If I was a person with Aspergers, I would be extremely annoyed that the term 'Aspie' is used here. Why not, 'for these people,' type of wording? Coining or perpetuating a term like that only serves to isolate anyone that might otherwise have been just a person with Aspergers.
I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
51–60 of 121 posts
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#52"I have Asperger's: I am just like you" Um, not to hate or anything, but there is a reason it is called autistic syndrome. Autistic people lack the ability to form a "theory of brain", which means they just do not understand other people's intentions that well. You can't ignore this fact and hope it will go away.
Aspergers is a relatively minor form of autism. (Not that the effects on one's life are always "minor", but it's minor compared to e.g. folks with severe autism that require assisted living) All cases are different, but those with Aspergers can learn to understand others with effort. It's not impossible for them, it just doesn't come very naturally and will perhaps require extra effort and dedication.
You're being rather tunnel-visioned about it. It's a much wider thing than just the social aspect.
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#53I find it rather annoying that people like myself get lumped into this as well when such broad definitions are being used. Do I prefer to be alone/ in a small group most of the time? Hell yes! It's more exclusive and I get more work done. In a social situation, less people means more signal, less noise. Do I sometimes completely avoid social situations? Of course! But it's solely due to the fact that sometimes, I jus…
The problem with this is that you're thinking that these symptoms define aspergers. They don't - they're just symptoms, resulting out of other issues which you (and everyone else) can't see. Just like every other medical and mental disorder, just because you have some of the symptoms doesn't mean that you have the actual condition. Jeff Foxworthy has a great joke about this - seeing a program on a disease, his wife s…
The unfortunate thing here is that, as you point out, nobody can see the cause. We have some general ideas, but they're not even very good ideas.
The point that the parent was getting at was that our entire diagnostic process is to measure the symptoms. This is the case for almost all disorders of the brain, and it makes your Jeff Foxworthy quote especially interesting - if the only way that we can determine whether someone has a given condition is self reporting, then what's to say she doesn't? Everyone has a brain.
I think that people who beat this drum are missing an important point - it doesn't matter whether or not someone who doesn't need special treatment or attention has the underlying disorder - by definition, they don't. Brain disorders don't become brain disorders until they have an impact on your life or the lives of the people around you. This is spelled out plainly in the DSM. Even if you have exactly the same chemical condition as someone with Aspergers, unless your life can be improved by treatment, you don't have it. This will continue to be the case until we know for sure what's going on. It's impossible to know how someone else experiences pain, as well, but that doesn't make their suffering less valid.
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a father with a child with autism spectrum disorder (it is not fully diagnosed until 6-8) I strongly second to have your children tested and enrolled as soon as possible (ideally as soon as you have any doubt or see any sign). Therapies can have almost magical effects if started early, much less as time passes.
This, a hundred times this. Confronting the possibility prior to frontal lobe development can radically redirect a life. In the spectrum, frontal lobe development can almost equate to tabula rasa on certain traits. It annoys me when parents ignore the signs and are literally altering the path of their child. Embrace it, because when the teen years approach and the decade following, they will fall into place and you w…
well said!
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#55Do I have Aspergers if I fit the description of one almost exactly? The author seemed to be describing me.. I am pretty socially capable and I can look people in the eye, so I don't know.
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like everything in the physical life, it's all about degrees. As a matter of fact, people with a high ASQ ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_Spectrum_Quotient ) are very common in software industry. There is even an online test http://psychology-tools.com/autism-spectrum-quotient/ I scored one point less than the minimum to be considered in the Asperger spectrum, and I hadn't had any "symptom" in my infancy, so I…
Thanks for the link. I scored higher than I expected.
I was very surprised when I took it too. And I just did it after my son was diagnosticated with PDD-NOS. So I guess it is true it has a genetic component :)
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#57If I was a person with Aspergers, I would be extremely annoyed that the term 'Aspie' is used here. Why not, 'for these people,' type of wording? Coining or perpetuating a term like that only serves to isolate anyone that might otherwise have been just a person with Aspergers.
I thought it was a term of endearment and wasn't considered offensive by Aspergers folks... er.. "those with Aspergers"... seeing why the diminutive label is useful here. What do you call such a person? You don't call them an "Aspergers". "Aspie" seems to work.
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#58As someone who was diagnosed with Aspberger syndrome, reading that article made me want to throw up. There can be significant differences between a number of people with the same diagnosis, and generalizing them all under one mocking nickname of "aspie" is disrespectful. My diagnosis is not obvious to anyone talking to me unless I were to disclose it, and I have done very well in school leadership activities; I parti…
I couldn't agree more - as another person with Aspbergers I feel that this article tried to fit us in to the broken genius pattern, rather than recognize that these kind of syndromes manifest themselves differently in every person. I am in no way special or helped by my syndrome, I am not difficult to work with, I am not in any way disabled, like normal people I have issues with emotional repression and other peoples…
So...your's is the second or third comment that said something along the lines of "I've been diagnosed with aspergers, but you'd never know."
I'm curious, what led you (or your guardians?) to seek out a diagnosis?
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#59Do I have Aspergers if I fit the description of one almost exactly? The author seemed to be describing me.. I am pretty socially capable and I can look people in the eye, so I don't know.
The main reason why Aspergers is no longer used as a diagnosis is because it's a fuzzy area on a spectrum, not a clearly delineated thing.
So yeah, you could be somewhere along the spectrum. Or you could just have certain personality traits that are somewhat like it. Be careful with labeling yourself unnecessarily. It can be comforting but also limiting.
Re: I hired someone with Asperger's – now what?
#60Asperger's doesn't particularly exist. IIRC it is being removed from the DSM-V; 99.5% of sufferers are self-diagnosed with information that they found on the internet, and sometimes have confirmed with helpful psychiatrists. The criteria seems to be that one has a terrible personality, is simultaneously high-maintenance and inconsiderate of others, thinks very highly of one's self, but lacks any other connection with…
Rude and uninformed.