Autism is a real disability to some,,,,,,, are you such a person ?

The high moral values would suggest he's not a psychopath.     More of a football-type thug who enjoys the adrenaline rush of a good ruck..

The one violent psychopath I knew, (grew up with him, occasionally hung with him),  protected the underdogs,, so if anyone attacked a disabled/small  person (verbally or physically) this gave him the excuse and opportunity to beat the sh-it out of them. Their size/number did not matter. 

Thats when he was a teenager,  he went to prison as soon as he was 18.

He's back out. He always nice to talk to etc just dont display violence/bullying in his presence.

He now has a son, "junior", who has the attention of the police. 

Just saying, not all psychopaths are so bad  

Ah - thank you :) I thought you might have meant only half autistic.

Most of the time I don't consider myself to be disabled - as there are enough positives as well as learnt resilience/coping/masking to make the negative bearable/compensate/work arounds.

But there are definitely phases and circumstances when it feels like a disability - and involves material impairments, especially when there is too much negative and ability to mask/cope falls apart. 

Yep - it's a bummer when you have to work for one.

And of cause the narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths all have a superpower of spotting the vulnerable.

50/50 would mean equal amounts of positive and negative impacts. Do you consider yourself to be disabled ?

Exactly :) To be fair, I could afford to pay for a private diagnosis so if I wanted a bit of paper I would go that route (and I know my employer has paid for colleagues to go the private diagnosis route). In hindsight, I was diagnosable from around the age of three - but in the 70s it wasn't really looked for or understood in girls apart from a few exceptions.

If based on self-diagnosis you're pretty confident...then it might actually be a better use of money to invest in seeing a counsellor/mentor/therapist who focuses on autism. That doesn't unlock government/financial support - but it can help so much from a practical/processing/surviving perspective.

Losan said:

I'd rather those suffering without access to support took up the limited diagnostic resources instead. 

That is one of the main reasons i haven't ,i manage without a diagnosis , but there are so many variables in whether to get one or not  ,If it is effecting you badly and getting one helps you should .

I would add that over the last 40 years i have seen Professionals get it wrong so many times ,which does cause even more problems .

I don't necessarily describe myself as disabled - extremely vulnerable, yes, disabled, not so much.

I don't understand what you mean? (Or why you would pass judgement on a thoughtful diagnosis based on a small sample of information)

so u consider yourself to be disabled ?

sounds like you are a 50/50 person

Good for you. I’ve tried to accept that but the problem is I don’t know what I can or can’t do. Not anymore. Because it seems I can do less than when I was younger. I used to go through life awkwardly but with a lot of optimism but later developed anxiety disorder and now depression might joined the team. Now I feel like a wreck. And as for superpowers, I’ve met neurotypical people with “superpowers”: one with great memory for facts, one brilliant at maths, one with amazing analytical skills, one musician and multi instrumentalists. And none of them autistic. So I think the “superpowers” thing is completely unrelated to neurotype and they are randomly allocated in population. But might be more visible in autistic people because in NT they are sort of “drowned” in their other “powers” (like the power to communicate with others easily, social interaction power, better tolerance of uncertainty power).

I'm not looking to be cured. I simply have to accept where I am, and what I can or can't do.

I'm autistic and comfortable with the term superpowers - it's a convenient way to describe a number of the benefits associated with my particular autistic characteristics. It includes an exceptional long term memory as well as attention to detail and creativity. I wouldn't wish autism away - it's so integrated I wouldn't know myself without it. But I'm lucky that I've been able to find employment customised around my strengths and steers around most weaknesses.

What isn't very clear to colleagues is the extent of some of those weaknesses because I do a good job of compensating/masking/hiding them - but it's exhausting, and I still know about them! One of the most powerful ways I've understood autism is that the profile is likely to be spikey. For education exams, I could get 100% on advanced papers but somehow fail the standard papers...

What I would prefer to change is a world better designed/more accepting, inclusive and considerate - to reduce stress and anxiety (people explaining what they mean / their actual motivation / not playing office politics / not being made to feel weird for being introvert or not wanting loads of social interaction etc. 

Most of the time I wouldn't identify as disabled; but then there are times when it does feel like one - because you end up in various forms of incapacity (exhausted from dealing with people -> loads of sleep  / stressful interaction -> anxiety preventing sleep / brain fog etc. ) And while it's in some ways a first world problem - things like strong smells (coffee, perfume, tobacco) make me nauseous and make it difficult to think - with commuting on public transport a particular problem. 

I think self diagnosis is valid - especially when it's pretty obvious. That's the route I've chosen to follow as an adult - I don't need an official diagnosis. I have a well paid job with a supportive employer - and so can access support/reasonable adjustments without a NHS (or private) diagnosis. I appreciate how lucky this means I am. I wouldn't dream of burdening the NHS to get an official diagnosis given there are so many others that will benefit far more than me - and for whom that route is a necessity including for accessing mental health resources or passing PIP assessments. It is frustrating when people assert self-diagnosis cheapens etc. things for others. Particularly for those who have made choices like me - I don't need a formal diagnosis - I'd rather those suffering without access to support took up the limited diagnostic resources instead. 

Sorry that quote should read "mid and severe". I have corrected the typo. I'm dyslexic lol.

there are people whereby their autism is so severe ( low level and/or non-verbal autism ) they cannot communicate  

They tend to identify someone with low-functioning autism as:

• Having limited or no spoken language and using technology or picture boards to communicate
• Looking and sounding different from their neurotypical peers so that their autism is more visually and aurally obvious to the casual observer
• Less likely to be included in typical classes or activities and more likely to be in a "substantially separate" academic setting  

   I read a book by a non-verbal called "Fall down 7 get up 8 times" . Its a great read. Very humbling as to your abilities

amazon link to this book. But u can get it cheaper here https://www.abebooks.co.uk/

www.amazon.co.uk/.../1444799088

aidie said:

But two thirds of autistic people are in the mild and severe ends of the spectrum and so will probably never/rarely be in this forum or have their voice/opinions heard.

then they will probably have learning disability as a comorbidity that prevents them doing that, it won't be autism that stops them coming on here.  I don't think its a disability (I've had to say this a billion times) we can function perfectly fine if we are allowed to lives our lives how best suits us and not be forced to live in a NT way. Effectively labelling this as a disability is saying "you can't live a NT life, therefore your disabled". An example of something I do think is a disability, ADHD. I don't think its a part of neurodiversity, I don't think someone with ADHD is neurodiverse. They have a disability. No matter how you live your life you need to be able to concentrate long enough on one thing to do anything. Thats a disability and won't change no matter how you live life. Medication is needed in that case.

That might be better off done in a support group setting. I count myself lucky to be able to attend a post-diagnostic support group. I'm not actually in the UK, but I belong to a group that has gone online over lockdown. I can see that even abroad I am getting some advantage (and fun) from it. 

It can also be a difficulty if it is undetected until later life. I also get a bit cheesed off with some of that superpower stuff. My superpower is a bit dissipated by trying too hard to be an all-rounder at work. I intensely dislike the current Hollywood obsession with super hero worship.

not sure how we can mobilise just yet.  I am thinking there must be a way a network can be set up whereby we actually help each other in reality and not just online. There are clearly some people here who need help.