Being Autistic vs. having Autism.

[Uhura]

Silly little labels...who really gives a hoot?

I don't see it as a label. It is an explanation on why some things are harder for me and are different about me. Same with that I have a learning disability and other things. They are explanations on why things are harder, not labels. I have AS and don't like the term Aspie. I wish there were another word. Because I am fine with saying I am on the autism spectrum, etc.

 

[Warmheart]

One really cannot separate me from my autism. It is a part of me to such a degree, because it impacts how I experience the world, and how I respond to it.

Because of my groovy neurology, I sometimes lose speech, need help with self care, and have whopper meltdowns. Support staff makes my life safer and easier. Attention challenges/executive functioning glitches mean I'm not able to be self-supporting. So yes, I consider myself disabled by autism. This doesn't devalue me in any way. There are always ways to give back to the greater good. I am *happy* being autistic! The wondrous strengths and totally boku gifts my autism bring me are ones I would never give up!

 

[Nitro]

I don't see it as a label. It is an explanation on why some things are harder for me and are different about me. Same with that I have a learning disability and other things. They are explanations on why things are harder, not labels. I have AS and don't like the term Aspie. I wish there were another word. Because I am fine with saying I am on the autism spectrum, etc.

I identify as a human being first,not as a name of a diagnosis. I never really gave any of my condition any thought until I personally opened up that can of worms. My bid for status on the spectrum came as a result of addressing another fairly important issue with my brain.
I come from a day and age where little was done for people who had what was referred to as quirky behavior that didn't need to fall neatly into a prescribed box with a name attached to it. That to me is a label and signifies as a disorder or problem.
My reflections on my past can be explained by being on the autism spectrum,but no one can turn back the hands of time and it is a little too late in my game for a change. Would I accept a cure for a condition that made me special? Never.

 

[Hopeless_Aspie_Guy]

it upsets me when people assume I'm ill.

I hope you get better soon then

I am "On the Spectrum" but I don't have actual Autism, I have Asperger's, a mild form of Autism.

Exactly, autism and aspergers must be seen as different because they just are.

who really gives a hoot?

Me!!...hoot.....hoot...hoot !!

Big BIG difference in what these two terms connotate. I wish saying that someone "has Autism" would disappear off the English Language, and any other language in existance today, and here is why:

Making a statement that "I am Autistic", or So and So "is Autistic" is a declaration of being. An identification with certain inate traits and characteristics. An explanation of how a person feels, thinks, relates to the world.

Saying that "Someone has Autism" implies that this person is not well. That they have an illness that needs to be cured/fixed. It implies a judgement by the NT world about what being normal is, and how someonw that has Autism falls short of that norm, because of the Autism.

Talking about Autism in general, as in the title of this Forum (General Autism Discussion), is fine, in my opinion, but not when talking about individuals.

I feel this is a very strong distinction between the two terms, and language shapes our thinking and implied beliefs. I know not everyone feels strongly about this (and that's fine - there is stuff I don't care about one way or another that is very important to others, and I respect that) - but I just wanted to make an assertion about how I feel.

Yer, but what about autistic vs aspergers. I associate someone being autistic as needing a helper with them all the time and being so disjointed from being able to communicate with others that they can barely speak (as was the case with the only autistic person I knew whom required exactly that in my school). Whereas an aspie is the total opposite in a lot of ways (as we here all know).

 

[INDIEMEG]

Hi, INDIEMEG

I also have Aspergers/high functioning autism and I am male. Life with autism has been good and bad at the same time. I often get excluded by NTs and included with other autistic kids. Also, about what Guppyfry said, the correct term fir saying someone is autistic is "he is autistic" or "she is autistic".

 

[watersprite]

response to the OP's post: I am autistic. I often come at things from a different path than NT's. Sometimes a shorter path, sometimes longer - using NT's measurements that is. I am autistic. Female with synesthesia. I am intelligent, vulnerable, logical and artistic. I have the occasional unintended and unrehearsed insights and empathy. I have a purposeful habit of intentionally ignoring those and that which annoys me.

 

[Ylva]

You say you "have" things you want to dissociate yourself from. You say you "are" things you want to identify with.

 

[Tunie]

Yer, but what about autistic vs aspergers. I associate someone being autistic as needing a helper with them all the time and being so disjointed from being able to communicate with others that they can barely speak (as was the case with the only autistic person I knew whom required exactly that in my school). Whereas an aspie is the total opposite in a lot of ways (as we here all know).

I'm autistic. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, not Asperger's, so I call myself autistic. I don't require a helper all the time, I do fairly well with verbal communication and I have at least average intelligence (I had very high intelligence as a child, but I suspect that it is very much average now).

Of course, it's all about what's in a name, but I personally like to be accurate to the diagnosis that I received.

I also believe that the term Asperger's can potentially sound like it's describing the 'easy' bit of the disability to people - just a bit of eccentricity - ignoring everything that comes with being autistic except for a few odd behaviours.

Just like with being autistic or having autism, I suppose what matters is what the individual prefers.

 

[Mathalamus]

to me, being autistic or anything on the AS... is an illness. that needs to be cured. it is a disorder, and illness, a defect, and it must be fixed. same for me being hard of hearing. it is not the norm, and must be fixed.

but... since the cure is impossible at this point, its probably best to accept ASD, for now.

 

[Guppyfry]

Mathalmus, I'm sorry you feel that way. I hope you will come to see that being on the spectrum is not an illness, but a way of being different. And being different is not good or bad, it just is.

 

[WildCat]

Hey, at least we've come a long way. In the past, many of us were just (among many terms) "backwards", "slow", "eccentric", "odd"...and don't forget the tried and true "retarded"!

Personally speaking, I could care less what someone calls me - I'm not one to mince words and terms. It is true, I am autistic (high functioning autism...oops, I meant "advanced level first class autism spectrum dysfunction" according to the DSM-2000 or whatever); what's not true, however, is that I'm a walking label. You know, just some broken toy in need of repair, a set of symptoms and deficits. That's where the line gets drawn with me, and I've seen people time and time again over the internet making the (well-intentioned) mistake of treating their loved ones not as a person or an individual, but as autism alone, everything else be damned.

People do need to see and realize this at the very least, in my opinion, since we've already got a lot going against us by default, and we need more autistic folks speaking and sharing their thoughts on issues like this rather than backing down and giving in to nonsense. My $.02 anyways.

 

[Guppyfry]

Good points Jonathan - I very, very, very, very rarely disclose my AS. People start treating me different - sometimes people that I have known for years who consider me smart, funny, aritculate, capable, start talking down to me, or start baby-ing me like I'm so fragile and will explode. Or dismiss it completely because I look and act so normal. Both situations are infuriating and insulting.

 

[Nitro]

Good points Jonathan - I very, very, very, very rarely disclose my AS. People start treating me different - sometimes people that I have known for years who consider me smart, funny, aritculate, capable, start talking down to me, or start baby-ing me like I'm so fragile and will explode. Or dismiss it completely because I look and act so normal. Both situations are infuriating and insulting.

I tell idiots that I am autie as a defense mechanism. It is a way of avoiding the small talk they thrive on and move along like there is nothing to see here.That is a sure fire way to get them to skedaddle

I often remind many here that the world is no doubt full of people on the autism spectrum that do not require any support and may never be discovered as that way just like myself. The entire diagnostic procedure is a farce in my honest opinion because it is less than scientific in nature and based on opinions using deficits and never positive aspects. Too many take stock in the psych world for my taste and you can't get a roomful of their best to agree on much of anything most of the time,so there you have it in a nutshell.

 

[WildCat]

Good points Jonathan - I very, very, very, very rarely disclose my AS. People start treating me different - sometimes people that I have known for years who consider me smart, funny, aritculate, capable, start talking down to me, or start baby-ing me like I'm so fragile and will explode. Or dismiss it completely because I look and act so normal. Both situations are infuriating and insulting.

Ironic how we're supposedly unable to perceive the "big picture", yet when you tell Dick or Jane you're autistic, what happens then? They forget about everything else and focus on just that - your autism.

And all that's assuming you even present as such in the first place. I'm sure most of us in here have been forced to adapt, had it beat out of us through any means necessary, or both.

 

[Nitro]

Ironic how we're supposedly unable to perceive the "big picture", yet when you tell Dick or Jane you're autistic, what happens then? They forget about everything else and focus on just that - your autism.

And all that's assuming you even present as such in the first place. I'm sure most of us in here have been forced to adapt, had it beat out of us through any means necessary, or both.

My next question is who says we can't see the bigger picture? I am very capable of putting all the smaller parts together like a puzzle to see it as a whole. I don't view my being on the spectrum as a deficit with skill sets that are over the top and a pretty full toolbox to work with. All of my positive traits far outweigh the deficits that I have.

Adapting to my world was probably no different for me than anyone else in the long run. I don't have a load of co-morbids to my autism where I believe that most of the struggles for others come from. My social deficits were overcome with humor as a substitute for actually knowing the true rules of engagement in that combat arena.It also helped that I emulated my heroes and tried to become the center of attention instead of a wall flower trying to blend in.

 

[superawesomeme]

My diagnosis is for Aspergers (it's still called Aspergers in the UK) and I wouldn't say "I am Aspergers", I would say "I have Aspergers".

You could always look at it from a positive perspective though. For example Superman "has super powers".

He also "has a weakness to Kryptonite" but he is not "a weakness".

So just think of yourself as a superhero.

 

[Tunie]

My diagnosis is for Aspergers (it's still called Aspergers in the UK) and I wouldn't say "I am Aspergers", I would say "I have Aspergers".

You could always look at it from a positive perspective though. For example Superman "has super powers".

He also "has a weakness to Kryptonite" but he is not "a weakness".

So just think of yourself as a superhero.

Ah, but it's a superhero, not a hero that is super.

 

[Ylva]

He is also superpowered, but weak to kryptonite. Hey, I am also aspergic.

 

[artfull dodger]

I am autistic, because I have autism. To me its how it is used in a sentence. The context in which the word is used. I wear a wrist ID bracelet that states that I have autism. I wear this as I become non verbal when in high stress situation or if I am injured and in extreme pain. I take pride in who I am, if others look down upon me due to my disorder, that is thier personal issue and not mine. If they make an ignorant statement, I might take the time to attempt to correct their view and educate, or I might just not say a thing. Just depends on the day I am having and if I can find my words. My original diagnosis is Asperger's Syndrome, now lumped into the ASD diagnosis in the states. Many days I can pass for an Aspie, then I have a bad day and atleast 2 people I work with see the simularties to the more common perception of someone who is Autistic. See my smash my hand or finger I will be sitting on the floor or the nearest stool rocking, or flapping. Mike

 

[Mathalamus]

I'm in red deer, and i reliterate my desire to be normal. If I never had aspergers, I would be far more comfortable around people.

Also, it doesn't help that I'm the only aspie I the entire extended family.