I have contended in recent years that I have Asperger’s syndrome. The fact that this syndrome was not identified until I was in my 30’s does not diminish nor abrogate this diagnosis.
Admittedly, most of my “proof” is somewhat apocryphal. However, there is far to many definitions of Asperger’s syndrome characteristics and my personality that cannot be ignored.
My wife for one, when reading the traits of an Asperger’s individual, told me that 1) yes, I was suffered from Asperger’s and 2) it explained everything.
Recently I was asked if I wanted to be clinically tested. I said no simply because my conclusion was it would make no damned difference in my life. Strangely I have a level of peace knowing what is wrong with me and, oddly, I would be troubled if I was to discover I was wrong.
But to the point: Asperger’s is not a death sentence, nor is it, in my opinion, a form of autism. It is an issue to be dealt with, pure and simple. With a little help from counseling, someone with Asperger’s can live a normal life.
Hey, I did not live a normal life. So, I should be preaching. But I did live a normal life for a time! My four years of High School! I was accepted and appreciated; quirks and all. Did I date? No! Did I fit in? Yes, for the most part. Was I happy? Yes! Because I was accepted.
So my suggestion is not to define an Asperger’s person as some kind of freak, some kind of weirdo. Counsel them! They will benefit from that! They will become better than I did (until I found by compass)! There is no damned reason to treat Asperger’s people in the autistic spectrum.
