Iloveboeing wrote:

caliboy93 wrote:

I am autistic and just curious as to how people perceive it!

I am autistic also (I have Asperger's Syndrome) and it has been difficult for me to relate to many people. I was diagnosed at age 14 and for most of my early life, I had no clue what body language meant (my dad once asked me what it meant when someone rolled their eyes at me while I was speaking to them) and I had no idea. It's only been in the last 10 to 15 years that I've greatly improved my conversational skills.

Having Asperger's Syndrome does have some benefits, though. Throughout school I was known as a very intelligent person (who could name the capitals of virtually any country on earth and, to the surprise of my 7th grade teacher, knew where the Canary Islands were). I excelled in many of my subjects and my parents refused to let the schools put me in "special needs" class. I graduated high school with a 3.75 GPA.

University was a different story. I had virtually cruised through high school without needing to study, as people with Asperger's tend to focus on knowledge and repetition of facts, rather than application and thinking why things are (which is where universities focus). This, combined with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder as well as being zealously religious) and also laziness resulting in me barely getting my bachelor's degree in business administration with a GPA of around 2.8.

I didn't relate to people well and tried to have things "my way." I was hyper religious (a charismatic on a Southern Baptist campus) and tried to convert everyone to my way of thinking. Toward the end of my university career, I attempted suicide (swallowed 60 pills of Depakote and spent 5 days in the ICU and psych ward. I finished my degree, but pretty much lost most of my friends.

In the 10 years since I graduated from university, I've been working at a self-storage company that my parents and I started. We now have 7 locations across 1,300 storage units and are still growing.

Asperger's has its challenges, such as "special interests" where I can focus on something way beyond the attention span of a non-autistic person, to the point of ad nauseam, which turns off other people. My special interests have included bus schedules, airlines, languages, China and most recently, healthy living.

Since I've been on a diet and have been exercising the past few months, I've greatly improved. In the past, my doctor has considered putting me on disability (in which I'd receive $1,100 per month) and in a mental facility, however I absolutely refuse to give up my life and my career. I live independently from my parents, I have my own car and I buy my own groceries and fuel. My life is challenging yet it is rewarding at the same time.

Most Asperger's people are introverted and like to be alone, but I am extremely extroverted and love being around people. Asperger's Syndrome and autism in general are handicaps, yet they can be managed and even exploited if done properly. It doesn't mean that you can't live a more normal life; my life is an example of that. I hope this helps!

DLFREEBIRD wrote:

my nephew has highly functioning autism, he has always struggled with talking to others, so his classmates tend to discount him. He recently graduated from high school as class valedictorian. However, for whatever reason they didn't let him speak. His parents were upset, because they thought this would be a perfect time for his fellow class mates to see how smart he really is.