User:Thecrocodilejazzhands

Over the last few years, it turned out that what I used to call my "Hermione-like compulsion to provide accurate information about things, whether or not I've been asked" is actually autism. Still fun, though - and it comes in handy for a skeptic. My pet project is explaining to people that the autism rights movement is not the fuzzy, disability-erasing "quirky pride!" fiasco people make it out to be. Pet peeves include the misuse of clinical terminology and the ridiculous misconceptions about the autism spectrum, such as "Asperger's is not a serious condition". I was actually close to finishing my Psychology degree (focusing on gender and developmental psychopathology) when I was forced to drop out because of the debilitating effects of Asperger's. I am unable to live independently and have substantial difficulty with activities of daily living; my self-care abilities are those of a preteen. None of this is cancelled out by my ability to write in-depth essays about it. I also get very passionate about explaining why the DSM5 has stopped dividing Asperger's from "classic" autism, and why this was a reasonable, useful, and evidence-based decision.