What is Aspergers?
It’s not a disease, disability, handicap, or disorder. However, since society would like it to be those things, society’s power (from its division of financial strength) enables this illusion rather than removing it.
Aspergers is a different way of thinking due to a neurological brain structure that’s not typically shared with the rest of society.
The media and publishing industry are NOT where you’re likely to get properly educated about Aspergers. The best place to learn about AS is from Aspies themselves. AS is an acronym for Asperger’s Syndrome and NT is the known one for a neurotypical person.
Do NOT judge either yourself to be an Aspie or another person to not be an Aspie based upon what you hear on tv or read in a book. If you want to trust some books by a couple of ‘experts’ so you can begin to gain some insight, then read The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome by Tony Attwood and Theory of Mind and the Triad of Perspectives on Autism and Asperger Syndrome by Olga Bogdashina. Most library systems have Tony Attwood’s book available, but not Olga Bogdashina’s.
Don’t even think that because you may have googled the terms autism, autistic, or asperger’s syndrome and read websites from such organizations as Autism Speaks, Autism Society of America, or CNN’s articles on autism, that you now know what AS is. As with most things deceptive, truth has to be scattered within. The problem though is the way that it’s done. Novice learners (especially neurotypicals) do not have enough experience to discern fact from fiction. There is more counterfeit information about Aspergers in the public eye than what is genuine.
As shocking as this may sound, most psychiatrists and psychologists — along with most who work in the public school system — cannot be trusted to tell you if you, or your family member, has Aspergers… especially in court ordered situations. The level of misdiagnosing that occurs is shocking, but yet accepted. Most Asperger adults, who discover that they’re an Aspie, do so by doing their own homework. A lot of them then seek someone who specializes in this field to receive a formal diagnosis for confirmation. Professionals in this area of expertise gain their education through what they learn from Aspies. Hans Asperger, the ‘discoverer’ of this syndrome,¹ is a classic example of this.
I share the same opinion as others who believe Aspergers does not belong on the autism spectrum. Donna Williams (an Autistic adult, but NOT an Asperger native) offers quite an extensive description of the differences and similarities between Aspie (Asperger) and Autie (Autistic) communities in her reply published on Autism Today’s website.
Ideally, the best way to understand Aspergers is to live with an Aspie (that’s assuming you unconditionally love that person). Too many don’t, so the next best alternative is to befriend one. If at all possible, a wonderful method for AS awareness is to be a frequent guest of a group that gathers INDEPENDENT of any mental health organization — a group of Aspies who voluntarily get together like clubs do. Most likely you’re not going to find any, so the next best alternative is to read what Aspie bloggers are saying. If you’re wondering whether or not you might be an Aspie too, videos and some movies are excellent supplements to go along with what Aspies write. Take this one for example…
Alex Olinkiewicz’s video In My Mind is the first to arrive on the scene:
He does not give the best description of what AS is, but he does give his best description of himself as an Asperger person. There is no perfect way to describe AS because it’s too complex. That does not mean though that people like Alex and I should not try.
I will not clutter this page with videos, so if you’d like to view a variety of other films depicting AS without feeling overwhelmed, I have some scattered in these posts:
Posting back in the saddle again² (equestrian fans of Aerosmith ought to get my play on words³ here).
