How Can Anyone "Be Proud" of being autistic?

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"proud" might not be the correct word choice.

However, nobody decides to be AS or NT. So why and how could someone be "proud" of being AS?

Maybe.... It's because so. Many NTs totally misunderstand and villify the AS. That some autistics (such as myself) feel ashamed of our autism symptoms....

So. The antidote to shame :. Pride

I'm not sure how any of this helps. How can anyone say that they wouldn't spend time with someone, when they don't even know them each as individuals. As for creating a world wonder that was here, founder or no founder doesn't necessarily mean you can either sink or swim. Maybe, appreciation adds more value when it is founded in trustworthy individuals who can be redeemed on their merits, not altogether past achievements. Also, I assumed it was writer and co founder, not purely 'Founder'. I suppose we can all bask in equal merit, when the right integration and end consumer product has been achieved..

Tip- You support the individual, not the founding cause.

according to Dark Phantom's definition, i am a "loser". in that i am unemployed long term. when i had jobs, they were just minimum wage. and got fired. got a drivers license. and drive pretty badly. zero friends. in the past, they either grew apart, or dumped me. 34 years old and no date or spouse. BA, cognitive science, ucsd. clinical depression diagnosis. prozac and ativan.

if given the opportunity, i would cure autism too. but, thus far, no opportunity.

if there were a cure for autism, it would cost a lot of $$. a cure, like pills? shots? occupational therapy? job counseling? psychotherapy? the current counselor (masters degree, psychology), told me the insurance reimburses her 75 bucks per session. and that is just talking. talking is so fleety. ephemeral. anyone can talk. writing prescriptions takes a lot more education. and it takes a lot more $$ to hire someone that has a legal right to write prescriptions.

if there were a free cure, then what? that would not solve all the emotional turmoil, caused from autism symptoms in the first 34 years.

the dictionary does not define the word "loser" the same way the OP does. however, anyone can define anything in any way, because it is legal. and if it were illegal, then what? call 911? take out a civil lawsuit? political protest? peer pressure?...........

The ''pride'' aspect is a way to stand up to stigma. We need to care less of what people think of us, most NT's don't even like us so why should we use their own standards to judge ourselves? The ''Loser'' label is thrown back in our faces by NT society with NT expectations.

Autistic people have more on our plate and we do things differently most of the time.

"unique" has a positive connotation

"Normal" has a positive connotation too

"Abnormal" has a negative connotation

"Weird" has a negative connotation

Everyone is "unique". It is not the more unique, the better

Especially when being "unique" causes so much inconvenience

Euphemism

I certainly feel that feeling sorry for yourself is self-defeating. I don't regret being Aspie; to me it's neither good or bad, it is just the hand I was dealt and I feel an obligation to make the best of it. I also feel you should be who you are and should not let others define what milestones you should have reached. It reminds of the story about birds and an owl. The birds were talking among themselves and said how fxxxed the owl was. The owl is not like us; he flys and hunts at night and he sleeps all day. The question is should the owl change who he is to try and conform to how the birds think he should be or just be himself?

I wonder, if a lie in itself is a lie, then thinking outside of the box can be a truthful anecdotal pie when you think about all the causes underlying our human existence. We may be proven to others as natures sorry attempt at hypocrisy but you can't class your rules the same way a freelance writer can drop a few home made policies, on the bias attempt of winning a home crowd. The world is a future compass of mass possibilities, online or otherwise, and unless someone can organise their appeal on old forgotten soil, then the path they tread will remain alien.

Nobody would want to reverse their achievements in poor earnest, just to obey a disgruntled jury but, you have to be prepared to front the witness box if you come face to face with potential danger and harm to life.

If fate was prepared for the kinds of emotional turmoil that one has to live with to shut out the 'noise' of the outside world, then distraction would be a myth.
I hope the bickering authorities take kindly to any further opinions or announcements that may hinder or praise progress at least here, or some of us may be asked to resume our potential losses or take our personal belongings elsewhere. I never signed the treaty when I joined, so the sudden feeling that there's a calm before the storm, sends a chill threading through my veins.

Most autistics are accused of passing their account over as a fictitious tale, when languages get provoked in exactly the same way. Acceptance, is like honouring a lost cause and religion is like savouring a bible,- without a holy word to thank for it.
So the supporting framework either lies with supporting the individual, or is drowned out by the cause.

Hi,

I see this thread is a little old; but, here I go. Personally, I don't feel proud of having ASD; but, rather, I accept myself as who I am, look at my errors, and try to fix them and better myself. In doing so, by making myself a better person and improving my identity, I am able to feel better about myself as a whole (I don't want to use the word proud since I'm not necessarily proud -- perhaps that's me being self-conscious). I accept it as me, not as a label, rather, I see myself as Jared P, and I am glad to be that person/me since I am me.

Regards,
Jared

Gay Pride was a public demonstration of the refutation of shame imposed on gay people by the straight world. Autistic Pride advocacy aims for the same refutation as I understand it, it's not about us as individuals but the realities of discrimination, othering and stigmatisation as a group. The shaming of AS people needs to stop. When a group is systematically shamed in such a wholesale way, some of the victims internalise the shaming and then shame themselves. This leads to grim outcomes.

That's the bigger picture as far as I can see.

I think NTs are miserable. I consider them as inferiours/ they are sub humans. I dont see them as human beings even.
Normies have no souls.
So im proud. As for doubtfull success. Define the word. As for my self i already have everething i need. Almost.
I CAN be sociable - VERY EASY. I know it i did. But i dont want it

As would I. *
I don't consider myself 'autism positive' or 'autism negative'.
I didn't choose autism. None of us did.
But my philosophy on this is that if all life ever hands you are lemons then, quite obviously, the only logical course of action is to try and turn those lemons into copious amounts of lemonade.
Because that's really all you CAN do.

* There has been some research on using the 'club drug' MDMA (aka Molly, Ecstasy, Empathy) to treat autism in adults.
The results seem promising (And why wouldn't it? I mean the drug basically gives NTs Williams Syndrome **).
They say the changes to the brain can last for months.
If so then could we be, for the first time ever, looking at an actual viable solution?
I'd like to think so but maybe that's just a little NT in me.

** Btw, ever wonder what would happen if all the popular kids back in high school looked like all the unpopular ones?
Well, you don't have to wonder. Just get on YouTube and search Williams Syndrome.
Loads of videos about this brain condition that is virtually 180 degree opposite of autism.
You're sure to find watching the vids both fascinating and uplifting.
Heh, uplifting because they, unintentionally, do a great job of undermining that meme, that is always in the background of our day to day lives, that outgoing, or 'positive' brains are somehow intrinsically better wired or superior in some way to our own all in spite of everything we learn, do, or accomplish better than those f****ers ever will (and ALL of you know exactly what I'm talking about).
Nothing kills that idea quite like seeing their kind trapped inside bodies like that. Ha Ha Ha

I,m proud of being autistic because it makes me different it's better to be different than just be the same as everybody else and Just because alot of us suffer and struggle doesn't mean I and others like me can,t have a healthy happy life you just have to try I wouldn't trade my Autism for the world it's part of who I am

I do not wish to be normal. I find being normal to be vastly overrated so I couldn't imagine being anything but neurodivergent. However it is difficult at times but a lot of my problems do not stem from the way my brain is wired it is because of the circumstance. If I had got diagnosed when I was still in school things would be a lot different.
Nevertheless the challenges that I have faced probably builds character/some sense of strength so I'm not asking for perfection. I just wish that it didn't take me so long to even get a job because of the age I am and I'm still not where I need to be because my life had been stolen from me for so long. I know I was more likely to be put in these circumstances because of being neurodivergent but not everyone who is neurodivergent goes through that so I can't blame it solely on that.

I am proud, and I love autistic people (actual autistic people, not trolls or those faking it to get a television/writing/counseling) career. We are interesting people.

For me my Autism makes me unique and smart. I also love drawing and minecraft because you can be as creative as you want. Then another thing would be I see the world in a different perspective than everybody else and that is another thing I like about my Autism. In general I love being Autistic it makes me so happy.

You know why this is happening? The cause is not autism but the real cause is discrimination and dehumanization.