This one guy in my class (who is a fellow super whiz) think that Autism means making no eye contact, saying 'I dunno' in a monotone voice whenever asked a question, & banging one's head against something. WHAT NUTTINESS! And I think HE may actually have AS! THAT'S RIGHT! He's obsessed with dictionaries, has a hard time in social situations, and acts oddly under pressure. He is also compulsive when he's under pressure. Let's not forget how he's a bullying magnet. What is going on here? He doesn't even realize the potential that he could have Asperger's and the thinks Autism is a JOKE
!
He's probably in denial. Plain and Simple.
Has he read up on AS before? How much does he know about AS?
I was in denial I think, but some psychologists helped me understand that I am different in a special way. I think it's a pity I didn't come to understand it by myself, even if I all the time wondered where and how I will find people that are like me.
Some schools are having "Autism Awareness" days. Which is great as long as they are not also raising money for CAN or other curebies.
Before I got diagnosed I thought that all autistic people were retarded except they did not speak and just banged their heads on the wall. I think one of the guidance counsellors at my high school recognized that I was on the spectrum as he was completing his masters in psychology. There is just alot of ignorance. They just do not know what the autisitic spectrum is.
Could you leave some informative literature or leaflets out at school explaining what it is?
You know M, I've actually TRIED that, but thanks anyway. And cant_think_of_a_username, My classmate hasn't read up on AS. Essentially, the only things he knows about AS he heard from me.
Has anybody had the situation where they know other Aspies and these friends say that you are much worse Aspie than them when you think they are further on the spectrum than you?
I thought I was high functioning but some friends say I am quite low functioning due to social and sensory issues and tendency to get over-emotional very easily. The psychiatrist said I would have significant issues with empathy and expressing emotions but that overall, I was quite high functioning.
I just find it confusing that on the one hand, my mum thinks I'm only slightly impaired but others think there are significant issues.
Well, some people have different viewpoints. Adults might think you are only minorly impaired whereas peers were say, "BOY IS THAT AN IMPAIRED GUY!"
Trust me, wise adults know what's major impairment & what's not. Peers, well...most of them have a harsh & judgemental opinion. Trust me. I know. Most of the adults I know say that I'm minorly impaired, whereas most of my peers think I'm an 'alien'. What can I say? Society can really suck when they don't know squat about difference.
The Roman Catholic Church is the greatest enemy of homosexuals. But, hey, did you know that the clergy is FULL of homosexuals!! Is that something!!!
It is classical hyprocisy at its best to deny one's nature. If the mentioned class-mate is an Aspie, i wouldn't be surprise to learn that it would be him the one who would distance himself most from declared-Aspies. Very ironic, yet very true.
I think the best thing to do is to show him that there is nothing to be afraid of. Little by little he might change his mind!
Then, after all, such a person might not be an Aspie at all. Just because s/he is obsessed by dictionaries and stuff, and just because s/he finds it hard to integrate in social chit-chat, it does not neccessarily mean that s/he is an Aspie.
S/he could be an NT-geek, or simply a weird person - that's all!
In denial and he's a jerk about it. 'sigh' Great..
I decided to write on the back of my schedule from the first quarter of the school year what symptoms my classmate exhibited that matched the diagnostic criteria for Asperger's Syndrome. I have seen almost everything external. There's only one issue: I KNOW SQUAT ABOUT HIS DEVELOPMENT! If I find enough developmental gaps in the right areas, then I'll know for sure.
The first time I read about Asperger's, I started realizing -- damn! this is like my friend Stan! And then I'd read another paragraph -- that's Jennifer! That's Dan, that's John. I realized how many people I have known in my life that were Aspies.
So a couple of years ago, when i first started dating my partner, I recognized pretty quickly, but I didn't know if HE knew. So when we heard it mentioned on TV, I said "Have you ever read about Asperger's?" Oh, yeah... he had discovered it a year or so earlier and self-identified.
I think if people were aware of the characteristics, they would realize they have known many people, had many friends, are perhaps in a family with AS people. (But not when they see this crap in the news about suicides, murders and psychopaths...)
I really think this is just ignorance, not any desire to be mean. He probably doesn't have a clue what Asperger's and autism really are.
My classmate told his psychologist about me and the psychologist told him I didn't have AS. I don't know what my classmate told the psychologist, but that was pretty slanderous. How dare he question my diagnosis. I was officially diagnosed by my doctor when I was three!