Being Open vs Being a Spokesperson

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Do you find yourself, after revealing, that some people come to you as if you were an expert on the subject? Has the fear of being forced into being a spokesperson kept you from not discussing it? It's something that I've wrestled with.

I mean, I want to be forthcoming, but I don't want to be "the face" of it among people I know.

Yet I want to be more vocal as well, about the needs of people like you and me.

How do you reconcile the two?

This young lady says it sooo well...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIyhCAPti9w[/youtube]

No. I WISH.

I should probably be careful what I wish for. But my biggest problem has been with people assuming that means I'm unfit to make decisions about my own life, my own care, blah-blah-blah.

The only thing I've ever been mistaken for an "expert" in is whatever my developed areas of interest happen to be at the time.

I have played music at several churches in my area, and I reveal how Asperger's has worked in my life in developing my musical abilities. On at least a couple occasions, the ministers have arranged for me to talk to parents of autistic children about advice.

I've had this happen a few times where I work, which is tough, just because you have to be so careful about what you reveal about yourself in a workplace setting. I've been open to a fault and I feel it's come back to bite me on occasion.

I'm not sure I reconcile the two - I see a sort of duality. While I think it would be good to be, not raising awareness as such, but improving awareness, I still see it as personal, so I feel a little uncomfortable discussing it with some people. The few people I have 'revealed' to seemed to know enough not to want to ask questions. Once, someone asked me if I had autism (completely out of the blue, too) and I was happy to converse about it.

However, since I am somewhat a font of random and specific knowledge to my friends, what's one more category added to me repertoire.

I've had a job where they refused to promote me because of my AS. I know because I had a boss say that. They thought I can never move up. Surface to say I'm done with that job.

Like some of you, I don't tell my diagnosis to the public. I'm not ashamed of it, but based on what some of you said, there are some closed-minded people who mistakenly think we are all incapable. That's what I was always afraid of. I also believe that people with other disorders are stigmatized too.