How do you introduce the fact that you have AS?

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Do you say you have 'Asperger's'?
Do you say you have autism?
Do you say you're eccentric?
Do you say you have a form of autism?
Do you say you have a social problem?
Do you say you're hf autistic?
... what do you say if you absolutely have to talk about your AS?

What I say depends on whom I'm talking to.

I somehow ended up with saying 'a hf form of autism' to most people.

Describes me and my ASD best personally.

I hope saying that makes them think about what hf means, what is meant by a form of autism. At best mentioning these words they don't know alongside with the word autism challenges their spontaneous idea of what autism is.

I'd try to talk about perception, routines, sensory integration and communication and language.

But if I have to mention AS to someone who'd not take it kindly to know I have any disorder, then I'd do it differently. I'd try to keep autism out of it and make AS look really mild.

I'd just talk of Asperger's Syndrome and use understatements to illustrate the disorder. (e.g. Hard to read faces, problems with spontaneity)

I introduce it like a chat-up line.

If you have to say you're eccentric you're probably not.

I just say it stright out, nothing bad had ever happend

I have aspergers and it is a mild form of autism that means that I have problems whit.......

I say I have Asperger, which is a form/type of autism.

My therapist specializes in AS and he says it's anything but mild. We have the exact same issues as someone with Kanner's (lower IQ) but with higher intelligence, that's all.

I don't tell anyone I have AS who is a neurotypical unless I get to know them really well first and they really seem to like me already.

i told someone who was doing psychology with me and it was extremely easy i just sed have you done your homework yeh well i have that (the homework was on as)

I get scared of telling people about my AS, In case they judge me

My experience is you never ever discuss or let people know you have any mental or developmental disorder. With the exception of someone you are seriously dating/thinking of marrying then you should tell them because its only fair they know who they are involved with.

I've experienced being treated like an idiot after I told friends I have AS. Like one lady knew me before the diagnosis but after I told her she started belittling me, talking to me like I was low IQ'ed and constantly telling me everything I do wrong whereas she never did that before. Had similar thing happen with a former supervisor I told after he told me his daughter had it. So be careful who you tell as it has a way of backfiring.

I just come right out and say that I have Asperger's Syndrome. If I expect the person to know what it is, I don't say anymore; if I can tell that they've never heard of it before, I briefly explain what it is.
-OddDuckNash99-

"I have Asperger's syndrome" used to be the first thing I would tell new acquaintances about myself. Now, however, my first line of dialog tends to be "Hello, I'm schizophrenic." It's amazing how many people cease all communications with me after that. However, my inherent honesty and complete lack of any sort of easily definable personality outside of my diagnosis prevents me from developing a new way of introducing myself.

So I'm pretty screwed, really. I almost wish I hadn't got my second opinion.

I've had similar experiences of being condescended, sometimes even by professionals.
It's very awkward when other people raise the topic.

When I was being given help for AS, others regarded me with fear and suspicion.

When I wasn't receiving help (some) people respected me more and actually talked to me like I was a real live normal human being.

I know which response I prefer...




So do I.

And they do judge...

Some of the people on here who have kanners come across as being much more intelligent than me.

Anyway.

To work people, I say, 'I have aspergers syndrome, its a form of autism'. People do patronise me, but I have to make it open so that certain social mishaps and my anxiety issues are understood. I know this because I've been in jobs where I've not been open about what I am and its ended in disaster.

I don't really ever mention it to friends because I don't want it to become my whole identity. Close friends I told around the time I had my diagnosis.

My boyfriend knows because... well... I always wanted to tell him and didn't know how. And then on day he said he thought his brother, 'had aspergers or something', and I laughed and said there was no way his brother had it but I did. Awkward at the time, but he's really sweet about it now.

maybe i can do that in this class ill b takin' next year LOL

Meanwhile, last week, I emailed two people whom I can trust about my suspicion of having Asperger.

One responded "you should see a GP", so I suppose he meant he couldn't judge, and dismissed the subject immediately.

The other person emailed back that I couldn't have AS since it is related to ADHD while I'm anything but ADHD. So I've explained her further what AS is and got no reply on that second email yet.

My conclusion so far: be open about it to people you know neither harms nor helps. But I would never tell it to people whom I don't know well. The latter would be nearly impossible anyway, because I tend to avoid talking to people I don't know well in the first place.

I don't usually bring it up because there's no reason to and people just tend to get confused. When I do bring up a restriction or trait I have due to AS sometimes I say, "because of my disorder." People generally have a pretty easy time accepting the word disorder. Sometimes people will ask me what I have and I'll say, "AS, it's a form of high functioning autism. Though it's possible I may have PDD-NOS, I'm not really sure, but I definitely have something on the spectrum." (I say AS in order to avoid the ass burgers cracks)

People that know what it is usually talk about it a while longer, and people who don't know what it is are usually just like, "Oh, okay." and drop the subject. Apparantly I'm very high functioning because most people don't even think I have a disorder, and are surprised when I tell them. *shrugs*

Being diagnosed doesn't mean you should tell people about it.

I don't introduce it at all. No muss, no fuss. Telling people, who are unfamilliar with it, creates more problems than you think it could solve. Many people will feel uncomfortable that you're sharing such information with them. Others will use it to discount anything you say that they don't agree with. They won't know what they're talking about, of course, but they'll use it as ammunition anyway, because that's what NTs do.