Laddo

Evidently not. Sigh. Does anyone even care about making positive changes any more or do people just enjoy being trodden on their whole lives?

Pointer

Prepare to trip off your nut as a result of this video:

Amphibian

I've looked around the forum and there actually isn't a poll anywhere! I find it quite irritating that someone claimed 90% of members feel the mods are playing favourites when the poll doesn't actually seem to be available to the majority of members. How many people actually voted in the poll? 10?

That's not my point. My point is that people living in a fantasy world - e.g. people like David Cameron - should not be allowed to be politicians. However, I would think that this is far more likely in people who went to private schools rather than state schools. I'm very against the whole notion of private schools anyway - in my opinion it's elitist.

No one living in the southeast is up for a meet up then I take it? Shame...

What poll is this? I never saw a poll... The moderator system on here is nowhere near as corrupt as I've seen on other websites. You should see the system on Wrong Planet - if a popular member is being a berk and is reported to moderators, nothing will be done about it. The site owner actively encourages full-blown arguments between members and 'wars of the sexes' because he finds them amusing to read. So yeah, to all the members who have complained about moderation here: It could be far, far worse

Personally, I don't think it should be a case of autistics vs non-autistics running the world. You can, after all, get selfish and greedy autistic people, just like you can get selfish and greedy NTs. I think it should be a case of people who have actually experienced the real world running things, i.e. not privately-educated toffs who live in a fantasy world. As well as this, MPs should not be above the law as they currently are (look up allegations of child molestation against MPs in the 1980s and the police reaction to them) and should be paid far less than they are now. Their salary is, after all, paid at the expense of the taxpayer - the very people who MPs like to royally screw over. Politics should also be properly taught in schools so young voters actually understand what they're getting into instead of blindly assuming that the only political system that works is a two (or three) party one.

Incidentally, frustration with inequality directed at me was the main reason why I acted up in school, but because I had that oh-so-damning Asperger's label, people wrongly believed I was just nuts without knowing anything about me. Also, does anyone ever find so-called 'normal' people frequently trying to contradict you about something when you know you're right? It seems to be some kind of knee-jerk response that as I'm not 'normal', people need to display their arrogant feelings of superiority over me. So so tired of it all. I just want it to end

I don't feel bad about being different. What I mean is my diagnosis has brought me nothing but trouble from the assumptions people make about anyone with any sort of psychological differences. Why is being a selfish, greedy psychopath like so many politicians acceptable but being introverted and not always understanding social stuff unacceptable? I guess I'm just furiously frustrated with the injustice and inequality that runs rampant throughout the planet.

So apparently thousands of students protested in London against rising tuition fees today. It's very fishy how the media rarely reports on these things until they're actually happening... And surprise surprise, the media focus is on the minority of protesters who turned violent rather than the cause behind the protest. Did anyone know about the protest prior to today? Anyone take part in it?

This is something I've been playing around in my mind for a while. In my case, I don't think of Asperger's as a medical condition, rather a different personality type. Yes, I have some weaknesses in socialising (which, I suspect, have been exacerbated by always being told I'm a different, a freak) but I also have many strengths. Why, then, should I be classed as being Asperger's when other personality types aren't seen as a diagnosable condition that at the end of the day must be treated? Why must I have that label and categorised into a little box? It only leads to people making false assumptions about me based on negative and incorrect stereotypes in the media. I frequently see people say 'X behaviour is Asperger's' when I have seen people who most definitely are not Asperger's exhibit similar behaviour. There are also a large number of diagnostic criteria for Asperger's that don't apply to me, yet I am still somehow classed as having the condition. As well as this, to me, the purpose of a diagnosis is to make accessing relevant support easier. Yet it is near-impossible for adults diagnosed with Asperger's in my area to get any kind of support without having to pay a substantial amount of wonga towards some organisation or another. I was diagnosed as a child but I didn't get any helpful support then, either. No, I was put on heavy doses of Ritalin, a drug which is essentially a legal version of cocaine and carries all the same side effects and risks of addiction. (It is no surprise that I have struggled with addiction to alcohol and drugs in the past.) This led to me being put on a massive, bulky heart monitor which further added to the humiliation of constantly being told I'm different to the other children and always excluded from them. I was forced to sit at a desk away from all the other kids. I had teachers calling me mental to the other kids. When anything went wrong at the school, it was always blamed on me, because I was the 'mental kid' (despite there being quite a few 'mental kids at my school, some of whom are now in prison). So why was I always singled out? It is simple. Those other kids who frequently misbehaved were largely not diagnosed with ASD, ADD, ADHD or even AC/DC. No, because they didn't carry any labels they were seen as normal kids by the school who were just a bit of a handful. I had no time to myself because an LSA would constantly follow me around at break times. Did anyone ever think to ask me why I misbehaved? No. It was always just a case of 'you're mental, that's why. Let's punish you by publicly humiliating you, turning all the other kids against you and physically isolating you from your friends'. All that humiliation really does ruin your self-esteem. It can also lead you to start believing everything you have been told about yourself - you're a freak, you're broken, you're insane, you're a bad person... And those feelings carry on into adulthood, making it even harder to develop friendships, which leads to loneliness, which inevitably leads to unsavoury behaviour such as drinking and taking drugs cut with God-knows what. I don't mean to rant, but this is something I feel strongly about. I hope that if anyone else who has had similar experiences reads this, they might start to question just how much good being labelled as Asperger's has actually done them. So there we go - I reject my diagnosis of Asperger's. From now on, all I will think of myself as is introverted. And that's fine. It's okay to be introverted, even if the media frequently tells us it is not. We're living in an extraverts' world and they want things to be good for them and them only. I will still post on this forum as it is good to speak to people I have things in common with, but from now on my stance is I'm different, not Asperger's.

Yeah I know it's possible to have both ASD and PTSD but I was just saying just PTSD fits the bill far more than either ASD or both ASD and PTSD. To be honest it's getting to the point where I feel like an alien on this forum

To be honest I think being shy has always been seen as antisocial. It is quite ironic considering the loudest and most 'outgoing' people tend to be horrible, corrupt human beings when you chip away the surface. They tend to be the type who feel most comfortable complaining about other people behind their backs. They are usually very manipulative, too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is something very wrong with a society that praises the manipulative and demonises those that are shy. Most of the shyest people I know are incredibly nice people once you get to know them, but the trouble is the twisted society we live in doesn't allow them to come out of their shell. Introverts are essentially the 'runts' of the human race

Hi The Exodus. Your first (red) paragraph sounds a lot like me. I don't understand people all that well but I also have a very dry/sarcastic sense of humour and don't really have much trouble recognising facial patterns. I scored something like 95% on a facial expression recognition test which was apparently higher than average. I'm the same with not really having a specialist subject and I rarely bother talking about subjects that fascinate me with people in real life as I can nearly always spot when someone is getting bored with me. I'm also pretty undecided about what I want to do for a career as I seem to change my mind about it all the time. Out of interest, are you professionally diagnosed with Asperger's? If so, when? I myself was diagnosed in the mid-90s when the concept of Asperger's was relatively new and probably trending among psychiatrists. I keep wondering if my diagnosis was a little hasty on the paediatrician's part. One of the doctors who assessed me did think I actually had PTSD which seems to fit a little better than an AS diagnosis.

Thanks dotmarsdotcom, glad to hear it. Anyone feel like the forum has been really quiet the past few days?

For me crushes have always been more about just wanting to be in close proximity with whoever I have a crush on. I know (for me at least) that they're different to love because I have had crushes on other men before but I know I'm not gay. I did think that my first crush was true love though, but since then I have been in love and it was... powerful. Dangerously powerful in fact, to the point where I pretty much become a slave to whoever I love's will. It really is soul-destroying that so few people appreciate romance these days. It seems that in modern times, to succeed in love a man has to be an arrogant berk. I know this isn't what all women want and that I shouldn't go for the sort of woman who is attracted to arrogance anyway, but it does knock one's confidence when one strives to find the 'right' sort of woman and constantly fails. Regarding having no physical need but feeling as if you do in your mind, this seems to be very common among aspie women. I wonder why this could be? My ex, however, was the polar opposite - she absolutely loved sex but felt like she shouldn't in her mind.

pies This is exactly the same for me. I've stopped speaking to my mother because she always does this and most recently told her me I'm self-obsessed just because I go to her for advice. That's why I come on this forum now - no NT ever wants to hear about an aspie's problems. Anyway, how many hours a week are you currently working? I found it quite difficult to make ends meet when I was working 40+ hours a week and living with my brother who was working around 20 hours a week. I was on NMW but still, living alone or even with one other person is a lot more expensive than people think. On top of rent there is food, water, council tax, gas, electricity and internet to pay for. If you're savvy then you can make it work and still have leftover cash at the end of the month but I'm afraid to say I really can't see this working out for someone who only works part-time. Sorry

From my experience drinking spirits is one of the worst things you can do if you're having a bad night. The drink has sent me off into horrible moods when I've drank whilst feeling low. Absinthe is the devil's urine

If he's hearing voices he definitely needs to see a specialist. Hallucinations are not a normal trait of autism so he could be experiencing childhood schizophrenia. I know it must be very worrying, but the sooner he sees a specialist the sooner he can begin treatment and get support.

Mihaela: For me it has always felt different to a crush. It's always been a lot more powerful a feeling, where I feel like you would do anything for my partner and her happiness becomes one of the most important things to me. Unfortunately being a romantic does not seem to be an appealing trait in men these days; my attempts to be romantic would always fall on deaf ears to both women I had real-life relationships with which really does sting. I dunno if that's just an aspie thing though - my first girlfriend was diagnosed aspie and my second had a lot of the traits as well as being a psycho. I'm pretty much NT half the time so I go into NT romance mode. I think aspie romance is quite different. Dotmarsdotcom: Ouch! Sorry to hear it mate. Fortunately I haven't encountered any women who steal like that. I usually do pretty much everything for a girlfriend but I don't think I'd trust someone with my money until I had been with her for a good few years. To be honest I think our aspie traits - such as being intensely loyal and generally honest - can be taken advantage of by the wrong partner. It's just a huge mystery who might take advantage and who is actually genuine. Dating sites seem like they could work to some extent, but I've used aspie-only ones before and most of the members either never go online or just completely ignore my messages. It's quite soul-destroying - all I tend to say is something along the lines of 'hey, how are you?', they could at least reply! I just don't know what to do any more. I feel like I've got too much love to give, like an almost physical need to give someone my affections. I don't even know how to tell when a woman fancies me in real life - if she keeps looking at me is that a good sign or a bad one? It's all so confusing.

Sorry to hear that dotmarsdotcom Alan's mum is right though, it wasn't your fault mate. Regarding a meet-up, I think the best way would be have different groups for people in different regions of the UK to save people as much travel as possible. So maybe groups for the south east and London; the south west; Wales; west midlands; east midlands; north east; north west; and Scotland. Of course, if a member wanted to meet up with members from a different region of the country, they would be welcome to do this provided they were willing to travel. Does that make sense? What's everyone's thoughts on this. I'm up for organising a south east meet up if anyone is interested.

^Lol wut? Damp