Aspies on autism

A big thank you to everyone who has waded through this article and presented excellent suggestions as to how to improve it. Also, if you have read an older version of this article you can change your rating either way to tell me if I made it better or worse.
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         Some commentators continue to question the reliability of an Aspger's diagnosis, saying that the epidemic proportion of cases means that doctors are over-doing it for the convenience of parents. Certainly we know much more about it than we did three decades ago and this may account for the increased number of diagnoses.

         So what is Asperger's anyway? In my experience it is a genetic disorder that alters what we consider to be normal processing of information in the central nervous system. To those without Asperger's it seems that people with this condition have large perceptual gaps that can make interaction difficult, if not frustrating. Looking at it from another perspective many people with Asperger's also have great talents within cognitive areas that show an exceptional intelligence.

         For more detailed information on the definition of Asperger's (perhaps the best we can do is describe it because, in essence, Biology is largely a descriptive science) please visit an article I have devoted to this subject at http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/990339. I haven't seen anything like this article so I collected information and data for my own benefit. Maybe it will help you too.

         People with Asperger's, some of whom call themselves Aspies (which allows them to drop the term "disorder" when describing themselves), are now speaking up on their own, thanks to the internet and websites like Writing.com. Reading these journal entries you can immediately tell that people with Asperger's are not sick or retarded. Just the opposite.



         In this article I would like to publicize links to journals kept by autism-spectrum authors, firstly to point out how talented these people are. Secondly, I would like to encourage others to develop a greater understanding of autism-spectrum disorders to benefit not just those who have it, but those who know them, live with them, and love them.
         Here are the first few and hopefully parents, educators, and those who have ASD (autism spectrum disorders) can add to this:

Life of an Aspie
http://www.writing.com/main/books/item_id/880540

My Autobiography
by Jonathan Robert Waggener
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/965513#sw

Hate Me
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/879517#sw

Help Me
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/214197#sw

Aspergnauts
http://www.gareth25.supanet.com/aspergernauts.html
A delightful animated website by a British teenager giving specific details (and remedies) of his challenges and frustrations.

Solving the Autism Puzzle
http://www.drlareau.com/aspergians.html
Links to online sources which includes audio interviews, books written by autistics, even a video.

A Banana in my Brain
Humorous poem
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/879105#sw

Asperger's Hosting.com
Here is a terrfic web site by an Aspie that spells out all the details, just for Asperger's writers. It has lots of terrific scripts, too.
http://www.aspergershosting.com/

What is Asperger's?
My own perspective as a parent with the DSM-IV criteria
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/990339

Please send links by e-mail if you happen across more online journals like these. Thanks.

Your comments are most welcome. If you have visited here before and wish to change your rating, use the "clear" function at the top of the article. Anonymous reviews are also welcome.

Chances are, in a few years our views of autism, asperger's and nonverbal learning disorder may yet again be altered by scientific discoveries. In the meantime, perhaps the best source of information is from those who write about their own lives.

Currently, new evidence is showing that autism (of which asperger's is a category) is not mental retardation or mental illness. The best definition I have found is that autism is a communications disorder characterized by social impairment. I guess we all have it a little :)


--sisyphus