Blog post comparing Aspergers and Psychopathy

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That article is horrifically insulting. There's no point in trying to argue with her because her mind is made up that we don't have empathy. We think we do, but ohhh noooo, we CAN'T COMPREHEND what empathy is. So she flat-out dismisses any logical reasoning because we're apparently too stupid to know how empathy works. I can't believe people see us in this light. She also thinks every Aspie is the same, which is obviously false. She's had a few bad experiences with them, and now she hates all of us. If she had a bad experience with a black person, would she write an article about hating all blacks? No, because that's racism and frowned upon. Apparently we are "lesser beings," which makes it all right to be subjected to belittlement like this. I want to throw up.

I registered just so I could post this. Her host is Siteground, and they have a Facebook page. (I can't post a link as a new user, so just go to Facebook and type "Siteground" into the search bar.) I sent them a message saying that one of their hosted sites is hatemongering towards people on the autism spectrum. It might not do any good, but it can't hurt.

Now what happened to the comments? Did she disable them or hide them? They're gone.

Just wow. I don't know where to start. If someone wrote something so slanderous about the entire general population of people with a disability such as, for example, multiple sclerosis, there would be an outcry and uproar and it would probably make the national news.

I sometimes tell people about having aspergers but i don't tell everyone. I usually tell people about my son's ASD if they are going to be caring for him in any way. But stuff like this makes me not want to tell anybody ever. I don't want my child to have to deal with this kind of prejudice.

And she has the nerve to call aspies selfish.

I have been thinking about this very topic this week.

I lived with a sociopath for a time, when I was in high school. It's a long story I'm not going to get into now.
It was the worst 3-1/2 years of my life.
People with an ASD are not sociopaths. They do not have the social suavite that sociopath's do. They cannot really *fake* anything.
I suppose that a few on the spectrum are sociopaths, but then I would question if they were on the spectrum because one of the reasons sociopaths are successful is because they do not exhibit bad social skills.
They look like people others want to be around. Charming. Well-dressed. Polite. They know what to say at all times to win people over to them who they can later manipulate.
Last I checked, most people with ASD are not charming!
When you can't hide your awkwardness, you aren't exactly able to manipulate people and make them think you are something you are not.

The person I lived with was *definitely* a sociopath. I have met two others who I also suspect were sociopaths. All were extremely charming in their first impressions. I also know at least 10 people IRL with a diagnosed ASD. They are not at all the same.

Talk about armchair psychology. We think "Aspergers" is thrown around too much. How much more dangerous is throwing around "Sociopath!" People are using this term anytime someone does something they don't like or think is wrong - the person must be a sociopath! Sociopaths are SO DANGEROUS we have to be careful to not throw around this label, or else we end up in a situation like the Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Here are two links I found this week as I was mulling this over:

http://www.decision-making-confidence.c ... ptoms.html

http://www.sott.net/article/268449-Empa ... t-yourself

These are excellent articles, and spot on in my experience.
I have found this quote from the second article to be quite true:

"Chronically traumatized people often exhibit hyper-vigilant, anxious and agitated behavior, symptoms such as tension headaches, gastrointestinal disturbances, abdominal pain, back pain, tremors and nausea.

Exposure to and interaction with a sociopath in childhood can leave lifelong scars. This can apply to people in therapy - and for those who in recovery trained as therapists, re-exposure as an adult can trigger old emotions and PTSD."

I think she makes a reasonable argument. Her point is that autistic people share the lack of emotional connection that psychopaths lack and that this makes us unsatisfactory partners.
What is glossed over is the distinction between emotional and cognitive empathy. Psychopaths and autistics differ in that autistics actually do care, they just have trouble communicating it. While psychopaths don't care.
She says that this distinction is irrelevant to the experience of the partner as the result in both situations is a lack of personal connection. I would argue that motive is more important than she gives it credit for ... and further, that because autistic people do care, that there is the potential for a satisfactory relationship. It is important, however, that both partners are aware of the condition so as to effectively address the problems it creates.

It's worth mentioning that nothing she has posted about her personal experience is verifiable.

I have been thinking about this more. This person is making disparaging and demonstrably false statements about people with disabilities. The myth that people with Aspergers cannot feel or express empathy has been debunked. The fact that some people with the condition sometimes hurt other people's feelings because they 'don't get it' has been conflated with a sweeping generalization that we are universally without the ability to respect or understand the feelings of others.

I might add that even the idea that 'psychopaths' or 'sociopaths' are an identifiable set of people who are universally incapable of love or moral behaviour has been challenged by neurologists and other researchers, notably James Fallon (self-identified psychopath, loving husband, son, and father, successful neurologist). This idea is the core of her personal project, which according to her own words began in early 2013 after an unfortunate encounter with someone she identified as a psychopath.

Her post about Asperger's is hateful, harmful, and morally wrong. If only there were a way to open a dialogue with her and help her open her mind a bit.

This is almost a case study in how a prejudice starts.

Imagine if the article writer had decided that negative assumptions could be made about a racial group, based on a few bad experiences with people in that group.
Noone would let her get away with that sort of rubbish. This person is in danger of becoming a bigot.

Is it possible to be a psychopath and be a good person? If so I would admire that persons commitment to overcome their nature...But you would always wonder if it is real.