OT: Aspergers link

[Cliff Wells]

On Mon, 2003-03-17 at 11:45, Bjorn Pettersen wrote:
> > From: Carl Banks [mailto:imbosol-1047922240 at aerojockey.com] 
> > 
> > Chris Gonnerman wrote:
> > > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > > From: "Carl Banks" <imbosol-1047882725 at aerojockey.com>
> > > 
> > > 
> > >> Chris Gonnerman wrote:
> > >> > There are probably a lot of us on this list who suffer from
> > >> > Asperger's... it pretty much defines nerdiness.
> > >> 
> > >> Blegh.
> > >> 
> > >> I think people with Asperger's "syndrome" just violated someone's
> > >> arbitrary and very narrow idea of what they think is normal.
> > > 
> > > I never knew how I was different, only that I was; until I was
> > > married to someone with "normal" social instincts for over ten
> > > years (still am, thankfully).  My wife has shown me a lot that
> > > I could never see on my own.
> > 
> > I'm happy for you.  None of that means Asperger's "syndrome" is real.
> [..]
> 
> Sorry Carl, but you're being an ass. What you go on saying would be like
> telling a bipolar person that "I too go through periods of sadness and
> happiness", therefore their diagnosis is not only incorrect, but
> non-existant. For your sake I hope you never discover the difference,
> but at least take some time and study the literature (including case
> studies)...

I have to admit that the "questionaire" posted earlier could easily lead
one to believe that Asperger's is yet another McDisorder (in the US this
is a big problem).  The following links are perhaps a bit better:

http://www.aspergers.com/aspcrit.htm
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aswhatisit.html
http://www.autism.org/asperger.html

A big problem with many personality "disorders" is that their symptoms,
taken individually or to a lesser degree, often correspond to normal,
albeit maladjusted behaviors in the general population.  It's only when
these symptoms appear in together or to such a degree as to inhibit a
normal life that they can be considered a "disorder".  Shyness that
makes one reluctant to talk to strangers at a party is normal, shyness
that prevents one from leaving their house is a disorder.

In the US, healthcare is so screwed up that people often take a reactive
position when they hear of disorders such as these.  You can have an
internal staph infection and get turned away by medical facility (my
girlfriend met someone the other day on the bus in this situation - the
woman was in so much pain she screamed whenever the bus hit a bump - and
she was leaving a facility that refused to treat her [OHSU, for the
record]) but have no problem getting expensive medication to treat
"Seasonal Depression".  This situation has made people somewhat callous
toward these types of disorders, especially since, at a lesser degree,
their symptoms aren't unlike what many people feel is simply the human
condition.


-- 
Cliff Wells, Software Engineer
Logiplex Corporation (www.logiplex.net)
(503) 978-6726 x308  (800) 735-0555 x308