some things that have been bothering me...

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I said I was sorry.

ilikedragons I wasn't talking to you specifiically I was addressing the board in general.

Why did you make a thread out of this? There already is one.

I hadn't read the thread from her original post for about two days and OMFG. Maybe the name of this forum should be changed to NEGATIVITY PLANET.

Criticize me if you like for really agreeing with the total disgust of STLF and jman.

Christina, on the off-chance that you're still lurking on the forum, I would TRULY like to apologize.

Everyone spouting about not calling Aspergers a disorder and not using LABELS and we are using "NT" right and left and right!-- Um, THAT'S A LABEL TOO.

How many friendly and well-meaning nonAspies have we chased off this forum so far for similar behavior???

Yell at me if you like. I don't care. I'm saying my mind despite repercussions.

Would also like to point out that ADHD (which is what Christina said she has) is not NeuroTypical. So if one insists on degrading labels, NT isn't even accurate.

i heartily agree with jman and stlf. i haven't looked at the thread for a while, although, the last time i did, i did think it was doing the "AS vs NT" stuff, (hence my post about paranoia, as i can't remember any NT "attacks", myself).

i've said it before, and i'll (undoubtedly) say it again - the world is not out to get people with AS. most of it doesn't even KNOW about AS. people don't like what they don't feel safe with, or which doesn't quite go as predicted/expected, so us lot, with a different perspective on the world, and unpredictable behaviours, seem like a threat.

life's hard for everyone, folks. it's juts hard in a different way for us, okay?

princesschristina, if you're still around... as i said in my original post on your thread, it's great that you want to help. let's get the (productive) dialogue going again.

and can we PLEASE cut out all the AS vs NT nonsense, please? educate them, don't castigate them.

In itself, Neurotypical is a completely neutral term. Some people choose to associate it with inuendo, either making it superior or inferior. I would also like to point out that NT is NOT the opposite of AS: a person with Down's Syndrome of Cerebral Palsy is no more an NT than we are.

As for labeling, there is a place for it. A place. It is not everything. The fact remains that the majority of us in here have ASD: that is why we are here, and that is why there is a line of fine print under 'WrongPlanet.net' that says 'The online resource and community for those with Asperger's Syndrome'. With that in mind, I think we all need to remember that these labels are just that: labels. They are helpful in defining certain aspects of ourselves, but do not replace the rest of us: they are not all encompassing. I also agree with stlf: there are a lot of people who suggested to Christina that the doctors might be wrong and she could be on the Spectrum after all. I think that is taking things a bit too far: she is 13 years old and does NOT need a bunch of people who have never met her filling her head with the 'what if's' about professionals. There is a chance, however big or small, that any one of us has been misdiagnosed. Most of us have in fact, along the way. But second guessing psychologists just doesn't help.

As far as I can tell, this community originated out of the need to have a place where information, support and understanding were available to people with ASD, as this support is harder to find among NT's, or in this case, those who don't have ASD. However, if an NT is willing to be supportive and seeks the same information that we seek, and if they are willing to respect our differences rather than try to cure us, hell, fling wide the gates, cos this is what we have been waiting for!

In summary: I don't think that labels have their place, but in moderation. And I think that where people have bitten the heads off unsuspecting NT's because of bad past experiences, steps need to be taken to work this though, and an appology would be nice. Just remember: when an abused dog barks at a perfectly nice person because they are holding a walking stick and the dog was beaten by a cane in the past, it is not the person's fault any more than it is the dog's fault. What matters is that the dog can be quietened and the person can realise why it happened so that, in time, the dog will learn to trust. Only dogs can't appologise and we can.

Ta! I would have said it earlier but I didn't want to get yelled at by anyone who MISreads an inuendo in my likening ASD with being an abused dog!

I wonder if the participants of this board are familiar with the concept of "trolling." I'm not going to go so far as to suggest that trolling may have happened here, but I think it's an issue to be considered when conflict seems to be escalating among people who have come here for mutual support. Let's not attack each other over an issue involving someone who is no longer participating.

whether princesschristina is still participating or not, this is a general issue which, i believe, needs to be addressed, so it won't happen again.

and believe me - we are DEFINITELY aware of trolls... sigh.

Sorry to break the pity party, but I for one have been offended by some of the things this person has said - and not just in that thread.

I don't think she should have to leave here, but I would like to make that statment.

Its not a pity party, its the give-her-a-break party. You're taking offense at a 13 year old girl? Really, a lot of the response posts were themselves offensive towards Christina; making out she was a bad person. You should take her words in the spirit they were made in, and gently let her know how you view your Aspergers. There was no need to yell and scream Offense because she expressed her wish to help.

How can she wish to help when there is no need for help and nothing to help?

And I thought she was 17... Plus she said in another post that she didnt want a "cure" so ehemm..

I am not gonna apologize for what I said either, because if she is aspie she offended her self too, and me and everyone else so...

:my best NYPD inpersonation: Alright, alright everyone! Break it up, nothing to see here!

Come on, people. A bunch of arguing about who offended who and harping on some little 13 year-old girl, not even out of childhood yet, is a waste of time. I haven't read her posts yet but whatever she said, I'm sure her intentions, and that is what's most important here, intentions, weren't to belittle anyone who wasn't "NT" or whatever heck label you want to use.

From what you're saying, she requested advice on how to help those with AS. Am I mistaken or is this what this website is for? Is it our responsibility to educate others and help them understand who we are, eh? That's what she was doing and now, she's being castigated for it. Boy that makes us look really good, does it? Picking on a child who is not even expected to have the maturity to ask such a question for making an effort to understand AS, something most adults don't bother to do.

We've got to quit holding the mistakes of a few over every non-AS person, y'all, or we aren't any better than those folks who maligned us for not being like everyone else.