It’s not very empowering to create a social cache for willing victims, is it? Where is the actual medical proof of a “mental disorder” such as Aspergers? It’s misinformation gleefully perpetrated by the misinformed, catering to a variety of persecution complexes – not a catch-all invention created for convenience by the medical profession! You can’t fit a jigsaw into a keyhole, so why would you readily accept information provided to you by a stranger who is intrinsically going to know much less about an “Aspergers sufferer” (read: person) than you do? They cannot read minds!

If someone tells you that you have a mental disorder after a few weeks of reading off cards and ticking boxes on surveys and you actually believe it, then good grief. What’s more, go look up Aspergers. Look for statistics beyond the lazy and amorphous “25% of people acted like this, 65% like that etc.”. There is no neurological or medical data on the subject at all. Just casual speculation. This is all well and good, if it’s conducted on a purely experimental and diplomatic basis. Not foisted upon the public at large as a legitimate mental condition. This isn’t to say that some people under the Aspergers bracket are not mentally troubled or deficient, but to suggest that it’s an inadequate and slovenly label for them.

So many creative individuals are inexplicably branded Aspergers. Their uniqueness as people becomes a commodity. It’s a desire to become merchandise. Representation is be picked up and put down, not worn.

It’s another invented disease, can’t you see? We gladly reach for any explanation, excuse or identity and this is no different. It is like LGBT “rights”. Choosing to band together under an identity is oppressive, not empowering. Why must sexual (and by extension to my argument general) identity be consolidated? Do you think allowing yourself to be willfully recuperated by readily available social accommodators will allow you some kind of freedom and leverage from powerlessness? Just as a heterosexual must make love to a woman, a homosexual man or woman subscribe to the values of their identity. Where does a transgender fit into this? How are they supposed to “belong”?

Coming back a bit, with the vast range of “symptoms” available to prospective candidates of the Aspergers label, where can it lead? What will Aspergers mean when it becomes too broad a label, too pertinent when considering the technology-encumbered hermeticism of our age? Another word for “alienation”, the new prozac nation? Everyone is disillusioned, everyone has problems. Where does a person with Aspergers “belong” then?

So quick to clamber onto some mirage of clarification, that it became a custom-fit set of blinders. You just bought into a clinical explanation for your meretricious feelings. How stupid.

Neurodiversity… yes, people are different. You got any more news? Why should the world bend over backwards for your sob story? Oh, because an upper-middle class professional sanctioned it, with his powers of clairvoyance. You’re condoning their silly games when you enroll for this kind of no-show caring and sharing bluff. The willing victims/outsides of society, begging for rights and recognition of any sort, are the ideal cattle for tomorrow’s daily grind. If you want a job, don’t create a system that will push you through it in tedious fashion. Don’t build your bids for liberation on the grounds of a society-must-accept-me argument, because then it will accept you – and then some.

If someone lacks the facilities neccessary for a job, they should look somewhere else, or work to achieve said capabilities. Not fucking hound the company to change their policies. I mean, wouldn’t the kind of energy necessary for that kind of endeavor be better expended upon doing something YOURSELF? Isn’t that a bit more punk rock than whining to some white-collar patsies to please, PLEASE give you a job? Erm, aren’t you looking to escape from victimhood? If you are accepted into the workplace on the basis of said weakness, it’s not really doing yourself a favour is it? Don’t let insipid neurosis get the better of you.

I mean, in reality I like a lot of left wing ideas. But man, this kind of thing is something established professionals would do if their company suddenly fucked them in the bum. And they would argue to retain their positions. You are doing the same thing, but trying to retain the pitiful, narrow social roles that you’ve accepted in your head when entering the real world. It’s a fucking bad idea.

As Flaubert said about writing, “Be regular and orderly in your life like a bourgeois, so that you may be violent and original in your work.

Yeah? Yeah.

@Alex– You are so right. Borderline Personality Disorder is so misunderstood and services tend to be very misdirected. As a therapist, I can tell you that this is also perhaps the most misdiagnosed disorder out there. People (mostly women) who present as a difficult challenge to therapists often get the “borderline” label, even if they don’t meet the full diagnostic criteria. Persons who do fit the criteria often do not get much help, as it is a very complicated disorder. I agree that offering resources and supports can be a great benefit, however, I do not see companies rushing out to do this for folks who have troubling workplace behavior.

@HRPufnstuf–You are so right. It is less difficult to accommodate someone with an obvious disability than it is for someone whose disability results in behaviors that diverge from company “norms”. It also doesn’t help that the psychological and neurological professions have no consensus about how to support and accommodate people with emotional-behavioral challenges. Perhaps if mental health concerns were more of a priority in the health care arena, mental health professionals would be compelled to stop being Pollyanna bleeding hearts and would come up with some clear guidance for employers. Not gonna hold my breath.

HR pros are candid about sharing the flaws of their profession on this blog. Trust me, I know the problems in mine (mental health), as well. We don’t do such a hot job a lot of the time either. But what can you expect of folks who are overwhelmed with society’s most troubled people, yet often make less money than teachers and have poorer benefits?

My son is five and has just been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. It is so painful because there is little tolerance and only a tiny bit of awareness of even what it is.

I am an executive recruiter and I promise I will teach him as best I can to “interview well”, be polite and thoughtful, and put himself in another person’s shoes (social skills) so that when he grows up he can be rightfully employed.

But we to have those in positions to hire recognize that people with AS can be amazing in the right job–even if they “don’t give good interview”. My son is really smart but I can see he is going to be a nerd. Please teach your children to accept the differences. And please open the boundaries of who you hire. Please.

A relative of mine falls in that exact non-category and in some ways I believe things are more difficult for her for that very reason. Wish there were resources for folks who are just “off” — sensitive resources that don’t make them feel bad but just provide support — social groups, for example, or job resources. I don’t believe there’s anyone advocating in this area.