Poll: How many of you have Asperger's/Autism?

BOOM headshot65

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Jul 7, 2011
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I was diagnosed in 3rd grade after my parents heard about Aspergers from a friend (who is in charge of special services in my school) and Thought "That sounds alot like my son." And sure enough, I was confirmed to have it.

So as for my advantages:
1) Excellent Linguistics and speaking (my english teacher likes)
2) Obsession over the military (mostly firearms, tactics, and equipment), classic US cars (1951-1994), and video games (shocking ;)
3) Extreme loyalty
4) "Never-back-down" attitude
5) Great interest in music
6) getting better at making friends. Although, +70% of them also have aspergers or autism.
7) Photographic memory. I remember pictures better than words.
8) High pain threshold

Now, for disadvantages:
1) Difficulty reading more complex body language
2) Problems with abstract reasoning like math (although I am good at Economics and statistics)
3) Dragging my feet when walking
4) Trouble stepping outside my comfort zone
5) "Never-back-down" attitude
6) Trouble understanding figures of speech I have never heard before
 

RoonMian

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Mar 5, 2011
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JoJoDeathunter said:
What the heck is "cool" about Asperger's syndrome? Yeah, I'm having a whale of a time finding it hard to understand what other people are thinking half the time, or not being able to tell whether someone is joking or being serious :p
The aura of ingenuity people tie to Asperger's. Being right on the border between ingenuity and madness. While they only tie being an asshole to narcissism.
 

roostuf

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Dec 29, 2009
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*Sigh*...Yes i do have Asperger syndrome, albeit at a very small percentage. When i was in primary school i had an aid and i was never forced to do any sort of work, i was totally aware of my situation and why they treated me like that and it just drove me up the wall! i would complain about it all the time saying i do not need it and never will, the teachers just ignored my pleas obviously...

That was years ago and now i am in secondary school doing my leaving-cert, without aids, scribes or helpers. I do suffer from a small speech impediment and my maths are a bit dull most of the times unless i put effort into it.

I have a higher-then-normal IQ, magnificent grammar, artistically talented, quiet but able to socialize (i take if you talk first) very easily.

I am a very different person when compared to my younger self, and that is something i am proud of.

OT: i cant stand people who use Aspergers as an insult, a bunch of bastards the lot of them.
 

Pebblig

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Jan 27, 2011
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This is rather random, but I thought about it the other day. Being on "the autistic spectrum" is always a rather odd blanket term, as it's a spectrum, so it includes everybody. So I'm on the autistic spectrum despite my lack of autism.
 

General Ken8

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May 18, 2009
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I have non-asperger's autism, but it's pretty minor. Most people probably couldn't tell if I didn't tell them that
 

AstylahAthrys

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Apr 7, 2010
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I'm not, but my sister has Asperger's, and she has it bad. Not just severe, but bad. I've heard stories that say Asperger's can be a blessing, but for her it has been a curse. Her social skills are non-existent, she has no concept of what is appropriate and inappropriate for conversion, causing her to act up and lash out. She doesn't know how to seek out attention, so she self-harms so people notice her, or harms other people so they will pay attention to her (normally it is verbal with other people). Her obsession is alcohol, leaving her jailed and hospitalized many times. We forgive her because she is disabled, it's not really her fault, but it has been a challenge dealing with her. Had she not been misdiagnosed a dozen times over as a child, we believe she would have turned out better. Autism barely existed when she was a child, so they couldn't help her.

Though, because of her, I am really good with autistic children, though my sister is 10 years older than me. It has taught me acceptance of differences, patience, kindness and understanding. I spent my junior year tutoring an autistic Kindergartner and it was absolutely life changing. He was different, yes, but he was the sweetest kid I had ever met. It also involved me teaching the "normal" children who sat at his table about differences and acceptance. It really was the best experience of my life. The kid was a genius with math, too. It was crazy how much more advanced he was.
 

similar.squirrel

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Mar 28, 2009
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Probably around the same amount of the people who have neckbeards and flaunt their asexuality in order to hide the fact that they can't get laid due to lax hygiene.

Nice way to take away support from people who actually live with the condition.
 

Xenowolf

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Feb 3, 2012
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Eh, I was diagnosed with it as a kid, but I'm pretty sure it was a misdiagnosis, I was just pretty socially awkward as when I was young (nowdays, it barely affects me even though I do prefer to be alone) and I've heard of cases far worse than my own.
 

ShadowsofHope

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Nov 1, 2009
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nikki191 said:
wall of text be warned

20%+ of the community do not have aspergers. 20%+ of the people who chose to answer a poll about it out of the tens of thousands of people who visit the escapist said they had it. Plus if you will notice the more people who are voting the smaller that percentage is becoming.

yes i agree you have alot of people who are self diagnosed, yes you have alot of people saying they have it but dont.

but for anyone who does have it. having people dismiss the horrible issues you deal with each day as a fad or just being a nerd or nor being able to talk to girls really doesnt help either.

i dont read body language, apart from smile = happy and crying = sad. i take things very litterally and i dont read between the lines. i dont know how people are going to react to what i say, write or do. i cant support friends who are going through emotional or physical issues because i dont understand what im meant to ask,do or feel. i get accused of being hot and cold with people because as much as i try to be there for them, be a friend its mentally exhausting and you need alone time, do study an interest, or sleep or something. i obbsessively collect documents on subjects yet ill never read 99% of them because my interest is finding documents and as a secondary thing computer games interest me because interaction with npc's for instance is limited. "choose one of these dialogue paths" "your charisma skill is high enough to pass a speech check" that sort of thing. plus being 39 is a pain in the ass having finally been misdiagnosed all your damn life with so many different things that never fit.

the reason i wrote all that was to give some sort of insight into what its like with aspergers. for those who say they have it and know they dont.. you should be ashamed of yourselves for making it harder on people who do have it.
Thank you for writing what would have taken me an hour to write out even more convolutedly so, and so to the root of the problem.

And yes, I am medically diagnosed with Aspergers from my family doctor and a few professional therapists I have spoken with on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, the "emo" crowd on the internet claiming to have it because they might have done badly on an exam, or said something retarded to a friend at some point makes those same professionals really take me a little less seriously when myself and my parents first approached them..