AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me. Click the link at the bottom of the page to read the full article)
Out of all the words in the English language, one has haunted me my entire life: “freak.” Growing up, I was often referred to as “the freak” or a “weirdo,” and most of this abuse was simply ignored by the adults I relied on to protect me. However, despite it all, I knew that I wasn’t a freak. I was determined to find out what exactly made me who I am and why I was so different from my friends and peers.
Although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, I was fortunate enough to have a school counselor that was able to pinpoint the cause for my unique qualities, and, after testing me thoroughly at age 7, he determined that my “eccentricities” were simply due to a syndrome I had never even heard of up until this point: Asperger’s syndrome.
Despite the fact that many of my family members and school officials took this diagnosis as a bad thing, I started to question whether or not being on the Autism spectrum truly was as bad as our modern society made it out to be, and, years later, I am finally able to proudly say that having Asperger’s is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I am proud of myself and of the many obstacles I have conquered in the process.
What is Asperger’s?
The proper definition of Asperger’s refers to the syndrome as “a developmental disorder related to autism and characterized by higher than average intellectual ability coupled with impaired social skills and restrictive, repetitive patterns of interest and activities.” The truth is that, although many individuals know very little about Asperger’s and the Autism spectrum, every one in 68 American children are born with some sort of Autism.
However, the unfortunate truth about Asperger’s is that adults with Asperger’s are 10 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, and this is primarily due to the fact that these individuals are unable to make lasting connections with other individuals, are unable to verbally address their issues, consistently feel a sense of isolation, or are often repeatedly misdiagnosed.
However, through time, I learned to be myself, grow into my personality, excel in the fields I loved most including art, writing, poetry and music, and become the person I had always wanted to be. That was when I decided that showing other individuals with Asperger’s that their syndrome’s stereotypes did not define them was highly important. From there, I chose to set out and tear down these common stereotypes in order to prove that, although Asperger’s significantly affected my life, it was far from a bad thing.
1. People With Asperger’s Hate Social Interaction
One of the most common stereotypes people with Asperger’s face is that they absolutely despise social interaction, when, in fact, most of us enjoy it, but simply have a hard time doing it.
Because this is such a major factor and many people feel that individuals with Asperger’s automatically freak out around loud noises and large crowds, one of the first stereotypes I set out to tear down was this one. The first step was buying a ticket to a show in CaliforniaI knew would have thousands of people there and to steer clear of anything that wasn’t general access.
At first, it was absolutely terrifying knowing that I would be surrounded by thousands of people but, after being there for about 30 minutes, I was sitting on a table with twenty other writers and artists laughing and actually connecting with people I had literally just met. These people openly embraced me and even asked me questions they had about my disorder which they were too afraid to ask anyone else. In the end, I had opened up to thousands of people and made hundreds of new friends all while teaching them more about my condition and what it actually means for people like myself to be in crowds of that size.
2. Every Person with Asperger’s Likes Routines and Consistency
When people think of Autism, routines and consistency often come to mind. Although changing up your schedule or surroundings can be a serious issue for people with Asperger’s, I knew that this fear needed to be the next thing to be checked off my list. That’s why I decided in the blink of an eye after seeing an article by an Australian woman who was selling everything and traveling across Australia in her caravan that, with my fiance, I would sell all of our material items that weren’t absolute necessities and travel across America.
By the time we reached Texas, I had already experienced so much and was ready to experience even more. I became an executive pastry chef at a fast-paced restaurant to push myself in a very social environment and joined multiple hiking and caverning groups to face my fear of heights, social gatherings and small spaces all at once. As I checked off each fear, I realized that ‘new’ was a necessary part of any miraculous life.
Full Article: How I Overcame 5 Stereotypes About Asperger’s | Care2 Healthy Living
Out of all the words in the English language, one has haunted me my entire life: “freak.” Growing up, I was often referred to as “the freak” or a “weirdo,” and most of this abuse was simply ignored by the adults I relied on to protect me. However, despite it all, I knew that I wasn’t a freak. I was determined to find out what exactly made me who I am and why I was so different from my friends and peers.
Although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, I was fortunate enough to have a school counselor that was able to pinpoint the cause for my unique qualities, and, after testing me thoroughly at age 7, he determined that my “eccentricities” were simply due to a syndrome I had never even heard of up until this point: Asperger’s syndrome.
Despite the fact that many of my family members and school officials took this diagnosis as a bad thing, I started to question whether or not being on the Autism spectrum truly was as bad as our modern society made it out to be, and, years later, I am finally able to proudly say that having Asperger’s is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I am proud of myself and of the many obstacles I have conquered in the process.
What is Asperger’s?
The proper definition of Asperger’s refers to the syndrome as “a developmental disorder related to autism and characterized by higher than average intellectual ability coupled with impaired social skills and restrictive, repetitive patterns of interest and activities.” The truth is that, although many individuals know very little about Asperger’s and the Autism spectrum, every one in 68 American children are born with some sort of Autism.
However, the unfortunate truth about Asperger’s is that adults with Asperger’s are 10 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, and this is primarily due to the fact that these individuals are unable to make lasting connections with other individuals, are unable to verbally address their issues, consistently feel a sense of isolation, or are often repeatedly misdiagnosed.
However, through time, I learned to be myself, grow into my personality, excel in the fields I loved most including art, writing, poetry and music, and become the person I had always wanted to be. That was when I decided that showing other individuals with Asperger’s that their syndrome’s stereotypes did not define them was highly important. From there, I chose to set out and tear down these common stereotypes in order to prove that, although Asperger’s significantly affected my life, it was far from a bad thing.
1. People With Asperger’s Hate Social Interaction
One of the most common stereotypes people with Asperger’s face is that they absolutely despise social interaction, when, in fact, most of us enjoy it, but simply have a hard time doing it.
Because this is such a major factor and many people feel that individuals with Asperger’s automatically freak out around loud noises and large crowds, one of the first stereotypes I set out to tear down was this one. The first step was buying a ticket to a show in CaliforniaI knew would have thousands of people there and to steer clear of anything that wasn’t general access.
At first, it was absolutely terrifying knowing that I would be surrounded by thousands of people but, after being there for about 30 minutes, I was sitting on a table with twenty other writers and artists laughing and actually connecting with people I had literally just met. These people openly embraced me and even asked me questions they had about my disorder which they were too afraid to ask anyone else. In the end, I had opened up to thousands of people and made hundreds of new friends all while teaching them more about my condition and what it actually means for people like myself to be in crowds of that size.
2. Every Person with Asperger’s Likes Routines and Consistency
When people think of Autism, routines and consistency often come to mind. Although changing up your schedule or surroundings can be a serious issue for people with Asperger’s, I knew that this fear needed to be the next thing to be checked off my list. That’s why I decided in the blink of an eye after seeing an article by an Australian woman who was selling everything and traveling across Australia in her caravan that, with my fiance, I would sell all of our material items that weren’t absolute necessities and travel across America.
By the time we reached Texas, I had already experienced so much and was ready to experience even more. I became an executive pastry chef at a fast-paced restaurant to push myself in a very social environment and joined multiple hiking and caverning groups to face my fear of heights, social gatherings and small spaces all at once. As I checked off each fear, I realized that ‘new’ was a necessary part of any miraculous life.
Full Article: How I Overcame 5 Stereotypes About Asperger’s | Care2 Healthy Living
