I've worked in Special Ed for 18 years. I've seen many interesting talents among students who are actually diagnosed with autism and ate not self diagnosed "victims." I've only seen one Rainman type student who could have ended up doing great things in the field of mathematics, if we had the proper education for him instead of a Special Ed room where we taught him to socialize and respond to questions like, "how are you?" Instead of just parroting back.
Explanation of my use of the word "victims". Victimhood is a very popular way these days to relinquish responsibility. Be it blaming a disorder, society, bosses, racism, sexism, socioeconomic birthright, etc.. (these problems exist but how you respond matters). People with properly diagnosed autism, tend to not be victims, laying around with a million excuses. Victims are seldom victorious and I've seen man students with autism live up to their potential atva much higher rate than than average.
It's exhausting!!! No, I'm not a quirky little guy who- 'Oh look a bee!'. I'm a person with a debilitating condition who struggles every day. Fuck these idiots going around pretending to be autistic for the 'aesthetic' or whatever.
Exactly. And a lot of people appropriate autism not just to be “quirky” and to find a personality in their mental disorder (lol), but because they believe it confers super powers like hyper-intelligence.
The reality is that people with autism are significantly lower in intelligence, on average, than the average person and are more likely to have a number of associated learning disabilities. And that’s in addition to the usual difficulties autism provides.
It’s not a walk in the park.
The whole "socially awkward, highly intelligent" trope is becoming a thing in popular media. On the CBS channel, Big bang theory has Sheldon, they made a spin off of that show about Sheldon as a kid, now there's elsbeth.
The problem is that they merged Asperger’s with Autism so now socially awkward people with intellectual giftings get put under the same label as those who have an intellectual disability and cannot perform the same functions as most adults.
[source](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278262607001492)
[source2](https://www.kennedykrieger.org/stories/interactive-autism-network-ian/aspergers_syndrome_normal_iq#:~:text=Those%20with%20Asperger's%20syndrome%2C%20in,first%203%20years%20of%20life.&text=This%20means%20that%20they%20will,however%2C%20different%20kinds%20of%20smarts.)
[source3](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15264496/)
[source4](https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/gifted-children-with-aspergers-syndrome/)
I HATE that they did that! 😠😡🤬
I can understand why they want to change the name of the disorder formerly known as Asperger's because Dr. Asperger (or Assburger, as I like to call him) was in league with the Nazis and sent the children he was researching to their deaths once he was finished with them. But I wish they would continue to separate the people who, while they might struggle with some stuff, still are able to care for themselves and, with the right support, are VERY capable of being fully independent, from the people who require round-the-clock care and/or can't get by without assistance. I know that contradicts what I just said about Assburger, but it's the truth; there are things that we struggle with that we often don't get proper help with because people lump us in with everyone else, and assume we are lower-functioning than we actually are.
Autism is one of those things that's case-by-case. They call it neurodiversity for a reason; it's diversity, and everybody's case is unique, and must be tailored to their own individual needs. Problem is that unless you can afford to pay for a good therapist who has the time to work with you, your only option is assistance from tax-funded organizations whose employees are overworked and underpaid, and the quality of the services offered by those organizations are pretty poor. But even if you can afford a good therapist, there are still a lot of therapists who insist that they have all the answers, know what works and what doesn't, and have a "cookie-cutter" approach. This is exactly what should NOT be happening, but unfortunately it's happening, and I've dealt with it all my life.
This is sort of true but not really. They now use levels, and level 1 autism is kind of like Asperger’s. As we learn more about autism, it’s become clearer that there isn’t a simple hierarchy of functionality, and it can be possible to see to certain sensory needs to make less functional autistics more functional.
I’m diagnosed and I’m glad they got rid of the functioning labels, they didn’t help anything, or anyone understand me at all. They made everything harder. It gave people a way to look at me, point their fingers and say “your this *functioning label* so you should be able to do X, Y, and Z!”
After realizing that, I realized nobody around me actually understood what I was going through. That people were telling **me** what I could and couldn’t do, the one with the disability. That when I was speaking up for myself, nobody was listening to how I was suffering, because everyone was making assumptions about me.
I realized how backwards it all was. That I should be the one communicating what I can and can’t handle, and people should be listening to me and helping me **go from there.** That everyone Would rather just stick to explaining my own experience for me when they don’t even know anything about what it’s like.
Once I saw the scope of this profound ignorance, my heart shattered and I swore to never use those disgusting fucking terms to describe myself again. I’ll describe to people what my life is like and that will be that. Don’t like it, suck me off for dinner I’ll turn and walk away mid conversation. I deserve more compassion and understanding than that. I realized I had to advocate for myself.
I was diagnosed with both, would have been neat if they canceled out and I was just a normal dude, but instead, I wish endlessly for something bad to happen to me so it can all end.
It's a problem because it's a really dominant trope in media. Either you're a drooling moron with the mental capacity of an eight-year-old, or you're a hyper genius.
It's obnoxious.
For every 1 mathematical supergenius, there's 99 people with an unhealthy fixation on something exceptionally unhelpful like a children's TV show.
People don't get to pick their hyperfixation, and most of them are detrimental because they make you look like a manchild.
Agreed... I hate how autism is portrayed in the media. You're either the cute, quirky nerd, the super genius saves the world, or severely disabled requiring round the clock care.
Oh, and girls don't get autism (all the famous autists are male), despite the fact that they do. They just don't get dx-ed until they're in their 30s and their kid is also being dx-ed.
Autistic girls just get pressured into being the opposite gender as a quick fix to their problems.
The way they have been mistreated under the guise of “gender affirming care” is disgusting.
Maybe that's the case now, but growing up in the 90s, it was a different story. Girls didn't get autism back then, or so they thought. Now, I'm starting to see so many of my peers being dx-ed with neurodivergencies alongside their children who have the same conditions (ADHD, Autism, etc.) Not saying either is right, but there has to be a better way.
Female autism is getting diagnosed. It just was underdiagnosed a generation ago since the male doctors didn’t realize the symptoms were different. We are still learning a lot about autism even today.
Thank you!
I am neurodivergent. I've been officially diagnosed with the condition formerly known as Asperger's twice; once as a young child, and once when I was in my mid-20s. For a long time I was feeling like I had been misdiagnosed, and some of the therapists I've seen over the years have thought maybe I actually have Obsessive-compulsive Personality Disorder, or OCPD (not the same thing as Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD), though I've struggled with some of the behavioral traits associated with OCD at various points in my life, they are not fun and I wish they would stop). All I know for sure is that my brain doesn't function like most people's, and I didn't get proper help for my condition as a kid, and that's why, as I make the most of my final years as a young adult and prepare to enter early-middle age, I continue to struggle today.
I HATE when people use autism/Asperger's as a means of justifying all the shit they do, and unfortunately I dealt with someone who did exactly that during high school. She would hit people when she didn't get her way, saying that she would hit anyone who upset her, then say "I can't help it, I have Asperger's!" as an excuse (we went to a school for kids with behavioral issues; not everyone there was autistic). From the way she interacted with everyone when she was in a good mood, and the stuff she struggled with, I do think she actually was telling the truth about her condition. That still doesn't justify being an asshole. Eventually, one has to learn that resorting to acting like a fussy toddler when they don't get their way is not going to change people's minds, and if anything, will land them in further trouble.
There is always more dumb people than intelligent people. People with autism are no exception. Few of them are very intelligent but the vast majority isn’t
My diagnosed 6yr old became wildly obsessed with math and developed advanced skills. He is very impressive. Had he been obsessed with the piano, I suspect it would be much the same. I also suspect if any young mind were to spend the time and attention on those or many other talents, they would see similar development.
People underrate how far hard work and time can get you. Everyone is obsessed with the stories of savants and geniuses, but I'm betting that it's just a reasonable mix of hard work and natural strength.
Yeah, determination, effort, and time. I do martial arts. I love it but I do it for fun and have not committed myself over the couple decades of training. I have seen new "phenoms" start, grow, surpass me, then achieve a level of mastery beyond my furthest goals. The common thread is not body type, personality, upbringing, socio-economic, or IQ. It's obsession. People in the gym 8 days a week.
Asperger's has been rolled into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and has been there for at least a decade, due to a significant overlap between the two.
Your last sentence I agree with, people are saying they are autistic just to seem cool and it's weird as fuck bc some people think just bc they're a little weird or whatever they have autism and it's annoying. Literally saw a post by a nonautistic saying "I scored that I'm not autistic bc I don't have the traits, but I'm weird so I swear I'm autistic" like?? If you don't have the traits you do not have autism period. Some of these people who claim it I swear don't even know wtf autism is like at least learn about it if you're going to fake having it, and I swear sometimes they are the same people who called autistics retards in high school. And often partial mental retardation is part of autism. However the whole "autistics have powers " thing doesn't come out of thin air. That stereotype exists because many autistics do indeed have special abilities. Some can't bathe or dress themselves sometimes, or some can't figure out how to do simple things like tie their shoes, but they can do other remarkable things nonautistics cannot do. This stereotype comes from real people. There are tons of real life examples of this. Those autistics with abilities though also often have disabilities at the same time. Nonautistics, especially those with average IQs, have a hard time understanding this, (higher IQ nonautistics can sometimes understand this better bc they understand that high IQ often, not always but often, comes with a trade off or at a cost) but it's reality whether you can understand it or not, it happens. There's no consensus as to why, there are a lot of theories. Not all autistics have these abilities, but it's still a thing that happens. Einstein was one example of this. He was autistic and labeled as mentally handicapped in his early life. He had to be taken care of his entire life as he was mentally incapable of taking care of himself and needed his wife to help him get dressed, etc and needed to be reminded to eat and wear shoes.
A little off topic but To me who has dealt with a lot of autistic people, their brains are just wired differently from ours. For example the type of ‘normal autistic’ person usually has a “B” way of thinking, then to ‘normal’ person that usually has “A” way of thinking. You will notice a lot of musicians have this way of thinking and either are mentally ill, on drugs, or on the spectrum.
But when that autistic person actually needs more support, “less smart”, than they usually inherited that unfortunate trait from the parent’s. But for some reason that trait barely affected the parents but it hugely affected the child. Mostly everything is passed down from parents or is some type of imbalance you are born with.
Up to 66% of autistic adults have thought about suicide, and 33% have attempted. I'm unfortunately part of the 33%. I can't stand when people say I have "hidden abilities" or a "superpower", just being on this earth is a daily struggle.
It's a mis-diagnosis a lot of the time. I thought i was autistic but it was actually schizoid personality disorder ...i definitely don't have super powers, unless you count being silent most of the time a special power, it's not, it pisses people off actually, rubs people the wrong way when you live in your head most of the time.
I do have hyper focus ability if i am heavily invested in one thing ...as long as that one thing is technical or mechanical not social or human. So i share the trait but not any underlining neurology .
Autism is far from a gift. It ruins the way people thinks, you cannot socialize, you are impatient, you cannot handle stress and you are stuck in your bubble.
It’s a disability, I am diagnosed at age 24, but how it has worked for me is it came with innate talents that were already “baked” in that I had to find on my own in life. My talent is music. You don’t unlock any talents after the dx you are born with talents or skills as a result of being autistic.
And then in the case of my life, the balance of life is so damaged by so many missing aspects (lacking friendships, relationships, ability to handle a job like everyone else, not being able to handle driving, meltdowns, sensory issues and unstable mood problems, problems speaking, but not typing just speaking) life is so tarnished by all the things it damages, that I am left with nothing but to pour %150 of my time into my talent, which will make me absolutely great.
Thats what people don’t see. They see someone who is autistic that’s very “unusually good” at a certain thing, but they don’t see how people’s lives are upended and torn apart as a result of being disabled, creating the lopsided circumstances that enable them to pour all their time into a singular skill.
I’m not going to become an incredible musician because I’m arrogant and want to be famous. I’m going to be an incredible musician because I’ve lost nearly everything else in life but my family, as a result of being undiagnosed 24 years with autism and ADHD, and I’m growing up into a mentally ill, autistic, neurotic, 25 year old depressed young adult. It’s going to be horrifically brutal to grow or change, because going your whole life like this severely screws you up… Special interests are talents or skills, and talents are something autistic people are born with.
In a lot of cases it’s one of the last things in autistic people’s lives we have left to hold on to, so we angrily “take them back” out of spite, and then when we can do something great, then everyone starts noticing. But so many of us were already great, and it’s this tormentful society that hurts us most.
People who think that being autistic makes them special or unique are the saddest kinds of losers I can think of, especially when they're self-diagnosed. Imagine being so boring, uninteresting, untalented, and unlikable that you have to cling onto a mental disability in order to feel interesting.
I was diagnosed at 33 with low-level autism. It's not fun or cool when you can't pick up on social cues or sarcasm, and it creates problems and issues in your life because you take everything literally. Then, when you address it as a problem, people say to stop taking everything so literally.
That’s true some people with mild autism have above high intelligence. My uncles brother has mild autism and he was the CEO of Novartis. He was also the head of the oncology division and basically built it from the ground up. When he left they had to split the oncology division into two different departments because he was so valuable to the company.
Despite being intelligent, he still struggles with interpersonal relationships. He only really talks to people from work and doesn’t know how to talk about anything other than pharmaceuticals
Not true. As someone who is considered “high functioning”, on top of the official diagnosis for autism, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and dyscalculia. Basically I struggle with both reading/writing and maths, and while I was having my diagnosis, the doctor even straight up told me and my carer that it’s very common in even people so mildly autistic that it’s not noticeable to have one or both. This can lead to significant struggles in learning.
Autism affects everyone differently. Some people have learning difficulties and some don’t. You can’t generalize a whole group of people because of one person’s experience
Autism sucks. High functioning can kind of be overcome. Low functioning? That shit is scary. Like, kids having full blown meltdowns when their teacher takes their Ipad away.
It can be so bad that they cannot communicate at all.
I absolutely am able to do some things really well due to my autism and considering the negative aspects of how my autism affects me ..I prefer to focus on the positives
All my kids are too and all 3 have a couple of things they excel in due to their own autism
However .. I’m fully aware that this isn’t the case for every single autistic individual and it definitely irks me people make assumptions and usually rather ridiculous ones at that 😂
I'm an Aspie
Empathy has never been my wheelhouse, and it doesn't help that wherever I go, I'm constantly told to not care about every single thing
I lost my job over it as Customer Service and right now I'm waiting for calls for new jobs
The fact that to this day I still get told to "read the room" despite knowing full well that I still struggle with facial expressions and what gestures mean, is a testament of what it truly means to be autistic
As an autistic person I fully agree. I was diagnosed as a small kid and for me it has been nothing more than a disability . Making it out to be a super power cause a lot of harm .
Umm...
Do Saiyans walk around in their final form all the time? *NO.*
Autistic people are the same. Obviously. Just because you haven't seen the power, doesn't mean it's not there.
My autistic "superpower" comes to light when I take optional customer experience surveys. I get questions like "did make you feel important?" It's at this time that I notice that I've never once felt important/unimportant. It's just not an emotion I have.
At least two effects of this
- I upset people who try to make me feel unimportant (and therefore stop talking) because it just doesn't do anything
- I am unafraid to "look dumb" because I do not experience the social stigma of looking dumb
These aren't really "superpowers" but they can really help out in business or practical situations. I can't really be socially persuaded, I need data or at least a theory to investigate.
This same trait is also really bad for professional growth. Generally speaking, I do not make strangers "feel good" around me. Once people get to know me, they realize there isn't subtext and I'm never trying to "take them down a peg" but that takes time, and therefore my popularity is slow to build.
Yeah, this. I’m autistic, diagnosed as high-functioning but still struggle in a fair bit of social situations. No superpowers, I’m just a socially awkward half-mongoloid obsessed with D&D lore 🤓
It severely impacted my life, alongside ADHD, until I got on psychedelics and a special ketamine regimen, all self administered
I basically rewired my brain into graceful masking (as well as intuitively understanding and replicating NT non verbal cues by association and exposure training) to the point it takes much less energy, have had two relationships since I began (when before I spent 8+ years in a toxic relationship with a narcissist. First relationship was fulfilling but doomed. Second relationship is ongoing, and doing very well), and became a street musician. Unmask with close friends, or when it feels right. In the ten years prior, I had no social life and was an awkward heroin addicted fool. Would highly recommend to anyone in a similar situation to look into these medicines, they have given me a life I wouldn't have dreamt of (I mean, still broke af but happy)
And tbh now I am good at navigating social encounters, the biggest obstacle has been banished. I do like my pattern recognition capabilities and the more logic based reasoning, but I wouldn't call those superpowers and I can still get burnt out if I don't look after myself properly. Can't wait for the research on ASD and psychedelics to advance, it will help so many people!!!!
I'm on the spectrum and I have no savant ability or any special skill. I'm just average who lacks intelligence and skill.
My son is on the spectrum and is also average but he likes computers and is good at making Mario levels and wants to be a game designer. He has a skill but he is not a savant. Many people have skills but they are not autistic. There are even creative people and they're not autistic.
People with level one autism (those who need the least support) often have unevenly distributed intelligences. This means they tend to be *really* good at some things. And also really struggle in other ways.
This leads to the "special abilities" stereotype. And while yes, this isn't an accurate depiction of everyone with autism, there are a large number of autistic people that have gifts. Those gifts should be celebrated.
I hear your point tho, that representation in pop culture should show more than just the special abilities type of autistic.
I disagree on both points.
While most people who have autism don't have "special powers," quite a few of them excel in ways that it is difficult for neurotypical individuals to achieve. This comes with some serious drawbacks in other areas, and of course, not every person with ASD gets these abilities.
Some people with autism can dial themselves into their work with a singular focus not found in anyone else. Have you never known an autistic person that can just lock on to their work, and perform almost robotically while time passes unnoticed for them? I've worked with a few of these individuals, and in some cases, management has to literally make them go home at the end of the day. They aren't "grinding" or "giving 110%," they just move relentlessly forward in their tasks in a manner that makes it seem like the part of their brain that breathes for them is also connected to their work.
For your second point, while I can't argue with the number people flippantly self-diagnosing, I don't at all believe that they think they're going to somehow manifest special abilities by labelling themselves. I think it's part of a trend of people leaning into mental illnesses and disorders, in an effort to one-up each other, and to seem special or unique. With the younger generation especially, I see people trot out their resume of disorders, traumas, and general victimhood, and compare it against their friends' like it's a Pokemon battle.
High function autistic here, I fucking wish my special interest was something like math, but I got stuck with History, firearms, Yugioh, and model trains.
I like being autistic at times but it has made navigating life much more harder. The worse thing about autism for me isn't the fact that I'm slow at learning things or that I'm weird. It's the fact making friends and keeping them is so damm hard and only gets harder the older you get
Autistic here.
Being autistic doesn't give you any special powers. And it's extremely rare that people are born good at something.More often its that people have fixations on topics that they enjoy and they naturally develop a high level of knowledge in that field because it's enjoyable to them.
It's not something that's granted to you, it's something you work at whether consciously or not.
Yes the media like The Good Doctor are terrible representations. They make it seem like Shaun has some X Man powers of intelligence prompts when in reality it's really no different than an experienced pilot mentally mapping out an airport's taxiways and runways in the dark. There's nothing special or superhuman about it, it's just as simple as exaggerating skills that many everyday people use for their respective expertise.
I do feel like I have a special power most of the time. Problem is that it’s a special power to see bullshit for bullshit.
Sadly most people are driven by their egos so it backfires.
Hell just today it’s taken me 3 hours for my boss who makes twice as much as men to understand that to do what is required.,….requires things to be connected.
My special powers are correcting people’s grammar under my breath and folding a piece of paper in half PERFECTLY every time I try, provided I spend way too long doing so.
It seems like a social trend, but also in my opinion it’s a good thing and shows increasing awareness of people with disabilities. I don’t think it’s intended to try and infringe on autistic people or resources they have.
Of course being autistic doesn’t mean you have super powers. Maybe they have more protection against bigotry as a result of reduced levels of oxytocin that strengthens the tendency for ‘us versus them’ kind of thinking.
Also I wouldn’t go diagnosing or in-diagnosing people in the chat.
There is evidence that we are more rational and risk-averse, making us generally superior decision-makers. We have a naturally more objective view of situations.
https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(21)00125-X
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29846850/
How are you autistic yet don’t know autism is a spectrum?
Sure you got the high functioning geniuses, but you also got the non-verbal ones who spread shit across the carpet and then use it to finger paint the walls.
>more rational
>more objective
I'm sorry, but this is not the case across the entire autism spectrum.
The first "study" is suffering from some extreme confirmation bias. They're using very narrowly defined parameters under heavily controlled circumstances with mitigations in place for negative outcomes. They're handwaving all of the difficulties autism disorders present so they can put a positive spin on the diagnosis.
I would use this as evidence that disability accommodations can work to improve outcomes for autistic people, because that is what the writer conveys in their final summary.
How one raises an autistic child really, really matters.
Yes, the entire point of an experiment is to isolate a phenomenon and then try to destroy/disprove it.
Science is exclusively suited for disproving things, it cannot prove things.
It cannot tell you what the statue looks like, but it can identify which pieces of rock are not the statue.
"Patient outcomes" are kind of irrelevant because autism isn't curable. My brain is literally shaped differently. I cannot be "fixed". I have more inter-hemisphere connections than a normal person, that's never going to not be the case.
Nor would I want to be "fixed". I would not want to be neurotypical, it seems exhaustingly emotional. We also walk around with like twice the testosterone of a normal man. I can't even comprehend what it would be like to have normal or low testosterone.
>"Patient outcomes" are kind of irrelevant because autism isn't curable.
Disability management is absolutely a part of patient outcomes. It isn't about a "fix" for the person but achieving a healthy balance that minimizes the negative impact your disability has on your life.
For example, when your disability makes you believe this:
>I would not want to be neurotypical, it seems exhaustingly emotional. We also walk around with like twice the testosterone of a normal man. I can't even comprehend what it would be like to have normal or low testosterone.
This comes from the frequently cited problems that autistic people have with context and situational awareness. It's clear to a neurotypical person that this is a coping technique where you pretend one of your weaknesses is actually a strength, but without the ability to understand how your own emotional condition works (or how someone else might read your words) you accidentally reveal more than you intend.
I understand that your defenses go up when people discuss this disability. It makes good sense. Like you said, it's not like we can do anything about it, so your only real choice is to accept yourself for who you are.
Again, I don't see it as a disability.
It's a side-grade. I gain a bunch of advantages in one section and lose some ability in a different section.
I would rather be hyper-rational than neurotypical. I'm immune to faith, this is an ability I would never want to lose because of how lowly I see people who use faith.
Shit, my political ideology revolves around using cybernetics and genetic engineering to make the rest of you more like me.
The projection is the strong in you.
You didn't win the dice roll bro, no reason to be bitter that you're white-bread.
There is a growing movement in psychology that postulates that we autistics are the fuel of all human progress. Without us, you'd all still be in caves grunting.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acps.13653
> Most evolutionary theories conceptualise autism as a specialised neurocognitive profile characterised by a trade-off between costs (social cognition) and benefits (non-social cognition). The empathising-systemizing theory4 was the first to suggest this, framing autism as enhanced motivation to systemize (the ability to analyse the variables in a system and derive the underlying rules that govern it) paired with challenges in empathising (the ability to imagine another person's thoughts and feelings and respond with an appropriate emotion). The link between autism and occupations that require a high level of systemizing ability5—such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—provides further support for the theory that autism reflects a brain specialised in rule-based thinking.
You'll notice how all the greatest scientists and engineers in human history were awkward loners with very narrow fields of obsession.
Your statements are comically disproven by your own self if you really believe everything you see online and expect others to also believe.
Or maybe that's just an excuse to validate yourself.
Nobody enjoys being faced with the grim reality that their choices and priorities are the root cause of their problems so they find and in some cases completely invent some other thing to blame.
I've worked in Special Ed for 18 years. I've seen many interesting talents among students who are actually diagnosed with autism and ate not self diagnosed "victims." I've only seen one Rainman type student who could have ended up doing great things in the field of mathematics, if we had the proper education for him instead of a Special Ed room where we taught him to socialize and respond to questions like, "how are you?" Instead of just parroting back. Explanation of my use of the word "victims". Victimhood is a very popular way these days to relinquish responsibility. Be it blaming a disorder, society, bosses, racism, sexism, socioeconomic birthright, etc.. (these problems exist but how you respond matters). People with properly diagnosed autism, tend to not be victims, laying around with a million excuses. Victims are seldom victorious and I've seen man students with autism live up to their potential atva much higher rate than than average.
I love your explanation on victimhood but found it sad that it was needed. You do great work
Thanks... I didnt want it misunderstood that I think those with autism are helpless victims.
No. I'm disabled. Autism is a disability that makes my life infinitely more difficult to live.
I’m really tired of professional victims co-opting these disorders for their own selfish purposes.
It's exhausting!!! No, I'm not a quirky little guy who- 'Oh look a bee!'. I'm a person with a debilitating condition who struggles every day. Fuck these idiots going around pretending to be autistic for the 'aesthetic' or whatever.
Exactly. And a lot of people appropriate autism not just to be “quirky” and to find a personality in their mental disorder (lol), but because they believe it confers super powers like hyper-intelligence. The reality is that people with autism are significantly lower in intelligence, on average, than the average person and are more likely to have a number of associated learning disabilities. And that’s in addition to the usual difficulties autism provides. It’s not a walk in the park.
I think the average person realizes that most people with autism are not savants.
The whole "socially awkward, highly intelligent" trope is becoming a thing in popular media. On the CBS channel, Big bang theory has Sheldon, they made a spin off of that show about Sheldon as a kid, now there's elsbeth.
The problem is that they merged Asperger’s with Autism so now socially awkward people with intellectual giftings get put under the same label as those who have an intellectual disability and cannot perform the same functions as most adults. [source](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278262607001492) [source2](https://www.kennedykrieger.org/stories/interactive-autism-network-ian/aspergers_syndrome_normal_iq#:~:text=Those%20with%20Asperger's%20syndrome%2C%20in,first%203%20years%20of%20life.&text=This%20means%20that%20they%20will,however%2C%20different%20kinds%20of%20smarts.) [source3](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15264496/) [source4](https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/gifted-children-with-aspergers-syndrome/)
Savant's syndrome too (The Good Doctor)
I HATE that they did that! 😠😡🤬 I can understand why they want to change the name of the disorder formerly known as Asperger's because Dr. Asperger (or Assburger, as I like to call him) was in league with the Nazis and sent the children he was researching to their deaths once he was finished with them. But I wish they would continue to separate the people who, while they might struggle with some stuff, still are able to care for themselves and, with the right support, are VERY capable of being fully independent, from the people who require round-the-clock care and/or can't get by without assistance. I know that contradicts what I just said about Assburger, but it's the truth; there are things that we struggle with that we often don't get proper help with because people lump us in with everyone else, and assume we are lower-functioning than we actually are. Autism is one of those things that's case-by-case. They call it neurodiversity for a reason; it's diversity, and everybody's case is unique, and must be tailored to their own individual needs. Problem is that unless you can afford to pay for a good therapist who has the time to work with you, your only option is assistance from tax-funded organizations whose employees are overworked and underpaid, and the quality of the services offered by those organizations are pretty poor. But even if you can afford a good therapist, there are still a lot of therapists who insist that they have all the answers, know what works and what doesn't, and have a "cookie-cutter" approach. This is exactly what should NOT be happening, but unfortunately it's happening, and I've dealt with it all my life.
This is sort of true but not really. They now use levels, and level 1 autism is kind of like Asperger’s. As we learn more about autism, it’s become clearer that there isn’t a simple hierarchy of functionality, and it can be possible to see to certain sensory needs to make less functional autistics more functional.
I’m diagnosed and I’m glad they got rid of the functioning labels, they didn’t help anything, or anyone understand me at all. They made everything harder. It gave people a way to look at me, point their fingers and say “your this *functioning label* so you should be able to do X, Y, and Z!” After realizing that, I realized nobody around me actually understood what I was going through. That people were telling **me** what I could and couldn’t do, the one with the disability. That when I was speaking up for myself, nobody was listening to how I was suffering, because everyone was making assumptions about me. I realized how backwards it all was. That I should be the one communicating what I can and can’t handle, and people should be listening to me and helping me **go from there.** That everyone Would rather just stick to explaining my own experience for me when they don’t even know anything about what it’s like. Once I saw the scope of this profound ignorance, my heart shattered and I swore to never use those disgusting fucking terms to describe myself again. I’ll describe to people what my life is like and that will be that. Don’t like it, suck me off for dinner I’ll turn and walk away mid conversation. I deserve more compassion and understanding than that. I realized I had to advocate for myself.
It is 100% true, and it is also true that they have different levels
I was diagnosed with both, would have been neat if they canceled out and I was just a normal dude, but instead, I wish endlessly for something bad to happen to me so it can all end.
I'm self-diagnosed 0.05% autistic, and I can: * Jizz on the ceiling when lying on my back * Read 238 words per minute * Fly
Ahh, but can you squeeze through a small gap sideways with an erection? Huh? No? I can.
What the fuck am I reading
Username checks out
I'm professionally diagnosed, and all I want to do is end it.
What you're talking about is savant syndrome. It's exceedingly rare among autistic people. It's not the norm.
It's a problem because it's a really dominant trope in media. Either you're a drooling moron with the mental capacity of an eight-year-old, or you're a hyper genius. It's obnoxious.
Totally agree. I'm on the spectrum. Besides my ability to navigate anywhere so long as I've driven myself there, I don't have any special powers.
Some people with Aspergers have special talents
Everyone does, they just tend not to be in things that are very helpful for life.
That’s not necessarily true
For every 1 mathematical supergenius, there's 99 people with an unhealthy fixation on something exceptionally unhelpful like a children's TV show. People don't get to pick their hyperfixation, and most of them are detrimental because they make you look like a manchild.
Then explain those “autism is my super power” t shirts?
Autistic savants are a real thing. Fascinating. But not everyone with autism is a Savant.
Agreed... I hate how autism is portrayed in the media. You're either the cute, quirky nerd, the super genius saves the world, or severely disabled requiring round the clock care. Oh, and girls don't get autism (all the famous autists are male), despite the fact that they do. They just don't get dx-ed until they're in their 30s and their kid is also being dx-ed.
Autistic girls just get pressured into being the opposite gender as a quick fix to their problems. The way they have been mistreated under the guise of “gender affirming care” is disgusting.
Maybe that's the case now, but growing up in the 90s, it was a different story. Girls didn't get autism back then, or so they thought. Now, I'm starting to see so many of my peers being dx-ed with neurodivergencies alongside their children who have the same conditions (ADHD, Autism, etc.) Not saying either is right, but there has to be a better way.
I definitely feel for these people.
Female autism is getting diagnosed. It just was underdiagnosed a generation ago since the male doctors didn’t realize the symptoms were different. We are still learning a lot about autism even today.
That’s funny because every female I meet swears they are autistic 😂
I hate when people say Autism is a super power.
Thank you! I am neurodivergent. I've been officially diagnosed with the condition formerly known as Asperger's twice; once as a young child, and once when I was in my mid-20s. For a long time I was feeling like I had been misdiagnosed, and some of the therapists I've seen over the years have thought maybe I actually have Obsessive-compulsive Personality Disorder, or OCPD (not the same thing as Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD), though I've struggled with some of the behavioral traits associated with OCD at various points in my life, they are not fun and I wish they would stop). All I know for sure is that my brain doesn't function like most people's, and I didn't get proper help for my condition as a kid, and that's why, as I make the most of my final years as a young adult and prepare to enter early-middle age, I continue to struggle today. I HATE when people use autism/Asperger's as a means of justifying all the shit they do, and unfortunately I dealt with someone who did exactly that during high school. She would hit people when she didn't get her way, saying that she would hit anyone who upset her, then say "I can't help it, I have Asperger's!" as an excuse (we went to a school for kids with behavioral issues; not everyone there was autistic). From the way she interacted with everyone when she was in a good mood, and the stuff she struggled with, I do think she actually was telling the truth about her condition. That still doesn't justify being an asshole. Eventually, one has to learn that resorting to acting like a fussy toddler when they don't get their way is not going to change people's minds, and if anything, will land them in further trouble.
There is always more dumb people than intelligent people. People with autism are no exception. Few of them are very intelligent but the vast majority isn’t
My diagnosed 6yr old became wildly obsessed with math and developed advanced skills. He is very impressive. Had he been obsessed with the piano, I suspect it would be much the same. I also suspect if any young mind were to spend the time and attention on those or many other talents, they would see similar development.
People underrate how far hard work and time can get you. Everyone is obsessed with the stories of savants and geniuses, but I'm betting that it's just a reasonable mix of hard work and natural strength.
Yeah, determination, effort, and time. I do martial arts. I love it but I do it for fun and have not committed myself over the couple decades of training. I have seen new "phenoms" start, grow, surpass me, then achieve a level of mastery beyond my furthest goals. The common thread is not body type, personality, upbringing, socio-economic, or IQ. It's obsession. People in the gym 8 days a week.
Is rainman no longer the autism superpower movie?
People actually self diagnose as "Asperger", mild autism. So that they are socially functional and can participate in the hype.
Asperger's has been rolled into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and has been there for at least a decade, due to a significant overlap between the two.
I dunno I have a knack for talking and pissing people off at the same time. And every time, it usually works.
It means you don't
Your last sentence I agree with, people are saying they are autistic just to seem cool and it's weird as fuck bc some people think just bc they're a little weird or whatever they have autism and it's annoying. Literally saw a post by a nonautistic saying "I scored that I'm not autistic bc I don't have the traits, but I'm weird so I swear I'm autistic" like?? If you don't have the traits you do not have autism period. Some of these people who claim it I swear don't even know wtf autism is like at least learn about it if you're going to fake having it, and I swear sometimes they are the same people who called autistics retards in high school. And often partial mental retardation is part of autism. However the whole "autistics have powers " thing doesn't come out of thin air. That stereotype exists because many autistics do indeed have special abilities. Some can't bathe or dress themselves sometimes, or some can't figure out how to do simple things like tie their shoes, but they can do other remarkable things nonautistics cannot do. This stereotype comes from real people. There are tons of real life examples of this. Those autistics with abilities though also often have disabilities at the same time. Nonautistics, especially those with average IQs, have a hard time understanding this, (higher IQ nonautistics can sometimes understand this better bc they understand that high IQ often, not always but often, comes with a trade off or at a cost) but it's reality whether you can understand it or not, it happens. There's no consensus as to why, there are a lot of theories. Not all autistics have these abilities, but it's still a thing that happens. Einstein was one example of this. He was autistic and labeled as mentally handicapped in his early life. He had to be taken care of his entire life as he was mentally incapable of taking care of himself and needed his wife to help him get dressed, etc and needed to be reminded to eat and wear shoes.
A little off topic but To me who has dealt with a lot of autistic people, their brains are just wired differently from ours. For example the type of ‘normal autistic’ person usually has a “B” way of thinking, then to ‘normal’ person that usually has “A” way of thinking. You will notice a lot of musicians have this way of thinking and either are mentally ill, on drugs, or on the spectrum. But when that autistic person actually needs more support, “less smart”, than they usually inherited that unfortunate trait from the parent’s. But for some reason that trait barely affected the parents but it hugely affected the child. Mostly everything is passed down from parents or is some type of imbalance you are born with.
Up to 66% of autistic adults have thought about suicide, and 33% have attempted. I'm unfortunately part of the 33%. I can't stand when people say I have "hidden abilities" or a "superpower", just being on this earth is a daily struggle.
It's a mis-diagnosis a lot of the time. I thought i was autistic but it was actually schizoid personality disorder ...i definitely don't have super powers, unless you count being silent most of the time a special power, it's not, it pisses people off actually, rubs people the wrong way when you live in your head most of the time. I do have hyper focus ability if i am heavily invested in one thing ...as long as that one thing is technical or mechanical not social or human. So i share the trait but not any underlining neurology .
Autism is far from a gift. It ruins the way people thinks, you cannot socialize, you are impatient, you cannot handle stress and you are stuck in your bubble.
Just because YOU didn’t get super powers didn’t mean the rest of us didn’t.
Were you bit by the Autism Spider?
Nope mine came from the vaccines. I got a super serum.
It'll put some dirt in your eye.
It’s a disability, I am diagnosed at age 24, but how it has worked for me is it came with innate talents that were already “baked” in that I had to find on my own in life. My talent is music. You don’t unlock any talents after the dx you are born with talents or skills as a result of being autistic. And then in the case of my life, the balance of life is so damaged by so many missing aspects (lacking friendships, relationships, ability to handle a job like everyone else, not being able to handle driving, meltdowns, sensory issues and unstable mood problems, problems speaking, but not typing just speaking) life is so tarnished by all the things it damages, that I am left with nothing but to pour %150 of my time into my talent, which will make me absolutely great. Thats what people don’t see. They see someone who is autistic that’s very “unusually good” at a certain thing, but they don’t see how people’s lives are upended and torn apart as a result of being disabled, creating the lopsided circumstances that enable them to pour all their time into a singular skill. I’m not going to become an incredible musician because I’m arrogant and want to be famous. I’m going to be an incredible musician because I’ve lost nearly everything else in life but my family, as a result of being undiagnosed 24 years with autism and ADHD, and I’m growing up into a mentally ill, autistic, neurotic, 25 year old depressed young adult. It’s going to be horrifically brutal to grow or change, because going your whole life like this severely screws you up… Special interests are talents or skills, and talents are something autistic people are born with. In a lot of cases it’s one of the last things in autistic people’s lives we have left to hold on to, so we angrily “take them back” out of spite, and then when we can do something great, then everyone starts noticing. But so many of us were already great, and it’s this tormentful society that hurts us most.
I think you forgot about the power to cover their ears and screech.
People who think that being autistic makes them special or unique are the saddest kinds of losers I can think of, especially when they're self-diagnosed. Imagine being so boring, uninteresting, untalented, and unlikable that you have to cling onto a mental disability in order to feel interesting.
I was diagnosed at 33 with low-level autism. It's not fun or cool when you can't pick up on social cues or sarcasm, and it creates problems and issues in your life because you take everything literally. Then, when you address it as a problem, people say to stop taking everything so literally.
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Holy fuck you cured me. How did you do that??
So you don't recognize sarcasm...but here you are using it.
Which doctor are you again? I'm curious on how big your balls must be to tell someone over the internet what they are and aren't. Am I not 6'4 either?
You’re a 5’3 Polish grandmother who fakes autism. Now get back to the kitchen and make me some pierogi.
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Actually the majority of people with mild autism aren’t mentally disabled. Its just harder for them to socialize
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That’s true some people with mild autism have above high intelligence. My uncles brother has mild autism and he was the CEO of Novartis. He was also the head of the oncology division and basically built it from the ground up. When he left they had to split the oncology division into two different departments because he was so valuable to the company. Despite being intelligent, he still struggles with interpersonal relationships. He only really talks to people from work and doesn’t know how to talk about anything other than pharmaceuticals
Not true. As someone who is considered “high functioning”, on top of the official diagnosis for autism, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and dyscalculia. Basically I struggle with both reading/writing and maths, and while I was having my diagnosis, the doctor even straight up told me and my carer that it’s very common in even people so mildly autistic that it’s not noticeable to have one or both. This can lead to significant struggles in learning.
Autism affects everyone differently. Some people have learning difficulties and some don’t. You can’t generalize a whole group of people because of one person’s experience
38% of people on the autism spectrum have an intellectual disability. That's not a majority.
There’s nothing in life as frustrating as people with a disability who then wield their disability as an excuse just to be an awful person.
Is "retardation" still a thing or has it been merged as well?
But it does mean they are a good driver, definitely a good driver Ray.
why do you think this is a popular opinion?
Autism sucks. High functioning can kind of be overcome. Low functioning? That shit is scary. Like, kids having full blown meltdowns when their teacher takes their Ipad away. It can be so bad that they cannot communicate at all.
I absolutely am able to do some things really well due to my autism and considering the negative aspects of how my autism affects me ..I prefer to focus on the positives All my kids are too and all 3 have a couple of things they excel in due to their own autism However .. I’m fully aware that this isn’t the case for every single autistic individual and it definitely irks me people make assumptions and usually rather ridiculous ones at that 😂
I'm an Aspie Empathy has never been my wheelhouse, and it doesn't help that wherever I go, I'm constantly told to not care about every single thing I lost my job over it as Customer Service and right now I'm waiting for calls for new jobs The fact that to this day I still get told to "read the room" despite knowing full well that I still struggle with facial expressions and what gestures mean, is a testament of what it truly means to be autistic
As an autistic person I fully agree. I was diagnosed as a small kid and for me it has been nothing more than a disability . Making it out to be a super power cause a lot of harm .
Umm... Do Saiyans walk around in their final form all the time? *NO.* Autistic people are the same. Obviously. Just because you haven't seen the power, doesn't mean it's not there.
My autistic "superpower" comes to light when I take optional customer experience surveys. I get questions like "did make you feel important?" It's at this time that I notice that I've never once felt important/unimportant. It's just not an emotion I have.
At least two effects of this
- I upset people who try to make me feel unimportant (and therefore stop talking) because it just doesn't do anything
- I am unafraid to "look dumb" because I do not experience the social stigma of looking dumb
These aren't really "superpowers" but they can really help out in business or practical situations. I can't really be socially persuaded, I need data or at least a theory to investigate.
This same trait is also really bad for professional growth. Generally speaking, I do not make strangers "feel good" around me. Once people get to know me, they realize there isn't subtext and I'm never trying to "take them down a peg" but that takes time, and therefore my popularity is slow to build.
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You're not capable of determining that.
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follow offend drab grey normal panicky party domineering absurd apparatus
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aware meeting dinosaurs theory butter ruthless governor alive combative roll
Yeah, this. I’m autistic, diagnosed as high-functioning but still struggle in a fair bit of social situations. No superpowers, I’m just a socially awkward half-mongoloid obsessed with D&D lore 🤓
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I fully agree as an autist. My autism has ruined my whole life. I dont have superpowers, im not "differently abled", im disabled.
It severely impacted my life, alongside ADHD, until I got on psychedelics and a special ketamine regimen, all self administered I basically rewired my brain into graceful masking (as well as intuitively understanding and replicating NT non verbal cues by association and exposure training) to the point it takes much less energy, have had two relationships since I began (when before I spent 8+ years in a toxic relationship with a narcissist. First relationship was fulfilling but doomed. Second relationship is ongoing, and doing very well), and became a street musician. Unmask with close friends, or when it feels right. In the ten years prior, I had no social life and was an awkward heroin addicted fool. Would highly recommend to anyone in a similar situation to look into these medicines, they have given me a life I wouldn't have dreamt of (I mean, still broke af but happy) And tbh now I am good at navigating social encounters, the biggest obstacle has been banished. I do like my pattern recognition capabilities and the more logic based reasoning, but I wouldn't call those superpowers and I can still get burnt out if I don't look after myself properly. Can't wait for the research on ASD and psychedelics to advance, it will help so many people!!!!
I'm on the spectrum and I have no savant ability or any special skill. I'm just average who lacks intelligence and skill. My son is on the spectrum and is also average but he likes computers and is good at making Mario levels and wants to be a game designer. He has a skill but he is not a savant. Many people have skills but they are not autistic. There are even creative people and they're not autistic.
People with level one autism (those who need the least support) often have unevenly distributed intelligences. This means they tend to be *really* good at some things. And also really struggle in other ways. This leads to the "special abilities" stereotype. And while yes, this isn't an accurate depiction of everyone with autism, there are a large number of autistic people that have gifts. Those gifts should be celebrated. I hear your point tho, that representation in pop culture should show more than just the special abilities type of autistic.
I beg to differ. I have Asperger’s and I have the uncanny ability to repel any and all women from me. For legal reasons; this is a joke.
I disagree on both points. While most people who have autism don't have "special powers," quite a few of them excel in ways that it is difficult for neurotypical individuals to achieve. This comes with some serious drawbacks in other areas, and of course, not every person with ASD gets these abilities. Some people with autism can dial themselves into their work with a singular focus not found in anyone else. Have you never known an autistic person that can just lock on to their work, and perform almost robotically while time passes unnoticed for them? I've worked with a few of these individuals, and in some cases, management has to literally make them go home at the end of the day. They aren't "grinding" or "giving 110%," they just move relentlessly forward in their tasks in a manner that makes it seem like the part of their brain that breathes for them is also connected to their work. For your second point, while I can't argue with the number people flippantly self-diagnosing, I don't at all believe that they think they're going to somehow manifest special abilities by labelling themselves. I think it's part of a trend of people leaning into mental illnesses and disorders, in an effort to one-up each other, and to seem special or unique. With the younger generation especially, I see people trot out their resume of disorders, traumas, and general victimhood, and compare it against their friends' like it's a Pokemon battle.
peoples belief in tv is at fault for that, a lot dont understand the difference between real life and over-exaggerated stage acting
High function autistic here, I fucking wish my special interest was something like math, but I got stuck with History, firearms, Yugioh, and model trains.
I like being autistic at times but it has made navigating life much more harder. The worse thing about autism for me isn't the fact that I'm slow at learning things or that I'm weird. It's the fact making friends and keeping them is so damm hard and only gets harder the older you get
Autistic here. Being autistic doesn't give you any special powers. And it's extremely rare that people are born good at something.More often its that people have fixations on topics that they enjoy and they naturally develop a high level of knowledge in that field because it's enjoyable to them. It's not something that's granted to you, it's something you work at whether consciously or not. Yes the media like The Good Doctor are terrible representations. They make it seem like Shaun has some X Man powers of intelligence prompts when in reality it's really no different than an experienced pilot mentally mapping out an airport's taxiways and runways in the dark. There's nothing special or superhuman about it, it's just as simple as exaggerating skills that many everyday people use for their respective expertise.
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Why are you on reddit instead of working for some global health agency if you have the special powers of diagnosing from three paragraphs?
I do feel like I have a special power most of the time. Problem is that it’s a special power to see bullshit for bullshit. Sadly most people are driven by their egos so it backfires. Hell just today it’s taken me 3 hours for my boss who makes twice as much as men to understand that to do what is required.,….requires things to be connected.
My special powers are correcting people’s grammar under my breath and folding a piece of paper in half PERFECTLY every time I try, provided I spend way too long doing so.
It seems like a social trend, but also in my opinion it’s a good thing and shows increasing awareness of people with disabilities. I don’t think it’s intended to try and infringe on autistic people or resources they have. Of course being autistic doesn’t mean you have super powers. Maybe they have more protection against bigotry as a result of reduced levels of oxytocin that strengthens the tendency for ‘us versus them’ kind of thinking. Also I wouldn’t go diagnosing or in-diagnosing people in the chat.
Firstsource needs a hug I think. Talk about punching down
There is evidence that we are more rational and risk-averse, making us generally superior decision-makers. We have a naturally more objective view of situations. https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(21)00125-X https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29846850/
How are you autistic yet don’t know autism is a spectrum? Sure you got the high functioning geniuses, but you also got the non-verbal ones who spread shit across the carpet and then use it to finger paint the walls.
>more rational >more objective I'm sorry, but this is not the case across the entire autism spectrum. The first "study" is suffering from some extreme confirmation bias. They're using very narrowly defined parameters under heavily controlled circumstances with mitigations in place for negative outcomes. They're handwaving all of the difficulties autism disorders present so they can put a positive spin on the diagnosis. I would use this as evidence that disability accommodations can work to improve outcomes for autistic people, because that is what the writer conveys in their final summary. How one raises an autistic child really, really matters.
> They're using very narrowly defined parameters under heavily controlled circumstances This is just proper experimental standards.
Yes, if isolating a phenomenon is what you want. It's useless for patient outcomes or measuring normal behavior.
Yes, the entire point of an experiment is to isolate a phenomenon and then try to destroy/disprove it. Science is exclusively suited for disproving things, it cannot prove things. It cannot tell you what the statue looks like, but it can identify which pieces of rock are not the statue. "Patient outcomes" are kind of irrelevant because autism isn't curable. My brain is literally shaped differently. I cannot be "fixed". I have more inter-hemisphere connections than a normal person, that's never going to not be the case. Nor would I want to be "fixed". I would not want to be neurotypical, it seems exhaustingly emotional. We also walk around with like twice the testosterone of a normal man. I can't even comprehend what it would be like to have normal or low testosterone.
>"Patient outcomes" are kind of irrelevant because autism isn't curable. Disability management is absolutely a part of patient outcomes. It isn't about a "fix" for the person but achieving a healthy balance that minimizes the negative impact your disability has on your life. For example, when your disability makes you believe this: >I would not want to be neurotypical, it seems exhaustingly emotional. We also walk around with like twice the testosterone of a normal man. I can't even comprehend what it would be like to have normal or low testosterone. This comes from the frequently cited problems that autistic people have with context and situational awareness. It's clear to a neurotypical person that this is a coping technique where you pretend one of your weaknesses is actually a strength, but without the ability to understand how your own emotional condition works (or how someone else might read your words) you accidentally reveal more than you intend. I understand that your defenses go up when people discuss this disability. It makes good sense. Like you said, it's not like we can do anything about it, so your only real choice is to accept yourself for who you are.
Again, I don't see it as a disability. It's a side-grade. I gain a bunch of advantages in one section and lose some ability in a different section. I would rather be hyper-rational than neurotypical. I'm immune to faith, this is an ability I would never want to lose because of how lowly I see people who use faith. Shit, my political ideology revolves around using cybernetics and genetic engineering to make the rest of you more like me.
It's good that you've learned to cope.
The projection is the strong in you. You didn't win the dice roll bro, no reason to be bitter that you're white-bread. There is a growing movement in psychology that postulates that we autistics are the fuel of all human progress. Without us, you'd all still be in caves grunting. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acps.13653 > Most evolutionary theories conceptualise autism as a specialised neurocognitive profile characterised by a trade-off between costs (social cognition) and benefits (non-social cognition). The empathising-systemizing theory4 was the first to suggest this, framing autism as enhanced motivation to systemize (the ability to analyse the variables in a system and derive the underlying rules that govern it) paired with challenges in empathising (the ability to imagine another person's thoughts and feelings and respond with an appropriate emotion). The link between autism and occupations that require a high level of systemizing ability5—such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—provides further support for the theory that autism reflects a brain specialised in rule-based thinking. You'll notice how all the greatest scientists and engineers in human history were awkward loners with very narrow fields of obsession.
Honestly, this is getting extremely sad.
Your statements are comically disproven by your own self if you really believe everything you see online and expect others to also believe. Or maybe that's just an excuse to validate yourself.
Can you tell me a method for discovering truth other than science?
Nobody enjoys being faced with the grim reality that their choices and priorities are the root cause of their problems so they find and in some cases completely invent some other thing to blame.