Anyone else really dislike the idea that Asperger's isn't actually a disability?

You want to know how Asperger's is insurmountable for me personally? Here's a list of how Asperger's affects me:

--I'm not able to drive, since driving involves multi-tasking and focusing on what you're doing, and I can't do those things. (In terms of my inability to focus, I'm pretty sure I have ADHD.)

--I'm not able to joke around, since I don't have a quick wit.

--I'm mentally about 10 years younger than I actually am. (I'm 28 years old, but I'm still into a lot of Young Adult things, including YA Fiction, YouTubers, cartoon shows like Futurama and The Simpsons, and dressing in jeans and a t-shirt.)

--I have a slow cognitive processing speed, which means that it takes me longer than most people to understand what someone just said. This, in turn, tends to cause me to not have much to say until my brain comes to that understanding.

--I have poor fine motor skills, which means that things involving the use of my hands involve a lot of concentration on my part. (And concentrating is already difficult for me due to my ADHD.) As a result of this, I don't wear makeup or do my hair.

--I'm quick to anger/frustration, especially if I'm tired. If I am tired, then that anger/frustration can lead to me having a "meltdown," which, for me, is basically a huge burst of the "fight or flight" instinct, and difficulty in articulating myself.

--I'm naturally pessimistic, due to my overly-logical brain. (It's hard for me to hold out hope or be positive at all when I know, deep down, that hope and positivity are just ways of whitewashing over everything that's wrong in my life.)

--I'm so naturally inquisitive that it annoys people. (I tend to ask a lot of questions, in other words.)

--I'm argumentative without meaning to. (In other words, if someone says something that I disagree with, I'll say so and explain why what they said makes no sense. But I don't see that as "arguing," I just see it as me clearing up the facts for them and helping to educate them.)

--I have constantly racing thoughts (which is why I have three different anxiety disorders: social anxiety, hypochondria, and general anxiety disorder). It's also really hard for me to relax at all due to my racing thoughts.

--I stim without realizing it. (My stims include rubbing my palms, my face, and the inside of my elbow; muttering/whispering certain phrases to myself; pacing back and forth; and biting the insides of my cheeks, and doing all of that in public without realizing it is pretty embarrassing.)

--My sensory sensitivities make it even harder to concentrate than it already is. (I'm super-sensitive to things like the feeling of a tag on a shirt, the sound of sirens, the feeling of pain or itchiness anywhere on my body, the sound of a bunch of people chattering loudly at once, and the smell of seafood.)

--I have depth-perception issues that make using escalators and/or climbing up or down stairs difficult for me.

So tell me, how would you overcome every single one of those issues?

/r/aspergers Thread Parent