It's not about not being responsible. You don't sound like you understand what Asperger's Syndrome even is... get an education before you pontificate.
What it's about is knowing yourself. If you don't know your own limitations, you can't properly adapt to them. Knowing what I can't see, what I don't understand, has been very helpful to me.
I don't want to abdicate responsibility. I just wish I had heard of Asperger's when I was 12 (instead of 25 years of heartache later).
A month ago I would have answered this differently. In fact, I wouldn't have bothered to answer at all... but two weeks ago I saw myself in the newspaper.
Not literally, though... it was an article about children with Asperger's Syndrome. In that article I saw my entire life. I found more information online here:
Considering what I've learned about it, it seems likely that a large percentage of Slashdot readers have it also.
What would I tell 12-year-old me?
You don't fit in because you aren't like your classmates. You can't interpret their expressions, so you don't respond correctly. You
do talk too much; it's because you really don't know when you're boring people.
There is a game, Dungeons and Dragons, where you will learn how to fit in; don't wait any longer to ask Mom for it. The misfits you'll attract this way are like you, and you'll all learn for the first time what it's like to get along.
Don't waste time trying to figure out what other people are thinking... ask. No matter how hard you try you just can't do it any other way.
Girls will always be a problem for you, but the one you end up with you already know. Try hard to be nice to the ones who don't call you names now, and it'll pay off in the future.
Don't fall for a girl who's like you; the relationship will be easier, but when the day comes that you want children, heartache will be waiting.
You see, two people with Asperger's are much more likely to have an autistic child. Microsoft (you know, the evil empire) has enough autistic children among their employees to have special programs to help with their care.
It's always been hard. At least now I know what's different about me... if I had known all along I could have avoided at least some of the pain in my life.
Slashdot Mirror
What it's about is knowing yourself. If you don't know your own limitations, you can't properly adapt to them. Knowing what I can't see, what I don't understand, has been very helpful to me.
I don't want to abdicate responsibility. I just wish I had heard of Asperger's when I was 12 (instead of 25 years of heartache later).
Not literally, though... it was an article about children with Asperger's Syndrome. In that article I saw my entire life. I found more information online here:
http://www.asperger.org/asperger/asperger_as.htm
Considering what I've learned about it, it seems likely that a large percentage of Slashdot readers have it also.
What would I tell 12-year-old me?
You see, two people with Asperger's are much more likely to have an autistic child. Microsoft (you know, the evil empire) has enough autistic children among their employees to have special programs to help with their care.
It's always been hard. At least now I know what's different about me... if I had known all along I could have avoided at least some of the pain in my life.