Comments on: Asperger's at work: Why I need a sick day to register my car

By: Mia

Mia — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:51:11 +0000

Great article! I'm the mom of a 20-year-old Aspie, and this is so 'God, I hope I can teach my son how to do all this kind of stuff before I die and leave him to the wolves.' Moms of Aspies have panic attacks about such things at least as much as their young adults do. If you're an Aspie who can drive a car independently in the first place, pat yourself on the back, because for my son the prospect of doing such is waaaaayyyy in the future, if ever. I'm good with that. I am just as sure as he is that driving involves far too many quick decisions and judgment calls. My son would be like a panic-stricken squirrel on the road, looking and turning this way and that, while going nowhere, and hoping he won't get killed. So, we've decided to work on helping him navigate the city bus system, which is confusing and scary in itself, what with all those numbers, routes, colors, maps, connections, transfers, exact change, and people who smell funny and get too close to you.

Aspies reading this may find it comforting to know that we NT's are almost as confused and dreading of the DMV processes as they are. We wait until the last day. We have to figure out which line is for what, and often get surprised at the window that we don't have everything we need to make it easy on the first go-round. We pretty much expect it to be exasperating, and for the clerks to be less than patient and pleasant. In general, people who work in such places forget that the general public has no clue about the processes that they think are obvious. I often want to say, "Look, lady, I realize you do this all day every day, but I DON'T. So, fix that attitude, fix that look on your face, and explain what I need to do here!" I have often said exactly that in such situations. It startles them, and they shape right up, for fear that you'll ask for their supervisor. And sometimes I do just that. I refuse to be condescended to by someone with a secure job and great benefits for life who's there to serve ME.

As for those 16-year-olds who look as though they know what they're doing, they don't. They just go stand where they see other kids their age standing. Or else their parent said, "I think you should go get in that line over there. That looks like kids getting their permits and licenses for the first time."

By: Curran

Curran — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:09:38 +0000

This article is a really interesting insight in to how aspies cope. My wife is very similar to Penelope with things such as figuring out left and right, social intelligence and difficulty with new things.

By: Eponine

Eponine — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:40:47 +0000

Threre are actually a number of groups for that sort of discussion. My favorite was always Spectrumites (spectrumites.com), though it's rather dead at the moment. AFF also was good at one time, though it went through a crissi of its own a while back. aspiesforfreedom.com Wrong Planet is another, though I wouldn't touch that one with a 10 foot pole :P

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:14:43 +0000

Anxiety alone can cause symptoms like these, and take a normally highly competent person and reduce them to infancy. Worst is the way you then feel about yourself because it doesn't seem logical. And when paperwork is what causes the anxiety. . . anything related to government becomes paralyzing.

Imagine the problems of the people who can't afford to hire help.

By: Eponine

Eponine — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:55:02 +0000

I agree that GPS is a lifesaver. I don't know how I managed without it for so long. I've had it for about a year now, and it has definitely improved my quality of life. Anyone with navigational difficulties needs one. They're pretty affordable now.

There are situations, in my state at least, in which you cannot register your car online. That includes registering a car for the first time since you bought it. I had to do the very same recently. I cou;dn't send anyone else to do it, either (as I had in previous years) because nobody was willing.

As far as the OP's diagnosis, I can't comment, really. This is the first I've read of anything here. But it sounds plausible.

By: Eponine

Eponine — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:49:28 +0000

Thank you! At least I'm not the only one with issues in this area. I linked to this post in my most recent blog post, so I'll let you read that instead of retyping it all here. In short, I can relate. I can definitely relate.

By: Bubbles

Bubbles — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:52:49 +0000

You are wonderful, Penelope. You make me laugh with your honest, human, approach to life. Most people are very good at pretending they don't think the way we do. I'm mildly Aspie myself (mild now, not so mild growing up) and I can relate to much of what you go through. Thanks for writing it all down and helping make sense of it all, in such a hilarious way.

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:49:03 +0000

Belinda
I don't know what to make of Ms.Trunk but she writes well, and with humour. I don't agree with every post she writes but they are interesting and thought provoking.

Your commends seem indicative of a mistrust of her writing and even her persona. Yet, you come back or at least in this post, appear quite often.

I'm curious why you appear to spend this amount of energy and time on a woman you've decided is a "fuck up"

By: Belinda Gomez

Belinda Gomez — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:22:41 +0000

"What I really don't understand here though is why are people so unecessarily critical of Penelope "

Because PT's all too eager to find a trendy reason as to why she's a fuck-up. People who really do have Aspergers need the support and empathy of society in general, but someone who claims to have it for purposes of self-aggrandizement and/or blog hits is all too deserving of scorn and criticism.

By: Belinda Gomez

Belinda Gomez — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:18:33 +0000

PT's Aspergers is based solely on her own diagnosis. Last I checked, she's not an MD, PhD, MSW or anything remotely related to someone who can make this diagnosis competently. I can't believe how many readers believe her just because she says so.

Melania Rosseau–right on.