"identifying too much with autism"

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This is a quotation from Temple Grandin in her book "The Way I See It - revised and expanded 2nd edition". (p. 311/312)

I read about the undiagnosed adults being successful in careers, but I was undiagnosed until 2 years ago but I was not even able to finish any education and have no career at all.
Before diagnosis I did never read about autism and since diagnosis I do.
It provides me a better understanding of myself and my issues I have.
I got diagnosed MFA.
Some people say, that I kind of obsess about reading and knowing about autism and I guess it became sort of a special interest, but before I had other special interests, but they didn't provide me with work, because I am very withdrawn and in "my own world" and before diagnosis I was not really able to recognize it as I was not really able to recognize "not being in an own world".

What is your opinion on "identifying too much with autism".
Can it be different
- for people diagnosed later in life?
- for people diagnosed early in life?
- does the internet make a difference as now one can gain more information about autism and talk online about it?

I do not think there is anything wrong with talking about autism or identifying with it, as long as you do not excuse behavior that stems from your personal choices, rather than autism, on the disability.

I love talking about my special interests . . and if I ever met her, I would ask er about cows, and add that to my on passion for art and maybe try to draw about what she talks about. I think I gotta agree with her.

What if autism is one of your big interests?

I thought that the point of an autism conference is for people who are interested in autism to get together to talk about autism.

When I was a teenager, I liked to pursue my special interests alone and not talk about them with anyone.

Maybe if I had found out sooner
it wouldnt be such a big deal now

Hang on one minute, Temple Grandin is concerned that others are letting their lives revolve around autism? She might as well be the official spokesperson for autism! lol. She might well have a point to a degree i suppose but it just sounds like Stephen Hawkin trying to argue that there is too much focus on science.

On a more serious note, I will admit that Asperger's has become a major obsession for me right now but I didnt understand it or realise it affected me until a few months ago and it explains pretty much the last 30 years of my life so I think i deserve a free pass. I am sure it will die down a little once I come to terms with it a bit more.

Last edited by Si_82 on 19 Jan 2013, 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This whole post is awesome! Temple Grandin is so right too!
Especially with the internet age where people in all different states, countries, everywhere can connect i think Aspergers has become a type of "aspie sub culture" where individuals are fixated on not only all the criteria of Aspergers, yet Autism as well.
It gets to a point where the group has adopted its own traits, taken on a life of itself. Aspies are intellectual, high IQs, many even seem to share the same stims on here. I'm not even sure if all Aspies even stim at all, i guess it would vary.

Temple Grandin is correct. Instead of focusing on everything that is diagnostic typical criteria from Childhood LFA to Aspergers traits and stims, people should be focusing on what it is they truly love to do, their special interests.
If someone is planning on specializing in helping others with Autism, then i can understand their wanting to talk about it. Yet most people DO NOT let their diagnosis DEFINE who you are.

This is what we are seeing. A trend of Aspies who are defining themselves by their diagnosis. They even have similar traits (some of these are typical autistic LFA traits so it's odd since Aspies are supposed to be on the higher end).

A wise doctor once said don't focus on all that could be wrong, next thing you know, you are self diagnosing with it.

For newly diagnosed people or those suspecting, maybe it helps them to have a name to put to something. Yet in the end it's just another term of classification that speaks nothing of the individual aside form categorization/classification.

Temple Grandin likely sees the Asperger (Aspie movement?) for what it is, and right now it seems to be a lot of young people are defining who they are by their diagnosis.
This is a problem in the sense it is not who they are as an individual. Many may have Aspergers or claim Aspie, however each individual person also should have some type of passion or passions in life. Are they a scientist? artist? philosopher? maybe they want to create their own video games, everyone has something they love to do, it's their passion.

Our passions should be what define us, not a diagnosis. It's almost like an extra "clique" in high school, however add an extra category for Aspies.

What about those Aspies who have the diagnosis, yet they don't have that high an intelligence, they aren't a genius. I've seen people who would act quickly to write them off due to their not conforming to the "Aspie criteria of the subculture" rather than include them in it.

This is why a diagnosis should never define who we are.
It may bulk label folks, yet the folks will not get to be known as individuals.

Thank you Temple Grandin and Eloa for this post.

Also, I can only speak from my own perspective on this but, I find that this forum is pretty much the first and only time I have been able to speak open and at length about the condition and how it affects me and have people actually understand and relate to what I am talking about. My wife and family are doing their best to understand when I do try and talk about it but I think that a lot of the stuff I try and explain just seems so contrary to their experience of things that they often either dont grasp what I am getting at or have no idea what to say.

I for one am massively grateful that there is a community that, for once in my life, I can feel at home in and not have to put on an act within.

Thats my 2 cents.

Also it seems odd that some of the younger/teenage generation seems to think of Aspergers as a trend or fad.
It almost is to the point of a contest on who has what stims, which range from mild stims to those of LFA children.
Aspergers is the mildest end of the spectrum how many stims is an Aspie going to really have unless they are truly in a lower
section of the spectrum?
So it goes on and on like a contest to these kids who think its cool for some reason.

Maybe it can be chalked up to teenage immaturity and attention getting schemes on the web nowadays, as this seems to
be universal on different sites.

However it would be good to see all supporting each other and learning rather than having who stims the most or what do you make of this stim?.

I apologize for the rant. It's good to get it out.


I can identify with the OP when she says not always able to recognize being in her own world. When others finally got through to me that i was in my own world, it nearly blew my mind as i had no idea how out there i was and i honestly didn't think it noticeable. It is very noticeable by people, even strangers.
There is nothing wrong with learning about your diagnosis. It is good to, and we gain helpful insight into what we have, imo.
If we obsess over our diagnosis and worry in a negative way, i don't see that as very constructive. It is also good to know that others are out there for support and can understand.

Yet what Temple Grandin says is true, and it's easy to get stuck inside an obsession of research into any favorite topics. Yet the true passions in life is why define people.

If asked to describe myself i'd probably say "artist". A lot of others might say "Aspie".
I'm not going to describe myself as "HFA, BiPolar, ADHD" to anyone.

Also i don't work, i am on disability. I likely will never invent anything like Temple Grandin, or get famous for anything. I have no desire for making inventions or infamy. If i discovered something helpful by accident, i would make sure it got into the right hands to grow the idea.
Yet at my age, i am content in just trying to keep myself happy.
Not everyone on the spectrum is a rocket scientist and alot of Aspies on here seem to think that they have higher intelligence. Yes, according to Asperger's study; however this is not always the case. I know Aspies who have normal to below normal intelligence. My own is above normal, HFA yet i am not one to do much with my intelligence. I know a bunch of random facts about various topics i have had interests in over the years.
In the long run, by goal is for my wife and i to stay happy and just live our lives.
People don't need fame or wealth from inventions or science to live a happy fullfilled life.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's at the end of 2011, when I was 34. Living in ignorance of my condition was of no help whatsoever to establishing a career. I've always had menial jobs. I'm trying to get out of that rut now with further education.

It's impossible to know if things would have been better if I'd had an earlier diagnosis, but I tend to think they would have been. One of the biggest reasons I haven't been able to find a decent job is because I had terrible self-esteem, caused by Asperger's-related difficulties. With the diagnosis, I am no longer so harsh on myself for my prior social mistakes. I've learned to accept myself for who I am. I've stopped measuring myself against others who do not have autism, and I've stopped striving to be something I'm not and will never achieve without great distress.

I do get Grandin's point. If there are a lot of autistic teenagers focused on autism, that's not necessarily a healthy thing. Though, as someone mentioned, autism might be a genuine special interest and that shouldn't be discouraged either.

There is 60-80% unemployment in ASD. I think being focused on autism rather than computers plays a very minor role in the unemployment rate. Should parent's encourage kids to focus on interests that will turn into a career? Absolutely, but that is true for all kids. That smart teenage girl she met who only wants to talk about autism may someday become a research psychologist who makes a break through in understanding autism. I know there are many people on WP who are focused on autism and they are also currently working on psychology degrees. I don't think it's bad to be focused on autism, its that other crap like executive functioning problems, anxiety, depression, sensory issues, yada yada yada, that get in the way of success.

I can relate. One of my special interests is my writing. I'm very secretive about it and would never babble about it to a stranger.

This is a false dichotomy. What if autism is a special interest that one truly loves?

In my case, that's certainly been true. There's nothing wrong with my brain or my potential, and even my executive functioning isn't that bad, but the rest of it has definitely played a part in making life difficult.

Temple Grandin tends to explain her life as an archetype of how autistic children should be raised, and how she views autism as the way to view autism. She has trouble seeing others' perspectives.

I have productive interests and interests that I have been able to develop to make money. Unfortunately, this was an unsustainable thing for me because whenever I work at a certain level - below what is sufficient to support myself - I end up having multiple shutdowns and then burnout. I can visualize things very well and design things in my head and make them without having to refer to drawings or whatever. I have some (but not all) of the abilities Temple Grandin has, although not necessarily to the same degree, but I never managed to revolutionize any industry.

I do not think identifying as autistic or focusing on autism is keeping anyone from being successful or whatever. I know in my case, that I have learned how to be more functional and productive since I was diagnosed, and prior to that not knowing was a significant barrier to my ability to accomplish anything. Talking about autism actually helps in this regard.

I think being diagnosed as a child and raised as having an ASD is hindering to one's development. I see this firsthand as an undiagnosed adult, with a child in school. If I was in school nowadays, I would be singled out and diagnosed as Autistic in some form. However, when I was in school, instead they focused on my high iq and put me in a gifted class, boosting my confidence. Nowadays, it seems like teachers go out of their way to label the neurally diverse with a disability. Young children raised with such a thing hanging over their heads are sure to be affected psychologically, in a negative way...