flick the switch.

The Times magazine ran a piece on Saturday called 'Are you on the spectrum?' It explores various aspects of Aspergers and it's current place in society. It is well worth the read if you can lay your hand on a copy but if you can't it touched on some points that ring true to me.

Firstly it touches on the notion that being an Aspy is a fashion sense now, that it is 'hip' or 'cool' to be quirky and explain it with a diagnosis of Aspy, or as the article puts it: a little Aspy. There is no such thing as 'a little'. Yes the spectrum varies: I am high functioning to the point where I can blend (although not that successfully) into mainstream life and I know people who can't. I for instance have never been told I won't complete school or university, as much as my lecturers and teachers may have thought it, whereas my cousin, who recently got top grades in school, was told he would be lucky if he completed school. Even my Aspy nurses say everyone is a little on the spectrum, and my old headmaster when I told him, said his wife who knows about these things, believes all men are on the spectrum somewhere.

It also discusses the current trend for every TV show, book, play or other media outlet to have an Aspy character who is super brilliant, can do complex maths in their heads, to play ten instruments and speak as many languages fluently, and to use technology as if it was a part of their own anatomy. Louise Carpenter, the author, feels it is excellent that Aspergers has lost its taboo but equally that it has now swung too far into public perception. I feel like making and handing out capes when I see that sort of portrait of an Aspy. They might as well be able to fly. The number of Aspys with superpowers on par with TV tropes is minimal, the rest of us are just regular humans who experience the world differently. I am appalling at maths, in depth technology puts me to sleep, and while I speak two languages that, like everything in my life, is an accident of birth. I don't have beneficial superpowers that I've traded my ability to socialize for. So I have two problems: I can't make friends and I can't fly.

Lastly it talks about relationship problems. *sigh*. There is significant research stating that a relationship or marriage will fail if a partner (usually male) refuses to get treatment for Aspy behaviour. Aspys can be emotionally distant and cold in a relationship, wanting to please a partner but not knowing how. This links in with my inability to develop friendships beyond a basic level, and the same as I've stated before, goes for relationships. I can be a cold hearted bastard at times, and in work being able to see the end benefit can make me over come some of the heartbreaking choices I'm forced to make. Removing the emotional barrier can be hugely beneficial.

Hey look, I found my superpower.......