Sorry, but I still can't give you guys a pass on this. What you have done is allowed people who don't know any better to use Aspergers Syndrome in context with an excuse for someone's behavior. You make it seem as though AS is not a real thing but a cop out. You haven't educated anyone as to how AS really affects people and not only that you both have used well known stereotypes in your defenses (Bram with the "I am Rain Man" stereotype, his wife with the "I know 100's of tech friends" stereotype).
The point is, each person on the spectrum is different. What I have accomplished in my life would be considered by many to be impossible for someone who has AS. Then again, I am sure there are others who have AS who are more socially integrated then I am. Certainly there are people much, much smarter then myself, including Mr. Cohen. I have never used AS as an excuse for anything. I know I am not the most socially adept person but I fake it well and sometimes that's all that matters. I will say it again: a diagnosis is **never** an excuse for bad behavior.
3 comments:
Ben,
I will always choose you to be on my side should I ever have to prove anything of be defended. You truly did your homework. And, I am in agreement with you.
Love,
Gayle
Bram never compared himself to Rainman *ever* commenters have. I was actually making your point *for* you that *not* all tech people have AS! I agree with you. By pointing out the hundreds of tech geeks I know and contrasting that by the very few people I know who have AS, I was stating that I do NOT believe that AS = being a nerd, tech geek or whatever. I hate that stereotype as well. There are many ways and reasons a person may have social difficulties and they are not all Asperger's. Not all people with AS are technicals. Assumptions like those were what prompted me to enter in to discussion about these things in the first place. We seem to disagree about very little in fact, though my actual point seems to have been misunderstood by you. I also agree that AS isn't an excuse for immoral behavior or intentional rudeness.
Bram doesn't think so either and has not engaged in immoral behavior to my knowledge. ( Unless wearing socks to a board meeting is immoral ;) I jest. Bram works as hard as any aspie I know of to avoid being intentionally rude or unkind to people.
Just hoped to clear up our misunderstanding as I was intending to set up a contrast between AS and "tech-geekiness" rather than a comparison.
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