10 Jul 2014, 9:16 am
AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Age: 61
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10 Jul 2014, 11:42 am
10 Jul 2014, 11:48 am
10 Jul 2014, 2:43 pm
Sweetleaf
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10 Jul 2014, 4:18 pm
10 Jul 2014, 7:00 pm
11 Jul 2014, 6:21 am
Laddo wrote:
I've been thinking about this a lot recently. A lot of people with ASD can be very focused, highly intelligent and persistent. These traits are ideal for being successful. A lot of people on this very forum seem to have a lot of drive, and may make posts about their passion and how they'd like to turn it into a career. And yet we rarely hear of aspies having massive success. I'm curious as to why this is.
I think it's largely down to how we're perceived by society. People may acknowledge our intelligence, our determination etc, but they don't admire it as they would admire the same traits in an NT person. It's like there's this automatic barrier that prevents most people from seeing that we are in fact people, just like them. We just face different challenges to them. For example, despite most people I know acknowledging that I'm pretty damn intelligent, they continue to act as if I need help with everything, that I can't do anything too complicated etc etc. These are also people who know either know very little about Asperger's or even people that don't even know I have it. Any difference is treated with a kind of patronising disdain (a "I'm normal, you're not, my opinion therefore matters more than yours" kind of thing), which leads to us not being given opportunities for success just because of those differences. I feel that if society were actually more open and accepting of autism, and if people weren't so painfully ignorant of the condition, they might start giving us more opportunities to succeed instead of subconsciously shooting us down at every attempt.
What are your thoughts?
I think it's largely down to how we're perceived by society. People may acknowledge our intelligence, our determination etc, but they don't admire it as they would admire the same traits in an NT person. It's like there's this automatic barrier that prevents most people from seeing that we are in fact people, just like them. We just face different challenges to them. For example, despite most people I know acknowledging that I'm pretty damn intelligent, they continue to act as if I need help with everything, that I can't do anything too complicated etc etc. These are also people who know either know very little about Asperger's or even people that don't even know I have it. Any difference is treated with a kind of patronising disdain (a "I'm normal, you're not, my opinion therefore matters more than yours" kind of thing), which leads to us not being given opportunities for success just because of those differences. I feel that if society were actually more open and accepting of autism, and if people weren't so painfully ignorant of the condition, they might start giving us more opportunities to succeed instead of subconsciously shooting us down at every attempt.
What are your thoughts?
There are alot of attempts to "normalise" people on the spectrum, meaning classes teaching them to adopt social techniques which probably will have repercussions in the long run for people with Aspergers because of the tendency to overly enthuse about things that we have learned and the danger of going overboard with normative social techniques that are suggested to us.
In regards to limitations, someone who has been diagnosed with Aspergers from a more privileged family is more likely to be supported by their family and provided with opportunities to follow their skills than someone form a working class family. Usually due to having the finances to help their child pursue an interest/career they actually want to do rather than a job that is not suited to them due to the difficulties they have as an Aspie. There is still a lack of understanding and a lack of a support network for Aspies whose families lack the finances to support their child in an given interest.
For people who have been diagnosed later in life it is probably even worse because not having a diagnosis for so long would've meant they have been forced into adopting neurotypical ways of communicating, thus suppressing their Aspie traits, which would certainly screw me up if I were in this presumed position
11 Jul 2014, 2:51 pm
I think that autistic individuals like myself are the future of society, just like in The Soul Of Autism by William Stillman. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but it's pretty amazing.
You can buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Soul-Autism-L ... 1601630050
Spoiler Alert: The book contains a reference to Adventure Time, the cartoon. 
11 Jul 2014, 3:20 pm
Smythley wrote:
There are alot of attempts to "normalise" people on the spectrum, meaning classes teaching them to adopt social techniques which probably will have repercussions in the long run for people with Aspergers because of the tendency to overly enthuse about things that we have learned and the danger of going overboard with normative social techniques that are suggested to us.
In regards to limitations, someone who has been diagnosed with Aspergers from a more privileged family is more likely to be supported by their family and provided with opportunities to follow their skills than someone form a working class family. Usually due to having the finances to help their child pursue an interest/career they actually want to do rather than a job that is not suited to them due to the difficulties they have as an Aspie. There is still a lack of understanding and a lack of a support network for Aspies whose families lack the finances to support their child in an given interest.
For people who have been diagnosed later in life it is probably even worse because not having a diagnosis for so long would've meant they have been forced into adopting neurotypical ways of communicating, thus suppressing their Aspie traits, which would certainly screw me up if I were in this presumed position
In regards to limitations, someone who has been diagnosed with Aspergers from a more privileged family is more likely to be supported by their family and provided with opportunities to follow their skills than someone form a working class family. Usually due to having the finances to help their child pursue an interest/career they actually want to do rather than a job that is not suited to them due to the difficulties they have as an Aspie. There is still a lack of understanding and a lack of a support network for Aspies whose families lack the finances to support their child in an given interest.
For people who have been diagnosed later in life it is probably even worse because not having a diagnosis for so long would've meant they have been forced into adopting neurotypical ways of communicating, thus suppressing their Aspie traits, which would certainly screw me up if I were in this presumed position
Ya! tell me about it. Ive been to this hell and back. BTW: I did come from a "privileged" family and went to two private schools (one boarding and, one catholic as well as public) and all I can tell you is that it was an absolute living f**king merciless hell going through school and all because my mother was trying to find the perfect school for me, witch all in the end failed miserably. FYI: the catholic one was the worst.
11 Jul 2014, 3:35 pm
LupaLuna wrote:
Smythley wrote:
There are alot of attempts to "normalise" people on the spectrum, meaning classes teaching them to adopt social techniques which probably will have repercussions in the long run for people with Aspergers because of the tendency to overly enthuse about things that we have learned and the danger of going overboard with normative social techniques that are suggested to us.
In regards to limitations, someone who has been diagnosed with Aspergers from a more privileged family is more likely to be supported by their family and provided with opportunities to follow their skills than someone form a working class family. Usually due to having the finances to help their child pursue an interest/career they actually want to do rather than a job that is not suited to them due to the difficulties they have as an Aspie. There is still a lack of understanding and a lack of a support network for Aspies whose families lack the finances to support their child in an given interest.
For people who have been diagnosed later in life it is probably even worse because not having a diagnosis for so long would've meant they have been forced into adopting neurotypical ways of communicating, thus suppressing their Aspie traits, which would certainly screw me up if I were in this presumed position
In regards to limitations, someone who has been diagnosed with Aspergers from a more privileged family is more likely to be supported by their family and provided with opportunities to follow their skills than someone form a working class family. Usually due to having the finances to help their child pursue an interest/career they actually want to do rather than a job that is not suited to them due to the difficulties they have as an Aspie. There is still a lack of understanding and a lack of a support network for Aspies whose families lack the finances to support their child in an given interest.
For people who have been diagnosed later in life it is probably even worse because not having a diagnosis for so long would've meant they have been forced into adopting neurotypical ways of communicating, thus suppressing their Aspie traits, which would certainly screw me up if I were in this presumed position
Ya! tell me about it. Ive been to this hell and back. BTW: I did come from a "privileged" family and went to two private schools (one boarding and, one catholic as well as public) and all I can tell you is that it was an absolute living f**king merciless hell going through school and all because my mother was trying to find the perfect school for me, witch all in the end failed miserably. FYI: the catholic one was the worst.
I come from a privileged family too and went to Catholic school for 13 years. It was not hell. It was hell on steroids ice skating through Nazi Germany.
I know. That was a little awkward.
11 Jul 2014, 7:02 pm
11 Jul 2014, 11:45 pm
14 Jul 2014, 4:10 am
Smythley wrote:
For people who have been diagnosed later in life it is probably even worse because not having a diagnosis for so long would've meant they have been forced into adopting neurotypical ways of communicating, thus suppressing their Aspie traits, which would certainly screw me up if I were in this presumed position
It certainly screwed me up. When I was a kid, the autism spectrum wasn't widely known about and I wasn't diagnosed 'til 38 years old. I went from being told that there was nothing different about me and getting no support to being recognized as disabled. And it's been a weird journey.
I'd be lying if I said it doesn't irk me when I see all the recognition and supports that are available to children now. Not that I begrudge them the help, I just wonder how different things would have been for me had these been available when I was a child. I imagine my depression, anxiety and self loathing would be less.
Trying desperately to pass as neurotypical and not knowing what was going on with me for so long has broken my spirit. I think it's terrible when people try to push autistics to behave in a "normal" way. Passing and masking are destructive to the soul. It's like being told that you are intrinsically bad and that you have to hide it.
Society had better brace itself because there are a lot of us and with numbers comes strength. I hope one day the natural behaviours of autistic people will be as accepted and that we will no longer have to suffer attempts to modifty us.
14 Jul 2014, 4:32 am
14 Jul 2014, 12:44 pm
ASPartOfMe
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Age: 67
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Posts: 36,190
Location: Long Island, New York
14 Jul 2014, 9:18 pm
Ann2011 wrote:
Smythley wrote:
For people who have been diagnosed later in life it is probably even worse because not having a diagnosis for so long would've meant they have been forced into adopting neurotypical ways of communicating, thus suppressing their Aspie traits, which would certainly screw me up if I were in this presumed position
It certainly screwed me up. When I was a kid, the autism spectrum wasn't widely known about and I wasn't diagnosed 'til 38 years old. I went from being told that there was nothing different about me and getting no support to being recognized as disabled. And it's been a weird journey.
I'd be lying if I said it doesn't irk me when I see all the recognition and supports that are available to children now. Not that I begrudge them the help, I just wonder how different things would have been for me had these been available when I was a child. I imagine my depression, anxiety and self loathing would be less.
Trying desperately to pass as neurotypical and not knowing what was going on with me for so long has broken my spirit. I think it's terrible when people try to push autistics to behave in a "normal" way. Passing and masking are destructive to the soul. It's like being told that you are intrinsically bad and that you have to hide it.
Society had better brace itself because there are a lot of us and with numbers comes strength. I hope one day the natural behaviours of autistic people will be as accepted and that we will no longer have to suffer attempts to modifty us.
Yeah it certainly did screw me up. We call it "Autistic burnout" and it fried my brain. I was living minute to minute, the past and the future took to much energy and were to frightening to think about. I still have a lot of trouble distinguishing between when I'm using a neurotypical skill I have added to my aspie-autistic self or I am just faking myself yet again. After doing it for decades it's just hard to tell the difference.
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