jamesaldrin
Well-Known Member
I feel somewhat ashamed to call myself Autistic, when I just have Aspergers
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you shouldnt feel ashamed you are autistic!I feel somewhat ashamed to call myself Autistic, when I just have Aspergers
I wanted to share the following based on some comments I've read here & there. A clarification of sorts although I am no "expert". (Is anyone though?)
So here goes,
It is not accurate that autistic kids have 'no desire to participate' in the world. This includes those who present as severely autistic, low functioning, & non-verbal.
They have extremely sensitive & easily overloaded sensory systems which make them highly sensitive & incapable of expressing themselves - sometimes thought of as incapable of emerging from their internal shell. They typically suffer from extreme anxiety. And their motor functions & body control is very poor & hard to control.
Those things quite obviously make functioning in society VERY difficult if not just completely impossible.
Their outward look & behavior has nothing to do with what they think & feel inside; & they have a hard time finding a method or successful way to communicate. It also takes tremendous effort & discipline for them to do what are typically very simple tasks, including to make the effort to communicate, even non-verbally, again due to their lack of bodily control & motor function. Many literally cannot physically manage verbal communication.
There is no evidence that they lack feelings or empathy etc... They commonly enjoy being around animals & are very good with animals.
Our own autistic nephew makes many self initiated gestures which demonstrate compassion & caring for others. These emanate from his obvious awareness of other people's feelings & are not mimicked or copied behaviors.
As your point below. I sometimes wonder if it's projection on their part.
A lot of social life seems to be about showing you care when actually they don't.
Perhaps our curse is we actually do care but it is made out that we don't.
Heaven forbid that you point to out the game....
But the generalizations that some people make, such as believing autistic people have no interest in participating in the world or doing fun things, no interest in socializing, do not care about others, do not want want or need friends & to be loved, etc ... these are all untrue.
Most of you know all of this already. But I just wanted to say it again.
Same here! I prefer to be alone most PD the time, but I do want SOME interaction with friends and family. As far as animals, I CRAVE interaction with our furry, scaly, hairless, or feathery counterparts!Perhaps a more accurate phrase is "this is not an absolute truth". Some Aspies do want full interaction, most seem to want limited interaction, and there are indeed those that aspire to be hermits. I'm caught somewhere between "limited" and "hermit" myself.