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Difficulty Starting Projects?

  • Posted on March 5, 2008

It’s time fellow Aspergians! They (NTs) are begging for it!

I came across a long list of characteristics describing the Asperger Syndrome with the help of a link from an odd one out blog (thank you Lastcrazyhorn!). It’s time for Aspergians to unite and fight to cure ignorance! I would post a link to where this list I will refer to came from, but I don’t want to encourage any more prejudice against us neuro-A-typical people, who are too difficult for most others to understand just because we think too differently for them to comprehend mentally.

To not explain each of these characteristics in greater detail apparently implies that an illness exists among us. If we did the same thing in return to NTs, you can bet your bottom dollar their defenses would have gone up much faster than ours are now doing!

Since the list is so long (67 items; plus more they’ve neglected to mention that others have not) and many details are needed for explaining every one of them, it would be best to address each one of them over a prolonged period of time. This isn’t the disturbing thing that I was thinking about in my Break Time post. It’s what I came across after already becoming aroused from reading unfounded claims about the cause of autism the other day (I refuse mention what it was).

As I work my way through this bigoted list (throughout the weeks and/or months ahead), I will attempt to point out how every statement is relative (opinionated and subjective). I will also show how each statement is NOT absolute (unbiased and objective). True science and true medicine are absolute and objective. Political, social, and cultural statements are all relative and subject to opinion. This is why psychology (the mental health industry) is basically not a true science, no matter how much some people would like to believe it is. Religion is the only area that can be either relative and/or absolute truth; depending on what is claimed. Religion is a set of beliefs and beliefs can be in either things that are a statement of fact (for example: “Fish swim in water.”) or a statement of opinion (i.e.; “Fish are relaxing to watch swimming in the water.”).

Because too many people have become mentally blind in being able to see the difference between what’s relative versus what’s absolute, others who comprise a small minority end up being able to be victimized by the undiscerning majority. It’s doubtful Aspergians can ever become a majority in number, but where we lack in quantity, we can make up in quality. What’s one of the most powerful qualities Aspergians share? . . . it’s the ability to think independently with extraordinary logic.

The first item on the anti-aspie list I want to write about is, “Difficulty starting projects.” Now why would that seem so to those on the neurotypical spectrum? Could it be because we don’t rush into things as fast as they do? . . . along with our having a better awareness of all the possible details involved? It’s the NT world that thrives under conforming to social pressure. Fitting in is the obsession for NTs, even if it means trying to do so in unique ways. Competition for being popular and well-liked, along with being attracted to luxuries money can buy, drives industries to market their products faster and faster. This is better known as the rat race. It should be called the fool’s race instead. Wise people know that things of quality take time. We should know this simply by observing nature. Nature can’t be rushed, but yet people do such things as support others who are obsessed with trying to find ways to make food (plants and animals) grow faster. If that wasn’t so, it couldn’t happen.

Another commonly foolish illogical attitude is, “Why look for problems? . . . wait for them to come first before you fix them.” Anyone for a trip to La, La Land? — go now, pay later. The only difficulty Aspergians have with starting projects is in the egocentric notion of the NT mind. Yes, there is a time and place for the you snooze, you lose herd and it’s good that the majority of people are typical neurologically so they can jump when Simon the boss tells them to. But, there also is a time and place for those of us who don’t have that nature that enables a person to fulfill that need for rushing into things. Does a Bloodhound dog belong in the starting gate of a Greyhound race track? Or does a Greyhound dog do better at sniffing out a trail than a Bloodhound would? Do dog breeders claim Bloodhounds have a disorder because they’re different than Greyhounds? Has any dog breeder ever believed that other breeds should be eliminated because they didn’t like that breed? Aspergians are designed to follow their genetic program of starting projects when they’re ready and only they know when, where, and how that is. Who complained about Einstein having a difficult time with starting his project of solving the theory of relativity¹ that took him eight years to do? Or how about Vincent van Gogh and how long it took him to begin his art projects?

¹Theory of relativity… how’s that for emphasizing the subjective claim of saying aspies have “difficulty starting projects?”

Busted Myth

  • Posted on March 5, 2008

Here is just one myth, said well by Alex Plank in his Ten Myths about Autism – Debunked, that is published on the now famous WrongPlanet.net¹ site designed for people on the Autism Spectrum:

Myth: Autistics are represented by nonprofits like Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now; donating to these causes helps people with Autism.

Reality: Actually, most autistics feel that these nonprofits are doing a disservice to those living with Autism by running campaigns that dehumanize people with the condition and painting an inaccurate picture of what Autism is like.

For example, Autism Speaks, the largest Autism organization in terms of financial capital, has no autistic employees and no board members with the condition. They disallow autistic individuals from speaking at their conferences with the rationale that “it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

While a lot of the research they fund may be conducted by good scientists who are unaware of the organization’s political slant, Autism Speaks’ end-game is establishing prenatal screening. Any good that comes from this research is consequently undermined by the negative messages they send.

I would like to add my own suggestion here for those who might not think of this on their own:

If you really want to donate towards the world gaining a greater insight and understanding of Autism, then support organizations that don’t just allege to have people that are on the autism spectrum included; look for proof before you trust what they’re claiming. If you don’t see the necessary evidence, then move on to those organizations where it’s obvious that what you see is what you get. If you wanted to learn about the French and understand their different ways of being, would you support the Chinese and expect them to be able to give you the answers?! Hopefully you’d be smart enough to know you’d go to France and help the French explain their culture to you by letting them know what it is you don’t comprehend. They are the ones who have the answers explaining their society; just like autistics (the older, the wiser; the younger, the more naïve) are the only ones who have the answers to why they’re an unsolvable puzzle to those on the neurotypical spectrum.

¹I’m glad to see that WP now has over 17 thousand members and is still growing strong! United we stand, divided we fall. Aspies have been unknowingly divided apart throughout history, but now is an exciting time with the internet for us because autistics are coming together fast and strong — like the final pieces getting connected in a puzzle so everyone can get the picture!

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