Aspies For Freedom

Maybe LFA's understand themselves better than anyone else.  Sometimes they just can not communicate it.  It is just about communication, not better or worse or smarter or more deserving to live (and not be aborted).

I don't know. That kind of thing (the bolded stuff) happens to me whenever I get stressed, emotional, or overstimulated. Which is not infrequently. I have a wide vocabulary and can be quite articulate, but verbal fluency is really more the exception than the rule for me. Sometimes I repeat the same few sentences, with maybe slight structural variations, over and over for two or three minutes (which might not sound like a long time, but when everyone in the room has their attention turned to you, waiting for you to finally make your point, it seems years). Sometimes I start laughing hysterically mid-sentence, sometimes I talk so fast and at such a low volume and with such poor diction that not even my mother could tell what the hell I'm trying to say. Half the time, I don't even know I'm doing these things. The other half, I'm excruciatingly aware but can't force myself to speak normally. Usually I just give up and shut up for a couple hours till I'm more collected.

My official diagnosis (well, the one of them that's relevant here) is Asperger's Syndrome.

What I'm trying to say here is, it's not so clear-cut as "trouble with spoken language=Kanner's autism". Lots of aspies-- heck, lots of NTs-- have problems talking and/or communicating. Speech impediments, learning disabilities, selective mutism, and the list goes on. It's hardly unique to Kanner's, or even the autism spectrum in general. And within the spectrum, there can be a lot of blurring. It's not always easy to place someone as eccentric normal, AS, high functioning, middle functioning, low functioning, whatever. You said that there are hundreds of differences between Kannerites and aspies, but there are hundreds of differences between any two people on the spectrum. Any two people, period, actually. Because everybody has her own mind, there are bound to be some misunderstandings and arguments among groups of interacting human beings. You are generalizing wildly, both in your assumption that functioning can be reliably determined solely by conversational skills and also in your statement that "aspies think I'm a total weirdo, because I'm more extreme on the spectrum than them, obviously". I mean, maybe some aspies think that, but that doesn't mean we all do. I'm not going to claim I understand you, because I don't, but I'm very willing to listen to your point of view. I would do the same if I met you in real life. No matter how clumsily you expressed yourself.

Labels, labels, labels. This is what I don't like about having diagnosises to begin with. Everyone says, "Oh, you're X! I know what Xs are like. Xs are all the same." or else it's, "You can't be X, because you don't fit my preconcieved notions about Xs. I don't believe you." or "You're an X and I'm a Y. By default, we're too different to ever get along, so just forget about it."

This makes me think that I am autistic in the classical sense, not aspie, because  this particular thing also happens to me all the time, and it is so frustrating.

Some people are that fussy and then I suppose they would say the sheep was "too fluffy" or something.

Ziyaret, my understanding is that Aspergers' people tend to wish for more social interaction than HFA but are often not sure how to fill that need. They know all too well they are "different" but not how to get accepted.

HFA people might also want some social interaction but tend to be more happy with their own company.

NB: if this is a mistaken view, I will listen to reasonable refutations.

Some people are that fussy and then I suppose they would say the sheep was "too fluffy" or something.

Massive, major, side-splitting laugh out loud!!!

I'm aspie but always been happier with my own company. What's in "society" that's so worth having?

The only reason that I cared about having friends as a kid was so that Mum would stop nagging me.

That's my two bits, anyway...

Noetic Wrote:

seven Wrote:

maybe hes not mature, but hes also not obnoxious, there is a large difference between the two. the thing about immature guys is that they learn and grow, while obnoxious guys.. dont.

That's an excellent point!

The narcissistic jocks I knew from high school were very "masculine" and seen as "mature" and yet they refused to let down their ego for even one second.  All the girls were interested in them, and yet I had hardly ever observed more obnoxious, arrogant individuals than them.  Putting everyone seen as "inferior" down, to help themselves feel "superior."

Well, you know what? These guys acted far more immaturely than most. A few might have come to their senses later on but I wouldn't be surprised if, 10 years or so later, others are still ego-maniac.

A person with good self-confidence doesn't feel the need to belittle and shame others.