Escapist Users and Aspergers

[Casual Shinji]

I've become pretty apprehensive to even mention it on this forum, because aspergers has apparently become somekind of hipster disease. And saying that you have it has become synonymous with showing off and making yourself feel special, or something.

Anyway, I have it, I hate it. Let's hope I don't have to suffer too much from the consequences for my remaining lifetime.

 

[Daverson]

If anyone asks, I just say I'm autistic and leave it at that. The sort of people who use this disability as an excuse to be complete dicks to everyone they meet don't like the stigma surrounding autism, so tend away from the term.

why the fuck anyone would claim they have it when they dont is beyond me, not to mention how ignorant it is to claim it doesnt exist

People claim to have it because they think it'll get them a free pass. People claim it doesn't exist because they've only met those people =p

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

*I actually AM diagnosed with Aspergers.*

I think it's just that being able to post anonymously seems very attractive to people who have social interaction issues. Also, most people with aspergers end up being geeks or nerds, and thus flock to sites like the Escapist.

It's also kinda funny, because although I'm not the best at being social, I'm actually not bad anymore. I can hold conversations no problem, I can stop myself from rambling on and on about stuff I like, I'm in a great relationship, etc. Yeah, sure I talk out loud to no one in particular a whole lot, but aside from that, I don't think my condition is apparent at all.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

It's one of those easy excuses to justify being an asshole
"Oh well im selfdiagnosed with arseburgers so you should be feeling sorry for me for not having a little bit of common decency"

I for one believe just as much in the "asperger"-excuse as i do in religion
ie none (for those of you who didnt get the joke :L)

I hate that too. Having aspergers doesn't mean you get to excuse yourself for being a dick.

I actually HAVE aspergers and I'm a super nice guy! Unless we're playing Mario party or something, at which point I will deliberately screw with people for the lulz.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

Speaking as someone that has mild but still quite life-affecting AS, my view on the matter is that those people are either legitimatley misdiagnosed, they want to be AS to make themseleves more intresting, or they just want it as a fallback in-case they say something unacceptable.

 

[TotalerKrieger]

I believe many mental health professionals are moving away from using the term "Aspergers disorder" as more recent research suggests that autistic disorders follow a spectrum rather than being distinct entities. The broader term "High Functioning Autism" is gradually becoming an alternative diagnosis to Aspergers but it still is a matter of debate among clinicians.

If autistic disoders really do follow a spectrum, then it is very possible that a fairly large percentage of the population is in fact affected by autistic traits, but at a degree of severity currently considered "sub-clinical". I would bet that many individuals affected by sub-clinical autistic traits assume Aspergers is a probable diagnosis simply because it is the "closest fit" to what they are experiencing.

To the people who are saying Aspergers is becoming trendy or hipster, what the fuck are you smoking? Our society is dominated by a culture which demands constant social connection and very high expectations when it comes to interpersonal skills. People who are the least bit anti-social or socially awkward are effectively singled out and ignored, if not met by outright hostility. It is likely that more individuals are claiming to have Aspergers because people in general have become far more critical and exclusionary, leading to more individuals becoming socially isolated. Aspergers provides an answer as to why this has happened them, not a label to appear trendy ffs.

 

[Xan Krieger]

Firstly thank you for calling it a mental illness, I take it you also think black people have a disease in their skin. I was diagnosed at age 12 by a proffesional and then I joined the Autism Society of North Carolina. It's not an illness, I'm just different, I have friends, I even have a job. I'd write more but that comment about it being an illness means it wouldn't be nice.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

Snip

Yeah, I'm no fan of big pharma either, but I can tell you firsthand, AS is real. You heard of the MMR scare from the early 2000's?

 

[Suicidejim]

Well, my girlfriend was diagnosed with NLD, which shares many similarities with Aspergers (she worries that she may actually have Aspergers, but she also happens to be something of a hypochondriac, so I take it with a grain of salt). Most of the time I just treat her as I would anyone else, but her behaviour can be different enough that I do believe in her condition. She, in turn, believes I suffer from it, or some other condition, but I won't have any of it. Even if I do suffer from some condition, that doesn't change a thing. Believing I do would just hand me an excuse to dodge responsibility, which I would prefer not to have.

Also, until this thread, I've never encountered the concept of faking a mental disease for selfish reasons before (especially not to be 'cool'). What a peculiar notion. Even if that is an issue, however, dismissing every claim of Aspergers or some other condition with a blunt "Shut the fuck up, you haven't got it" seems like overkill.

That's my little contribution to the subject.

 

[=y]

I have never seen anyone ever say they have aspergers.

I have seen many people claim they are cynical, which is probably true since there is a lot of hate in the world.

Pretty much this. Haven't seen people claiming they have it myself. There are a lot of cynics here however.

I try to fight the urge to be a cynic. Sometimes it is hard but the world isn't completely horrible.