assume that self-diagnosis tends to mean "more borderline and that it does not significantly impact their lives in a negative sense."

But that's because I was self-diagnosed before I was officially diagnosed, and I am definitely not borderline. My life is definitely significantly impacted.

Please note the whole statement. I said many who are self-diagnosed, not most. Certainly there are also many who have a self-diagnosis with more significant impairment as well. This is the reason I worded it as such. Many does not denote a specific number or percentage and is a far more vague term. Since I have no statistical data to back it, I did not wish to use a term that could be construed that way.

The current trend of non talented rich girls trying to make a name by leaking sex vids seems to point to chlamydia as the next trendy condition but I could be wrong.

I think I'm a bit extra vigilant about broad characterizations made about self-diagnosis, due to other discussions here. I did miss your qualifier of "many" vs most. Sorry about that.

There is a kid on "Parenthood" who is portrayed as having it.

Dr. Spencer Reid on "Criminal Minds" has it.

Someone on Glee had it, though I heard the portrayal was in a negative light.

Wow, I just wikipedia'd it and there is a whole other slew of characters.

No one on the Big Bang Theory mentions the word "Asperger's", but it's pretty obvious that those couple of characters are based off of someone on the spectrum.

Still, I am wary of television portrayals, as I have heard of people who only hear of Asperger's through these TV characters. People love watching them on television, but not all will do the research afterwards to find out what it is actually all about.

I hardly think it is "trendy". If that is not invalidation of a condition, then I don't know what is.

I do suspect many people that self diagnose who are aware enough to think they have mild AS, may actually be BAP (broader autistic phenotype).

Last edited by Kjas on 22 Jun 2012, 11:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think many people who think they have mild AS are actually unable to perceive the full extent of their impairments because of their impairments, and may be more severe than they realize.

I agree.

Yes, the portrayal on Glee was in a negative light - I saw an episode with that character. I don't like Glee that much in the first place (the music is too bland for me, for me it's the auditory equivalent of eating something that tastes like cardboard - not that I find anything wrong with someone liking music from that show), but my mother and sister are into the show, so I see parts of it now and then.

I'm not sure if they were self-diagnosed or professionally diagnosed.

Either way, I despise seeing an autism spectrum condition portrayed in such a negative light. I feel like the creators of the show, who show other disabilities in a positive light, are trying to say that Aspergers (and maybe other ASDs) is not a serious condition - and that people with it are faking it (which the character in the show seemed to be, as she was constantly using it as an excuse for being very rude).

What exactly is "mild AS"?

Though I don't much care for television, I have heard the same thing about shows like "The Big Bang Theory"(I've been getting people saying I remind them of Sheldon or they ask if he's an aspie). I am concerned that it may become some pop-culture phenomenon and with that comes further concern of yet even more inaccurate stereotypes and potential for "poseurs" like I saw with ADHD in the past 5 years. People who don't even have the condition would say things like "oops! I was just having an ADHD moment" and the like. If it does start becoming a "trend," hopefully it will bring true awareness and tolerance for us.