Where the FUCK do people get off equating Aspergers with sociopothy?

[liberalhistorian]

19. Thank you. I raised an aspie son and know many

aspies and have studied psychology and sociology and I know good and damned well that it is NOT NOT NOT sociopathy, period. The media does an absolutely horrible job of presenting AS and autism and propagating stereotypes, misinformation and inaccuracies. One of the problems is that it's only been officially recognized in this country since 1994, whereas it's been recognized in Europe for over fifty years and knowledge is much better there. I am SICK TO DEATH of every person woh's a jerk being automatically slapped with the aspie label by people who don't know shit about it, who are just going by stereotypes.

Aspies mostly certainly DO feel emotions and empathy and care about others. It's just that it's not in the typical way that we would normally relate to and that is socially expected. To them, it feels like they are on another planet and having to endure daily negotiations through constant minefields, always being afraid of what they say and do and of not understanding things correctly. This is one reason why adult aspies seem so aloof, the fear has either paralyzed or numbed them.

And some of the nastiest people I've ever known have been very socially adept, so having social sense doesn't always mean shit. Just one of the major differences between aspies and sociopathy is that, when you explain to an aspie that something has hurt someone or explained how someone feels about something, they almost always DO care and try to understand and do something about it. Whereas sociopaths often actually have good social sense (which is how they're able to fool so many people so often to manipulate and get just what they want), and know right from wrong and know how people are feeling. They just don't give a shit.

Unfortunately, hate groups like FAAAS (Families of Adults Affected by Asperger's Syndrome) perpetuate this bullshit and actively work for discrimination against aspies in family law, employment, legally, etc. I remember my son asking me once, in tears, after looking at their site and their information, "why do they hate me so much when they don't even know me". Heartbreaking.