Asperger's Is a RARE Disorder

Edit 3: Ok, here, in the words of someone who is supposed to *seriously have* AS and said I could link to her journal here, is an example, and says exactly some of what I've been saying:

[link]

We don't apparently agree on a lot of other things outside of this one topic, but here, the only thing we seem to differ on even a tiny bit out of what she mentioned is that so-called 'classic' Autism has speech problems, and AS doesn't.

I think what she may mean here, though (she can let me know if I'm mistaken, and I can change it), is that people with real/serious Autism tend more towards usually having severe speech issues, whereas someone with AS *can* have one of a couple of types of much lesser speech irregularities (tendency to talk ultra-abnormally fast all the time, or in some cases, in a weird 'robot-like monotone'), but it's also technically possible for someone with it to have all the of important, core 'telltale' symptoms down to the detail and not necessarily have the speech part.

But there you have it, from the mouth of someone WITH Asperger's, who LIVES WITH IT, and says the exact same stuff I've been saying for ages (but yet when I say it I get hate-mail).

It's RARE, has become WAY over-diagnosed, the definition has been watered-down such that it can be wrongfully painted over a lot of really insignificant, otherwise-normal traits and behaviors, and a part of the problem *IS*, like it or not, that people have started rampantly 'diagnosing' themselves with it (or purposely getting diagnosed by someone else by faking it, in some really ridiculous instances) based on either a) having some kind of talent, b) being smart, c) not being popular, being slightly shy, etc.

It's serious, CRIPPLING social disability, including a telltale inability to understand facial expressions and body language, along with intense, near-paralyzing phobia of social situations.

It's not cool, it's not something to brag about, and it's seriously not something you remotely-want to have, ever.

You can dislike people saying so all you want, but really, not everyone, including me, is going to go changing their viewpoint based on some strangers' orders through angry PMs, even if it does make someone have an over-the-top online tantrum.

Edit 2: Look. Don't bother yelling at me through profanity-filled hate mail and saying 'NOOO ITS NOT RARE!!!! EXPRTS PROVED ITS SOOO COMON! FCK U UR SOOO STOOPIT!!' or anything else like that. The whole *point* here is that people are SAYING THAT TO BEGIN WITH because some have taken it and overhyped it, and have watered down the definition ridiculously in the last few years, and that's WHY it's suddenly so 'common'.

I normally wouldn't even say this, but I'm getting a little bit sick of how any time anyone disagrees with a popular opinion (even if the reason they disagree is that they've bothered to look into it more and think about it critically, and have arrived at that conclusion in a sensical way), they're automatically branded as 'ignorant' and 'stupid' and should be trash-talked and silenced for daring to go against the so-called 'experts' or random dime-a-dozen, constantly-shifting-and-conflicting 'statistics' thrown around on evening news shows or some such.

So what I have to say at this point is this:

If you, whoever you are, can't think critically and seriously about stuff, or don't want to even bother, that isn't my fault, but telling ME off in Notes, PMs, IMS, Emails, etc. for actually looking into something and evaluating it for myself, instead of following whatever the people around me tell me to believe without any further thought...

That's seriously not going to change the conclusion I eventually arrived at, nor is it going to make you look like anything other than a jerk who has nothing better to do than PM pointless insults to people you've never even talked to, and don't know whatsoever.

I don't send anyone on here floods of insult-laced hate notes in their inboxes just because they disagree with me on this (I even disabled comments to KEEP people from fighting over it, and several other stamps, because I didn't *want* a bunch of this being circulated or an online 'war' being started)--you have a RIGHT to, but you can do so in a reasonable, at least *somewhat* polite way that doesn't include copious cursing, 'use ur fcking brain biatcch ur soooo stoopit!111', or anything else along those lines, and if you can't do that, you can always read what I have to say, disregard it as nonsense in your personal opinion, and walk away and go on about your morning/afternoon/evening, no harm done.

I do that EVERY DAY with other people's stuff; some of it, even, is stuff that affects me personally, and, I'm not going to even lie, doesn't make me occasionally feel a bit bad at the time, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with it, and when I find it, I just walk away, and think to myself on why I think otherwise.

I don't peronsally Note/Email/PM/IM/Other the creators ridiculous tomes of why I hope they die because they said something I find completely wrong, take offense at, or worse, so why does everyone else find that they need to?


Now, on the issue of the things one or two people HAVE been saying to me, about how I'm OH SO WRONG and am basically not entitled to my own views on the topic because an 'expert proved it or said so' somewhere, I'll leave you with this:

I've been looking at this stuff a for a pretty good while, and have read a fair amount about it, over several YEARS, both online and offline, including newer stuff, and older stuff, and guess what? People HAVE just about completely watered it down into a joke in recent years, to where basically anyone CAN be labeled with it over next to nothing, and to where if you pretty much have any personality other than 'stereotypical, outgoing jock or prom queen candidate', or something pretty close, you seriously *COULD* be stupidly and wrongly defined as 'having it', and if you don't watch yourself around the wrong people, likely will be.

I can't MAKE you agree, I can't MAKE you think I'm not 'a loser' or 'an idiot' for having a mind of my own and bothering to form my OWN opinions, and I can't MAKE you research things for yourself or think critically, or even arrive at the same conclusion I did. I can't MAKE you do anything.

But I would like people to think about what I said about being entitled to my own opinion just like you are, about what I said about ragey hate-mail and IMs, and maybe even this (in regards to the 'forming your own opinions and why they shouldn't automatically be silenced' part):

Just because some 'expert' supposedly said or 'proved' something, doesn't mean you should *always* blindly trust it, or assume that it was necessarily done under the most innocent and altruistic of motives.

Really, what does it take to be an 'expert', anyway?

All it takes is an investment of a certain amount of time, effort, and money, so you can hang a piece of paper on your wall that says you're certified as an expert.

Having done that most definitely doesn't certify that you're more than human, perfect, trustworthy, always guaranteed to be completely innocent in your motives and/or flawless in whatever ideas you put out there, are unsucceptible to fads or trends (yes, even psychiatry has them--go look up the 'multiple personality' fad a few decades back) or even can't ever unintentionally over-analyze or get carried away and go too far with things.

Lastly, I have to say that I'm going to be ignoring any more rude notes telling me I'm 'stupid' and 'need to use my head' because I really, seriously have looked at this, and found out just how wrong I believe people are about it.

Instead, I'd like to tell anyone who's being rude to me or anyone else who's posted agreeing with me anywhere, especially those who are calling people 'stupid and ignorant' all while *they're* blindly following whatever is given to them by an unnamed team of magical 'experts' out there somewhere, celebrity 'doctors', TV shows, popular media, or whatever else, that maybe they're the ones who should 'use their heads' and think critically about something for once, instead of live and die by what a bunch of strangers tell them to readily accept with no further thought.

Sorry for being, for once, admittedly kind of frustrated--not 'hateful and ragey', more like just frustrated, worn out, maybe discouraged slightly by people's behavior, there *is* a difference--but I'm not going to change my whole view of everything for a few people who have nothing better to do with their time than send out what eventually amount to over-the-top, uncalled-for, language-laden proclamations that I'm not ALLOWED to form my own views and ideas if they in any way clash with the 'experts' or the whatever trendy 'flavor of the month' is.


Edit: How can I say this any more clearly?

AS is:

-A hardwired inability to 'pick up' on or 'learn' social behavior from others in a natural way, and is typically accompanied by a high intelligence and/or hyper-obsessive interest and/or savant-like ability in one topic, often a scientific or technical one.

-Despite what people are trying to push at the moment, AS is MUCH MORE RARE than a lot of people would have you believe, because the definition has been watered down absurdly to include just about anyone who isn't a stereotypical jock or prom queen type, and/or anyone who just HAPPENS to be creative or smart beyond their years, even if they have no other issues whatsoever.

-A decent way to describe it might be that AS is to being able to normally/naturally 'pick up', learn, and recognise social cues/skills/behaviors from others as dyslexia is to learning to read. A person's normal abilities are hampered, therefore they may need special help to learn and adjust.

-These same symptoms ARITIFICIALLY INDUCED by other people's behavior are NOT TRUE AS, and people should check into a person's actual life to see if there are other causes beforehand, because there are other NON-mental disorder things that can cause some of the same symptoms, or very similar ones, very notably either a) CHILD ABUSE, b) DISTURBING/INTENSE FORCED SHELTERING, especially if it's extreme and/or long-term.

AS is not:

-General geekiness/nerdiness or 'haha omg ima anime (or other) fanguuuurl'

-Some lesser extent of 'obsessiveness' (in a joking way, or in a younger kid who's just REALLY INTERESTED in new things--that can be normal at some age--it depends on the situation somewhat)**

-Normal childhood 'going on and on about a favorite thing' just because it's fun to them, a la 'your 6-year-old cousin who won't stop ragging you about pokemon and it annoys you'**

(**Note: Obssessiveness *can* be, but it wouldn't be all by ITSELF without other glaring issues, and is more often about a serious topic--also, it's not outgrown in a normal time frame, and even as they age, the person would show no descretion about who they bothered with it, and how much, and have no idea that it was bothering others, even as an older kid, teen, or adult.)

-Unpopularity in school

-Slight social awkwardness or discomfort

-Having an unconventional hobby

-Feeling ill at ease around one specific person or group

-'Not fitting in' for ANY reason

-Mere shyness or slowness to warm up to people

-Introvertedness

-Creativeness/artistic ability

-Low friend count

-Having a mind of your own and/or bucking a stereotype

-Individuality

-Mild quirkiness or having one mildly-annoying habit (aka, I chew pencaps sometimes, I fidget with my eraser occasionally, I click my nails sometimes unconsciously, etc.)

-Having an unconventional or unpopular opinion

-Being a little bit young at heart

-Getting along well with kids

-Being mistaken as younger than your real age for any other reason (such as young facial features, way you dress, sound of your voice, etc.)

-Holding dear or wishing for the return from anything from your childhood, even in a fairly-strong or emotional way (aka childhood nostalgia)

Lastly:

If any of you EVER again wonder or complain about why 'people in our society are so stupid and unoriginal' or make angry stamps about 'how stupid and uncreative' everyone is again, remember this:

Things have been watered-down so much here that now anyone who IS the least bit smart or creative could easily be either a) branded wrongly with AS, or if not that, b) dumb themselves down somewhat-intentionally to try to AVOID be wrongly-branded with AS.

You can choose to not consider the possibility, and a lot of people--probably the majority--would be willing to randomly agree with you without any further critical thought, this IS what seems to be happening, and is likely a big part of why it's suddenly become so 'common' (partly between that, and rampant, hasty mass self-'diagnosis', often by people who want to join online 'PRIIDDEEE~!1111' clubs)

Things are continuing to expand and are being more unreasonably-generalized down to where anyone who has ANY of the qualities I see people (on dA pretty heavily, too) complaining that 'everyone' is lacking, are likely going to be suddenly and unfairly considered to have AS.

In short, people have taken a REAL, EXISTING disorder that, in its TRUE form, can hamper people's lives and is actually something worth the concern, watered it down IMMENSELY, and the end result is that almost ANY type of noticable individuality or difference from an extremely-rigid mainstream in ANY form is considered a part of it, thus wrongfully making 'general difference of any kind' a mental disorder, when it really isn't.

So next time anyone complains really loudly or angrily about 'stupidity and unoriginality', and then turns right around and screams about what an 'epidemic' AS is and how everyone and his dog suddenly 'has' it and no one is allowed to question that assertion whatsoever by saying what I just said, maybe they should consider somewhat-rethinking one point or the other, or at least the possibility of how one could affect the other.
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Warning: Long, involved read ahead, because there's a fair amount that needs to be said about this right now. If you don't want to read it all, you don't have to, but it's here for anyone who does. Also, this is NOT intended to be angry, assy, bitchy, cynical, or really, mean-spirited in ANY way. The reason for the long-winded explanation and emphasis is that it seems like next to NO ONE right now seems to even remotely-understand what Asperger's really IS, and it's gotten REALLY out of control. So I'm not 'angry'--what I am is EXTREMELY concerned about all the rampant self-diagnoses and misinformation, and worn out of seeing how some people have even gone a step farther and made it into a cool, cute, trendy FAD, in such a way that it damages the credibility of people who *genuinely* suffer from it.

That being said, these are my thoughts on the subject, and I guess, my reasons for making the stamp.
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Before anyone says anything, this is what this is about.

As anyone who's even come here likely realises, Asperger's Syndrome has become both WILDLY-overdiagnosed, and also a fad.

Now, I'm not saying it doesn't EXIST, or that a few people don't REALLY, TRULY have it--there are people, I know. I get that. I totally understand.

But that's not the point.

The problem is that people have--JUST like bipolar, OCD, ADD, ADHD, etc., taken this and have:

1) Reduced it to a VERY, VERY overly-broad stereotype, that has next to nothing to do with what the REAL disorder is like, JUST LIKE when people decided to turn bipolar disorder into 'oh, just being kind of moody as a person sometimes', ADD into 'I sometimes daydream', OCD into 'I like to be organized and/or clean', ADHD into 'well, I'm an energetic person', and all the rest of it

2) Turned it into something trendy, a fad label, a fake online subculture, and a PRIDE!111!!!!!!!!!!!! movement, in a way that does a COLOSSAL disservice to the few people who *really* do have it and can't help it, who then get bullied, and accused of 'faking it to get attention' just because a lot of other people do

3) Gotten things SO FAR OFF the real definition (as in #1) that now EVERYONE is claiming they have it, or trying to brand other people with it, based on wildly, unbelievably-insufficient criteria

That all being said, this is what I have to say.

Asperger's Syndrome IS NOT fun, cool, cute, a way to be 'unique' or 'special', something to be happy or proud of, something to brag about on your dA (or any other website's) page, or anything else.

What it is for people who have it is CRIPPLING, MISERABLE, EMBARRASSING, AND DAMAGING.

Do you people who claim (or more often, fake/pretend) that you have it, based on nothing, even know what a syndrome IS?

Then look it up--it's a collection of diseases or problems.

Do you want a COLLECTION OF PROBLEMS?

Is that seriously what you want?

Do you want:

-Severely-crippled basic social abilities

-Inability to understand other people's body language, facial expressions, etc., basically ALL nonverbal communication

-VERY strong, crippling, damaging, *terrifying* anxiety of socially interacting with other people on even the most trivial levels

-Abnormal ways of processing information and/or perception of reality

-Motor coordination problems

-Extreme resistance to and/or inability to cope with change

-Crippling, debilitating reliance on strict, rigid routines in daily life

-Speech issues, such as using overly-formal speech where it's completely inappropriate, or repeating the same thing over and over for no reason, or talking disturbingly-fast, or in a weird monotone, etc.

-Lack of ability to feel empathy towards others

-Immature, highly-underdeveloped emotional behaviors

-Strange, OCD-like, illogical, repetitive behaviors that control YOU, not you controlling them

-Inability to recognise the difference between appropriate and WILDLY-innapropriate information to tell other people

-Disturbing, unhealthy level of obsessiveness about one topic (and NOT in that silly, kind of half-joking 'haha, like I'm obsessed with anime!' way--I mean in a very *crippling* way that you can focus on next to NOTHING else, and do things like lecture a random stranger for a long period of time about a subject they know/care nothing about, and have NO ability to even *recognise* that what you're doing is innapropriate, and is annoying or weirding out the poor person)

-Inability to understand the difference between literal and figurative speech

-Lack of imagination

-Flat, cheerless, seemingly-feelingless demeanor

-Lack in wide variety of facial expressions

-Hyper-sensitivity to various stimuli, such as certain noises, textures, etc.

-Lack of ability to understand the idea of 'personal space'

...

...do you WANT this?

Seriously, DO you want to be SEVERELY SOCIALLY-DISABLED, FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?

Because guess what?

At the moment, there IS NO CURE. IF you have this, you are largely STUCK with it, and it SERIOUSLY screws up your life and basically makes you into an OVERGROWN CHILD.

NOW is it cool? Is it cute? Is it something to be PROUD of?

I didn't think so.

And now, to those of you who *aren't* just trying to look cool, and have been convinced, in earnest, by other people, a website, an online personality test, etc. that you have it:

After you read all that, really, do you STILL think you have it, just because you are any of the following...?

-A loner by CHOICE, or have only a couple of close friends rather than having a huge social group like some

-Kind of 'a geek or a nerd'

-A little bit shy around new people at times, or take your time getting to know people

-You're an introvert (you just prefer to be on your own more often, and are more reserved/less-outspoken of a person)

-Have a passion for a certain subject, in a REASONABLE way

-You aren't popular enough or don't have as many friends as you would like to, for *any* reason

-You're a little bit socially-awkward

-You're still slightly young at heart, still like cartoons, are a tiny bit nostalgic for your childhood, or anything like that

-Slightly odd or different as a person, or have an uncommon hobby in a REASONABLE way

-You get mistaken for younger than your real age for any reason

-You're more intelligent than some of your classmates*

-You happen to have a natural talent for something*

-You've been told that you have a good memory*

-You're somewhat interested in science and technology, and/or are interested in a career in one of these fields*

(*People with Asperger's are usually actually highly-intelligent, and often have very good rote memories, and/or an extreme, savant-like ability for a single subject--most often a technical/scientific one)

Really? Do you still think you have a RARE, CRIPPLING disorder like that, just because your friends say you're a bit geeky, or you're a little shy at times, or you have a good memory, or you like science, or any of the rest of it?

I would hope not, because, really, honestly, a few of these things on their own are JUST PERSONALITY TRAITS OR INNOCENT PERSONAL QUIRKS.

For example:

You CAN be a geek and still understand people's body language and facial expressions.

You CAN be a little shy, and still understand basic social interaction.

You CAN HAVE a passion for something, and be reasonable about it, and have the ability to know that some other people don't CARE.

You CAN choose to be a bit of a loner, but still have the ability understand others, and make friends if you really WANTED them.

I could go on FOREVER with examples, but the thing is this:

Having ONE MICROSCOPIC LITTLE THING that's on a long, long list of symptoms DOES NOT MEAN that you have the disorder.

A diagnosis of Asperger's (or literally any other disorder) based on that kind of completely, TOTALLY insufficient critera is not remotely-reasonable, no matter whether it's from random people online, your friends, your family, yourself, or even a supposed 'professional'. They can make bad diagnoses too, I don't give a damn what anyone else has to say about it. Even psychologists are *HUMAN* and make *MISTAKES*.

So after all of this, even if you STILL think you have it, you should not only research it VERY. VERY. THOROUGHLY, but also get extremely-extensive testing and the opinions of as many people as possible, to try to be as sure as you ABSOLUTELY CAN before you go around assuming you have this, and whatever you do, never, EVER forget to excercise good, common sense.

Really,

Asperger's is a RARE disorder.

RARE.

Not to be a jerk, that's not the intention here at all, but, in all likelihood, you probably *don't* have it.

Credits:

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This stamp was animated using www.iaza.com .