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[Doc]

Exactly: Treatment (especially medication) should only be applied so it benefits *you*. If you're happy the way you are stick with it, if you're not happy and you might want to try to even yourself out a bit (or stop compulsively stabbing your friends and loved ones every time someone says the word 'nougat') then start popping those pills.

[jough]

Be careful what you say about the normal people. The 'Norms' will institutionalize you if you step out of line.

At least you have the advantage that everyone thinks they're special, so no one wants to be average or normal enough to go after those who are atypical or anormal.

[misterqueue]

At least you have the advantage that everyone thinks they're special, so no one wants to be average or normal enough to go after those who are atypical or anormal.

Wait.. are you saying we're the all singing, all dancing crap of the world?

[Doc]

At least you have the advantage that everyone thinks they're special, so no one wants to be average or normal enough to go after those who are atypical or anormal.

Yeah but you can only be special in the normal way and even then only within socially acceptable limits. You must have noticed how uncomfortable people feel (and I'd even include myself in feeling that way sometimes) around people who are unusually focussed and brilliant because their focus often means they don't register the normal social niceties the rest of us subscribe to.

Wait.. are you saying we're the all singing, all dancing crap of the world?

Do you know Tyler Durden?

[misterqueue]

Do you know Tyler Durden?

Never heard of him sir.  But you might find him in Chicago.

[side_show]

Hey Mantonio, you think you might have Aspergers?  That's sort of ... interesting?  It's a fully recognized syndrome here in Canada, and something all educators are now trained to recognize, specifically because there are certain teaching tools that work well for Aspergers kids.  (Also, Aspergers students just attract bullies, so it's pretty important to be especially aware of these students' social interactions)  My friend (who is a first grade teacher) and I were both talking about how, for us, Aspergers students are fairly easy to pick out - and no, it's not just shyness or being a "geek," it most specifically manifests itself in the inability to process empathic teaching methods (which is why it's particularly clear for me, because I work at a theatre school).  You said you really struggled with your training.  Did they use lots of "put yourself in the place of this other person" type training?  It's a fairly common training method for customer service type jobs.  As far as all the stuff I know about Aspergers students, their prognosis is actually quite positive.  If it turns out you have it, it's probably fair to say you wont be all that happy working in a customer-service type job (not many people are though) but not impossible that you could succeed with the right type of training.  If you deal with it properly, it's sort of like being dyslexic -  it wont hold you back, as long as you recognize your particular strengths.   You'll come to know how you learn, and find ways to learn that way, and you'll be fine.

[jough]

You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.  You are not your fuck*ng khakis.

[Mite]

Aspergers seems to be the disease du jour - if I hear one more episode of The Infinite Mind (semi-crappy NPR show on psychology) devoted to it I'm gonna put a fist through the radio. I totally have a few characteristics, had more when I was little. I trained myself out of a few of them, a couple I'm still dealing with. Whether that's an autism spectrum thing or just social anxiety, I don't know for sure.

I agree with everybody else about turning personality quirks into entries in the DSM. I guess the word for it is neurodiversity.

[Mantonio]

You said you really struggled with your training.  Did they use lots of "put yourself in the place of this other person" type training?  It's a fairly common training method for customer service type jobs.  As far as all the stuff I know about Aspergers students, their prognosis is actually quite positive.  If it turns out you have it, it's probably fair to say you wont be all that happy working in a customer-service type job (not many people are though) but not impossible that you could succeed with the right type of training.  If you deal with it properly, it's sort of like being dyslexic -  it wont hold you back, as long as you recognize your particular strengths.   You'll come to know how you learn, and find ways to learn that way, and you'll be fine.

Wow! You guys sure have a lot of interesting and encouraging things to say. First, though, I want to adress this question from Smells. No, it really wasn't "put yourself in the place of this other person" type training. What I had to do was memorize a lot of commands for this software platform called Sabre. Basically, if we want to find the flight the customer wants, we type in some arcane command to find the airline, then another arcane command to find the class of service, then yet to see if that particular class is available. (and by class I don't mean coach, business or first class. Airlines apparently have different "classes" for airfare. It's complicated, or at least it is to me.)

In other words, the system we were using was complicated in a way to properly trip me up. (Not blaming them, just saying I found it difficult.) If I found the work to actually be interesting I think I would have actually done well. One of the things I found interesting as I've read up about Aspergers is that whole thing about narrow interests and how we often can't be bothered to focus on something else. This was certainly a problem when I was in school. Even if it was a subject I found interesting I might find myself distracted by a subfield of that subject. A case in point would be my world history class in high school. Our task for each quarter was to put together a multimedia project on a Great Man/Woman from history. That should have been up my alley except for two things - I had a tough time actually putting the projects together. This lead me do discouragement and inaction. The other thing was that instead of reading up on, say, Peter the Great as I was supposed to, I'd find another history book and read about another period of history far removed for 17th/18th century Russia. As a result, I did not pass the class.

As for the whole empathy thing, well, I'm pretty damn sure I have it. I can usually discern non-verbal queue's well enough. I'm just akward in playing my part, I guess. I dealt with customers in a call center once upon a time and only lasted about six or seven months before I threw in the towel. I didn't do very well and it was just a draining experience. I can establish a rapport with people, but it takes work for me. A lot of work. When you first meet me I'm pretty shy and withdrawn, but once we become friends I do tend to come out of my shell. Even then I'm noticeably different. I've been busy telling all my friends about my "diagnosis". More than a few have told me they have actually suspected I might have AS for some time. They didn't mention anything because, well, how do you bring that up in conversation?

Moving on, I think Dawg hits the nail on the head about the old narrow definition of "normal" being misguided. I really hope we learn more about the brain in the decades to come so we can one day get a better idea of what "normal" really is. (or if it even exists.) Do something to contain those that are a danger to themselves or others of course, but work with the more benign cases to make all our lives easier. In other words, the norms and aspies should learn to accomadate each other and recognize we live in a neurodiverse world as Mite points out. For my part, I'm looking forward to learning what "flavor" of aspergers I might have. In the meantime, I'm looking to volunteer at a local historical preservation society in hopes that may someday lead to a paying gig. I plan to keep writing on my blog as well. (Believe it or not, I was actually a journalist all through college. I don't know how I managed that but I did. That's what I almost got my degree in, in fact (six credits short. It was great fun and still hope to make a living as a writer some day.)

Anyway, thanks guys. I knew I could get some interesting and useful responses out of you.

[Thee]

Mantonio is totally Dick Cheney.

no, really, I hear dead eye dick has the ol' aspergers

[Mantonio]

Mantonio is totally Dick Cheney.

no, really, I hear dead eye dick has the ol' aspergers

Well I don't go around shooting old men and starting wars. Then again, both of us are from Wyoming. (Actually, Big Time was originally born in Nebraska and only moved to Wyoming when he was about 8. I'm a more legitimate Wyomingite than he is.)

Dammit, I can't believe someone compared me to Dick Cheney.

[xzqx]

I'm jumping in on this topic with no real qualifications or anything other than a curiosity for mental "disorders". I tend to believe that most of these are on a spectrum which we can all be placed on somewhere. For example, take OCD. I really like things to be clean, really clean, but I don't go washing my hands until they bleed. So I feel like I fall somewhere on the OCD scale, but short of actually being diagnosed with OCD. SImilarly, I am sort of awkard, geeky and shy and have had to train myself to act more "normal" in social contexts, but I don't think I have Asperger's -- just strange parenting.

Is taht weird to just trivialize every personality trait to being somewhere on some continuum? I don't know.

[wombat]

SImilarly, I am sort of awkard, geeky and shy and have had to train myself to act more "normal" in social contexts, but I don't think I have Asperger's -- just strange parenting.

I am awkward, geeky and shy too, but I'm not sure you can blame it on parents.  My parents weren't that way and neither is my sister who was parented by them.  People clearly have many aspects of their personalities from the moment they are born.

I think it makes sense that most of what are considered disorders are just extreme versions of traits that "normal" people have too.  I mean, people who behave abnormally are not generally demonstrating the behaviors of frogs, or whales, or insects. They don't go around head-bobbing like lizards, say, or smelling butts like dogs. They physically could, but they don't. The weirdness of human behavior is still pretty much constrained by the limits of human behavior.

Or maybe this is just an elaborate rationalization of those voices in my head...

[Caustic Armadillo]

I have Aspergers as well, I've been diagnosed with it since childhood.
I've never really read a lot about it, because I don't want to use it as an excuse.
I flatly refuse to take medication for it (used to get Rilatin for it) because it turns you into a freaking *****.
(2nd post on this board, and this is the topic? Kind of awkward )

[Carlos del Vaca]

Zombie thread!  braaaaaains

So brought back to life because the more I read about Asperger's, the more I wonder if my oldest daughter has it.  I knew the subject had come up here, and I was wondering if anyone in the know has an idea about how one gets diagnosed with such things.

(On the other hand, we had a parent-teacher conference at my kid's preschool Friday, and she got glowing remarks on everything.  When I asked the teacher if Asperger's had ever crossed her mind with regards to Liz, she said she'd never given it a thought, on account of she seems perfectly normal.  So I may be completely talking out of my ass.  Or my kid is great at school and just acts weird at home.)

It's a fully recognized syndrome here in Canada, and something all educators are now trained to recognize, specifically because there are certain teaching tools that work well for Aspergers kids. 

Smells, any chance you could elaborate, or give me a link or something?