Aspies For Freedom

For those who aren't familiar, the Advocate is a magazine for gay folks.  In the June 07 issue, there's an interview with Daniel Tammet, who talks about his life in a wonderful way.  One quote I liked a lot--because I can relate--except I started my observation later, like in my 20s:

You have Asperger's but you don't seem at all awkward to me.
When I was 8 or 9, I started that process that begins immediately for most people--observing, learning how to read people's body language, knowing when to laugh at a joke, knowing how to make eye contact.  People say to me nowadays that I'm good at conversation.  And it's because I've practiced very hard.  It's been a conscious, focussed, deliberate enterprise to make myself a social person.  It's great to know that you can teach yourself those things.
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The following piece accompanied the interview
http://www.advocate.com/currentstory1_w.asp?id=45247

At times I do wonder if the difference between people with AS who manage to "pass for normal" or succeed in life, compared with those who run into trouble more often, might be that the former group are aware that they aren't "up to scratch" in some areas and they train themselves in the stuff that Mr Tammet describes.

I hope people who read this might realize that people that they know could be AS but are not obvious cases.

I taught myself a lot, as described in the quote, but not till I was in my 20s.

Last year I was talking to some one at church about the kids and told her that I'd had some issues with autism growing up and she quipped, quite happily, "Well, you certainly seem to have gotten over it."  I was stunned speechless.  You don't stop being autistic, you gain experience and strategies for coping with situations that you find undesirable.

I don't know about others, but the changes I've made were all goal directed.  I have a hard time doing anything simply because it is expected, I have to have something quite specific in mind that I need to accomplish.  Having children definitely put me in a more conforming frame of mind.  I told my husband when he asked about my sudden desire to be more socially acceptable that I never cared whether people talked about me, but I wouldn't have my kids growing up with everybody talking about their momma.

The link to the interview didn't work for me.  Maybe it's just my computer...

Hi CBC--I just tried the link and it worked--but it's not to the interview, it's to a side piece.  You can get to the interview in parts by googling Daniel Tammet Advocate.  Some of the pages are posted.

Okay--I just googled again.  This link for the interview seems to work.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1..._n19311546

And check out this letter to the editor
http://www.advocate.com/letters_detail_ektid45758.asp

I listened to a half hour radio interview with Daniel.  It was broadcast months ago but I found it just this week. It was okay I guess, except for the part where people call in. Mothers wanting to talk about their children and a depressed dreary sounding guy.