For those who think AS/autism isn't a disability

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Dishman
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06 Feb 2008, 8:44 pm

nominalist wrote:

Yes, as I have written on WP before, a lot of people say that they do not want to be "cured" of their Asperger's autism, and that Asperger's is not a disability. The second statement misses the context of the anti-cure movement.

The entire concept of not wanting to be cured comes from the involvement of many aspies with the disability rights community. More particularly, it is related to the social model of disability, which is intimately connected with the liberation movements in various disabled communities, including autistics, the deaf, the intersexed, and former psychiatric patients.

Asserting that one does not want to be cured is one of the main positions of the social model of disability. However, when some of those same aspies then say they are not disabled, it appears to reflect a lack of knowledge of the history of the autism rights movement.

See this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_model_of_disability

For me, at least, that association is backwards. I don't want to be "cured" because I don't consider it a disability. I look at it as part of a package. I found and understood many of the benefits of the package before I had any clue about the detrimental aspects. As best I can tell, certain key elements of me are incompatible with a neurotypical brain. Other elements can be learned with great difficulty, but they do not come naturally. I would not have been motivated to develop myself without Asperger's, either.

It is a small price to pay.

"That which does not kill me makes me stronger."

Berserker
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06 Feb 2008, 8:51 pm

AS is classed as a disability where I live.

nominalist
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06 Feb 2008, 9:14 pm

Dishman wrote:

From the standpoint of the social model of disability, the process of disabling is performed by society. The emphasis is not on disabled persons. It is on how disabled persons become disabled, not so much by their differences, but by living in societies and communities which do not accommodate them.

I suspect that most aspies, once learning about the social model of disability, would substantially agree with it.

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Dishman
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06 Feb 2008, 9:50 pm

nominalist wrote:

By that standard, I am personally not disabled. That is to say, to the best of my knowledge no person who has interacted with me in person has considered me disabled. Those who know me would likely reject calling me disabled.

I would accept that it CAN be a disability. That doesn't mean it's always a disability, though.

nominalist
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06 Feb 2008, 10:05 pm

Dishman wrote:

Yes, that is the perspective of the social model of disability. I am in a similar situation. I was very disabled as a child and teenager. Now, as a tenured college professor, I do not consider myself to be especially disabled, but I would not say that I am not disabled at all. I live alone, spend most of my time by myself, and have never married.

criss
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07 Feb 2008, 3:11 am

From reading this thread it seems to me that most of us in the spectrum seem to have the same problem as NT's in that one part of us has to have dominance over the other, and the great difficulty to see the different parts of ourselves (strong / weak )
different / disabling ) as complementary.

It's like if one must live the other must die.

I can understand the human need (NT & AS) 'which club are we in' however, being so new to my Dx I have yet to understand how us 'intellectually superior' people fail to see the universal wisdom in embracing the complimentarity of our whole being.

Beyond the politics of Autism which i find such a bore like all other politics, are we not all made of difference & disability?

I am very new to this debate and I am curious and keen to learn.

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Spokane_Girl

07 Feb 2008, 4:07 am

I am so sick and tired of people acting like they're good at math because of their AS. Give me a break, anyone could be good at it. My brother is good at it and he is NT. There are even ADHDers good with it too and people with different conditions including NTs. Being good with math is a human thing. Am I good with video games because of my AS? No, because it's me. Am I a good writer because of my AS? No, it's me. EVERYONE is good with different things.

And there how are left handers affected in sports? I have seen them playing. They bat with their other arm and they stand on the other side of the home plate, there are left handed mitts. How do they have troubles with scissors and holding a pencil? They do everything with their left hands just like we do everything with out right hand. There is no difference. I have seen people writing with their left hands and using scissors and they had no troubles. I'm sorry but I really have troubles believing this. There needs to be an explanation. If I still find it hard to believe, I'm sorry.

aaronrey
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07 Feb 2008, 5:31 am

but if your brother had AS, he would be EVEN BETTER at math.

see the point?

Reyairia
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07 Feb 2008, 5:51 am

Selo wrote:

quirky wrote:

AS isn't so much technically a disability as a different way of thinking/acting

But thinking and acting are voluntary, and AS is not. Yes, people with AS can learn to handle their social troubles, but it is something they were born with and have no control over possessing. AS is not a choice, therefore it's not a "way" of thinking or being.

I personally believe all types of autism, AS included, are disabilities. Socializing with others is one of the most important, if not the most important, ability on a planet with billions of people. Every day you will come in contact with another human being in some way or another, and if you cannot or do not want to deal with them, you are disabled.

I think it's important to note that when people say Aspies/autistics are disabled, they do not mean in every possible way - just in a few. Just because someone is disabled in one way doesn't necessarily make them disabled in another.

Yes, but an intense need to socialize can cause many problems; We are less likely than NTs to get coerced into smoking, alcoholism or join cults because that sort of thing doesn't affect us.

Danielismyname
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07 Feb 2008, 5:55 am

I'm not good at math; I'm ok with basic equations (see: short), but anything over that and my mind loses interest--or I simply cannot do it. Pythagoras' theorem for example, and anything over basic calculus just kills my mind. I'm definitely below-average (I'm ok with the stuff on IQ tests, but that doesn't involve advanced equations).

When the majority of individuals with Asperger's (the highest functioning form of autism) don't work, live at home, and have few or no friends, all of which are directly related to the disorder, if one doesn't say that's a disability, I'd like to see your definition of such.

2ukenkerl
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07 Feb 2008, 6:02 am

aaronrey wrote:

but if your brother had AS, he would be EVEN BETTER at math.

see the point?

I wish that were true, but it seems like AS probably puts extra ability, from a lack of pruning, and unused social ability, up for grabs, and first come first served. If math wasn't among your early desires that were provided for, that ability may be used for something else.

Danielismyname
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07 Feb 2008, 6:04 am

As an addendum: I'd probably be far better at math than what I am now if I didn't have AS. Executive dysfunction and all.

Reyairia
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07 Feb 2008, 6:07 am

Danielismyname wrote:

As an addendum: I'd probably be far better at math than what I am now if I didn't have AS. Executive dysfunction and all.

I have troubles with math myself, but it has nothing to do with AS and I'm fully aware of why.
I wonder if it may be similar to yourself.

Who_Am_I
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07 Feb 2008, 7:23 am

I agree with the OP.

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Danielismyname
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07 Feb 2008, 7:32 am

Reyairia wrote:

I have troubles with math myself, but it has nothing to do with AS and I'm fully aware of why. I wonder if it may be similar to yourself.

I just cannot compute large/long equations (they say it's due to AS; ED and a poor attention span); throw in calculus and its use of characters as well as numerals and it all just kills my mind (a mixing of numbers and letters).

The latter is why I cannot tell the time properly unless I give it in digital.

AliceinOz
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07 Feb 2008, 7:49 am

LePetitPrince wrote:

Is lefthandness a disability?

only if you have no left arm ....

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