Why do we define ourselves by our AS?

Post Reply New Topic

Because my AS is a gift that makes me the unique individual, that I am.

I classify my self as AS because todays society expects an explanation of why I am eccentric.
Thanks to a few other eccentric people in my family and a few eccentric ancestors, I have access to almost 500 years of genealogy. I can definitely say, back through history, my ancestors have always been considered eccentric. Polite society did not call them crazy, because that would mean they needed to be in an asylum. My family has always been well off, but never wealthy. We have been engineers, scientists, bookkeepers, and all of the other "typical AS occupations". A couple of my ancestors even became famous for their works.

There is a strong emphasis in todays society for conformity. Everyone seems to be expected to act and dress in a certain manner. Since I can't, and won't, dress and behave like a good citizen, I feel compelled to have a label. I am not a maverick, even though I go my own directions. I am not a revolutionist, even though I rebel against parts of our civilization. The word eccentric is out of vogue, with its meaning lost to the majority of people. I seem to fall into the category of having AS. People at work call me crazy because society is no longer so polite. But, they are also very afraid of losing my skills, because my abilities allow them to make a profit with less effort. At least with the label AS, I have a way to tell people what kind of crazy I am. (I don't think they want to know and I am not volunteering)

I do not want to be cured, and I don't want my kids, or other relatives cured either. We are an important section of society, we just need society to let us do our thing.

I don't define myself by it, but this is a place that I can talk freely about issues I have related to it.

I don't define myself by it, I think it's just a word describing what a lot of people happen to have in common. That said, I don't define myself by being female either, nor do I let it dictate everything in my life, but I don't mind being female, nor does anyone ever accuse me of defining myself by being female if I wish to remain female.

I define myself as being a brilliant eccentric that is given the label "Asperger's Syndrome." My positive and negitive traits are aspects of the same thing, they cause each other. My problems with socializing is what at the same time allows me to see hidden assumptions. you cannot separate the positive and negitive traits, they are interlinked.

My testing results place in between typical and AS, and there are definitely some co-existing conditions I'd like to get rid of, namely anxiety and a seizure disorder. I don't want to have to take medication all my life. I do like some of the more positive aspects of AS: a good memory, ability to retain factual material, high general intelligence and an interest in a lot of different things. My love of cats and other animals is something apart from my AS, and came about as a result of me being raised with pets all my life. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

AS is said to show up between ages 2 and 3 because that's when children first start to be social. So, AS being a social impairment is going to 'manifest' in everyday life.

But AS isn't just and only a social impairment, usually.

I thought it was common knowledge that this 'from ages 2/3 onwards' isn't a valid statement.

I was autistic well before age 2. I know other parents who say their babies were different form the start too.

double post

I define myself mostly by my profession, not Asperger's.