[Osmium]

Completely agreed. I found the article mildly infuriating. Aside from the fact that it manifests in many different ways, I wouldn't even think of Aspergers as a disability in the "traditional" sense; people with Aspergers are just different, it's not like they function any less well than people without Aspergers. I don't have Aspergers myself but a good friend of mine does, and the casual stigma and misinformation I've observed drives me crazy.

[frooxie]

> it's not like they function any less well than people without Aspergers

Some do. Some people have more severe symptoms; I read an autobiography by an author with Aspergers where she describes being completely overwhelmed by loud noises or too much visual input. And when some schoolyard bullies told her that "We're going to beat you up every day", she accepted it as another rule among many incomprehensible school regulations, and actually went and reminded them if they forgot to beat her up.

[hh22]

I agree completely about the "disability" description - I think that I became used to calling it that because in situations where I did need to get support for it in college (ie. requesting a single room, which seems to be a natural human need and not just an aspberger issue) it always had to be done through the disability services office, and maybe that definition stuck in my mind. It's good to be aware of how bureaucracy can unconsciously influence our mental thought patterns.

[davidroberts]

Bureaucracy thrives on classification. If something does not fit in a pigeonhole, it will either be pounded until it does fit or discarded as useless.