It sound depressing when you put it like that Zed. What about the positive benefits of being an aspie? The enhanced Perceptual Functioning? The self honesty? The benefits that people who see the world a little bit differently can contribute to society? The ability to hyperfocus?
))
Welcome to the other world of Aspergia.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision 2000 (DSM-IV-TR)
I've come to greatly dislike the DSM criteria--it misses a lot and overstates other things. None of the actual experts I've corresponded with, met, or read think highly of it, either.
Welcome to the other world of Aspergia.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision 2000 (DSM-IV-TR)
I've come to greatly dislike the DSM criteria--it misses a lot and overstates other things. None of the actual experts I've corresponded with, met, or read think highly of it, either.
It just doesn't mesh with the research results that neuroanatomists are coming up with. One guy recently told me that he and his colleges are trying to break out of the dark ages of the DSM.
I'm not keen on the DSM either. I think it puts too much emphasis on how we present and not how we think.
As in, I know people who think in exactly the same lines as me (and I apparently have typical Aspergian thinking), but they have no difficulty in sustaining eye contact, don't flap/rock etc. As in, they present as possibly NT, but they seem to have Aspergian thinking. Since I came out of depression, I've been told by several different people that my eye contact has 'dramatically' improved, and I don't look as awkward in my body. Given that my physical presentation is one of the criteria for diagnosis, does this make me 'less' Aspie?
Realistically though, I guess you could say that the DSM is concerned with the medical diagnosis of the condition, and doesn't necessarily look at the positives of the autistic spectrum. Technically, thats not its duty - it is there to establish a condition, not its sociological relevance (i.e. belonging to a community, positivity etc). I do think the Attwood school of "congratulations, you have Aspergers syndrome" is very healthy, and I do feel its better if those who give the diagnosis set out the benefits of having Aspergers... but thats just my personal opinion on the matter, and realistically, as an Aspie, I am biased. I know people who despise their Aspergers and blame it for all thats wrong in their life (whilst blaming the NT world as well... hmmm...), and they don't really understand why I get a lot of fun out of my Aspergers. 'Normal' doesn't exist anyway!
Yeah - I think the actual reality is a lot more complex and modular, and one day they'll develop a diagnosis that looks like a thousand piece jigsaw chart and so called 'normal' people will find out that they share a lot of the jigsaw pieces too.
Turtles have flippers.
Tortoises have legs.
This is true, but not completley true. Whilst sea turtles and giant turtles have flippers that they use to manouvre their way through the water, freshwater turtles usually have legs and webbed feet, without having a full flipper leg.
[snip]
From this I conclude that almost most of all breeds of freshwater and amphibious turtles have legs with webbed or clawed feet (or both). I think these animals still meet the criteria for leg though, therefore, leg.
I do not make sense.
You do make sense. Thank you for the correction and interesting information.
Should I take it that you do not shave your legs, but that you are a land turtle? 
"Legs and feet. A turtle's legs and feet vary according to the habitat of the species. Land turtles, particularly tortoises, have heavy, short, clublike legs and feet. Most freshwater turtles have longer legs and [flat] webbed feet. Sea turtles have legs shaped like long paddles, with flippers instead of feet."
http://www.worldbook.com/wb/worldbook/cy...kturt.html
Semantically, I don't think one could say "you have Asperger's."
But in terms of using a shortcut to describe difficulties that the vast majority of people do not experience... yes, it makes sense, it's the easiest way to make someone understand why you are the way you are, and so on.
I thoroughly believed that my being in SPED school was a mistake on my parents part right up until my junior year of highschool. I outright refused to believe that I had AS like I was told because I didn't fit the extremely vague description I was given. It wasn't until I learned more about it that I started to realize that it seemed like the descriptions in the books I was reading seemed to match me better.
What books did you read?
I'm sort of in denial at the moment, perhaps I too need a better description. Wikipedia did me no wonders.
You could try:
"Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger Syndrome': A User Guide to Adolescence"
by Luke Jackson
I guess I am what I am too, but I don't know. I think it is going to take some getting used to, Bipolar Disorder I can deal with, but Autism is so extreme and hardcore.
Gosh, nice to know that I'm "extreme and hardcore". Guess I'd better go sign up for the genocide campaign to make sure that I and all my kind are exterminated. Are you bothered by the REALITY autism spectrum or a buttload of prejudices and ignorance about autism spectrum?
Guess what, your diagnosis DID NOT CHANGE WHO YOU ARE! Before your diagnosis you were exactly as you are now. The difference is that you have been pointed to a handle to let you take control of your life. You can either grab onto it and go for the gold or sit back and wallow, getting nowhere.
Grab the handle.
And what I like the most? Aspies unerring ability to annoy the hell outta me
You should really read my blogspot
http://executivefun.blogspot.com/
Na see I like that cuz that's you doing...what you do.
I mean the Aspies that moan about how shit life is constantly
Oh... them? It seems to come and go with spots, hormones, and relationships.
I consider hardcore to be a compliment
Nobody really "has" Asperger's, since Asperger's isn't a disease, it's a style of brain development, but more importantly, it's really nothing more than a term applied to those who fit a specific description.
And what I like the most? Aspies unerring ability to annoy the hell outta me
You should really read my blogspot
http://executivefun.blogspot.com/
Na see I like that cuz that's you doing...what you do.
I mean the Aspies that moan about how shit life is constantly
Don't use me in your example, Ian. I'm exempt from inclusion in broad, sweeping statements like that.