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]

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?