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I advise, set a good example by being yourself, be content, and wait. Continue to love him as he stands, with his ignorance, walls, and false fronts.
Is it even possible for those who have AS to have 'false fronts' which they deliberately construct? If it is, consider me a candidate, as I've done just that through my teenage years, even if these fronts were clearly poorly crafted and easily ripped apart.
If so, then what would really seperate those with AS from normal people? I've been obsessively reading over AS for the last 2 months or so and still can't figure out exactly what it is or how someone would tell they have it. It seems to me many otherwise normal people who are socially inept or extremely introverted would be given this label, but does that really mean they are autistic? This has been all too confusing for me.
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One other question: Is living a "double life" a symptom of AS? That may not be the best way to describe this. An example of this: I've known my friend for over 5 years but he tells me that he is one year older than he really is. There have been a few other things -- all minor things -- that he has lied about and sticks with when confronted. On these things, I've only confronted him once but quickly backed off because he became defensive (and hates confrontation), and they were subjects that really didn't effect our friendship -- I just thought they were strange things to lie about.
LOL
That sounds a lot like me until recently. You could put yourself as the role of my friend and me as the role of your friend, and you'd have a brief explanation of my scenario. My friend is ADHD, but keeps reminding me of how weird I am in an autistic way; autism would also explain a lot of things in my life, but would that really be accurate? I was thought to be an 'idiot savant' as a child.
Knowing the info in this topic, it would appear logical to assume that many NPDs, avoidants, and Schizoids, are aspies. But that just doesn't make sense unless the definition of autism has changed substantially. In order to set up a false self would assume a well developed theory of mind, but not even those psychologists who study autism can reach a consensus on ToM having anything to do with it! So is basic social ineptness and lack of 'common sense' combined with a set of repetitive behaviors, a heavy systemizing/low empathizing brain, obsessions and difficulty understanding others a form of high functioning autism? And if so, is it even a good idea to associate this condition as a less severe from of the well-known Kanner types?
Some psychologists think autism is over-diagnosed while others think it is under-diagnosed. I suppose this depends on the definition used. It seems to me to be a fad diagnosis as of late.
28 Jan 2006, 4:38 pm
