![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Proud to be Weird
Dec. 5th, 2006 04:58 pmAfter following a tip from Mom, I decided to visit the website of the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP). I also decided to subscribe to their Philadelphia-area mailing list and sign up for their message board.
I haven't actually been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome: I did get diagnosed with ADD1 at a young age. At the time knowledge of the existence of Asperger's was just starting to grow, and the doctor who diagnosed me basically said (according to my mother) that the kind of behaviors I exhibited were characteristic of both conditions, and in either case my treatment would be the same.
Incidentally, in my experience, kids with Asperger's and ADHD have certain issues in common and tend to get lumped together in the same kinds of special schools, group therapy sessions or summer camps. So it's not surprising that I learned about, and developed an interest in, Asperger's.
More recently, my friend![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nightengalesknd and I were looking through her DSM2 and looked up Asperger's Syndrome. I exhibited almost all the symptoms described to one degree or another. So I'm pretty certain I have Asperger's. It explains a lot.
GRASP is devoted to helping "Aspies" (a term I found on another Asperger's website) and people with other autism spectrum disorders network with and support each other. The organization also engages in autism advocacy. Unlike many other autism associations, and the American medical community in general, they do not seek a "cure" for autism or Asperger's, and in fact object to the notion that Asperger's should be "cured." They do want more research into autism, for the purposes of developing therapies and support mechanisms that will help autistic children and adults lead fulfilling, successful, independent lives - because a lot of them, even on the lighter end of the autism spectrum, don't. I've kind of beat the odds by holding down a job, living independently and maintaining a circle of friends, but there are things I still have trouble with.3
That's not to say that I use Asperger's as an excuse for my shortcomings. I just have to find ways to work through and around them.
1There used to be an ADD and an ADHD, but now it's just "ADHD" or "ADHD without hyperactivity," the latter being ridiculous.
2Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. For those on my flist who don't know her,nightengalesknd is a med student studying child development and will be starting her internship soon, which is why she has a DSM.
3The odds for people with ADHD are also pretty bad. A lot of them don't graduate from high school, let alone college, and tend to have trouble holding down a job or maintaining a relationship. I don't have the exact numbers on this. Of course, many of those people probably didn't have the means to get therapy, special education or meds, like I did.
I haven't actually been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome: I did get diagnosed with ADD1 at a young age. At the time knowledge of the existence of Asperger's was just starting to grow, and the doctor who diagnosed me basically said (according to my mother) that the kind of behaviors I exhibited were characteristic of both conditions, and in either case my treatment would be the same.
Incidentally, in my experience, kids with Asperger's and ADHD have certain issues in common and tend to get lumped together in the same kinds of special schools, group therapy sessions or summer camps. So it's not surprising that I learned about, and developed an interest in, Asperger's.
More recently, my friend
nightengalesknd and I were looking through her DSM2 and looked up Asperger's Syndrome. I exhibited almost all the symptoms described to one degree or another. So I'm pretty certain I have Asperger's. It explains a lot.GRASP is devoted to helping "Aspies" (a term I found on another Asperger's website) and people with other autism spectrum disorders network with and support each other. The organization also engages in autism advocacy. Unlike many other autism associations, and the American medical community in general, they do not seek a "cure" for autism or Asperger's, and in fact object to the notion that Asperger's should be "cured." They do want more research into autism, for the purposes of developing therapies and support mechanisms that will help autistic children and adults lead fulfilling, successful, independent lives - because a lot of them, even on the lighter end of the autism spectrum, don't. I've kind of beat the odds by holding down a job, living independently and maintaining a circle of friends, but there are things I still have trouble with.3
That's not to say that I use Asperger's as an excuse for my shortcomings. I just have to find ways to work through and around them.
1There used to be an ADD and an ADHD, but now it's just "ADHD" or "ADHD without hyperactivity," the latter being ridiculous.
2Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. For those on my flist who don't know her,
nightengalesknd is a med student studying child development and will be starting her internship soon, which is why she has a DSM.3The odds for people with ADHD are also pretty bad. A lot of them don't graduate from high school, let alone college, and tend to have trouble holding down a job or maintaining a relationship. I don't have the exact numbers on this. Of course, many of those people probably didn't have the means to get therapy, special education or meds, like I did.
