Guest guest Posted March 4, 2006 Report Share Posted March 4, 2006 Both - AS has given me a love of learning a liking to look into things deeper - I also retain a sense of wonder and what others would consider child like qualities. As for the curse side - communication and understanding of it. Sensory issues - although some of the sensory issues have been a gift - been able to detect gas leak when other (non aspies) could smell nothing. I could go on - it is rather a mixed bag - I suppose though that's what been human is all about :-) > > Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates, > ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider > aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2006 Report Share Posted March 4, 2006 Both - AS has given me a love of learning a liking to look into things deeper - I also retain a sense of wonder and what others would consider child like qualities. As for the curse side - communication and understanding of it. Sensory issues - although some of the sensory issues have been a gift - been able to detect gas leak when other (non aspies) could smell nothing. I could go on - it is rather a mixed bag - I suppose though that's what been human is all about :-) > > Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates, > ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider > aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2006 Report Share Posted March 4, 2006 There is not one answer. It's an existenial face-off. tsbthatsme <kbtoni@...> wrote: Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates,( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2006 Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 Re: > Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates, > ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider > aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? Both - a blessing in itself, and a curse in dealing with those who don't have it. Analogy: suppose that, from earliest times till now, all humans had walked on knuckles and knees like gorillas. Then, some mutant crawling infants develop the ability and desire to walk upright. As these " Ambulatory Syndrome " people grow up, many of them discover that they can do with ease some things that the " knuckle-typicals " find difficult or impossible: the " Ambies " can see a bit farther without climbing trees, the " Ambies " can carry objects too big to fit in their mouths, etc., etc., etc., and their " knuckle-typical " neighbors even find these strange behaviors useful on occasion: e.g., the " Ambies " can throw rocks that kill animals for the tribe to eat, then they carry home the dead elk because they can do this much more easily than " normal " tribesfolk, etc., etc. ... ... BUT ... these strange " Ambulatory Syndrome " people have a *heck* of a lot of trouble socializing! (Good gracious, they can't even look a " normal " human straight in the eye!) When a " normal " knuckle-typical person wants to have some " normal " knuckle-typical conversation about the best places to go to lick worms and fungi out of the dirt, these weird " Ambulatory Syndrome " folks wander off because their weird mutation makes them quite inept at these and other important daily tribal activities that presuppose a naturally stooping posture: so the mutants feel socially isolated and wander off (if the rest of the tribe lets them), becoming loners. Every so often, of course, a few really lucky mutants will find each other and start talking about and doing weird, mutant, high-tech geek-stuff: inventing stone knives and and fire-building and similar distractions from life's *real* business of licking up worms and fungi. Some of the knuckle-typicals develop elaborate, painful training-programs to get their Ambulatory Syndrome relatives and neighbors to behave like proper knuckle-typicals: really advanced psychological stuff like hitting an Ambulatory Syndrome child every time s/he doesn't look a knuckle-typical right in the eye, or punishing him/her for holding things in the forelimbs instead of in the teeth. (The really, really luckiest Ambulatory Syndrome kids may get to attend a gifted-children program or extracurricular " geek club " activity that lets them do their weird, mutated upright-walking thing for an hour or two out of the week. This counts as " developing their special talents. " However, if they do their weird mutated upright walking and so on *outside* of that oh-so-generously provided hour or two, they get kicked right out of the gifted-children program, kicked right out of the extracurricular program, etc., etc., etc., as punishment for that ultimate sin of having failed to " pass " as knuckle-typicals. Then all the knuckle-typicals feel surprised when some of these kids start showing even *less* motivation to fit in, to play the (knuckle-typical) social games as necessary, or even to remain part of society. " After all we've done for them, " lament the tribal shamans charged with their care, " why don't they feel gratitude? " " Well, " the chief shaman explains, " they can't feel gratitude or other human feelings because they are not really human inside, the way that we are. If they had a theory of mind, or could feel emotional pain, they would understand our minds and then they would feel our pain at having borne and reared such people. They would know that they are hollow, soul-less quasi-humans who are sometimes useful in a few ways to us real folk, but who are not really real folk themselves. The fact that they do not realize this about themselves is all the proof we need that they do not think or feel like real humans. Therefore, anything they say about themselves - their claim to have feelings and opinions and so on - cannot be so, or it does not matter if it is so. " Yours for better letters, Kate Gladstone Handwriting Repair and the World Handwriting Contest handwritingrepair@... http://learn.to/handwrite, http://www.global2000.net/handwritingrepair 325 South Manning Boulevard Albany, New York 12208-1731 USA telephone 518/482-6763 AND REMEMBER ... you can order books through my site! (Amazon.com link - I get a 5% - 15% commission on each book sold) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2006 Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 Damn straight.Kate Gladstone <handwritingrepair@...> wrote: Re:> Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates,> ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider> aspergers a blessing or curse? and why?Both - a blessing in itself, and a curse in dealing with those whodon't have it.Analogy: suppose that, from earliest times till now, all humans hadwalked on knuckles and knees like gorillas. Then, some mutant crawlinginfants develop the ability and desire to walk upright. As these"Ambulatory Syndrome" people grow up, many of them discover that theycan do with ease some things that the "knuckle-typicals" finddifficult or impossible: the "Ambies" can see a bit farther withoutclimbing trees, the "Ambies" can carry objects too big to fit in theirmouths, etc., etc., etc., and their "knuckle-typical" neighbors evenfind these strange behaviors useful on occasion: e.g., the "Ambies"can throw rocks that kill animals for the tribe to eat, then theycarry home the dead elk because they can do this much more easily than"normal" tribesfolk, etc., etc. ... ... BUT ... these strange "Ambulatory Syndrome" people have a*heck* of a lot of trouble socializing! (Good gracious, they can'teven look a "normal" human straight in the eye!) When a "normal"knuckle-typical person wants to have some "normal" knuckle-typicalconversation about the best places to go to lick worms and fungi outof the dirt, these weird "Ambulatory Syndrome" folks wander offbecause their weird mutation makes them quite inept at these and otherimportant daily tribal activities that presuppose a naturallystooping posture: so the mutants feel socially isolated and wander off(if the rest of the tribe lets them), becoming loners. Every so often,of course, a few really lucky mutants will find each other and starttalking about and doing weird, mutant, high-tech geek-stuff: inventingstone knives and and fire-building and similar distractions fromlife's *real* business of licking up worms and fungi. Some of the knuckle-typicals develop elaborate, painfultraining-programs to get their Ambulatory Syndrome relatives andneighbors to behave like proper knuckle-typicals: really advancedpsychological stuff like hitting an Ambulatory Syndrome child everytime s/he doesn't look a knuckle-typical right in the eye, orpunishing him/her for holding things in the forelimbs instead of inthe teeth. (The really, really luckiest Ambulatory Syndrome kids mayget to attend a gifted-children program or extracurricular "geek club"activity that lets them do their weird, mutated upright-walking thingfor an hour or two out of the week. This counts as "developing theirspecial talents." However, if they do their weird mutated uprightwalking and so on *outside* of that oh-so-generously provided hour ortwo, they get kicked right out of the gifted-children program, kickedright out of the extracurricular program, etc., etc., etc., aspunishment for that ultimate sin of having failed to "pass" asknuckle-typicals. Then all the knuckle-typicals feel surprised whensome of these kids start showing even *less* motivation to fit in, toplay the (knuckle-typical) social games as necessary, or even toremain part of society. "After all we've done for them," lament thetribal shamans charged with their care, "why don't they feelgratitude?" "Well," the chief shaman explains, "they can't feelgratitude or other human feelings because they are not really humaninside, the way that we are. If they had a theory of mind, or couldfeel emotional pain, they would understand our minds and then theywould feel our pain at having borne and reared such people. They wouldknow that they are hollow, soul-less quasi-humans who are sometimesuseful in a few ways to us real folk, but who are not really real folkthemselves. The fact that they do not realize this about themselves isall the proof we need that they do not think or feel like real humans.Therefore, anything they say about themselves - their claim to havefeelings and opinions and so on - cannot be so, or it does not matterif it is so." Yours for better letters, Kate Gladstone Handwriting Repair and the World Handwriting Contest handwritingrepair@... http://learn.to/handwrite, http://www.global2000.net/handwritingrepair 325 South Manning Boulevard Albany, New York 12208-1731 USA telephone 518/482-6763 AND REMEMBER ... you can order books through my site! (Amazon.com link - I get a 5% - 15% commission on each book sold) Brings words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2006 Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 I think that is an excellant analogy , although a sad one to me... Kate Gladstone wrote: > Re: > > > > Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates, > > ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider > > aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? > > Both - a blessing in itself, and a curse in dealing with those who > don't have it. > > Analogy: suppose that, from earliest times till now, all humans had > walked on knuckles and knees like gorillas. Then, some mutant crawling > infants develop the ability and desire to walk upright. As these > " Ambulatory Syndrome " people grow up, many of them discover that they > can do with ease some things that the " knuckle-typicals " find > difficult or impossible: the " Ambies " can see a bit farther without > climbing trees, the " Ambies " can carry objects too big to fit in their > mouths, etc., etc., etc., and their " knuckle-typical " neighbors even > find these strange behaviors useful on occasion: e.g., the " Ambies " > can throw rocks that kill animals for the tribe to eat, then they > carry home the dead elk because they can do this much more easily than > " normal " tribesfolk, etc., etc. ... > ... BUT ... these strange " Ambulatory Syndrome " people have a > *heck* of a lot of trouble socializing! (Good gracious, they can't > even look a " normal " human straight in the eye!) When a " normal " > knuckle-typical person wants to have some " normal " knuckle-typical > conversation about the best places to go to lick worms and fungi out > of the dirt, these weird " Ambulatory Syndrome " folks wander off > because their weird mutation makes them quite inept at these and other > important daily tribal activities that presuppose a naturally > stooping posture: so the mutants feel socially isolated and wander off > (if the rest of the tribe lets them), becoming loners. Every so often, > of course, a few really lucky mutants will find each other and start > talking about and doing weird, mutant, high-tech geek-stuff: inventing > stone knives and and fire-building and similar distractions from > life's *real* business of licking up worms and fungi. > Some of the knuckle-typicals develop elaborate, painful > training-programs to get their Ambulatory Syndrome relatives and > neighbors to behave like proper knuckle-typicals: really advanced > psychological stuff like hitting an Ambulatory Syndrome child every > time s/he doesn't look a knuckle-typical right in the eye, or > punishing him/her for holding things in the forelimbs instead of in > the teeth. (The really, really luckiest Ambulatory Syndrome kids may > get to attend a gifted-children program or extracurricular " geek club " > activity that lets them do their weird, mutated upright-walking thing > for an hour or two out of the week. This counts as " developing their > special talents. " However, if they do their weird mutated upright > walking and so on *outside* of that oh-so-generously provided hour or > two, they get kicked right out of the gifted-children program, kicked > right out of the extracurricular program, etc., etc., etc., as > punishment for that ultimate sin of having failed to " pass " as > knuckle-typicals. Then all the knuckle-typicals feel surprised when > some of these kids start showing even *less* motivation to fit in, to > play the (knuckle-typical) social games as necessary, or even to > remain part of society. " After all we've done for them, " lament the > tribal shamans charged with their care, " why don't they feel > gratitude? " " Well, " the chief shaman explains, " they can't feel > gratitude or other human feelings because they are not really human > inside, the way that we are. If they had a theory of mind, or could > feel emotional pain, they would understand our minds and then they > would feel our pain at having borne and reared such people. They would > know that they are hollow, soul-less quasi-humans who are sometimes > useful in a few ways to us real folk, but who are not really real folk > themselves. The fact that they do not realize this about themselves is > all the proof we need that they do not think or feel like real humans. > Therefore, anything they say about themselves - their claim to have > feelings and opinions and so on - cannot be so, or it does not matter > if it is so. " > > > Yours for better letters, > Kate Gladstone > Handwriting Repair and the World Handwriting Contest > handwritingrepair@... > http://learn.to/handwrite, http://www.global2000.net/handwritingrepair > 325 South Manning Boulevard > Albany, New York 12208-1731 USA > telephone 518/482-6763 > AND REMEMBER ... > you can order books through my site! > (Amazon.com link - > I get a 5% - 15% commission on each book sold) > > > FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, > support and acceptance. Everyone is valued. > > Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page in > the folder marked " Other FAM Sites. " > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Missed this one too... For me it has mostly been a blessing. I've never wanted to be like everyone else so I was only delighted to find that I am indeed not. Of course it is also annoying at times to be way too sensitive for this world, or rather; that this world is so often too insensitive for me. It's a huge problem to find almost everything edible on this planet inedible to me. That telepathy is not the natural mode of communication here is also frustrating. Not to mention all the square, ugly architecture, primitive technology, confusing social customs and overall lack of empathy and respect. But I'm still very greatful for what it has given me. I consider myself luckier than most. Inger Curse or blessing? Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates, ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, support and acceptance. Everyone is valued. Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page in the folder marked " Other FAM Sites. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 --- My boys think it's a blessing too...although when I asked n he said that I (meaning me) could never understand. , " Inger Lorelei " <inglori@...> wrote: > > Missed this one too... > > For me it has mostly been a blessing. I've never wanted to be like everyone > else so I was only delighted to find that I am indeed not. > > Of course it is also annoying at times to be way too sensitive for this > world, or rather; that this world is so often too insensitive for me. > > It's a huge problem to find almost everything edible on this planet inedible > to me. > > That telepathy is not the natural mode of communication here is also > frustrating. > > Not to mention all the square, ugly architecture, primitive technology, > confusing social customs and overall lack of empathy and respect. > > But I'm still very greatful for what it has given me. I consider myself > luckier than most. > > Inger > > > > > Curse or blessing? > > > Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates, > ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider > aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? > > > > > > FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, support and > acceptance. Everyone is valued. > > Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page in the > folder marked " Other FAM Sites. " > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 I think you are showing very much understanding, actually. And like others here, it wouldn't surprise me either if you would turn out to be at least half-Aspie. :-) Inger Curse or blessing? > > > Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates, > ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider > aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? > > > > > > FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, support and > acceptance. Everyone is valued. > > Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page in the > folder marked " Other FAM Sites. " > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 Toni> Inger, thank you so much. That is so sweet. I would consider it an honor to even be half-aspie because I would be in wonderful company. > > I think you are showing very much understanding, actually. And like others > here, it wouldn't surprise me either if you would turn out to be at least > half-Aspie. :-) > > Inger > > > Curse or blessing? > > > > > > Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious > debates, > > ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you > consider > > aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? > > > > > > > > > > > > FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, > support and > > acceptance. Everyone is valued. > > > > Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page > in the > > folder marked " Other FAM Sites. " > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 It's a mixed blessing for me. The world is in sore need of revision and a lot of the 'curses' are do to problems with the world, not with us, but some things, like my clumsiness and ADD(not all Aspies have these, though)are curses. Certain things, like being intense are good sometimes, not good other times. Not being as social is good sometimes, not good at other times. I also look at 'being' as something that doesn't always have to be comfortable or easy--work, effort, change, helping require coming out of one's comfort zone and if I stand out sometimes that's good for change or to provide a different viewpoint. I don't look at it as an excuse to act however I want though. > > Missed this one too... > > For me it has mostly been a blessing. I've never wanted to be like everyone > else so I was only delighted to find that I am indeed not. > > Of course it is also annoying at times to be way too sensitive for this > world, or rather; that this world is so often too insensitive for me. > > It's a huge problem to find almost everything edible on this planet inedible > to me. > > That telepathy is not the natural mode of communication here is also > frustrating. > > Not to mention all the square, ugly architecture, primitive technology, > confusing social customs and overall lack of empathy and respect. > > But I'm still very greatful for what it has given me. I consider myself > luckier than most. > > Inger > > > > > Curse or blessing? > > > Since I am not getting involved in the political and religious debates, > ( you guys are too deep for this NT) I'd like to know if you consider > aspergers a blessing or curse? and why? > > > > > > FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, support and > acceptance. Everyone is valued. > > Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page in the > folder marked " Other FAM Sites. " > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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