“Aspie Posers?” What?!?!
Great. I thought I have heard everything. Now even disorders have supposed posers.
It was enough for Asperger’s to have to be explained. Kids have to know what being a kid with Aspergers consists of. But since they find themselves a couple of people with Aspergers’, they create a sort of community around each other. How was I to know that even disorders can be as stereotypical or as “individual” as being punk, and like punk, people with Asperger’s claim to point out people who are not “Aspies”?
According to Urban Dictionary’s take on Asperger’s syndrome, and this is the first “definition” says, “The real Asperger’s Syndrome is part of autism. However, some posers decide to be “autistic” and start self-diagnosing themselves as those who Asperger’s Syndrome. Not only do they make it seem more like a poser disorder, they make real aspies want to beat the living crap out of them. The example would be an emo kid who labels herself having Asperger’s without a doctor who knows crap.”
So, now we Asperger people have the misfortune of finding people diagnosing themselves, and turning Asperger’s Syndrome to an emo disorder? WHAT?
Is this real? And what do you make of this situation?
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The posers aren’t posing to cry out for attention or join a group identity. They’re posing to get more slack when they mistreat other people.
tttp://kobold.livejournal.com/667559.html?thread=13978023 has a lot of comments on this trend:
“Aspergers is the new excuse to be an asshole online. It was bipolar but that’s not the cool thing anymore.”
“And it’s doubly infuriating because I know an Aspie online. The difference between him and most other people I’ve seen that claim they have it is that he *listens* when people tell him he’s being a dick.”
“That’s how you tell the genuine article from the ones who claim it and don’t have it. People who really struggle with it appreciate all the help they can get. The rest of the assholes who use it as a proverbial ‘get out of consequences free’ card just piss us off.”
“As an actually professionally diagnosed Aspie, I’ve often had to tell other self-diagnosed Aspies, ‘Dude, ‘asshole’ is not on the Autism Spectrum.'”
Remember how in the 1980s and 1990s some people would be all “Don’t care what anyone else thinks!!! Famous scientists don’t care what anyone else thinks either!!! [as if Einstein wasn’t friends with Paul Robeson and didn’t found the American Crusade to End Lynching together with him, and as if professional scientists today don’t have to work in groups on large projects] All of you who want to make friends with people are popular sheep!!! How dare that hot chick not care what I think and having sex with me ASAP!!!”?
Now those jerks calling themselves Aspie or Autistic in and going “I have a condition that means I don’t have to care what anyone else thinks!!! Famous scientists all had Asperger’s too!!! All of you who want to make friends with people are neurotypical sheep!!! That hot chick’s discriminating against us disabled for not caring what I think and having sex with me ASAP!!!”
You can’t just dismiss people for self-diagnosing. When I read a book about Aspergers, some sections seemed like they were talking specifically about me. I was able to professionally diagnosed.
@truthletters@xanga – I didn’t find this thing on Urban Dictionary, initially. It’s the only place right now talking about it, toher than Asperger forums.
@LibranPoetess@xanga – Well there’s always that! But then, I do sometimes like Twitter. It’s a bit more classy, if you know how to use it right haha.
@ScreamingYourSecrets@xanga – Shit I thought that’s what twitter was all about too! Lolz (I’m on both twitter and myspace, but I think I conduct myself better than most).
@LibranPoetess@xanga – LOL, most people don’t need to fake that one, hun, they’re just stupid. It’s called MySpace. XD
I’ve actually blogged about this before. Self-diagnoses are a freaking joke.
It doesn’t surprise me much to hear about this. People often like to try to diagnose themselves with all kinds of things. Most genuinely believe that for some reason they really do have whatever they’ve self-diagnosed themselves with.
I think it’s ridiculous for people to do this, though. Especially since it does create stereotypes. But, the media often does that FOR people, as well. They only show the most severe cases, and so now whenever you hear about someone having autism the first thing that comes to mind is the little kids who don’t appear to know what is going on around them. I also think the media doesn’t try to really explain the differences between the different disorders and their levels of severity. And, so, people draw their own conclusions either with no information or with half the information available. Usually less.
Based on things like that, and perhaps people these kids already know who have autism disorders, they decide that they must have some form of it as well.
I think that’s ridiculous. Do their parents know that they are doing that? Do they encourage the behavior? I think that in cases with kids doing this, if the parents don’t know what their kids are going around saying then they need to be informed of it. And in either case, kids need to be informed about these things correctly.
I don’t like to advocate that “it’s the parents fault!” but sometimes while things don’t start with the parents it could at least be nipped in the bud by them. :p
People seem to do this with a lot of disorders, especially ADD/ADHD, clinical depression, and bipolar disorder. It’s stupid.
wow that IS retarded ==’
soo saying you have aspergers is like the new bi polar. sweet.
People want attention. It’s more unique than depression, ADHD or an eating disorder.
On the other hand, you probably shouldn’t take anything you find on urban dictionary too seriously.
Yeah, there are people that say they have Asberger’s just to garner attention. Most of the people that do this are on DeviantART and Livejournal.
first of all urban dictionary isn’t really a reliable source. My younger brother has aspergers and I love him dearly even though day to day life sometimes is difficult. I’ve never ever heard of people self diagnosing themselves with aspergers, anyone who does that should be ashamed of themselves
@BunnyParfait@xanga – hm, I think eating disorders can be self-diagnosed in some cases. If someone is purposefully purging their food after their meals, it is kind of obvious that they have bulimia. But with aspergers and autism, the disorder is more a part of their identity and not just about the behaviors.
I am not a professional though so this is just my opinion.
I told you guys a month or so ago that it was becoming cool to mimic, now that there are tv shows like The Big Bang Theory. I was a young adult back in the ’80s when ‘freaks and geeks’ were cruelly weeded out into computer nerds and metal head garage bands. No one can truly mimic an aspie without slipping up, especially if they’re doing it for the attention, because the singlemost qualifier for Asperger’s and autism is ~not liking attention~…. not even negative attention. Posers usually trip up over that one. Another qualifier is easy overload and subsequent meltdowns, which pretty much alienates us from everyone, so if your ‘aspie’ friend is lovable and cute and their quirks never piss you off, just start poking and perturbing and see if a nuclear meltdown happens, and not the kind that winds up with the aspie ‘getting over it’ and being ok and still pals with everyone. Emos, goths, whatever (used to be punks) are all out for attention of some kind, and they tend to run in packs. Aspies don’t run in packs, they don’t fit in, and they don’t ‘get it’ about being purposely anti-social to make a statement. I can’t tell you how many ‘friends’ I’ve had who decided they must be a little bit aspie, and then moved on when I didn’t play along. Aspies don’t do *that*, either. I was always stumped by what the heck the definition of friendship was supposed to be, really big on word detail… That’s another thing that can’t be mimicked.
@ultravioletskies08@xanga – I think you’re right, mimickry is a form of flattery, and it actually made me feel better to have role models to identify with on tv, once it became popular to point them out. Personally, I’m a total Willy Wonka weirdo recluse and was really grateful when they finally figured me out. My mom took me to doctors as a toddler, but back then there was no spectrum and no Asperger’s, so the relief that I’m not crazy was huge when that finally got settled. I don’t think it’ll hurt anyone for kids to mimick, but parents pushing a diagnosis for any reason (free disability money? I saw that attempted with ADHD) is pretty sad.
@keystspf@xanga – You’re as paranoid as I am, haha. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, right? So far, so good…
@sailorsakura9@xanga – Totally agree on that one. There is a diagnosis called Borderline Personality Disorder that kinda breaks people from reality just enough to plunge into a sort of self destruction, and I witnessed a woman spend months trying to convince me she was ‘cool’ with Asperger’s herself and wound up being completely opposite, self-obsessed to the point of nearly needing a 72-hour watch. I’ve never seen or heard of an aspie doing that. At the time she had me really confused because I’m naturally so naive, and she was a very intricate and subtle story weaver, and I believe you’re right, the ‘new depression’ is all the rage in our society for people who can’t face up to something, and right now the handy term is Asperger’s.
@markhopes – WebMD is the biggest joke…
I had a professor talk about this. I always doubted the validity, but he claimed that some parents recently have been trying to get a aspergers diagnosis for their kids (without probable cause)… I have no clue why. Perhaps that was my professors own prejudice speaking. I can’t imagine a parents WANTING to do that to their child if they didn’t actually have a disorder.
People are so strange.
Wth…
@Morningstarrising@xanga – Agreed.
@radicalramblings@xanga – Well I know that… I’m just saying comparing it to what *might* happen to Asperger’s Syndrome if this pattern of pretense continues…. Aye me. It’s trouble.
@ultravioletskies08@xanga – As far as ADD / ADHD ~ Made up, definitely not. Highly over-diagnosed and over-medicated? Definitely. For the small percentage who truly suffer from it, for whom behavior modification therapies do not work, medication is a godsend. For the rest… don’t get me started.
@radicalramblings@xanga – hahaha Agreed.
But I do think this goes along with the “wannarexics” and the kids who chop up smarties to pretend they’ve got a coke addiction.
To be optimistic, I think this is where we’re seeing Asperger’s being taken a bit more seriously, and therefore more people want to be diagnosed in order to get the attention having a disorder, the medication etc. etc. etc. What I mean is at least now, Asperger’s is being readily recognized by the general public, meaning more people are aware of its presence. Only downside is, it might get the rep that ADD/ADHD get…. that it’s a made up disorder or something along those lines.
Don’t fret, anyone with half a brain will know who really has it who doesn’t….. I hope.
@radicalramblings@xanga – I didn’t trust Urban Dictionary per se. Before I went there, I heard there was asperger posers, but couldn’t find any articles on that. So, it was either that or Autism forums. I didn’t even think it was possible to fake a disability.
I can’t wait till people start feigning mental retardation.
I have seen it and it angers me. It is difficult enough to deal with an ignorant public staring at my son (who has Infantile Autism). It is impossible enough to get funding for services. The last thing my son needs is for some hypochondriac seeking attention to convince enough “civilians” that ASD is nothing more than a discipline issue or a choice.
I think taking Urban Dictionary seriously is the first mistake…
Hmmm…. thinking this tone and writing style sounds familiar… wondering if someone has resurrected herself from the “dead”…
It’s like Asperger’s Syndrome is the new depression. I’ve seen lots of people online who claim they have x amount of disorders and Asperger’s just because they want attention. I have never met anyone offline say these things about themselves. I guess people want an excuse to act overly dramatic and find something to blame for their “difficult” life.
I guess we should be flattered by this? Wow. Gays used to be ostracized, but now it’s “cool” to be gay too. Alot of emo kids are claiming to be bi or gay now. If you Google “emo boys kissing” you’ll see what I mean. They do it to turn the girls on (like yaoi?), not because they’re really gay. All I’m say’n is, even gays have posers! Amazing.
-Robin
(who is “borderline emo” and diagnosed Aspie)
Yeah I have read about people here on Xanga
that claim to have Asperger’s based on what they found on Web MD. They
look at the checklist and self-diagnose.
Dazzle White
Yeah. I’ve seen it. Like a good underground band or water cooler talk the emo scene has found and begun to exploit Asperger syndrome. Like most diseases people tend to know fairly little about Apserger syndrome and the mention that someone has a disease tends to bring on sympathy, which helps when you tend to act like an ass. Most emo’s say it in the way a person tells another that their parent knows a member of The Rolling Stones or once bumped into a hot celebrity. The disease is used to bring on some type of validation to themselves and who they are. The question is whether its just a passing fad or something that will stay in the Emo culture.
I’ve seen it.
What? This is ridiculous. What is next? Posing as President? Please.
Our lives are already bad and cruel as it is. We need not have posers to make thing worse just so that these posers can, “belong.” Stop self-diagnosing, and double checking your facts with a doctor who knows what he is talking about.
Get a life people – unlike me.
Xinyu Hu
Yeah I have read about people here on Xanga that claim to have Asperger’s based on what they found on Web MD. They look at the checklist and self-diagnose.
If this can be done with eating disorders I imagine it can be done with several other disorders. Humans are just naturally clique ish I guess.
I’ve never encountered this, but I can definitely see this happening. To those who only know what they see on TV, Asperger’s is a disorder with just enough stigma to let them feel “cool” and “misunderstood”, but not enough stigma to actually feel ostracized. It’s seen as a disorder that justifies dickish behavior concealing a high intellect (a la Dr. House; I suspect that show is at least partly responsible for this). And before anyone gets mad at me, I’m talking about the perception here, not the reality. That’s why you get posers, unfortunately. It’s pretty shallow.
I have never heard of this, but I imagine it’s similar to people saying they have ADD but not being officially diagnosed.