It helped me to, finally, define who I am. Labels, however, are just that… labels. They are not who we are, as people.

As for whether we are called “Aspies”, “Auties”, or whatever are in this boat else the scientific community can think up?…

Does it really matter? We are who we are. And, all of us on “The Autism Spectrum” are in this boat together. Let’s start acting like it.

(really wouldn’t want to embarrass ourselves in front of the “NT’s”, eh?)

:-)

Eddie

I was diagnosed with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NLD) at age thirteen and I am the only one that I know of who has it. I know there are other kids in the world who have grown up with this, but I don’t know them personally. It’s hard for a kid growing up in the world where you cannot understand why you are different from others, yet you know you are different. I’m not going to go into my whole story, but here’s what I think on this subject:

I have not read the DSM-IV simply because I don’t know many people who are on it. I don’t know if I am either because I think it may have changed. What I think though is that I would like for more disorders to be categorized on some kind of list or something, whether it is the DSM-IV or something else. There aren’t as many resources out there for kids and adults with NLD, even though it is similar to Asperger’s Syndrome. (Social cues misread, high intelligence in some people, being very talkative but not able to understand expression very much, impaired judgement)–those are a few of the things we sometimes have in common–yet, you do not see NLD up there on that list. I am wondering why that is and why we can’t be on there so more people can know about us.

I think many of the posts are valid here about the DSM-IV staying the same, but I think it will also need to change as more people get diagnosed with different things. I am a successful college graduate who loves writing and baseball and happens to live with NLD. I am a great story for a misunderstood disorder, yet sometimes I feel like nobody really gets it. I think if there were an entry in the DSM-IV about NLD and other disorders, more people would understand what it’s like. People might start to know more about themselves and figure out if they are different too. Then there might not be so many people who don’t get us. I intend to change this world by writing about people who are struggling not only with regular problems, but with learning differences and the like. I hope that I have not offended anyone and I am glad to have seen this website.

Thank you,

Awesomely Anonymous Author hoping to write a book about NLD or Autism or any other difference that comes to my mind.

P.S. Another of my disabilities is having difficulty with going on and on with writing and switching to huge tangents. Luckily, it is one of the many I’m able to laugh about. I am not a victim. I am a fighter. I will never give up. I will never stop being who I am because I am awesome. I feel that at age twenty-four I have finally grown up (at least on the outside) and I’m responsible. In a few years, I hope to be even more successful than I already am. I have a family who loves me dearly and a few close friends. I just want you to know there is hope for different kinds of people in this world, no matter who you are. I respect pretty much everybody and that’s why I intend to keep on pursuing my dreams of changing the world. I don’t really hope for a cure to NLD because I feel like it’s a part of me that I can deal with, but something that would make it easier would sure help. Also, maybe if I could talk to other people who actually knew what it was, that would help too.

That is why I posted on here.