I don't get it.

[conuly]

What is it about asperger that attracts the trolls? We don't even get good trolls - this is the shittiest trolling I've ever seen! Where's the drama? The entertainment? The moderators?

Comments

[yuki-onna.livejournal.com]

Might I suggest, tentatively, that the website you guys have linked on your entries page to explain aspergers is a rather silly one with many spelling and grammar errors which does not explain why people with Asperger's have any kind of difficulty in life, but rather lists symptoms which seem positive and in no way detrimental--high IQ, honest, open-minded. It doesn't make it sound legitimate, and to the uninformed, would make extremely light of the condition. I would suggest you find a more professional and complete site to link to.

Just my 2 cents.

[conuly]

It's not my comm. You can ask there, if you like, but...

I happen to like the site myself. Most people in that comm know what AS is and don't need yet another medical site that only lists all the terrible horrible things about asperger's/autism. It's nice to have a humorous site, especially one that isn't the ISNT.

Though that would explain the trolls. Some people have a hard time respecting others, and the whole no-cure emphasis of the comm must be devastating to their little-bitty minds.

Wow. I'm bitter. Sorry 'bout that.

[yuki-onna.livejournal.com]

All I'm saying is that for trolls, that site gives them a reason, or what passes for a reason in their universe. Frankly, it confuses me, and I'm not a troll.

[conuly]

Yeah, I know. On the other hand, the determined trolls would do their trolling regardless.

How does the site confuse? *hasn't been there in a while*

[yuki-onna.livejournal.com]

I can't understand, from that site, what the problem with having Aspergers is. It sounds like the problem with having Aspergers is. It sounds like a pretty good deal, from what he says. Nothing negative is mentioned, so how is it a syndrome to be smart and forthright and honest with a photographic memory?

(I know there must bemore to it,but from the site that:s all you get)

[yuki-onna.livejournal.com]

Sorry. funky Japanese keyboard. I pressed something that makes it repeat. :/

[conuly]

Well, to be fair, not all aspies are of above-average intelligence. It's just that AS is also not antithetical to above-average intelligence. And I don't think most aspies really do have photographic memories. That's hyperbole.

Forthrightness, though, is a euphimism for "bluntly abrupt honesty". That's the reason for the huge disclaimer on my user info, because people interpret my honesty as deliberate rudeness... but I can't be honest the way they like, and I won't lie.

And if that's all you got, then yes, there's a lot missing from the description. Problems with non-literal language comes to mind, and difficulty with "the unwritten rules of social behavior". Then there's a huge number of what are known as comorbid conditions, such as various agnosias, notably faceblindness (an inability or impairment in recognizing faces, even to the degree where you cannot recognize family members) and topographical agnosia (getting lost in places that should be familiar to you, not recognizing your house if you see it from a different location); problems with spacial/temporal awareness (not being able to know if it's a minute or an hour passing, not being able to accurately judge distance, having no sense of direction); dyspraxia (problems with fine and/or gross motor control, not being able to tie your shoes, or write neatly, or throw a ball); ocd-like symptoms.... well, it goes on. And on. And on and on and on.

[yuki-onna.livejournal.com]

Ok, that helps me a little more. But if you read the site, it almost reads like Aspergers people are way better than everyone else, and that's what the disease means--hell, reading that site I WANT Aspergers, and I know that's a miscommunication on behalf of the site owner.

Nothing, and as owner of the elitistasshat community, I can assure you this is true, nothing draws trolls like superiority posturing, which is what that site communicates. It really sounds like Aspergers is some kind of genius syndrome that grants amazing prowess.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

It's essentially like being left-handed.

In short, the problem is that society is built entirely centered around people with very different sensory/social needs from those of autistics, and it is full of individuals that are intolerant of anybody with a perceptible difference. There's nothing inherently wrong/broken/unhealthy with being autistic (or left-handed or both), but we're at a disadvantage in a society filled with bigots that insist we do everything as if we had their neurology rather than our own.

[staircase-wit.livejournal.com]

In a way, it sucks big donkey nuts to be autistic. We are often not seen as "winners" in life, and although our priorities may be different, we are enculturated. I know I'm never going to own a sports car. I know I'm never going to be seen as "suave." I'll always have difficulties relating to people. I'll also have executive dysfunction and alexithymia, which makes it very difficult to persue the correct course of action.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

But the things you mention are the result of pervasive mistreatment and social prejudices, not autism. The only thing you did mention that is considered a part of autism itself is executive functioning problems, and I'm not even sure of that. (EF issues are uniformly seen in autistics trying to emulate NTs and in ones that are stuck in an anti-autistic environment -- they're not really seen in autistics in an autism-compatible environment that are doing things in a way compatible with their neurology.)

One thing autism sure does cause, though, is intolerance of neuroleptic drugs...my poor brain is a disaster right now just from one *extremely* tiny dose over 24 hours ago, so forgive if the above is written confusingly.

[staircase-wit.livejournal.com]

Ah, the best way to get a brain back is to look up statistics.

What percentage of self-diagnosed individuals did Simon Baron-Cohen say had autism, according to his research?

[eh1steve.livejournal.com]

The problem is that it's a little hard to explain in terms the average person can understand why it's a problem. Aspies are generally nice people to begin with. The problem is that niceness isn't a particularly good thing in our world if you want to have a lot of friends and get along well. People don't decide if they want to like you based on how nice you are to them; they decide based on things like your tone of voice and your eye contact for the most part. In all honesty, people treat each other really crappy. There are a lot of rules to it too and the average aspie doesn't have a very easy time learning the right way to be terrible to another person. This is why we're stuck at home.

[yuki-onna.livejournal.com]

Ok, but I still don't understand. You're telling me that they are too smart and nice for people to deal with? That doesn't make sense to me. That site says they are like the aliens from Third Rock from the Sun. This doesn't help either. I'm having a hard time understanding this--and I'm TRYING to understand because I want to know. Trolls don't care--and things they don't understand set them off especially.

[eh1steve.livejournal.com]

I'm saying that's usually the way things start. I'm not saying it stays that way or that's all there is to it.

The eye contact thing alone is something I had to explain to someone recently. I didn't realize eye contact was such a big deal until I was about sixteen years old. I had just been diagnosed and I was reading about AS when I figured it out. What I learned is that people will make judgments about you based on things like eye contact and body language. Since I didn't naturally make eye contact with people when I was talking to them, they tended to assume I was untrustworthy and they wouldn't want anything to do with me.

My body language is also poor. I tend to be very literal, which means sometimes people think I mean things I really don't. I learn a bit differently than other people do, which made school more difficult than it should have been. It's hard for me to engage in what people refer to as "small talk." I'm not very good at "reading between the lines," so I sometimes make people mad without knowing it quick enough.

All this stuff can make it hard to make friends. If you have a harder time making friends, it's harder to get a job or get groups to study with in school. Without friends, social skills suffer, which makes it even harder to make friends later or keep a job if you happen to get one.

Getting any clearer yet?