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Advice for when you find out you have aspergers

Fed up with listening to the moaning and the people who are NTs I wrote this. This should be read with an open mind by NTs who don't understand that although it's called a 'syndrome' it's more of a personality type facing discrimination
OK. So you've just been 'diagnosed' with this so obviously it's an illness, right?
No. It's just that the world is formed in a way to make it easier for NTs rather than people with aspergers. Here are my tips with coping with this fact and the world around you.
(1) You probably have some kind of special interest. I know sometimes these are things you 'can't help' being interested in but I suggest something which takes advantage of your higher intelligence level without being dangerous with your lower empathy/social interaction level.
Remember: brain surgery is a lot healthier interest than blowing things up
(2) Remember- having your own independence and not needing other people to survive is a Good thing. Stick onto it. I'm an aspie only child and I've not suffered or had problems doing this. You need your own time and space, make people aware of this. And don't think of it as a weakness: you need space, they need socialisation.
(3) If you're a girl take advantage of feminism. Being a woman does not have to mean losing boyish traits such as independence, logical thinking etc anymore. You don't have to be a stay at home mum or even work in an environment with lots of people anymore. Stick to education (pick a PHD course you like) rather than family or low paying jobs.
(4) Remember, the world has unwritten 'rules' which it gets scared of if they're challenged. So, try to figure these out as NTs kind of have a handle of the day to day things (we understand the cleverer stuff but they hold social skills in their brains).
(5) If you want friends, fellow aspies are easier as they don't attempt to take all your time up or stop you from enjoying special interests. Besides, they might have the same interests as you and are more likely to have the same type of intelligence.
(6) Ignore the media. It's run by NTs. If it wasn't there'd be more documentaries and less 'reality tv'.
(7) Ignore secondary (high) school. If your parents are so anti-aspergers they force you to go, try to ignore bullies who pray on those who don't follow their stupid codes well and focus on the subjects you enjoy instead. Remember, uni is only a college away and uni is where we do best.
(8) If people insult you by talking down to you etc, don't be afraid to tell them. You're probably a hell of a lot smarter and even if you had (or have) a full disability (which only disables you and doesn't give good bits too) they have NO RIGHT to talk to you as though you're a kid. However, having said that clear communication should be used at all times- not only when speaking to aspies but when talking to everyone. The world would be a lot easier that way.
(9) Try not to believe theories such as asperian supremecy theories. We might be more intelligent (typically) than the rest of the world but saying things like 'we should just have aspies in the world and no-one else' is hatred to people with a certain mental type. Just like finding a 'cure' for aspergers would be wrong, so is finding a 'cure' for the NTs- especially one which involves murder!
(10) If you're a girl don't worry too much about my male brain theory. These are typical features- not all men have systemising brains, not all women are empathisers. I myself am female and 'male' is just a generalisation invented by Hans Asperger.
I hope this helped remove some of your fears and didn't offend the NTs too much (I'm not as good at empathy as you so this might come across quite bluntly) My point in writing this was to show that there Are different brain types and they all have good and bad bits as well as to help aspies enjoy their lives rather than suffering from having a 'disorder' or 'syndrome'. There are people who have genuine disabilities without the positive sides out there and I think making the world easier for both NTs and Aspies and then finding cures for these illnesses (such as cancer) would be better than trying to cure people's personalities and brain types.

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  • JustBe gold member
    May 25, 2007
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    Hm.

    "Neurotypical." What an utterly meaningless word. I'll bet there aren't ten words in the English language that are more pointless than that one. The whole idea of homo sapiens as a species is merely a linguistic convenience to begin with. We're a bunch of individuals that just happen to be similar enough to interbreed; I just don't see the need for another label which has no function whatsoever other than as a bookish way of calling the proverbial "them" boring. There is no "them." Looks like maybe we agree on that, though. Why don't I know you?


  • Flowering Star
    May 4, 2007
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    Interesting. The way you compare "NT's" and "aspies" is like they're two different types of species. Reminds me of a book I read . . . never mind. Everyone has different thoughts, genetically, and influenced, so what really is "normal?" I know what is "accepted", but what's "normal?"


  • Abrielle
    April 28, 2007
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    ha, i was guessing 'normal types' but 'neurotypical' says it all! I have a few friends i would like to show this coloumn to. There do seem to be a great many personality types that are unfairly persecuted and categorised, labelled and dated. I've been told that i have border line manic-depresssion! eh? Nicely written, Pozo.


  • catz Moderators member
    April 28, 2007
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    A very interesting column, pozo. There are many different people in the world, many different issues, causes and 'cures'.
    Your column sheds new light for many of us, gives us food for thought.

    Good job

    Love and
    Mom


  • faggityann
    April 28, 2007
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    really interesting column, i know so many people with aspergers who'd benefit from this. also, what does NT stand for?

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