Look me in the eye.
It must be trendy now to say, "Oh, little Johnny has Asperger's" or to defend oneself by saying "I have Asperger's"
Maybe I do. I'm not sure. The last time I went in for a 'diagnosis' they used the phase "asymptomatic heavy alcohol user" -- meaning of course that I'm a high-functioning alcoholic, someone they wanted to stick into counseling for substance abuse because of behavior patterns but who didn't seem to be suffering in any way whatsoever from addiction (at the time my GPA was 3.5) (yes, I've been an alcoholic for a long time now...)
Given my other problems, and the fact that it was a engineering school (hell, at a tech school we all have Asperger's to some degree) and the fact that this was, um, like 15 years ago and there wasn't such a thing as an "autistic spectrum" back then, let alone specifics like Asperger's or even all that many autism diagnoses -- well, my problems in socializing with other human beings was kind of secondary, at least to the professionals who sought to 'cure' me.
(Then as now, I'll take a six pack over Prozac. Among other benefits, beer is available without a prescription.)
I'm still uncomfortable in crowds, not quite able to connect with others even if I have figured out how to at least talk to you people without awkwardness for 20 minute stretches, and while I have a few friends it usually takes me a couple of *years* to become comfortable with and befriend new people. And I've noticed, it's still a little difficult for me to look someone in the eye.
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It's a new biography: Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison. Worth a read.
Posted by enchiridion at 02:33 PM in Introspection | 3 opinions
Dhruv (guest)
Hope you're doing ok.
Randomly ran into this.
Remember Archon, AD&D and Science Olympiad?
Take care of yourself and drop me a line sometime.
Give my regards to Steve and the folks.
Bob (guest)
In our day, our parents would (and did) have yelled at us to "straighten up," and "speak when spoken to" and would have spent the time with us necessary to recognize the intelligence behind the behavior. Today, I get the feeling that a hell of a lot of kids are being essentially ignored by their parents, and oops there's something wrong with Jimmy, so let's get him diagnosed with something so that we can get him the medicine he needs to function like a drooling prole for the rest of his life.
Bob (guest)
