Aspies - Are you "ill" ?

Post Reply New Topic

http://www.empowher.com/news/herarticle ... gers-child

What a lot of hooey. I think I was lucky to be raised in a large family of quirky loners. We were our own social network and no one was unduly pressured to be " one of the crowd ". When my son was first diagnosed I thought the Asperger's was specifically referring to his intense sensory sensitivity. I find it incredible that being a quiet thoughtful person is considered a disorder.

Not an "aspie" (god I hate that word), but illness defines something that can be effectively treated, it can remit, and/or it's possibly caused by emotional events if it's mental of origin.

So, no. I think she means neurological disorder; it's a common mistake for people to make.

What ever's really going on I certainly don't feel "ill" and I'm definitely not "disordered". Perhaps it's different for others (and I respect that), but that's how I feel about my own personal situation.

I do feel that this whole issue is often viewed from the NT side only observing the AS person and judging the AS person in terms of how s/he doesn't match up to NT social expectations.

However, I believe I have a style of perception that's brilliant for observing the physical and mechanical environment. As a direct trade-off, perhaps my interpretation of subtle social cues and social aren't as good as other people my age.

For me, people are in the background and the physical environment is in the foreground. This doesn't mean that I don't care about people, it's just that I see the details of the environment first and people's emotions second. This doesn't mean that I can't attend to people's emotions or respond in a friendly way to them though.

Because I'm not so aware of social conventions, this makes me more tolerant towards others who are different or have different social customs/conventions from the norm. In fact, because I see people as individuals, I'm not as cliquey and socially absorbed as some. I'm also not as judgmental on superficial appearances. I'm quite happy to switch groups if I have to and I don't feel as socially tied down as some probably do. This doesn't mean that I don't reciprocate or care about people though.

Lots of people define themselves in terms of the group the belong to socially: a social "sense of self".

I define myself in terms of the experiences emotional/physical I have and my interests: an experience and observational "sense of self".

I don't believe that either either sense of self is "better" than the other, just different.

My style of socialising is different and I'm wondering why it's being pathologised. I frequently see videos and read articles where NT professionals say that an AS girl "doesn't get socialising" because she wanders around different groups and makes suggestions. I question this negative viewpoint. Perhaps the other children are excluding her because they regard her as different and aren't prepared to make allowances for her different perspective on life. I've been in plenty of groups that have accepted and made allowances for me: they honestly didn't mind that I wandered around a lot. They enjoyed listening to my view on the world and my imparting information. It's a different style of socialising and being, I don't see it as "wrong" as such.

I believe that if you have an extreme talent in one area, this means a "deficit" in another. We're all good at different things.

I'm very reluctant to slap a label on how I view the world, particularly because how I view the world is so dear to me. I don't want my life experience to be pathologised. I want to be me.

It would be useful if perhaps NT people and AS people could exchange views and experiences, learning from each other. That way, there'd be a lot more accommodation and a lot less misunderstanding.

I'm just starting to realise myself that different people have different ways of looking at the world and I especially need to be more understanding to other people's points of view.

As for the words "psycho-pathology" and "syndrome", these words do conjure up the idea of "illness" for some people. I personally don't believe that I'm ill. I'm happy with who I am even if that means that some hyper-social things are more difficult for me.

If anyone can provide me with any objective, physical medical evidence that I am "diseased" or that I'm "malfunctioning" in some way or have a distinct genetic condition, I might be prepared to reconsider my position. I don't believe however that this would make my experiences of the world less valid than anybody else's'.

I was once in a counselling session where the counselor asked about my "illness" and how long I'd had it. It was weird. General knowledge of AS, even among mental health and other professionals, is extremely lacking.

I've added several comments to that article. It may be good for other Asperger people to add their thoughts.

That's been my experience too.

Some of us have been misinformed for years.


I also wonder, how could I be treated for something that technically isn't "wrong" with me.

I, too, do not think that the term "disorder" is a good one. It implies that something is wrong. Even "condition" is a loaded term, or describing yourself as "having AS." On some level, they convey the meaning that something is not right. Syndrome is probably a more accurate term, but it, too, has the connotation of pathology.

I think that's why I like the term Aspie so much. It describes someone in terms of having specific characteristics identified in a syndrome, but it doesn't use the "S" word.

Well, AS does describe a mind where you have some difficulties that most people don't have, or don't have as strongly as you. If you say that AS isn't a disorder, you also have to say that dyslexia and ADHD and learning disability/developmental delay and anything of that nature aren't disorders.

I'd rather make sure people understand that developmental disorders of this sort are the normal state of that person's brain and don't mean anything has to be fixed. If they started treating us a little more like they treat Down Syndrome kids--though not the condescension; that part's bad for them and for us both--by stopping trying to cure us and starting trying to educate us, there'd be a lot less trouble in growing up autistic.

She seemed ok at first, but when she bought up aspergers
is a neurological illness, it showed she hasn't a clue about AS
she obviously reads to much Autism Speaks propaganda

Even my own wife let it slip that she'd completely missed the point, when she said that she felt more sympathetic towards me when she realised that I had AS, and that there was "something the matter" with me. I couldn't stop laughing for ages.

Still, I see the torrent of replies on that website.......the original author will presumably think twice after that little lot I even posted one myself, though on closer inspection I seem to have gatecrashed a women's group Oh well, it wasn't a gender issue, and with a little luck they won't notice.

I identify with this comment.

I may not be 100% normal (but, heck who is?), but I was treated as if I was "ill" and incapable for years.

Let's just say it became a self fulfilling prophesy until I rejected all that non-sense.

Also, I find it kind of strange that experts have claimed that they know more about what's going on in my mind than I do.

Only I can truly know what goes on in my own mind.
If they wanted to know, well they could have stopped judging based on a limited set of criteria and just asked me politely

I meant that, for me, it is not (and probably has never been) of the magnitude of something I felt that I needed to overcome, hence it was never a "disorder" for me. Of course, having no knowledge that I was an Aspie for all of those years meant that I didn't feel like there was "something" to overcome in the first place.

I certainly think that AS can be a disorder for those who have AS more intensely than I do. But I think it's incorrect to label it Asperger Disorder across the board (IMO).

Looks like I'm the odd one out here.

I for one think I am "ill". I for one knew for years before being diagnoses that something was wrong with me but I couldn't get anyone to believe it.

I do agree however that calling AS an illness is a bit too much but it's hard to find the correct term to use. Condition? Impairment?

AS is case by case thing. One person's AS may cause them to be "ill" due to environmental fators or developing other conditions such as depression due to AS but then you have others with AS who are perfectly fine and are therefore not "ill". They're not all "ill" but they're not spared from being "ill" either.

Looks like we've upset one lady on that website.....apparently she's a mother who was just looking for some support for the problems she's going through with her Aspie child, and she's so disappointed with all the comments about the "illness" issue that she's going to take her business elsewhere.
See "Comment by Anonymous on May 4, 2009 - 12:47pm" - currently right at the bottom of the page

I don't quite know what to make of it - have we gone over the top with this issue and messed the page up for people with more important problems to solve there, or is she just being a little impatient and oversensitive?

Eh, you know how some people with an ASD like to fixate on parts of objects.

"Illness" was the part of an object in this case.

It probably wouldn't register with most normal people; illness, disorder, disease, etcetera, all are really the same thing to them.