Asperger ignorance strikes again.

[girlblue_77]

Last night I was at a Halloween party, and somehow the topic came up of the student in my program that has Asperger syndrome. Once again, I am appalled at the ignorance and close-mindedness revealed by people who call themselves students of biomedical science, and should be mature enough and aware enough to be understanding about something like

Comments

[fromtheashes095]

There's a guy at my school with Asperger's and its really interesting, because collectively, most of the student body seems to be really protective of him. Example: last year some freshmen guys were mocking him/imitating his way of walking around and laughing and stuff, and a senior went up to them and basically said if he ever caught them doing that again, he'd kick their asses. But then, conversely, these same people that defend him turn around and seem to get really annoyed when he can't sit still and be quiet for the duration of an entire class. Gah, frakking hypocrites!

[girlblue_77]

It comforts me that there are people who are supportive and protective of some people with Asperger's!!

It's true that AS can involve behaviors that may be distracting to others...and maybe it helps people to vent about it. I guess I wish people like that could just step it up a notch, maturity-wise, you know? You can vent about these things in a mature manner, like admitting to your classmate that you had a hard time focusing today as a result of the AS student's behavior, without whining, gossiping, or putting down. And, then try take it all in a stride, and realize that though it may be hard for you to concentrate when the AS student is acting up in an hour long lecture, imagine how hard it may be for that student to try to control his behavior 24/7, and be respectful of that...right?

[melsmarsh]

I have Aspergers and what she is doing is very mean. Unfortunately most people pull this crap.

I wish she knew what it was like to have AS. I'm effectively face-blind. I've been told I've had classes with some people up to 4 years straight but I don't remember them and don't remember their names or their faces. Most are just faceless masses to me. When they say hello to me, I say hello back and pretend I remember them but I don't.

In my experience, there is nothing much you can do except to gang up everyone else against her to remind her that he is not mean.

My last application cycle, I only got into one program. It didn't require an interview. I hate to know what will happen the next time.

[sweeny_todd]

that would be very difficult.

The girl I met with aspergers just.. has no idea of how intrusive some of her behaviour was. It was very trying, but it was a different situation where we were hosting her for a bit. If I just was meeting her socially, I would not have had the problem that I did, but living in close confines with anyone could be difficult. (ha! now I think about it, this was an especially difficult situation, as it was a 3 bedroom house and there were 7 people staying there. :)

[melsmarsh]

Trust me, it is much more difficult for her than for you. Social norms are always changing depending on the situation. The way we tend to work is like a computer. In circumstance X there will always be outcome Y because it worked in one situation. If Y happens and it is "wrong" then we have to figure out why exactly so we can change the program and add a subroutine. Sometimes it takes a number of runs in order to add a flawless subroutine. Imagine having to do that for every single circumstance.

I think living in an area where there are 7 people in 3 bedrooms would be a pain for anyone. I would have lost my mind and would have had multiple meltdowns simply due to the noise.

Also, think of your friend. It is also hard to hear people telling you that you will never have any friends and that no one will ever love you because of your "intrusive" or "trying" AS.

[sweeny_todd]

:) It was a special circumstance. One of my very kind sisters was putting up 4 people who were visiting/currently homeless/needed somewhere to stay.

Wow.. see, I would never say anything like that. Often, I did not know what to say, so I didn't say anything. Occasionally I would say something like 'what you did makes me feel uncomfortable'.

People can be arseholes. Not me, I would like to think :)

[sweeny_todd]

Two people on my f-list have aspergers.

One of them I have met. She is very unaware of social norms, which can make her very annoying irl. Then again , I know plenty of people who are very annoying who do not have aspergers or anything like that. People are annoying. Shw is still a really nice person - she is witty and makes me laugh. People are petty. Disabilities make them uncomfortable. Not a justification, more an.. observation.

[sweeny_todd]

...?

[sweeny_todd]

about people are petty? about people being annoying? what is the question

[waterluparadise]

I would like to think that not talking about someone behind their backs, or snubbing them openly, would be a part of how one would treat ANY human being, whether they have Autism, AS, Schizophrenia, BPD, DID, or no diagnosed disorder at all. Most people have no patience for anything they do not immediately understand or feel comfortable with.

But this is what sets you apart--you have a natural patience and compassion for people. People who are the opposite are just compensating for their own problems.

[metafizzics]

God, yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I have been to maybe two or three of these class get-togethers, and I can rattle off the topics of conversation which NEVER seem to change:
a) josh
b) brooke and her partner
c) josh again

Don't these people EVER get tired of this?

[girlblue_77]

TOTALLY!!!!!!!!

Really, I'd hang out with people from our class so much more if they didn't love gossiping about people behind their backs so much. I have no problem with talking about people if nice things are being said, but apparently that's just not fun to certain people. There were a few people from our class I was really starting to consider friends, and then I was invited to a get-together at one of their apartments, and the whole night everyone talked about Brooke (how AWFUL it was that she actually tried to sit by them in class one day, and how her new nickname should be "Brad") and I completely lost all respect for them and realized I could never be good friends with them. It was really a turning point for me, and it made me really, really sad. You'd think biomedical scientists would have better things to talk about anyway!

[metafizzics]

ouch.
god, i'd hate to be talked about like that.
i think really, its just one or two who constantly keep bitching like this, and the rest just follow suit, because it's easier that way. if you could manage to shut those key bitchers up, or give them something else to talk about, you'd be able to stop the whole thing