working on change in core features of autism - is it worth the effort?

Thank you for this post, it's exactly the sort of thing we ought to be evaluating. 

When it comes to being your "true Autistic self" it's a bit of a "seeing the wood for the trees" problem I found...

One thing that is worth bearing in mind when comparing our "Value" to the Allistic majority, is to consider how well we do in life. Are we, in short an advantage to the human race or a disadvantage? 

Since I've been on this forum I have learned a lot about Autisms basic nature and come to understand what I & my autism really does "bring to the party". A clue can be found in the fact that I very very rarely get invited to parties, and even less often will actually attend one. 

Otoh, although it's faded a lot over the last few years, I've always been keen to participate, and if possible "help" partly becuse at an early age I decided to trade for what I need, rather than steal it. Seeing teh Harrison Ford film "witness" in my youth cemented the idea in my head that although I am clearly a social misfit by nature, it takes co-operation between multiple individuals to do teh really useful buig things, like "putting up a barn" as the Amish do in that film, a REALITY that puts my basic isolationist nature in teh DISADVANTAGE pile. 

As a consequence I've lightly studied boks like "Games People Play" so I could learn the rules and participate better from a more informed perspective.

This begs the question of how much of me is "mask", and how much of me is real "personality"?

After forty years of acting in ways that were perhaps initially very much not in my basic nature, but learned behaviour from multiple sources I am in some situations very socially adept and smart, as much as my NT colleagues yet in a second I can give myself away as "not quite right"

At the end of the day one can use the "status" to keep the bullying and sarky comments down to a more manageable level.   

Many people post diagnosis also treat you “with kid gloves” because they see you as “getting the wrong end of the stick” (the emphasis on being just plain wrong and dysfunctional by reason of your diagnosis) and seek to discredit and undermine you at every opportunity post-diagnosis, which also gives them a “valid” “reason” to become super-critical of your every action in minute details, right down to the smallest most minor details and use this as an “excuse” to endlessly seek the intervention of third parties to “correct” those things that they do not “like” or otherwise “approve of” - an autism diagnosis reveals the true nature of some people’s true intentions and their hypocrisy, including when you “come out” as autistic, just like when you “come out” as gay (I’ve done both) 

Thanks for your reply. Please permit me a joke: I've also come out as coming from Norfolk - I feel your pain :-) Seriously tho' I am almost  completely in agreement with your analysis.  I kindof had to go diagnostic for complicated reasons including pressure I was in at work.  My son warned me that it wouldn't change the way people treated me and he was almost right - except for the issues that you raise!  I listened to "soul music" on the radio earlier today and Bob Marley's "redemption song" was played.  I have always found it very moving and for one reason or another have always found my truest friends and allegiances among people who are repressed.  When the line came up "only ourselves can free our minds" I got another sense of why I love it :-)  The song ends on a surprisingly upbeat measure - maybe there's hope... One love.  All the best

Thanks for your reply. Please permit me a joke: I've also come out as coming from Norfolk - I feel your pain :-) Seriously tho' I am almost  completely in agreement with your analysis.  I kindof had to go diagnostic for complicated reasons including pressure I was in at work.  My son warned me that it wouldn't change the way people treated me and he was almost right - except for the issues that you raise!  I listened to "soul music" on the radio earlier today and Bob Marley's "redemption song" was played.  I have always found it very moving and for one reason or another have always found my truest friends and allegiances among people who are repressed.  When the line came up "only ourselves can free our minds" I got another sense of why I love it :-)  The song ends on a surprisingly upbeat measure - maybe there's hope... One love.  All the best