Welcome!

[toranin]

Greetings, and welcome to the aspie_furs community! I've been aware for some time that AS seems to have a presence in the furry fandom. Furries recognize the term, and many claim it for their own. To those that do, hail and well met! I was diagnosed with AS in 2001, and have been living with it for all of my life

Comments

[westly_roanoke]

Hi there,

I'd like to find someone I could talk to so I could get a better understanding of what exactly AS is, and entails. I'll be the first to admit that when I see someone claiming AS, I think they're using it as an excuse to be an asshole...

But, I'd like to understand the truth behind it.

So, my question is, is it cool for someone like me to join up so I can understand better?

Also, I'd highly suggest turning off Anon commenting, otherwise it leads to crap like that above.

Thanks for reading!

[westly_roanoke]

Read some actual books. You can't learn about Asperger's on the internet. You just can't.

[westly_roanoke]

I have, thanks, but some times getting the experience from the horses mouthes is the way to go. Y'know, talking to people who have been diagnosed. I understand what the condition is, but I don't know the impact it has on an individual's life experience. That's my question.

[sanoken]

That's a good idea too. Just my two cents, but I'd recommend checking out a more established community with some kind of self-policing, like http://community.livejournal.com/asperger/ itself. Unless you, y'know, really want the furry angle.

Not an excuse

[brockulfsen]

Aspergers is unfortunately often an explaination for behaviour that has caused a problem, but it should never be an excuse.

My daughter has been formally diagnosed, for behaviour much like mine at that age. I'm 42 (next week) been seperated for a year or so after a 20+ year relationsgip.

Australian, furry for years: Omaha fan since the mid-late 80s; been on SPR since the mid-90s; never been good at being human (Aspergers perhaps?).

On a different note, perhaps Aspies are common in furry communities due to that feeling of not fitting in typical NT communities and Aspies often being nerds, and thus likely to stumble across furry fandom.

Re: Not an excuse

[toranin]

*nods* Agreed: explanation, not excuse.

And I share your theory that, for many aspies, furry is a natural haven. I know that was part of what led me there; many furries feel alienated from the general populace, and so people with AS have little difficulty finding sympathetic ears here. Of course, not all aspies share the furry aesthetic, and some might have trouble with the specific oddities endemic to furry such as the commonality of gays and bisexuals among us, but for those who can accept furry's quirks, furry is pretty good on the whole about accepting aspie quirks.

[phyrbyrd]

Well, hi, I just arrived here - I am suspected AS, in that it gets more likely with each week that I get more involved with my artwork and writing and less willing to socialise with offline people in daylight hours for longer than, oh, half an hour? I have this line between the real and the unreal, and my mental preferences are firmly on the more fantastic side. My memory and emotions work much better if they're working for something that doesn't exist - a film, a book, a TV series.
And of course, if I do have AS, it's not an excuse. Is it even a reason to have people leave me alone? I'd be perfectly happy to be left alone with my art equipment, my internet connection and my cat, even without this fear that I'm going to really hurt someone one day.

[calico_pye]

Hi - was just wondering if some of this is a variation of the Native American Power Animal kinda thing. Animal totems have been used by many different races over 100's of years. I have been working with Cougar energy for a while, in preparation to my trip to China (I fly out on the 4th).

I would be interested in some feed back as to what you think

Regardz - Calico :o)

[toranin]

Not exactly. Furry is, more than anything else, a subculture and a social group tied together by an interest in anthropomorphic animals. Generally someone within furry is interested in art depicting such characters. Some are also interested in dressing up in costumes representing them or in puppeteering using animal puppets. Furries often have a love for real-life animals as well, but the focus of the community is on the fantasy aspects.

There's more to furry than that, of course -- it's a subculture, which means it has demographics, traditions, and social conventions that are unique to it and not necessarily linked to the nominal purpose of the group. For example, most furs are male, and it seems that for some reason about half of all furries are either gay or bixsexual; there's no reason that should necessarily be the case, but it is. Demographics aside though, furry is a very accepting and diverse group of people, and you can find people of almost any sort within its ranks if you look hard enough.

Some furries do, in fact,

[calico_pye]

Its funny you should mention puppets as I have been using animal puppets as art form for the past 3 months.

I have been especially drawn to all kinds of cats and have cat like features so maybe I am half way there :-)

[alfador_fox]

Hey everybody. In 2005, I was diagnosed with "mild Asperger's Syndrome and central nervous system disorder not otherwise specified," their way of saying "We're pretty sure something like AS is with you, but we're not quite sure exactly what." So yeah, I dunno if what I have is truly AS, but I'm certainly not "neurotypical." Not by a long shot. :3