Does having high functioning autism mean that you will fail in life?

[leavingthesoultrap]

Ive noticed that a lot of ppl here are on the spectrum, myself included. Do you think that we never stood a chance in this world?

 

[untothedepths]

I'm not going to say yes for certain, because I know there are some people on the spectrum that do well. But in my case, when I had shoddy terrible parents and couldn't ever receive any mental health later on I'm basically screwed socially. I've had jobs before and I'd tried to respectful but it was always a problem with "socializing". I feel for entry level workers so much and have immense respect for them because they put up with so much horseshit but for me it was extremely hard. Especially hard with management. Now interpersonal relationships are its own monster and honestly for me is just as bad if not worse.

 

[leavingthesoultrap]

I'm not going to say yes for certain, because I know there are some people on the spectrum that do well. But in my case, when I had shoddy terrible parents and couldn't ever receive any mental health later on I'm basically screwed socially. I've had jobs before and I'd tried to respectful but it was always a problem with "socializing". I feel for entry level workers so much and have immense respect for them because they put up with so much horseshit but for me it was extremely hard. Especially hard with management. Now interpersonal relationships are its own monster and honestly for me is just as bad if not worse.

I grew up undiagnosed at it was horrible. I was labeled as lazy and difficult. For me the issue is not the work itself but the ppl and the whole social ordeal. The small talk and so on. It leaves me copletely drained and stressed out. If I could work alone or from home I would do much better.

 

[sserafim]

Probably. I have Asperger's aka "high functioning autism", and I think that I was destined to fail. I would have failed eventually in all cases/scenarios due to ASD. I was diagnosed with it as well as ADHD and social anxiety at 15, and I think that it's a major factor in my failure. The world is just not built or meant for people on the spectrum. Everything is about socializing and social interaction. The world is built for people with high IQs and EQs. Unfortunately, my EQ is in the negatives. It sucks that there's no pill, treatment or cure for autism. I would have taken it if there were one. If I didn't have autism, I'm pretty sure that I would have been successful. It's holding me back in life. I see no reason to participate in society though. I'm a NEET now and it's a chill and enjoyable existence. I've been one ever since graduating college almost 2 years ago. My parents are forcing me to come out of it though. I don't see any reason why you should have to become independent or support yourself. Why should you have to work eventually and be on your own/self-sufficient? I don't understand why. My main reason to ctb is to escape having to work for a living, and also to die young because I don't want to get old lol

 

[hail]

i think an autistic spectrum disorder doesn't set you up for failure, it's more what's comorbid with it

unfortunately, it's rare to find someone that's on the autistic spectrum that doesn't have any other underlying mental health conditions so, in a way i would have to agree that autism doesn't bode well with success, atleast in the world we live in currently

 

[Blurry_Buildings]

Elon Musk is on the spectrum and is doing great lol

I think for most people it can make life much more difficult though. I agree with hail that its more about what is comorbid with it and your general situation as well. ASD can make a bad situation worse.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I don't believe that it will always make you destined to fail in life but, for some or even most high functioning autistics, yes. I'm destined to fail in life because of my autism and I believe that I was meant to be dead instead of alive due to what my neurotype is like. I never stood a chance and I never will. I just want to be dead and I don't care about doing well in this world anymore

 

[sserafim]

Elon Musk is on the spectrum and is doing great lol

I think for most people it can make life much more difficult though. I agree with hail that its more about what is comorbid with it and your general situation as well. ASD can make a bad situation worse.

What if he's actually dark triad?

i think an autistic spectrum disorder doesn't set you up for failure, it's more what's comorbid with it

unfortunately, it's rare to find someone that's on the autistic spectrum that doesn't have any other underlying mental health conditions so, in a way i would have to agree that autism doesn't bode well with success, atleast in the world we live in currently

I have ASD, ADHD and social anxiety, so I guess I was set up for failure lol

 

[dragonofenvy]

You have the potential to be great, or so they say. They just don't realize that you have more obstacles to go through. It's very hard to be successful without support. I don't mean direct support, but having friends and whatnot. If you don't have friends it's hard to feel motivated to do anything. ASD makes friendships extremely difficult. Even with this people with ASD are often left without professional support or support from their families as well which is quite tragic. When you're isolated and expected to do everything on your own because of how much potential you're supposed to have, I'm not sure how you're meant to get through on supposed potential alone. I think people don't want to support us because we're people that have to be dealt with. Idk that's just how I've felt.

 

[N33dT0D13]

i think an autistic spectrum disorder doesn't set you up for failure, it's more what's comorbid with it

unfortunately, it's rare to find someone that's on the autistic spectrum that doesn't have any other underlying mental health conditions so, in a way i would have to agree that autism doesn't bode well with success, atleast in the world we live in currently

Wholeheartedly agree. I don't see my autism as a problem but the other disorders and being raised by a grade A asshole didn't do me any favors. My best friend is HFA as well and does great in life, professionally socially and with our shared hobbies.

Elon Musk is on the spectrum and is doing great lol

 

[Blurry_Buildings]

What if he's actually dark triad?

lol I had to look that up but might be pretty accurate

 

[leavingthesoultrap]

Elon Musk is on the spectrum and is doing great lol

I think for most people it can make life much more difficult though. I agree with hail that its more about what is comorbid with it and your general situation as well. ASD can make a bad situation worse.

Elon musk is not from regular family, his father Errol was extremely rich.

I don't think it's a fair example.

 

[damyon]

Ive noticed that a lot of ppl here are on the spectrum, myself included. Do you think that we never stood a chance in this world?

I believe it depends on what we define as success.

If you want to be a public figure, literally the center of the crowd, an outgoing and social person, then the odds are stacked against you.

But if you want to be an antisocial quant/trader/programmer working at a hedge fund where you do not even share the info with some of your colleagues, then autism probably would probably work ok for you.

~~~

But as @dragonofenvy noted,

It's very hard to be successful without support.

I agree that autists might have a much harder time figuring out social life unless they get support from a good professional from an early age.


Although, based on my observations, autists can have a much easier time in life than normal people when they get help. Think about it like that: autism gives a much bigger upside potential at the cost of facing more challenges along the way.

 

[CTB Dream]

All rndm but autism make v hard, but all life wrng awfl

 

[sserafim]

But if you want to be an antisocial quant/trader/programmer working at a hedge fund where you do not even share the info with some of your colleagues, then autism probably would probably work ok for you.

They still have to know how to talk to and interact with people though. Socializing is inescapable in this world

But as @dragonofenvy noted,


I agree that autists might have a much harder time figuring out social life unless they get support from a good professional from an early age.


Although, based on my observations, autists can have a much easier time in life than normal people when they get help. Think about it like that: autism gives a much bigger upside potential at the cost of facing more challenges along the way.

How so? What kind of help? All jobs require (some degree of) social interaction. You can't escape it entirely. To be successful in life, you need to be good at it

 

[ListlessGaren]

As someone on the spectrum, I don't think so. Undoubtably though, we on the spectrum are bound to struggle and suffer more than our neurodivergent counterparts. Those are the consequences of existing in a world not built for you, but built for an entirely different group of folk.

I think everyone can thrive given the right conditions. However, much harder to produce the right conditions for those on the spectrum. A lot of solutions (mentally, physically, or health wise) are "one size fit all solutions" that work for the average Joe, but don't work for many on the spectrum.
Our thinking is too different. Our mannerisms are too different. Many of us suffer in the real world since something puts people off about us. So don't expect to easily pass job interviews like your neurotypical counterparts can.
You can do everything right and still fail. That's our reality, even for those that can hyper mask.
And trust me, I can hyper mask really well. Neurotypical folk can't tell I'm autistic, I just come across as someone with some social anxiety.
But it's the worst when you need to constantly utilize your ability to hyper mask without rest. Autistic burnout is common amongst ppl on the spectrum. We're constantly putting in extra mental effort to appear normal and function as society wants us to.
Burns me the fuck out. I'm sure many of you can relate.

 

[damyon]

They still have to know how to talk to and interact with people though. Socializing is inescapable in this world

All jobs require (some degree of) social interaction. You can't escape it entirely. To be successful in life, you need to be good at it

They can learn to socialize. It can be uncomfortable biologically for them, but they can socialize to achieve their goals. The social game is the challenge they face.

How so? What kind of help?

From my experience and observations, people on this spectrum struggle with interpreting social cues. They need to understand that it is an unconscious game of some sort for normal people, but autists get rejected by the social group due to their inability to play the game
Once an autistic person understands the "social calibration" concept (or "matching"), she can consciously guide the crowd or another person to what she wants because she knows how to play and win the game.

As to why they have bigger upside potential, high-functioning autists are more analytical and detail-oriented on average. They can spot more patterns than an average person. The problems are that they can take those patterns in a literal sense, misinterpret them (unlike normies), or even spot false patterns. That is why they need guidance along the way.


In short, you can outplay the normie who is living his life on autopilot.


This article writes about the difference between how normal and autistic people interpret information; an interesting read: https://psychcentral.com/autism/why-people-with-autism-are-more-logical#autism-thinking-styles

 

[Dark Moon]

I think you made this thread because you saw my profile description.

For me yeah it meant that I never had much of a chance in life. I didn't get diagnosed until I was a teenager and I couldn't finish school, they found me a specialist school eventually for autistics which I went to but it was too late. I did go to college (one for autistics and one for mainstream) and get some certificates but I never got any job opportunities except to work at a call centre. I did get a little support and they would come to the house and play games with me, go to the store with me etc. That stopped for me as soon as I turned 18. I guess some could succeed if they get diagnosed early, get the right support and are high functioning but they and I are still going to be at a disadvantage with neurotypicals socializing and such.

I did get bullied a lot which has given me PTSD but I tried to fight and punch back.

I still find hard socializing with people especially in real life; I don't know body language, social cues, I can't maintain eye contact and deal with people properly. It means that finding and keeping friends difficult especially girlfriends. I can't really do the masking, I think a few girls might have liked me when I was a teenager but I failed to recognize this at the time and wouldn't have know how to socialize with them properly anyway (Don't want to brag)

Also, applying for jobs, getting the interview, passing the interview and getting the job is a nightmare. I also get exhausted trying to socialize with and seeing people for too long. I need a day or two to recharge my batteries. I would probably need help finding suitable jobs and adjustment in the workplace, the job market is getting more and more competitive and I don't think I have a chance. I would still have a difficult time with the neurotypicals even if I did get a job.

The unemployment rate is still high for autistics/Asperger at 80%+

My hand co-ordination skills are probably decent. I can play Call of Duty for hours I don't get motion sickness and can play/ compete with neurotypical men and women in that game. My K/D ratio is average 1.01 or so in MW III right now, some matches I can do good to be at the top of the scoreboards but I'm too slow at times and do terribly.

I'm not really bothered or too interested in the social hierarchy and in having big cars, houses, hot wives, money and a social circle of friends that care about me but I still consider myself a failure. I would have to grind hard at a high paying job to get those and it's not feasible for me.

Anyway, I feel like I have lived too long and I want to die nowadays. The world was not meant for me as well as most autistics and hope I'm not doxxing myself.

 

[cursedbynature64]

I could see it being possible for some of us to succeed if society and people put serious effort and consideration into making the world bearable for us. I honestly don't know if it would be for me personally though