Aspies For Freedom

My childhood was utterly miserable. Maybe you've got a good point, though, and I should be happy that I was never diagnosed with AS. Everyone knew there was something "wrong" with me but no one had a name for it. That might have made life more difficult for me, because people expected me to be capable of behaving normally, but it also might have been a boon; I wasn't often treated like a special needs or mentally *** child, and I was presented with all the same challenges and opportunities as other children.

When I became an adult I finally visited a psychiatrist of my own volition. He diagnosed me as manic-depressive. He even prescribed Lithium for me. I told him I was sure he was wrong, and I refused to fill the prescription, but he never did change his mind. That seems silly to me.

The sad thing with family forcing to apear NT is that it will create an unbalanced relationship between parent and child. Sooner or later the NT parents are likely to do something that the child percieves as cruel and unjustified. So you'll end up with a situation where both are forced to constantly fight each other. So there's no problem with encouraging NT behavior but it's really bad to force it. I'm 25 and I still have issues with my mother and our relationship is still unbalanced because of this. Yes, it did help me alot that I eventually learned how to "behave like NT" But I think it came at a heavy price.

It's practicallity vs. ideology. And just as in many things in life, the answer lies in finding a good balance.

I agree with that. I have an extremely strained relationship with my mother. We do NOT get along.