I just have to jump in here: not true?  Maybe not of all, but definitely true of a lot of us!  My splinter savantism is hyperlexia: facility with the written word.  People with Aspergers (not all, but a statistically high number) have been shown to have above-average IQs.  And our focus and ability to get every little detail from whatever we're interested in is legendary!

Why do you hate the idea that there are indeed some of us within the AS community who are gifted?  I would have thought that was a good thing.

Alison

Just look at deaf culture! Can you imagine someone saying, "deaf and dumb" now?  Deaf people used to be considered retarded and were put in institutions (they still are in some countries).  

One day the term "idiot savant" will cause people to gasp the way that "deaf and dumb" does.  We'll get there, it just takes time.  

There are quite a few parallels between Temple Grandin's life story and Helen Keller's, now that I think about it.  They both came from well off families, both kids were written off as hopeless cases, both families hired outside help and never gave up on them, both women grew up to become well respected and well educated activists.

Are you interpreting "dumb" in the emboldened phrase to mean mentally retarded?  I'm not sure if that's your intention here.  In the context of "deaf and dumb" it means someone who is deaf and is also without speech.

It's just that the use of "dumb" meaning "stupid" or "mentally retarded" is American English, although it does now have that meaning here as well, but more as a slang term, and not in the context of "deaf and dumb" which people would still take to mean someone who cannot speak.  In years past, deaf people were not allowed to use sign language because it marked them out as not "normal" and so great effort was expended in teaching them how to speak and to lip-read instead.  The Deaf community fought to use sign language instead of being forced to learn to speak.

I think in the UK as a whole, but yes, definately in Glasgow.  My mother was a school dentist and she worked for a while in the School for the Deaf and at that time, mid 60's, sign language was actively discouraged at best or prohibited at worst, in favour of lip-reading and learning to speak without the help of signing.  The thinking behind it was that they would be more like hearing people if they could acquire those skills, whereas if they relied on sign language then they would be excluded from the hearing community.

I don't know for how long that thinking persisted, and certainly for many years now, sign language has been the norm.

To echo Alison, a significant proportion of us are gifted in some ways.

http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthread.php?tid=21322

The fact that some of the most gifted and significant people in human history have likely been autistic may be doing a disservice to those who are not particularly gifted and are looking for acceptance/integration. BUT it is a valid tool in the fight we will face to prevent the elimination of autism in utero.

I think that happened in the States, too. I heard all about it when I took an ASL (American Sign Language) class one summer. Children's hands would sometimes be tied down to keep them from signing. It horrified me when I first learned about it.

How stupid could people be.

Some people have a tendency to claim people who were particularly gifted or academic as being AS.  Perhaps that is what s/he is meaning, rather than denying that people on the Spectrum can be gifted.

As an aside, in Scotland the official terminology in education policy documents and legislation isn't "gifted", but "very able".  The reasoning behind this is that all people have gifts of some kind.

Children who are very able are included in the Additional Support for Learning legislation, which replaced the Special Education legislation.

Well, I agree. Anyway, its supposed to be a 2 way game - both sides move a bit. Well, being the minority, we stand to gain the most from this and well, its worth the leg work.

Timing wise, if Aspies had organised in the 60s around the same time as the LGBTs then well it might have been successful, but now people are getting sick of having to tolerate all manner of fringe groups - especially when some abuse it and do all manner of stupid things.

Well, in any case, the reality bites. We can demand equality and be accepted on our terms - ie right to be different, etc etc but well nobody gives a crap. I choose to accept the reality and try to blend in.

Ok, maybe my point was vague. Of course having gifted people in the AS spectrum is a good thing; what I particularly hate is the Aspie rights movement claiming that giftedness is somehow associated with or is a function of AS, when there are more than enough exceptions around.

Whether or not I fall into the category of Splinter savants is irrelevant; but from an outside perspective it makes us seem somewhat "arrogant" (whatever word you can use for this; my english vocab isn't good)

I would advise you to look at the history of the LGBT rights movement, particularly during the '60s. For that matter, you might want to look at the histories of black rights, women's rights, native american rights, and other branches of disability rights. None of them exactly started with the majority saying "Oh, you want to be treated like people? That's fine. How do you want us to change?"