Page 1 of 1 [ 11 posts ] 

Sauceball
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 98

12 Jan 2013, 12:31 am

If you have friends who are NTs, do they know that you have autism? I have friends, some who I've known for years who have no idea that I'm autistic, yet I certainly have my odd quirks.



Tuttle
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,088
Location: Massachusetts

12 Jan 2013, 1:06 am

I don't have any NT friends...

But all my NT acquaintances know I'm autistic. Or at least have been given enough information explicitly to know it. (Like me posting online where they can see if they looked, and me talking about my autism in public).

I don't hide it.



Sylvastor
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 3 Jan 2013
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 781
Location: Germany

12 Jan 2013, 1:41 am

Sauceball wrote:
If you have friends who are NTs, do they know that you have autism? I have friends, some who I've known for years who have no idea that I'm autistic, yet I certainly have my odd quirks.

No, my "still-friends" don't know the possibility of me having AS and even after an official diagnosis, I probably wouldn't tell them.
They consider me unique and a bit weird instead.


_________________
Diagnosed with Aspergers.
BSP-errors are awesome.


windtreeman
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jul 2012
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 498
Location: Seattle, Washington

12 Jan 2013, 2:23 am

I waited a while to tell them...before that point and for years prior, they simply thought I was 'random,' obsessive and quirky with very little thought to speech inhibition and an incredibly unusual stream of consciousness. Once I told them, they took it pretty well and were interested in how it explained the things that made me unusual. That said, I wouldn't have shared the diagnosis if I didn't think they'd be good sports; they're both pretty unusual themselves: intellectuals with very eclectic taste in movies and music who have also had somewhat limited friendships and very limited relationship experience.


_________________
Assessed 11/17/12
Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 12/12/12
My vocal and guitar covers (Portishead, Radiohead and Muse) http://www.youtube.com/user/DreaminginWaves/featured


CyclopsSummers
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Jun 2008
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,172
Location: The Netherlands

12 Jan 2013, 2:46 am

All friends throughout my life knew, they learned at one point or another. I've known I was autistic since I was 6 or 7, so the knowledge that I was autistic was an integral part of my identity/life from that moment forward. Any friends that I played with soon found out about my quirks and also my tantrums, so anyone who had dealings with me would soon learn 'Look, it's because I'm autistic that it's like this-and-that'. Now that I'm mature, I don't have friends per se, but my one close friend -not autistic- I told her by-the-by. I usually do that, at some point where it becomes relevant, I'll just go "Oh, did I mention I'm autistic?" Usually when the subject of conversation turns to stuff directly pertaining to social relations, to childhood experiences, or especially when the topic is autism itself. So yeah, people who hang out with me long enough, will find out at some point ranging from immediately at the beginning to 2 months into the relationship.


_________________
clarity of thought before rashness of action


charlottez
Raven
Raven

User avatar

Joined: 30 Jul 2011
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 117

12 Jan 2013, 3:22 am

No. I mentioned that I thought I might be to a couple of friends a few years back when I was learning about it myself, but it was brief and never brought up again. I doubt it would make any difference to them. I don't see any of them very often anymore. My other friends wouldn't even know what to do with the information. At this point in my life I'm not disordered by the syndrome, so I don't know what good it would do in helping anyone understand me any better. It's also my experience that people don't want to know others in any in depth way anyway. They spend their time and emotion on how the relationship functions, e.g. having fun, venting, eating out, common activities. Understanding another human being and how they perceive and function in the world is not usually how people act as friends. That's kind of rare, sometimes even in intimate relationships.

Oh yeah, and I should mention, my friends always think I'm a little weird / quirky anyway. I'm not sure how much of that is AS or just me. I do tend to hide certain AS related behaviors like stimming, and most people can't tell that I don't do the eye contact thing. I've had that covered for years. I always look at the mouth and sometimes above the eyes.



Threore
Pileated woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 18 Oct 2012
Age: 54
Gender: Male
Posts: 176

12 Jan 2013, 4:59 am

None of my friends know. It's not a secret per sé, I just have no idea how to bring it up. They just know me as slightly quiet and odd.



IdahoRose
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 19,801
Location: The Gem State

12 Jan 2013, 5:16 am

Yeah, I have a couple of NT friends (more like acquaintances really) who all know that I have AS. I feel it's best to tell them upfront so that they don't write me off when I inevitably say or do something embarrassing, weird or offensive during my interactions with them.



izzeme
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Apr 2011
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,665

12 Jan 2013, 7:13 am

some do, others dont.
it depends on how well and how long i know them really, combined with how often i see them.
my housemates, for example, know. my classmates generally dont.

overall, i tell people around me on a need-to-know basis; sometimes i explain the relevant quirks/symptoms, sometimes i fully disclose, sometimes i tell nothing



chlov
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Jan 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 851
Location: My house

12 Jan 2013, 7:22 am

I have 3 friends. Two of them know it, the other doesn't know yet.



Chloe33
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Mar 2009
Age: 45
Gender: Female
Posts: 845

12 Jan 2013, 9:24 am

The very few friends i do have know that i have HFA and Bipolar and ADHD, they are aware of my diagnosis.
When i'd first got a diagnosis they weren't surprised