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Being told you’re “special”

mysterionz

mysterionz

oh hamburgers!
V.I.P Member
I’ve heard this term being thrown around by ppl that are neurotypical/not on the autism spectrum. What are your thoughts on this statement?
 
Demon_Scientist_069420 said:
As I've grown older, I really don't like the term. It feels backhanded and insincere.
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I have mixed feelings on the term. I’m just like everyone else, I live and breathe the same air as NT’s. Sure, I see the world and perceive things differently than you and I, but at the end of the day, I’m just like you. This is my message to NT’s.
 
It's an old term. As old as I am.

"Special this, special that...special needs"...where it all meant the same to the rank and file of public school students.

Personally the adjective "different" would suffice without any sense of being patronized.
 
Judge said:
It's an old term. As old as I am.

"Special this, special that"...where it all meant the same to the rank and file of public school students.
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special needs done overused. As soon as one gets diagnosed with any neurodiversity they get slapped with the “special needs” label.
 
Then again, Dana Carvey as "The Church Lady" forever deprecated the word "special".

"Isn't that special!" :rolleyes:
 
phantom said:
Or just developmentally disabled.
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If I somehow actually fell under that somewhat broad category, I wouldn't like it either.

Truth is just about any term like that is probably going to be misused and/or misinterpreted by those who don't fall under such categories.

Just as we are collectively considered a "disorder". :(
 
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mysterionz said:
I’ve heard this term being thrown around by ppl that are neurotypical/not on the autism spectrum. What are your thoughts on this statement?
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Stadistically Special, Weird, Strange, Rare... They all means the same. But people who say Im special usually like me.

To me its a possitive way to say im different, which I am.
 
Ehh.... I really didn't like when I heard NTs saying "oh, they're in the SLC (student learning centre for auties and etc)" so that means they're "special kids." That also included me, so I would hear girls gossip about anything behind others backs! It's kinda strange too that adults tend to do that, or even those that think they could be on the spectrum say that it's not good to appear like you're shy or "you still cling on to your daddy," like I have in social situations where I've felt overwhelmed.. One time recently I had to lay down and have a drink in a place that was literally filled with 40 to 50 year olds ,:D
 
"You're Special" really means "You're different in a bad way, but we don't want you to know its bad." I (and I suspect many others here feel the same) feel I am special in a good way. Thus, I was never told I was "Special."
 
Shamar said:
"You're Special" really means "You're different in a bad way, but we don't want you to know its bad." I (and I suspect many others here feel the same) feel I am special in a good way. Thus, I was never told I was "Special."
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wanna know what’s special about being “special needs”? Nothing.
 
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I take it as it comes. And it doesn't bother me. Nothing much does, of a verbal nature. I would describe it as an unintended consequence of social interactions, a euphemistic meme people utter, when they get uncomfortable, or they see a transgression, somebody breaking convention, being different, a social put down, a veiled insult.

But there's two kinds, the sarcastic, and the genuine as Neonatal pointed out, context. There's the you're special, meaning you're weird, and the you're special, I adore you, special. I get more of the first, goes without saying, but it's always nice to hear the latter.

Ps you're special.
 
The word freaks me out, to be honest--It is losing a friendly connotation pretty quickly and now it sounds like something your drunk uncle might say at dinner when he's complaining about the TV news.

I don't want to be "special." I understand I'm disabled, but I do not want to be "special" because of it. I want to be normal. Sometimes it's nicer to just kind of fit in and be moderately forgettable.
 
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