Aspies For Freedom

I really only have one thing:

Don't pity us.

We're just as capable of happiness, though it might take different forms.
We have emotions, though sometimes we don't express them properly.
We can love and hate and everything in between--even if we don't show it.
We communicate--even the most low-functioning of us. We just do it differently.
Autism doesn't cover up who we are. It's part of who we are.
We can do most things NTs can do; we can even do some things NTs can't do.
Autism doesn't keep us from being useful members of society.
We may not naturally know how to do some things, but we can learn what we don't know.
Autism isn't some sort of horrible cancer. It doesn't make us unhappy.
We'd still have problems if we were completely non-autistic. They'd just be different problems.
We take joy in knowing that someone loves us.
Autism isn't something that steals a person away--we're still there, just not communicating efficiently.
We enjoy learning, doing, creating, and interacting with the world, just like anyone.
We have hobbies that give us great enjoyment.
We miss out on a lot of those problems that come with being ultra-social.
We have a style of our own, a way of thinking and interacting that can benefit the mostly-NT world.

All in all, being autistic isn't all that bad. It's just a different way of being--not any worse.

So don't pity us.

Anybody who mistreats a child--Aspie, autie, or NT--should be locked away, and the key thrown into the Pacific. Period.

All of us aspie's are different, so not everyone may have the same trats as me, but here are some that I'd like you to know about:

1. I don't mean to be horrible and I don't dislike you if I don't smile...I just don't feel the need to at this time.

2. I love computers, math and science. Those are my main interests. If I'm working on this and you ask me to come out and I say no, I don't purposely mean to offend you, I just like my interests a lot and want to work on them.

3. If I don't look at you in the eyes, it's not because i'm purposly ignoring you or not listening. I find it hard to keep a constant gaze or even a quick gaze with someone. I don't exactly know why, but I really don't like it when you NT's tell me I'm being rude because of this.

4. If you want me to do something, please can you jut say it? I don't usually pick up/understand un-written rules. Don't just assume I know what to do, if they're unwritten.

5. I may repeat myself a lot, I'm sorry, so I apologise if I do.

6. Please do not change my routine. I am used to it, it helps me stay organized and I know what I need to do. It helps me function throughout the day. If you change it, I will get confused and may become angry because there is no sense of organization.

7. I really don't like people touching me. I know you may mean well, but when you come and hug me and I say no, please don't, and you hug me because you think it's "funny", don't complain to me when I shout at you, because I warned you not to touch me, and you carried on doing it.

8. Please do not call me "retarded", "broken", or ask me if I want to be "cured". I understand I'm not perfect, but who is? I like the way I am now, and I'm not retarded or broken, I'm different and have other interests than ou maybe, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with me.

9. If you ask me a question which involves feelings, like "how do you feel about that?", and I reply with saing I "dislike/like" it, than don't say I didn't answer the question. I find feelings and emotions hard, and instead I tend to catagorise things in either like, dislike or not apparent.
I'm sorry if this hasn't helped you, but this is what I felt you needed to know about me. Again, I understand that all of us are different.

I don't think you have to apologize. You're just telling us what you feel, and you'd have to lie if you wanted to say you felt the way most of us did. Telling the truth... nothing to feel sorry about. The people who hated you for being different, though, have a lot to feel sorry about.

Hey, yes, I certainly agree. I tend to be honest, I hate lying. If I stay at my friends house for a week and when i come home, my mum asks me if i miss her, i don't and I say no, i haven't miss you. But I don't understand what I've done wrong, eventually, my step-dad told me that it was horrible and that i upset her, and next time i should say i did, even if i didn't miss her. I asked why, as it would be lying, but he said that lying to make someone happy is good. I'm still not totally comfortable with doing what he said. I am honest, but i don't do it to be horrible, i just simply don't hold things back.

So NT's please tell us if we have done or said something wrong, because giving us a look, will not be picked up by me or other aspies maybe. But please remember, I'm not a horrible person, I just hate lying and am honest.

It's fine. Don't worry. lol. I am blunt a lot of the time though, as i said before. Ha, I also repeat myself sometimes. Lol. I go to my cousins house every friday night, and i come home on sunday evenings. And everytime, when I get in the car or when i get home, my mum asks if i missed her. And as i sad before, i say i didnt, why would i, i was only gone for 3 days? Lol. But i don't understand why i should miss her, i wasn't gone away for a long time. Also, I'm just curious, do you miss people when you go away? Hmm...Does anyone think the same as me...that lying isn't good and that i don't understand why i should lie, just to make someone happy?

Oh yeah, also, i do hate clothes tags and certain materials for bed sheets. Lol

Hmm yeah. Interesting. Lol...I wonder if people were really honest when they were growing up. If your friend was going to a party and they asked you if you liked what they were wearing, and you didn't, what would you say? I'd say no, i don't like it, but it's up to you what you wear. I said that once to my friend and the other girl there said I ws really rude and I'm not a good friend. She asked me if *I* liked it, not ayone else, so I said i didn't. What was wrong with that? I said sorry, i only answered the quesion...But this was before I told them I had AS...Now some of my friends know and i hope understand. I don't have that many friends though. But i have some.

All of my friends seem to stay mad for days, they all seem to be emotional. I seem to get over arguments within about....10 minutes lol. I don't know why, I just don't see the point in staying mad, i just don't feel anything i guess. Some people say I'm too forgiving, maybe i am, i don't know. I just simply don't feel the need to stay angry at someone. Tbh, i have emotions, but i only usually feel something when it's extreme anyway. Atm, i don't know what mood i am in.

sorry beam me up - I need to clarify.
So we are in agreement zacchie. The statement I attributed to Ethel - actually made by Batman was out of line.

It is not appropriate for aspies to take on the attitude of believing they are superior to society in general -- I agree with this point. But it is okay for individual aspies to value their intelligence.

Maybe you see me as having a bantering nature - we are all individuals.

Just because I struggle and appear slow with my words doesn't mean I am dumb or a retard.
I believe it is important for people to know - that under this struggle lies intelligence. I don't mean a superior intelligence - I simply mean an equal ''intelligence".

Thanks for the positive feedback - it helps me heaps.

sorry if it seems I follow you round this forum ATM. I just happen to like your posts.

I think you would make a wonderful counsellor - I had a rough day at work - my soul needs soothing.

You have a good attitude Chris - you're a lovely guy.

I've had a bit of stress lately ......someone advised me to always maintain a positive state of inner being. She also told me to surround myself with a bubble and mirror to deflect people's negative atttitudes directed towards me. Meaning don't take on board the mean attitudes of other people.
I believe what goes around - comes around. If we are good and positive people - good and positive things will happen to us.

My husband works in IT but he doesn't have the same aptitude for understanding computers as my children do.
My husband  took our broken down computer into work - the programmers couldn't fix the problem, my son came round home and fixed it (after it had been broken for a week) within half an hour.

(maybe this is in the wrong thread)