Who Are You?

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Do you define yourself by your autism, aspergers syndrome or your adhd or do you accept that they are medical diagnoses only and define yourself through other things?

I don't define myself by a disorder. It's not an important part of my identity. I'm an individual yet I'm also a human. That's all I identify myself as.

I’m Kraftie much more than I’m autistic.

I had prostate cancer—but I am not prostate cancer.

I don't choose to "define myself by my autism", it already affects pretty much every aspect of my life and every experience I've had, whether it's due to issues with socialization, sensory issues, etc. I'd be a completely different person with different experiences if I didn't have autism, and I don't think a neurodevelopmental disorder is comparable at all to something like depression or cancer.

OK so I'm glad that you're human Joe90 but pretend I'm a potential employer and I don't know what a Kraftie is. How you gonna make yourself stand out to me so that I would take your application to the next step?

I understand that I think. So are you saying that rather than you defining yourself by autism etc, it's the autism that defines you?

Does that make sense or does it mean the same thing?

I also said that I'm an individual as well as a human. Everybody's an individual as well as a human.
I don't know why my current employer employed me...but he did.

What makes you an individual?

Yeah, pretty much. It's just not like I ever consciously decided to have life altering autistic traits, but I'd also be a fool to pretend that they haven't had a very heavy influence on my personality and who I've become as a person.

Having autism is one facet of my identity.

I think it’s impossible to define people. Language can only do so much.

I feel kinship with other autistic people—but I don’t spend the day saying to myself “I am autistic,” nor do I feel that non-autistic people cannot understand me.

Yes I can sort of relate to that. I try to not use my diagnosis to explain myself but I am aware that there ar things that I do because of it.

For instance I can be defensive sometimes when someone might be asking me a completely innocent question but because I have felt under attack at times in my life I also see that as an attack.

So I suppose being defensive for me could be a peripheral symptom.

It's probably difficult to not be defined by your condition sometimes.

Do you ever say: I do that (or this) because I'm autistic or because I'm this or that.

The sum of my life and all that I am.

What makes anyone an individual?

Usually, it’s one’s conception of one’s self, with at least some input from others.